1. What is CAT Exam?
Common Admission Test (CAT) 2024 is the mandatory entrance exam for MBA admission in all the 20 IIMs, FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur; NITIE Mumbai and hundreds of other top B-schools in India. More than two lakh candidates appear in CAT every year to explore admission opportunity in MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top MBA colleges in India. Salient Points about the Exam are:
- A computer based test conducted at more than 150 test cities and 300 test venues
- Since 2020, CAT exam duration is reduced to two hours from earlier three hours
- The exam is divided into three sections of Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension; Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning; Quantitative Ability
- Each Section in the exam has to be attempted in a fixed individual time limit.
- Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will offer admission on the basis of CAT 2024 score only and will not accept any other test score
2. CAT 2024 Exam: Key Features & Highlights
Following are the key features of IIM CAT 2024 exam details like CAT Full Form, Notification, CAT 2024 exam dates, Eligibility, Exam Structure among other details
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CAT Full Form
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Common Admission Test, conducted on yearly basis for MBA admission by one of the 6 older IIMs
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CAT Exam Date 2024
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November 24, 2024
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CAT Entrance exam sessions
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- Session 1: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
- Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
- Session 3: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
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CAT 2024 Conducting Institutes
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IIIM Calcutta (to be confirmed)
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CAT Entrance Exam Mode
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Computer-based exam but not an online exam
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When to Check for CAT 2024 Notification
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From July 2024
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Details in CAT Notification 2024
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Computer Based Test (CBT) with MCQs and non-MCQs |
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Maximum Age Limit to appear in IIM CAT
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No Age Limit, Graduates with 50% marks can apply
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Number of Questions in CAT 2024
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66 questions divided in 3 sections
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CAT Exam Time Duration on CAT 2024 Exam Date
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2 hours for each Slot
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Sectional Time limit
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40 minutes for 1 section
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Name of sections and number of questions
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VARC-24 Questions; DILR-20 questions; Quant-22 questions
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Expected Difficulty level
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Moderate to Difficult
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Order of Sections
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Pre-fixed, no change allowed
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Colleges Accepting CAT 2024 for MBA admission 2024
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20 IIMs, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, IITs, IMI, IMT& 500 other MBA colleges in India
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CAT Exam Fees 2024
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Rs.2400/-
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How to Apply for CAT 2024
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The application process is online only
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CAT Official Website for CAT 2024 Form Filling
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IIMCAT.AC.IN
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IIMs’ Application Fee
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No Separate Application Fee to apply for IIM. Registration Fee covers application fee of all 20 IIMs
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3. CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Key Changes &Revised Structure
Since 2015, CAT exam has remained on similar pattern, except for last three years which may be followed for CAT 2024 also, in terms of time duration, number of questions and sections as under:
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120 Minutes Exam: CAT 2024 is a computer delivered test of 2 hours duration but it is not an Online Exam
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66 Questions: Like last year, CAT 2024 exam will have 66 questions divided in 3 sections of VARC, DILR and Quantitative Ability. Earlier it used to have 100 questions divided in three sections
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18-20 No Penalty Questions: Out of 66 questions, there will be 18 or more questions which will not have negative marking. CAT 2024 exam is divided into MCQ and Non-MCQ type of questions and the Non-MCQs do not carry negative marking. In case any non-MCQ has negative marking, a few MCQs are changed to no negative marking questions.
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48-50 CAT Questions with Negative Marking: More than 48 questions in CAT 2024 are of MCQ type and will carry penalty of 1/3 negative marking
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CAT cut off Requirement by IIMs: A Minimum qualifying score between 70 and 90 percentile in CAT 2024 is required by IIMs in each of the 3 sections to shortlist candidates for final admission round
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IIM Shortlisting Criteria: Apart from High score in each of the 3 sections in the exam, if you have good academic profile with diversity, work experience, you are a preferred candidate to get admission into IIMs.
4. CAT Pattern 2024: Revised Structure of Question Paper
The table below shares the sectional order, number and type of questions in each section, questions with and without negative marking for each section for the 2 hours exam
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CAT 2024 exam components
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MCQs (With negative marking)
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Non-MCQs (TITA Qs Without negative marking)
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Total Questions
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Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
(Time limit: 40 Minutes)
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21
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3
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24
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Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
(Time Limit: 40 Minutes)
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16
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4
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20
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Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA)
(Time Limit: 40 Minutes)
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14
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8
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22
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Total (Overall) (Time limit: 120 Minutes)
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41
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15
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66
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Source: Based on CAT 2022 Pattern
5. 10 Best books for CAT Preparation
If you are self-preparing for CAT or are preparing with the support of the CAT coaching institute, in both cases, the latest edition of the CAT books for preparation as shared below will help you in conceptual clarity, practice questions and attempting the sample papers
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How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT’- by Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay
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Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
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Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension by Ajay Singh
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Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
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How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma (Published by McGraw Hill)
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How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma (Published by McGraw Hill)
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Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha
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CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri, Publisher Career Launcher
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How to prepare for Quantitative for the CAT by Arun Sharma, published by MGH Education
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Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
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Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh K Verma
6. CAT 2024 Important Dates
Following are the CAT 2024 important dates like CAT Notification date, CAT exam date, and for other different activities related to the CAT exam 2024:
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Events
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CAT Important Dates
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CAT Notification Date 2024
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July 30, 2024
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CAT Registration Start Date
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August 3, 2024
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Last Date to Apply for CAT exam 2024
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September 15, 2024
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CAT 2024 Registration & Application Fee
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Rs.2400/-
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CAT 2024 Admit card Download Start date
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October 25, 2024
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CAT 2024 Exam date
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November 24, 2024
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CAT 2024 Result date
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Last week of December 2024 or First week of January 2025 |
For more information click here.
