What is Common Aptitude Test (CAT)?

The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a widely recognized entrance exam for MBA aspirants, which is conducted at the national level for admission to Top IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and numerous other renowned management colleges. The CAT scores are accepted by approximately 1000 management colleges for admission into MBA programs.

• The Common Admission Test (CAT) assesses the aptitude skills of MBA candidates in various sections, including quantitative ability, data interpretation, logical reasoning, verbal ability, and reading comprehension. It is conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode and is divided into two sessions: morning and afternoon on the same day. The test comprises 100 questions of two types: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Type in the Answer (TITA) questions, with a total duration of 180 minutes.
• A valid CAT score or percentile is a prerequisite for candidates seeking admission to MBA colleges. The selection of candidates for the next rounds of admission to the graduate management program is based on their performance in each section and overall score.
• Once candidates obtain a decent percentile in the CAT examination, they will be shortlisted for the second stage of the MBA admission process. The second stage may include Group discussion (GD), Written Ability Test (WAT), and Personal Interview (PI).
• To be eligible for the second stage of the exam, candidates must secure good marks in the CAT exam. The CAT scores carry a minimum weightage of 20% in the final merit, making them an integral part of the CAT index score.

CAT 2023 Highlights

The registration for CAT 2023 examination will commence on August 2023, and a candidate can apply for the exam till September 2023. CAT 2023 is expected to be conducted by either IIM Lucknow or IIM Calcutta.

• The examination will be held on November 26, 2023, in two sessions in the morning and the afternoon across 156 cities.
• A total of 3 hours is given to a candidate to complete the exam.
• The CBT mode of examination includes 100 questions divided into three sections: Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.
• An hour is allocated for each section in the CBT mode of the CAT exam. The VARC section has some trickier questions in comparison with the Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning sections.

The results of the CAT 2022 examination were announced by the Indian Institute of Management on December 21, 2022. A total of 10 candidates grabbed the 100 percentile mark, while 21 candidates secured the 99.99 percentile mark. Several days later, the list of shortlisted candidates for the second stage of GD, WAT, and PI was published in the fourth week of January by the various IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta.

CAT 2023 Important Dates | CAT 2023 Exam Notification

The following table contains details about CAT 2023 Registration, exam date, & other exam details: 

Eligibility Criteria for CAT 2023

As per the official notification issued for CAT 2023, candidates must meet the below-mentioned criteria to be eligible for appearing in CAT 2023.

• A Bachelor’s Degree from any recognized Institute or university with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA is required to apply for the test.
• The candidates belonging to the categories of SC / ST or PwD must have a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized institution or university with a minimum of 45% marks or equivalent CGPA. Also, the students studying in the last year of their Bachelor’s Degree program are eligible to apply for the same.
• Professional degree holders like CA / CS / ICWA are also eligible to apply for the Common Aptitude Test.

Age Limit for CAT 2023 Exam

The choice to give the CAT examination solely depends on meeting the eligibility criteria. Candidates should not have to worry about the maximum or minimum age limit until they meet all the eligibility criteria. Also, the candidates can give as many attempts as he/she would like to give.

Registration: CAT 2023

Application process 

The application form commences on August 2023, and ends on September 2023. Candidates have to register for the exam from the official website of CAT.

• Step 1: Candidates have to register themselves at the respective website using a valid email id and mobile number.
• Step 2:After registration, the candidates will receive a CAT Registration id and corresponding password to that account which will be used to log in to the website. 
• Step 3: Candidates have to use the registration id and password to fill out the application form.
• Step 4: After filling out the form, candidates have to pay the non-refundable application fees.

Application fees 

The application fees for the CAT examination vary for candidates belonging to the various categories. However, candidates have to pay the fees using the different modes of payment best suited to them.

Modes of payment

The fees of the application form for the CAT examination are to be paid online using the various modes of payment best suited to the candidates. The candidates can use modes of payment like Online Net Banking/Credit Card/ Debit Card/ UPI id etc.

Candidates also have to choose 4 examination centers during the registration process.

Exam pattern: CAT 2023

The CAT exam is conducted in CBT mode (computer Based Test) all over the country.

The CBT exam consists of 100 questions to be solved in 180 minutes.

