CAT Exam 2025 will be conducted on November 30, 2025. Notification for this year's CAT exam will be releasing on 28th July and on the 01 August, 2025, the registration will be starting. Last year 2,55,000 students registered for the CAT exam, which is expected to increase this year. Candidates can apply for the CAT till the 20, September 2025. 21 IIMs spread across country accept admission through CAT along with many prestigious business schools of India. CAT 2025 will be conducted and managed by IIM Calcutta and all the information will be available from their end only. Since the number of applicants increases the difficulty level of the exam will also increase this year.
What is CAT Exam?
CAT is Common Admission Test or CAT is a computer-based aptitude test. It is an aptitude exam designed to take admission to management courses offered by some top management institutes in India. It is one of the most renowned and toughest entrance exams in India. CAT Exam is considered one of the major events of management studies in India. Every year this exam is scheduled on the last Sunday of November and this year the exam of CAT will be conducted on Nov. 30, 2025 . In total, more than 2,50,000 candidates appear every year in the exam and only the top 7200 get the chance of studying in IIMs. Not only IIMs but over 1400 Business Schools in India consider the result of this exam for admission.
The selection criteria for admission through this entrance exam are different for each institute. Each of the IIMs or any participating institute has its own guidelines for accepting admission through CAT. CAT is conducted by one of the IIMs and in 2025 IIM Calcutta will be the host this time. The notification about the CAT 2025 will be releasing on 28th July, 2025 . CAT is considered the most prestigious admission test for PGP/PGDM/MBA and similar management courses offered by IIMs and non-IIMs colleges in India. There are 21 IIMs in India that offer various management courses for admission.
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Important Information of CAT 2025 Exam
| Exam Conducting Body | Indian Institutes of Management Kozhikode - 2025 |
| Exam Language | English |
| Mode of Exam | Computer-Based Standardized Test | Online |
| Exam Application Status | CAT Registration strting from - 01 August 2025 (10:00 AM). Check out the CAT 2025 date |
| Exam Fees | 2500/- INR for General/OBC Category Aspirants and 1250/- for SC/ST/PWD |
| Slots | 3 - Morning, Afternoon and Evening |
| Number of Applicants | 2,55,000 (Last Year) |
| Number of Test Taker | 2,22,000 (Last Year) |
| Courses Offered | MBA and PGDM |
| Admit Card Status | CAT 2025 Admit Card will be available to download between05 November 2025 - 30 November 2025 . |
| Result Update | As per the previous trends CAT 2025 result will be declare in second week of January 2026. |
| Exam Section | Exam is divided into 3 sections - DILR, VARC, and QA. |
| Exam Pattern and Duration | Duration of the exam is 2 hours(120 Minutes) and 160 minutes for PwD Candidates. Check in detail what is in the CAT 2025 Syllabus and Pattern |
| Exam Centers | CAT will be conducted at 420+ centres in 170 cities across India. Check the List of CAT 2025 Exam Centres |
| Colleges Accepting CAT Score Card | Top MBA Colleges of India including 21 IIMs accept CAT Score Card |
Registration of CAT Examination 2025
CAT Registration for the 2025 is starting from 01 August, 2025 , and the registration window will remain open till 20 September, 2025 . In order to fill up, the CAT application form candidates need to register themselves for the exam. The process of CAT registration is completely online and the application form will be available on the official IIM website.
CAT Exam Eligibility
The candidate must satisfy the following conditions for CAT Eligibility:
- The candidate should have a graduation degree of minimum three-year duration, having not less than 50% marks, 45% in case of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Disability (PWD) /Differently Abled (DA).
- The graduation degree should have been granted by any of the universities formed by an act of the parliament or assembly (central or state statutory body in India) or other educational establishments constructed by an act of Parliament or announced to be deliberated as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or retain an equal qualification documented by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
- Candidates appearing for the final year of graduation degree/equivalent qualification examination and the individuals who have finished degree requisites and are expecting results can also apply for cat exam. On selection, such students will be permitted to join the program provisionally, and they need to present a certificate by June 30, from the principal/registrar of their college/institute mentioning that the student has finished all the requirements for acquiring a four-year or three-year degree.
CAT Exam Syllabus
The syllabus of the exam is divided into three major sections.
- VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) - Reading Comprehension, Para Summary, Odd One Out, Para Jumbles
- DILR (Data Interpretation& Logical Reasoning) - Binary Logic, Arrangements, Team Formation, Bar Graph, Radar Chart, Column Graph, Routes and Network, Bubble Chart, Data Caselets - Reasoning-Based DI, Ven Diagram, Pie chart, tables
- QA (Quantitative Ability) - Number System, Airthmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Morden Mathematics
Learn More About Detailed Updated CAT 2025 Syllabus
Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme for CAT Exam 2025
The duration of this entrance exam is 2 hours (120 minutes ) and overall 66 questions were asked in last year examination. It is an MCQ-based exam conducted in an online mode. For every right answer, the candidate will get 3 marks and 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer. Extra 13 minutes will be provided to PWD applicants in each section to complete their exam.
CAT Cut-off
The cutoff of CAT is declared by the Institute itself based on many factors like seat availability, courses applied, number of applications, exam level, and number of candidates. Generally, the top IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, or IIM Calcutta have a very high cutoff between 99 to 100 percentile. On the other hand, the Baby IIMs or new IIMs have a lower CAT cutoff between 87 to 93. Also, all the institutes declare two cutoffs one is a qualifying cutoff and the other is a final cutoff.
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Why MBA Aspirants Must Appear For CAT?
The main reason why MBA aspirants should appear for this exam is to get admission to top prestigious colleges like IIMs, IITs, FMS, IMT, etc. These top institutes not only provide the best management programs for students but also offer placements into top companies with high salary packages. These colleges are considered the Best ROI colleges in India. Admission to these colleges can open the door to a bright future and inspiring life for them. Most importantly this exam will teach them how to handle pressure and competition.
Courses Offerd By IIMs through CAT Exam
| IIM | Programme Offered |
|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGD-ABA (ePost Graduate Diploma in Advanced Business Analytics) |
| IIM Mumbai | MBA, PGDEX |
| IIM Amritsar | MBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM, EMBA |
| IIM Calcutta | MBA |
| IIM Amritsar | MBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM, EMBA |
| IIM Indore | PGP, PGP-HRM, MSDSM (Master of Science in Data Science and Management) |
| IIM Bodhgaya | PGP |
| IIM Jammu | MBA, MBA (Hospital Administration & Healthcare Management (Jointly with AIIMS Jammu and IIT Jammu), Executive MBA (Blended Mode) |
| IIM Lucknow | PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM, PGPWE |
| IIM Kashipur | MBA, MBA (Analytics), EMBA, EMBAA (Executive Master of Business Administration Analytics) |
| IIM Kozhikode | PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, EPGP Kochi |
| IIM Nagpur | MBA, MBA (Executive) |
| IIM Ranchi | PGP, PGP-HRM, PGP (Business Analytics) |
| IIM Rohtak | PGP, EPGDSM |
| IIM Raipur | PGP |
| IIM Sambalpur | MBA, Executive MBA |
| IIM Shillong | PGP, PGPEX, MBA (WE) |
| IIM Sirmaur | MBA, MBA (T&HM), ExMBA (Digital Transformation & Analytics) |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | PGPM & PGPM-HR |
| IIM Udaipur | MBA, MBA-DEM, MBA-GSCM, PGDBAWE |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | PGP, PGPEx, PGPDGM |