CAT Exam 2025- Registration, Fees, Eligibility, Exam Pattern & Syllabus. Here are the details of CAT Exam 2025 Registration, fees, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, & Syllabus. This article covers every aspect of the CAT Exam 2025. Learn in Detail about the CAT Exam 2025 Exam & Other Important Information
CAT Exam 2025: Highlights
| CAT Exam Particulars | CAT Exam 2025 Details |
| CAT Full Form | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
| Conducting Institute for 2025 | To be announced |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Once a year |
| CAT 2024 Exam Date | November 30, 2025 (tentative) |
| CAT Exam Timings | Slot 1: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Slot 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Slot 3: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM |
| CAT Exam Fees | INR 2,500 (General category) and INR 1,250 (Reserved category) |
| Number of Test Takers | 3.29 lakh (in 2024) |
| CAT exam mode | Computer Based Test (CBT) |
| No. of test cities | 170 |
| CAT exam website | https://iimcat.ac.in |
| Exam helpdesk no. | 1-800-210-1088 (Toll Free) |
CAT Exam 2025- Overview
CAT is a Common Admission Test for affirmation in 20 IIMs and other partaking foundations. Up-and-comers qualifying for the CAT Cutoff will be offered affirmation in around 5000+ seats. In light of the patterns of earlier years, up-and-comers with 90+ Percentiles can apply for the affirmation interaction of IIMs.
All the IIMs have delivered the CAT 2021 IIM Admission Criteria on their authority sites. Feline 2021 IIM affirmation standards incorporate three phases: shortlisting competitors based on the passing CAT 2021 cutoff scores, evaluating for WAT/PI, and arranging a conclusive legitimacy list based on composite scores.
The CAT Exam is the most well-known of all IIM selection tests held each year. Some applicants fantasize about getting an MBA from a rumored organization. Candidates applying to the MBA program should appear for the CAT Exam.
The CAT test is a passage prerequisite for induction into the IIMs and India’s top business colleges. The Common Admission Test (CAT) is India’s most renowned public-level selection test, which licenses competitors to get into top administration organizations. It is undoubtedly the most significant MBA entrance test in the country. The IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) lead this Common Admission Test on a rotational premise.
Here, findmecollege has laid down below a detailed structure of IIM CAT, including its registration process, exam fees, eligibility, exam pattern as well as syllabus:
CAT Exam 2025: Exam Dates
The CAT Exam 2025 dates are essential for CAT-appearing candidates. Below, we have mentioned CAT Exam events. Official CAT Exam notification will come in the final week of July 2025. We have mentioned assumption dates from previous trends.
| CAT Exam Events | CAT Exam Date 2025 (Tentative) |
| CAT Exam 2025 notification out | 30-July-2025 |
| CAT exam 2025 registration dates | First week of August to Third week of September 2025 |
| CAT form correction | Last week of September 2025 |
| CAT admit card 2025 download starts | First week of November 2025 |
| CAT exam 2025 date | 30-Nov-2025 |
| CAT answer key release | First week of December 2025 |
| Declaration of CAT 2024 result | Last week of December 2025 or First week of January 2026 |
CAT Exam 2025: Exam Pattern
The official CAT exam notification has yet to be released. It is assumed that it will come in the last week of July. The exam will likely be held on the last Sunday of November 2025. We have mentioned a table below with all the necessary details.
| CAT Pattern Particulars | Details |
| Exam mode | Computer Based Test |
| Exam duration | 2 hours |
| Sectional time limit | 40 minutes per section |
| Number of sections | 3 – VARC, DILR, Quantitative Aptitude |
| Number of questions | 66 |
| Section wise questions | VARC – 24 DILR – 20 QA – 22 |
| Marking scheme | +3 for every correct attempt
-1 for every incorrect attempt |
| Total marks | 198 |
CAT Exam 2025 Exam Pattern
- Exam to be, conducted in online mode.
- Duration for CAT exam is 2 hours/ 120minutes.
- Exam to be conducted in the English language.
- Questions come in a Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) & TITA format.
- The paper consists of 66 questions in total.
- CAT consists of the following three sections:
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Questions: 24.
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Questions: 22.
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) Questions: 20
- Each question consists of 3 marks.
- Each correct answer consist three marks, one mark is, deducted for every wrong MCQ, and no marks are to be, deducted for any incorrect answer of TITA.
- TITA Type Questions – No Negative Marks: Around 25% or 20-25 questions will be TITA-type questions in CAT 2021. No marks will be deducted for wrong answers while answering TITA-type questions, which means candidates can score high marks if they solve TITA questions with a 90% accuracy rate.