• It is divided into three sections consisting of both MCQs as well as TITA questions.
• TITA questions stand for Type in the Answer questions. Examinees have to type the answer in the respective box using the virtual keyboard.
• However, the official notification did not notify about the exact division into these three sections.
• There is a time limit of 60 minutes for each section. Candidates could move to the next section provided they attempted the previous section.
• For every right answer, 3 marks are awarded. However, 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer.

Tips for CAT preparation

Scoring more than 95 percentile requires sheer determination and continuous hard work. A systematic approach along with the preparation tips may prove to be fruitful for beginners as well as intermediates.

How to start CAT preparation?

• An analysis of the previous year’s papers proves to be a great source to determine the trend of exam patterns. Since the CAT examination does not have any prescribed syllabus, the candidates thus count upon the previous year’s papers for the difficulty level, paper pattern, time limit, etc.
• Once the candidates solve a decent number of previous papers, they are advised to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

How to make the timetable?

• Preparation for the CAT examination requires discipline. Making a timetable to strengthen the strengths as well as weaknesses would help the candidates.
• All sections need equal practice and attention for scoring very good marks. Thus aspirants should not ignore the strong section.
• Practicing questions should be done regularly.
• The candidates must turn their weaknesses into their strengths.

How many mocks should be taken?

• Practicing questions regularly is a must. However, aspirants should also take the mock tests for understanding their level of preparation. They are also advised to attempt sectional mock tests.
• The number of mock tests solely depends upon the level of preparation. On average five to six mock tests are taken by the aspirants. Some also take more than 20 mock tests.

Joining coaching institute for CAT

• Joining a coaching institute surely helps for proper preparation for CAT. Nevertheless, they can attempt a mock test for understanding their preparation and decide afterward.
• Aspirants can also opt for online methods for CAT preparation.

Books for CAT Preparation

Choosing the best books helps the aspirants to prepare for their overall development. Candidates can also find out a guide in some of the following best books for preparing for the CAT exam. A list of the best books is given below.

Mock Test

Is there any official mock test for CAT?

Candidates registering for the CAT exam are provided with mock tests on the official website of CAT. One can simply log in to the website and attempt the mock test on the respective dates announced for mock. The mock test gives applicants an idea of the pattern of the exam, marking scheme, and other aspects. It also makes an aspirant used to giving the CBT model of CAT examination. Mock tests are just like the main examination whose duration is 3 hours.

Best mock test series for CAT

There are three most popular mock test series taken by the candidates. One can opt from the IMS SimCATs, Career launcher test series, and AIMCAT test series from TIME.

Free mock tests for CAT

several coaching institutes offer free mock tests. One can also take the help of the online free test series for the CAT examination. The previous year’s papers could also be given as mock tests. Given below are the free mock tests available to the candidates preparing for CAT.

• Career launcher ● IMS India

Syllabus for CAT 2023

There is not a proper specification of the syllabus for the CAT exam in the official notification issued. Thus a variety of questions are made from the three sections. Experts have suggested the syllabus of the examination after seeing the paper pattern of the previous few years.

The Common Aptitude Test is taken to check the basic aptitude of the candidates from the three areas. The prescribed syllabus for the three sections are given below.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 

• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Fill in the blanks
• Analogies
• Para jumble
• Reverse analogies
• Sentence correction
• Summary questions
• Reading Comprehension
• Verbal reasoning
• Facts and interferences

 Quantitative Ability (QA) 

• Profit and loss
• Number system
• Speed distance and time
• Geometry
• Mensuration
• Time and work
• Ratio and proportion
• Surds and Indices
• Trigonometry
• Alligation and Surds
• Logarithm
• Mixtures and Alligations
• Averages
• Equations

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) 

• Tables
• Graphs
• Venn diagram
• Series
• Binary
• Logic
• Blood relations
• Caselets
• Seating arrangement

Admit card for CAT 2023

CAT 2023 Admit Card

The candidates after successful registration of the examination can download the admit card from the official website from October 2023. Candidates are required to download and get a printout of the admit card on A4 size paper. Taking the admit card is compulsory to enter the exam centre to prevent any discrepancies.

Details given in admit card 

• Name ● Registration ID ● Exam Shift ● Date of Examination ● Name of exam centre ● DOB ● Name and address

Documents Required for entrance in the exam

• Admit card for CAT 2023.
• A photograph is to be pasted on the admit card
• Original Identification card (, PAN, Passport, Voter Id
• Candidates belonging to PwD categories will have to show appropriate PwD certification. Also, a scribe affidavit is compulsory if a scribe is needed.

