CAT Previous Year Papers (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017): Download PDFs
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
Practicing CAT question papers is an essential part of last month exam preparation plan. MBA aspirants can download PDFs of CAT previous year papers 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2022 2019, 2018, 2017 here to practice and get familiar with the pattern, difficulty levels, etc. Use the previous years CAT papers to prepare for CAT 2025.
CAT previous year papers are the best source of study material for exam preparation. Previous year CAT question papers not only help aspirants in understanding the latest exam pattern and marking scheme but also give an overview of the difficulty level, topic wise distribution of questions and types of questions over the last few years. The CAT exam question paper of each slot is slightly different from each other however difficulty level of the questions is nearly the same. Candidates preparing for CAT 2025 must make sure they practice CAT previous year question papers of last five years in the last month before the exam.
Shiksha has collated CAT previous year papers for aspirants to practice and prepare for CAT exam 2025. You can download CAT previous year question papers of CAT 2024, CAT 2023, CAT 2022, CAT 2021, CAT 2020, CAT 2019, CAT 2018 and CAT 2017 from this page further below. But before that, let's take a look at the CAT question paper pattern, structure and marking scheme, etc.
CAT Question Paper Pattern and Marking Scheme
Let’s take a look at the latest CAT exam question paper pattern to understand the distribution of questions across the three sections of CAT exam - VARC, LRDI and Quantitative Aptitude and marks allotted to each. For each correct answer, three marks are allotted and for each wrong question, one mark is deducted. For unanswered questions and non-MCQs there is no negative marking.
| CAT question paper (sections) |
Number of questions |
Marks allotted |
|---|---|---|
| VARC |
24 |
72 |
| DILR |
22 |
66 |
| QA |
22 |
66 |
| Total |
68 |
204 |
Benefits of Practicing Previous Years' CAT Question Papers
Previous years' CAT question papers are your best guide to the exam syllabus. Listed below are some of the benefits of solving previous years CAT papers.
- You can get to know the trend of types of questions asked in CAT exam
- You can know the topic wise weightage which will help you in working on your strengths and weaknesses.
- CAT question papers are the best resource of RC passages and parajumble questions
- You can know the latest CAT test structure and how to navigate the test form
- You can figure out how much time will be required to solve which type of questions
- Having prior practice of CAT question paper will keep your confidence intact during the exam.
- By solving last year CAT paper, you can get a better understanding of CAT exam pattern and marking scheme
- CAT previous year papers practice will improve your speed and accuracy in solving questions
- Will boost your CAT 2025 preparation by improving your time management skills
- The previous years CAT papers will prepares you for all types of questions
- You will be able to discover tricks and shortcuts of solving the CAT questions faster
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CAT question paper is released online in the form of CAT answer key and response sheet. Take a look at the highlights of CAT exam previous year papers to understand the trend of types of questions asked.
CAT Previous Year Paper (2024)
CAT last year paper was moderately difficult. The second session of CAT 2024 was toughest of all three. In VARC section, there were no parajumbles and DILR had 22 questions. Both DI and LR had 11 questions each. As always, Quantitative Aptitude was dominated by Arithmetic and Algebra.
Read More: CAT 2024 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2023)
CAT 2023 question paper was overall slightly more difficult than previous years. However, can't be termed as too difficult. The CAT VARC section had more questions on RC than Verbal Ability. The DI and LR questions were of medium difficulty level and there was no surprise element. The Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT 2023 was dominated by Arithmetic as usual.
Read more: CAT 2023 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2022)
CAT 2022 question paper was moderately difficult. The CAT VARC section was easy to moderate. The Data Interpretation and Quantitative Aptitude sections were moderate to tough. Arithmetic, Algebra and Reading Comprehension dominated the CAT question paper 2022. There were a few parajumble questions and a few time and distance questions were there in CAT last year question paper.
Read more: CAT 2022 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2021)
The CAT question paper 2021 was of moderate to high difficulty level. The VARC and DILR sections had questions of moderate to high difficulty level with a good number of non-MCQs, where as Quantitative Aptitude section was easy in all the three slots.
