Overview

India’s top management entrance exam for MBA/PGDM programs is the CAT Test. This yearly test is taken by students who want to be accepted to IIMs and other prestigious universities and assesses the mathematical skill, reading ability, analytical ability, and logical reasoning ability of individuals. The results of the test are used by the best business schools to select students who will go on to receive more advanced training in business management.

Important Dates

CAT Particulars Details
Official Notification Release Last Week Of July 2026
Registration Opens Tentative- 1 August 2026
Registration Last Date 15-20 September 2026
Application Correction Window Late September 2026
Admit Card Release Late October – Early November 2026
Exam Date 29 November 2026 (Last Sundy Of November)
Answer Key Release Early December 2026
Results Declaration Mid to late December 2026

Syllabus

Subject Key Topics Weightage
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Tests reading comprehension, verbal ability, para-jumbles, summaries, and sentence completion skills. 35–36%
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Assesses analytical thinking, logical reasoning, caselets, graphs, charts, and data-based problem solving 30–32%
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Evaluates mathematical aptitude including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, number systems, and modern math. 32–35%

Exam Pattern

CAT Particulars Details
Exam Name Common Admission Test (CAT)
Exam Mode Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Exam Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
Number of Sections 3
Sectional Time Limit 40 minutes per section (auto switch)
Number of Questions 68
Question Types MCQs & TITA (Type In The Answer)
Marking Scheme +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect MCQ, 0 for TITA
Language of Exam English
Total Marks 204

Important Tags

XAT MAT SNAP NMAT CMAT IBSAT