Exam centre for CAT exam

Various examination centres is allocated in 156 cities across India. The applicants are advised to report at 7.30 AM for the morning shift and 1.00 PM for the afternoon shifts. The examination cities are given below.

Result for CAT 2023

CAT 2023 Result Date is expected on last week of December 2023.

Answer keys

After every exam, the IIM conducting the CAT examination releases the answer keys. The response sheet corresponding to each student is also released along with the answer keys. The response sheet consists of correct answers and the wrong answers for all the 100 questions. Applicants can use the official answer keys to compare their response sheets.

Result in

The result for CAT 2022 was declared by IIM Ahmedabad on December 21, 2022. One can download their results using the same credentials. The result for the CAT 2022 examination will be valid for one year up to December 31, 2023.

More than 1000 management institutions accept the results of the CAT examination.

About Ten candidates managed to secure the 100 percentile mark whereas 21 candidates secured the 99.99 percentile. The toppers belonged to either technological or engineering backgrounds.

CAT CutOff

The cutoff marks of CAT are the minimum eligibility criteria for students to be eligible for the GD or WAT-PI rounds. The scores may differ from one college to another as per different criteria. Some of the factors for the determination of the CAT 2023 Cutoff are given below.

• The total number of candidates that have appeared in the exam.
• A total number of students who are qualified.
• The difficulty level of the exam.
• The intake capacity of an institute.

Selection Process

Most of the top management schools that accept CAT test scores will publish the shortlist for the WAT or GD-PI rounds starting from the second week of January 2023. Each of the institutes has to send a call letter by email to the shortlisted candidates. The cutoff list is usually determined by the CAT percentile of the candidates.

After the CAT exam, the qualified candidates have to appear for the second stage of the admission process. The second stage usually includes Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interviews (PI). To get a rank in the final merit list, candidates have to pass the GD/WAT – PI stage whose process and weightage vary across different IIMs.

Colleges also use some of the other factors like work experience, academic performance, gender, and academic diversity of candidates to prepare the final merit list of the candidates.

Documents needed for verification

Shortlisted applicants must bring some of the documents required on the Interview Day for verification.

• Marksheets for Matriculation, Intermediate, and Bachelor’s Degree.
• Professional certification (if any)
• Documents to prove work experience (Joining letter, payslips, etc.)
• Caste certification ( if applied for reservations)
• Valid Identification cards like Aadhar, Voter ID, Pan card, etc.
• Scorecard for CAT
• Other documents are required by the colleges.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What is CAT?

Ans. CAT stands for Common Admission Test. It is conducted at the national level to shortlist the candidates for admission into the top management colleges of India. Candidates get a chance to study in the most prestigious Indian Institutes of Management after cracking the CAT exam.

Q. Who is eligible for the CAT exam?

Ans. All the candidates having a Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 50% of marks or equivalent CGPA are eligible to apply for the CAT exam. However, those belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Differently Abled categories require a minimum of 45% marks in the Bachelor’s Degree.

Q. Is the CAT score valid for 2 years?

Ans. The CAT score is valid for a period of one year after the date of result of the examination.

Q. Why is the CAT exam important?

Ans. The CAT examination is a CBT mode of examination conducted by one of the top six IIMs every year. It is done to give admission to the MBA aspirants in the top management colleges. A decent CAT score is also considered by various other B-schools. Thus, CAT proves to have a lot of relevance for MBA aspirants.

Q. How many times does the CAT exam take place in a particular year?

Ans. CAT exams are conducted once a year by a particular Indian Institute of Management. The CBT exam is conducted in two sessions on a specific day at more than 400 testing venues across the subcontinent.

Q. What are the registration fees for different categories?

Ans. The registration fees for the applicants of the open category amount to Rs 2000 whereas for the reserved category the registration fee is Rs 950.

Q. How many marks does it take to get admission to an Indian Institute of Management?

Ans. The aspirants wishing to get admission specifically in any IIM have to secure more than 70% – 90%. However, for the open category the cutoff to get admission in any IIM is more than 90 percentile.

Q. What is considered as a good score in CAT?

Ans. A good score is what gets an aspirant admission to the IIM colleges. Though it depends on the various Business schools cut off. Usually getting a 90 percentile is considered as a good score in CAT examination.