Read More: CAT 2021 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2020)
CAT 2020 question paper was of moderate difficulty level. VARC section was dominated by RC questions. QA section had maximum questions from Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration and Modern Maths. DILR section had two DILR sets.
Read More: CAT 2020 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2019)
In CAT 2019, VARC was slightly trickier this year, with two passages on the difficult side. Both DILR and Quant were slightly easier than last year. The DILR section had easy sets. In Quant, There were a lot of questions from Arithmetic and none of them were tough. Overall, the paper was slightly less difficult, as compared to CAT 2018.
Read More: CAT 2019 question paper PDF with solutions
CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2018)
CAT 2018 question paper was of moderate difficult. The question paper of both the slots did not see any surprise question. The VARC section of CAT 2018 Slot I was easier than previous year. The DILR section was moderately difficult, while QA was difficult.
Read More: CAT 2018 question paper PDF with solutions
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CAT Previous Year Question Paper (2017)
In CAT 2017, the first slot was towards higher difficulty level as compared to the second slot. DILR section was most difficult and time consuming. QA was of easy to moderate, while VARC was of easy to moderate difficulty level.
Read More: CAT 2017 question paper PDF with solutions
Download CAT Question Paper PDFs of Last Seven Years
Candidates can download official CAT question paper PDFs of past five years. They can download and practice these CAT exam previous year question papers free.
When to Start Practicing Previous Year CAT Papers and Sample Papers?
The ideal time to start practicing previous year CAT question papers and CAT mock tests is September onwards, as it will give you three full months of practicing these before the CAT exam. Many toppers have shared that they start solving sample questions from the early stages of CAT preparation as they want to assess their grip on Mathematics and DI topics. However, it is recommended not to start solving full length CAT mock tests and sample papers until one has completed the CAT syllabus. After that, they should dedicate the last month to solving previous years CAT papers to gauge the upcoming exam. One can solve previous year question paper for CAT earlier too, but they must make it a point to practive last 5 years' CAT question papers in the last few days before the exam. This is to have fresh memory of type of questions asked, so that you can quickly identify questions of your strength area in the CAT 2025 exam.
CAT Questions for Practice with Solutions
Check out CAT questions for practice with solutions for VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude.
CAT exam is conducted by any one of the top 6 Indian Institute of Management on rotation basis. Each of the top IIM conducts the exam after a gap of five years. The responsibility to conduct the CAT 2024 was given to IIM Calcutta. For CAT 2025, IIM Kozhikode will be the exam convening institute. IIM Kozhikode will be responsible for preparation and conduct of the exam without glitches, in collaboration with TCS for test labs and centres. The institute will design the question papers, exam pattern and guidelines, as well as manage the conduct of exam and preparation of admit card, answer key and result. CAT Conducting Indian Institute of Management Over the Years:
2024: IIM Calcutta
2023: IIM Lucknow
· 2022: IIM Bangalore
· 2021: IIM Ahmedabad
· 2020: IIM Indore
· 2019: IIM Kozhikode
· 2018: IIM Calcutta
· 2017: IIM Lucknow
· 2016: IIM Bangalore
· 2015: IIM Ahmedabad
· 2014: IIM Indore
· 2013: IIM Indore
· 2012: IIM Kozhikode
· 2011: IIM Calcutta
· 2010: IIM Lucknow
· 2009: IIM Ahmedabad
CAT 2025 exam will be conducted on November 30, 2025. Official announcement of the CAT exam date 2025 will be done in the last week of July 2025, along with the release of the offiical notification of CAT 2025. The CAT exam is always conducted on the last Sunday of November. The exam is conducted on a single day in three slots.
Along with the exam date, the CAT 2025 notification will have CAT registration and admit card dates. CAT 2025 registration will begin in the first week of August 2025 and the form submission window will close in the third week of September 2025.
CAT 2025 notification will be released online as well as offline. The online notification of CAT 2025 exam will be released at iimcat.ac.in website and the offline notification will be issued in all the national dailies – Hindi, English and Vernacular. Aspirants can either check the notification and CAT 2025 exam dates online at the official website or in the newspapers (to be published in the last week of July 2025).
CAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha has prepared free CAT mock tests for candidates to practice and prepare for the exam. These mock tests are free and based on actual previous year CAT question papers.
| CAT_Mock_Test_1 | CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
Apart from referring above study material, candidates can check the following links for CAT questions for practice along with solution and process. Candidates will get CAT DILR questions, CAT VARC questions as well as logical reasoning questions for CAT.
- CAT Preparation: Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions
- CAT Preparation: Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions - Part 2
- CAT Preparation: Logical Reasoning (LR) solved questions
- CAT Preparation: Quantitative Aptitude (QA) solved questions
- CAT Preparation: Verbal Abilty (VA) solved questions
For further CAT preparation, candidates can refer to the following articles:
| CAT Preparation Plan for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning |
|
| CAT preparation: Your love for reading can get you the desired result |
CAT 2025 Preparation: Simple tips to optimize exam preparation |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 15 hours ago
Yes, CAT is acccepted by Ahmedabad University to pursue MBA and other relevant postgraduate management programmes. In addition to CAT, XAT, CMAT, MAT, NMAT and GMAT get scores. Shortlisted applicants should take part in a WAT and a PI. The ultimate choice lies on the total performance.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 16 hours ago
IMI Delhi CAP calls 2025 are yet to be announced soon through CAP 2025 counselling rounds on its official website, cap2025.iimbg.ac.in. Shortlisted candidates have to attend the IMI Delhi CAP PI/WAT, which is scheduled to be held soon after the release of every seat allotment round. Candidates can c
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 16 hours ago
IMI Delhi admission 2024 was based on candidates' performance in the CAT exam. Shortlisting of candidates for IMI Delhi admission is done based on percentile secured by them in the entrance exam. A minimum cut off is fixed for this purpose. The minimum cut off varies from one year to another. Intern
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 16 hours ago
IMI Delhi cutoff 2024 to MBA course is based on CAT exam scores of candidates. Candidates seeking admission to IMI Delhi must appear for CAT and also meet the CAT cutoff for the PGDM. As per the IMI Delhi cutoff for the previous years, CAT cutoff for the General category candidates has remained 90 P
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 17 hours ago
Yes, School of Management, MIT WPU does accept CAT scores in getting admission to its MBA programme. Other admitted tests are MAT, CMAT, GMAT and MHT CET along with CAT. Applicants should be eligible graduates also. Students who will be shortlisted will be invited to other rounds of selection.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 days ago
Yes, at GLA University the MBA admissions are divided into CAT, MAT, XAT, or UPSEE. GLAET also accepts the application of candidates to the MBA programme. The last stage involves group discussion and personal interview.
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Answered 4 days ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for admission to MBA programme of KL Business School. However, it is not compulsory for aspirants to have CAT score for admission. Aspirants with MAT, XAT or ICET scores can also apply for MBA. KL University also conducts KLMAT for admission to MBA programme. Candid
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Guide-Level 15
Answered 5 days ago
Yes, candidates can apply for Surana College Post Graduate Departments for the MBA programme without the CAT exam. The Surana College Post Graduate Departments' MBA eligibility criteria state that the selection of candidates is based on the score achieved in the accepted entrance exams. Surana Colle
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Contributor-Level 10
Yes, the CAT 2025 exam will be conducted in three shifts. Until 2019, CAT was conducted in two shifts and the exam duration used to be 180 minutes. However, in 2020, the number of shifts were increased to three and exam duration was reduced to 120 minutes in order to follow the social distancing guidelines for COVID-19. Since the COVID-9 pandemic appropriate behaviour had to be followed at public places and gatherings, the examination authorities increased the number of exam slots to ensure a limited number of candidates can be accommodated at any exam centre in a given exam slot by following social distancing and seating arrangement with gap. Since then, the CAT is conducted in three shifts - morning, afternoon and evening. In CAT 2025 too, there will be three slots which will be allotted to applicants in no particular order. The CAT exam slot timings will be - 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.