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CAT Exam: Exam Date, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Syllabus & other Details

The CAT Exam is the most popular of all IIM entrance exams held every year. Getting an MBA from a reputed institution is a dream for many aspirants. Applicants seeking admission to MBA programs must appear for the CAT Exam. The CAT exam is an entry requirement for admissions into the IIMs and India’s top business schools. By reading through this post, you can learn all about CAT, CAT Eligibility criteria, as well as the time needed to complete the entire syllabus to get through CAT and various other programs offered by IIM.

What is CAT Exam?

The Common Admission Test, or CAT exam, is a national-level management aptitude test that a candidate has to clear for admission to the MBA courses offered by 20 IIMs and over 1,200 B-schools in India. Over two lakh candidates apply for the CAT exam every year, which is conducted in computer-based mode for two hours. The CAT question paper comprises MCQs & non-MCQs from Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). The difficulty level of the exam is moderate to high. Apart from MBA programs, the CAT score is valid for admission to Executive MBA, PhD, and FPM programs.

An entry to the MBA world requires the candidates to appear for entrance exams, of which the most popular is the CAT, or Common Admission Test. The CAT score allows the candidate to be eligible for most of the best B-schools in India, including the IIMs, which hold the CAT exam. The CAT eligibility has remained more or less the same in the past years. Students can expect similar criteria this year as well. Aspirants should review the criteria, given below in detail, to check if they are eligible for the exam before they begin preparing.

CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria 2026

Aspirants who wish to apply for the exam must meet the following eligibility requirements to sit for the CAT entrance exam 2026:
The minimum eligibility criteria for CAT exam is graduation in any stream. Read below for detailed CAT eligibility criteria:

  • Degree Requirements: Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate or equivalent CGPA (45% aggregate for SC, ST, and PwD/DA categories) from a university recognized by the UGC, AICTE, or MHRD to appear in CAT 2026.

  • Professional Degrees: Candidates who have completed a professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/CMA/FIAI) with the required percentage are also fully eligible to appear.

  • Final Year Students: Candidates appearing for the final year of a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) or those awaiting their final results are eligible to apply. However, their admission will be provisional until they submit proof of graduation by the deadline set by the respective IIMs (typically June or July 2027).

  • Backlogs: Candidates with active backlogs can apply for the exam, provided they clear all subjects before the final admission process begins.

Note on CGPA Conversion: If your university awards CGPA/Grades instead of marks, the conversion to percentage will be based on the official formula provided by your university. If no formula exists, the CGPA is typically converted by dividing the obtained CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying by 100.

Qualification Requirement
Age No Limit (NA)
Educational Qualification Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent)
Marks in Graduation 50% (General, EWS & NC-OBC) / 45% (SC, ST, PwD)
Work Experience Not Compulsory (Freshers are eligible)
Reservation As per Government of India norms

CAT Exam Highlights 2026

Candidates planning to appear for the CAT this year must know the key highlights of CAT 2026 exam. Take a look at the table below:
Particulars CAT Exam Details
CAT Full Form Common Admission Test (CAT)
Conducting Institute IIM Bangalore (tentative)
Exam level National Level
Exam Frequency Once a Year
Exam Duration 2 hours (160 Minutes for PWD candidates)
CAT Exam Fees INR ₹2,600 (General / EWS / NC-OBC) INR ₹1,300 (SC / ST / PwD)
Exam Date 29th November 2026
Medium of Exam English
CAT Exam Pattern Computer-Based Test (CBT)
CAT Exam Question Type MCQ and Non-MCQ questions
Syllabus Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
Eligibility Bachelor’s degree with 50% aggregate (45% aggregate or equivalent for reserved categories)

About 2026 CAT Exam Timeline and Registration:

Every year, the total number of registered eligible candidates is approximately 2.95 lakh to 3.30 lakh (based on recent peaks). CAT Exam 2026 is expected to be held on November 29, 2026. The CAT Exam 2026 official notification will be released in the last week of July 2026 (tentatively).

iimcat.ac.in will be the official website where the CAT Exam 2026 notification, registration portal, and results will be hosted. Following is a table showing the tentative calendar of events for the CAT 2026 exam:

CAT Exam Event Expected Date
Release of Online Notification Last week of July 2026
Commencement of Online Application First week of August 2026
Close of Online Registration Mid-September 2026
Admit Card Release Early November 2026
Date of CAT Exam November 29, 2026
CAT Exam Result Declaration First week of January 2027

CAT Exam Syllabus 2026:

A thorough understanding of the CAT exam syllabus is important for determining your direction all through this CAT journey. It will be much easier to determine how much time you should spend on each segment, when you have a reasonable understanding of the CAT syllabus.
Topic Number of Questions (Approx.) Key Focus Areas
Reading Comprehension 16 Questions (4 Passages) Science & Tech, Philosophy, Economics, Psychology, Literature.
Para Jumbles 3 Questions Logical ordering of sentences.
Para Summary 3 Questions Identifying the core message of a short paragraph.
Odd One Out 2 Questions Identifying the sentence that doesn’t fit the context.

CAT Exam Marking Scheme:

  • For each correct answer, candidates will receive 3 marks.
  • Candidates will receive a negative marking of 1 mark for every incorrect answer for the objective questions.
  • For non-MCQ-type questions, negative marks will not be deducted.
The table below will give you an outline of the MCQ and Non-MCQ questions for CAT:
Section MCQ Questions Non-MCQ (TITA) Total Questions
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) 21 3 24
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) 16 6 22
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) 14 8 22
Total Number of Questions 51 17 68

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is CAT? The Common Admission Test is conducted annually by the Indian Institutes of Management for admission to top management programs across India. CAT 2026 is expected on 29 November 2026, held in three sessions to accommodate nearly 3 lakh candidates. The exam has three mandatory sections: VARC, DILR, and QA.

What is the CAT eligibility criteria? Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least 50 percent aggregate marks, or 45 percent for SC, ST, and PwD categories. Final-year students can also apply. The degree must be recognized by UGC or the Ministry of Education. Professional qualifications such as CA, CS, and ICWA are eligible if percentage criteria are met.

When should I start preparing? Ideally 10 to 6 months before the exam, typically from January or February. With registrations consistently near 3 lakh, early preparation helps build accuracy, speed, and sectional balance.

How to score high in QA Arithmetic and Algebra form nearly 70 percent of the section.
Focus on fundamentals such as percentages, ratios, and linear equations before advanced topics.
Consistent practice, mental calculation speed, and accuracy are critical for a 99+ percentile.

How to score high in DILR? Performance depends on smart set selection.
A 99 percentile typically requires solving 2 to 3 complete sets accurately.
Practice 3 to 5 diverse sets daily and learn to identify easier sets within the first five minutes.

Why choose CAT coaching? CAT is highly competitive, where small score differences significantly impact percentile. It is the gateway to 21 IIMs and 1,200+ leading B-schools including FMS, SPJIMR, and MDI. Structured coaching provides updated strategies, shortcut methods, mock analysis, and time-based performance tracking to improve accuracy and decision-making under exam pressure.

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