CAT — Common Admission Test (MBA / PGP)

Status checked: 15 Oct 2026. Official site: iimcat.ac.in

Quick Facts

CAT 2026 (for 2027–29 MBA batch) — Official

If you missed CAT 2026, the next one is CAT 2027: registration in about August 2027, exam in late November 2027.

Eligibility

• Bachelor's degree with at least 50% (45% for SC/ST/PwD), any discipline.
• Final-year students can apply.
• No age limit, and no limit on attempts.

Exam Pattern (2024–26)

• Fixed sectional time. You can't switch between sections.
• Marking: +3 / −1 for MCQs. No negative marking for TITA (type-in-the-answer) questions.
• Scores are scaled and converted to percentiles. IIMs set both sectional and overall cutoffs.

Syllabus — Topics

• VARC: reading comprehension (4 passages, about 16 questions), para-summary, para-jumbles (odd sentence out, sequencing). Grammar is rarely tested directly.
• DILR: tables, bar and pie charts, caselets, arrangements, puzzles, games & tournaments, Venn diagrams, networks & routes, scheduling, binary logic.
• QA:
  • Arithmetic (about 35–40%): percentages, profit & loss, SI/CI, ratio & proportion, averages, mixtures, time-speed-distance, time & work
  • Algebra: equations, inequalities, functions, logarithms, progressions, quadratics
  • Geometry & Mensuration: triangles, circles, polygons, coordinate geometry
  • Number System, and Modern Maths (P&C, probability, set theory)

When to Start Preparing

Strategy tips

• Mock analysis matters more than the number of mocks.
• Selection by IIMs also uses Class 10, Class 12 and graduation marks, work experience and diversity points, so CAT percentile isn't the only factor.
• Target percentiles: 99+ for IIM A/B/C, 95–98 for newer IIMs, FMS, MDI and IIFT.

Recommended

• Arun Sharma (QA, DILR, VARC), Sarvesh Kumar (Quantum CAT)
• Norman Lewis (Word Power Made Easy)
• Past CAT papers (2017–2025), official IIM mock test
• Mock series: TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, 2IIM