What is the syllabus for CAT exam?

CAT syllabus includes all the important topics of subjects that are relevant for business aptitude. For CAT exam, candidates have to study, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension VARC Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Given below are the key topics included in the CAT syllabus. VARC topics: Parajumbles, Paracompletion, Parasummary, Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. Quantitative Aptitude topics: Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra Trigonometry Modern Math, Number System and Mensuration. DILR topics: Puzzles, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Tables and Bar Graphs, etc.

What are the qualifying CAT cutoffs for all the IIMs?

Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of Iims for Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI are listed below. Candidates who MET the qualifying CAT cut off, were eligible for What-PI round. These qualifying CAT cut offs are for General Category. The cut offs for Reserved category students are lower: IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile IIM Indore: 90 percentile IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile IIM Shillong: 75 percentile IIM Trichy: 93 percentile IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile IIM Jammu: 93 percentile IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile IIM Raipur: 93 percentile IIM Amritsar: 90 percentile For complete details of IIM selection and admission process read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-shortlist-selection-admission-criteria-blogId-18787 .

For how long is CAT form correction window usually open?

The CAT form correction window usually opens for 2-3 days. It opens a day after the last date of CAT registration. For example, if the CAT registration 2025 will end on September 13, the form correction window will open on September 14 and close on September 17, 2025. If the CAT registration window is extended by a week, then th form correction window will open thereafter. Only registered candidates, who shall have paid the application fee will be able to access their CAT 2025 application forms to make changes. CAT form correction is a one-time activity so candidates must not miss the chance of updating their photo, signature and changing test city choices if required.

Which documents are required for filling CAT application form?

Candidates need the following documents while filling the CAT application form: A recent passport size photo (color against white background) Scanned signature with black pen on white paper Any photo ID card like PAN card, Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, Passport Class 10 marksheet Class 12 marksheet Graduation marksheet Permanent address proof Work experience documents Reserved category students need to upload Category Certificate along with the CAT application form. The Certificate is available on the CAT website. Candidates can download, fill it, get it attested by competent authority and upload it as PDF with the CAT application form. The PwD category students also have to fill the PwD form and Scribe affidavit along with the exam application form. This is necessary for getting scribe facility and PwD facility at the test centre. The CAT application form is same for students from all categories. Those belonging to a particular category (SC/ST/PwD) will be required to mention it in the relevant field of the CAT form.

From where can I download CAT question papers?

CAT question papers are released within a week of the exam in the form of a PDF as a response sheet and answer key. Candidates who have appeared for the test are able to access the CAT question paper and answer key. The question paper of every slot is released on the same day along with candidate response sheet and official answer to all question. If any candidate needs previous year CAT question papers for preparation purpose, then they can download them from Shiksha website. We have hosted last five years' CAT question papers for aspirants to download and practice. These official CAT question papers are available for download free. You can download the CAT question paper PDFs at this link: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam-question-papers Candidates must check and practice the latest CAT question paper to know the latest exam pattern and difficulty level.

What is the age limit to appear for CAT?

There is no age limit to appear for CAT. The CAT exam is open for fresh graduates as well as working professionals. Since CAT is accepted by over 1300 B-schools across India for their full-time as well as executive MBA or online professional courses, a lot of working professionals appear for the CAT to pursue such courses. CAT score is accepted by Iims for full time MBA, executive MBA and FPM programmes. Other top MBA colleges in India also shortlist candidates for executive MBA or part-time MBA on the basis of CAT score. The minimum age limit for has to be 20 years as the minimum qualification for CAT exam graduation. Any candidate who has completed Graduation with 50 per cent aggregate (45 per cent for SC/ST candidates). Any candidate in final year of Bachelor's degree course can appear in CAT exam. Any candidate having a professional degree like CA/CS/ICWAI with a minimum of 50 per cent in aggregate.

What is the process of CAT result download?

Check below how to download CAT result cum scorecard: Open iimcat.ac.in Click on tab indicating CAT scorecard Enter your application number and password Click on the tab indicating scorecard Download it and save in PDF format

What is the process to select CAT test city for exam centre allotment?

There are over 170 cities where CAT exam is held. These 170 cities are spread across India consist of metropolitan cities, capital cities, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Candidate can select up to five cities for allotment of test centre. The process of test city selection is a part of CAT application process. In the CAT application form, there is a field in which candidates have to select the cities. They need to select the city of preference in order of 1 to 5. The examination authorities will try to allot the test centre in the city of first preference. Thus, candidates must fill all the five cities carefully. They must choose their home city of city of current residence as the first preference. The test city option can only be changed during the form correction window. After that, the request for change of the city will not be accepted by the exam authorities.

In how many cities is CAT exam held?

CAT exam is held in about 170 cities across India. Candidates can choose up to six cities as their preferred test location. The list of test cities for CAT is available in application form. Candidates should choose the test city carefully as the request to change the test city later may or may not be accepted due to non-availability of seats at the centres in that particular city. Given below are the cities where CAT exam is usually held.

What is the IIM WAT/PI process?

Written Ability Test or WAT is a 30-minute essay-writing test on topics from fields like socio-political, economic and business affairs, sports, etc. PI refers to Personal Interview held on the same day as WAT. The WAT-PI round of all IIMs is conducted after CAT result declaration. The shortlisting for WAT-PI is done on the basis of CAT cut off, which is fixed by the institutes. The IIM cut offs range between 95-100 percentile, which means candidates scoring in this range get shortlisted for WAT-PI. The CAT cut offs for Reserved category students are lower. In the WAT round, candidate has to write a short essay of about 250 words on a given topic. The topics can be from any field. For example, one candidate at IIM Ahmedabad got 'writer was facing some health issues, he got cured because of laughing' as a WAT topic this year. The purpose of Written Ability Test is to assess the candidate's general awareness, clarity of ideas and ability to make a convincing argument. The Personal Interview or PI is all about personality assessment. In PI, a panel of professors and admission officials meet the candidates one by one. They assess the on their knowledge, confidence, communication skills, managerial skills and leadership qualities, etc.

What after CAT result declaration?

After the declaration of CAT results, IIMs and other top MBA colleges start the candidate shortlisting process. The institutes fix CAT cut offs category wise and invite applicants to appear for Written Ability Test, Group Discussion GD and Personal Interview PI rounds for MBA Admission. In case of IIMs, the institutes release PI shortlist form which the candidates have to fill before a certain deadline. In the PI form, candidates have to mention their personal, academic and professional details along with CAT score. Depending on the application received and the range of CAT scores the institutes the shortlist candidates for What-GD-PI. The What-GD-PI round is conducted by the institutes individually in March and April in online or offline mode. With the result of What-GD-PI and candidates' overall profile, the institutes finalise the list of students for admission. Offer of admission letters to selected candidates are sent via email in May.

CAT 2026 Notification: Download IIM CAT Exam Notification PDF

13.1K Students Q&A

Registration - To be notified

Updated on Feb 14, 2026 17:50 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

CAT 2026 notification will be released in the last week of July at IIMCAT website. The official CAT 2026 notification PDF will include all the important information related to CAT 2026, including the conducting IIM institute, CAT 2026 exam dates, eligibility, fees, syllabus and pattern, test cities, reservation policy, etc. Aspirants must go through the official CAT 2026 notification to be aware of all the processes and guidelines related to CAT and IIM admission.

IIM Kozhikode conducted the CAT 2025 on November 30 and released the result on December 24, 2025. Currently IIM PI shortlist process is ongoing for 2026 batch. PI-WAT round will be conducted in February-March. Read below all about CAT 2026.

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