CAT Exam 2025: Syllabus
The CAT exam official has not announced an official syllabus. However, previous exam trends have outlined the essential topics from different sections. Appearing candidates must go through all the sections thoroughly and prepare accordingly. In the table below, we have mentioned the necessary details of the CAT Exam 2025.
| Section | No. of MCQs | No. of Non MCQs | Total Marks | Duration |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (Section I) | 22 | 2 | 72 | 40 Minutes |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (Section II) | 12 | 10 | 66 | 40 Minutes |
| Quantitative Ability (Section III) | 14 | 8 | 66 | 40 Minutes |
| TOTAL | 48 | 20 | 204 | 120 Minutes |
CAT Exam 2025: Syllabus
- Quantitative Aptitude- Number System, Profit, Loss & Discount, LCM & HCF, Speed, Time & Distance, Percentages, Time & Work, Complex Numbers, Simple & Compound Interest, Logarithm, Inequality, Probability, Trigonometry, Geometry etc.
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning- Tables, Caselets, Bar Graph, Line Charts, Column Graph, Venn Diagrams, Pie Charts, Calendars, Clocks, Cubes, Seating Arrangement.
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension- English Usage or Grammar, Vocabulary Based Synonyms & Antonyms, Sentence Correction, Passage, Analogies, Verbal Reasoning.
CAT Exam 2025: Sectional Pattern
| CAT Exam Sections | Important Topics |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | Reading comprehension, para jumbles, para summary, odd one out, etc. |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | Graphs, charts, and topics, such as arrangements, games and tournaments, set theory, etc. |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | Algebra, arithmetic, probability, geometry, and modern math. |
CAT Exam 2025: Registration Process & Fees
- Visit the authority site for CAT 2022.
- To get to the application structure, sign in again utilizing your CAT 2022 client ID and Password.
- A client ID and secret word will be shipped off to the applicant’s enrolled email address and portable number after check.
- Enter your name, date of birth, email address, telephone number, and nation of beginning.
- The applicants need to top off their subtleties like name, father’s name, date of birth, orientation, ethnicity, classification, portable number, email ID, and address.
- The upcomers need to choose the IIMs that fit their inclination and the course they need to take.
- The applicant can pick up to six urban communities as an assessment place.
- After every necessary individual subtlety, the up-and-comers need to pay for the application structure by Debit/MasterCard/Internet Banking or some other cash wallet.
- Present the web-based application structure and download the application structure for future reference.
- The CAT 2022 structure amendment window will be given to contenders for 2-3 days. During that period, up-and-comers can alter the accompanying subtleties:
Photo
Signature
Test City Preferences.
- CAT Form amendment choice might be legitimate for those competitors who will pay the expected enlistment expense inside the predefined cutoff time.
- Lastly, candidates must pay the application fee, INR 2200 for other categories and INR 1100 for reserved categories. After this, they can successfully register for the exam.
CAT Exam 2025: Application Fee
| Category | CAT Application Fee |
| General, EWS, and NC-OBC | INR 2500/- |
| SC, ST, and PwD | INR 1250/- |
CAT Exam 2025: Eligibility
| Qualification | Percentage |
| Bachelor’s Degree from any institute (Recognized by UGC) | 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC/ ST/ PwD) |
| Engineering Degree- B.Tech/ B.E from any university (Recognized by AICTE/MHRD) | 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC/ ST/ PwD) |
| Students pursuing final year of degree examination | 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC/ ST/ PwD) |
CAT Exam 2025: Eligibility
- CAT 2022 Eligibility is half in graduation for general comers, and CA, CS, and ICWA degrees are additionally qualified to take the test.
- There is no restriction on taking the CAT test. A portion of the significant subtleties connected with the qualification standards are referenced below:
- Upcomers should have a four-year certification comparable to a perceived foundation or organization in any field.
- The comers should have a standard score of half checks (45% for SC/ST/PWD classification comers) or identical in the separate test.
- Competitors who are showing up for the last year of the Bachelor’s certificate/comparable capability assessment and those who have finished their previous assessment and are anticipating results can likewise apply.
- Candidates with an expert degree (CA, CS, or ICWA) are additionally qualified.
CAT Exam 2025 Cutoff
Cutoffs for IIM
| IIMs | CAT Exam 2025 Expected Cutoff |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 99-100 %ile |
| IIM Bangalore | 99-100 %ile |
| IIM Calcutta | 99 %ile |
| IIM Lucknow | 97- 99 %ile |
| IIM Indore | 97- 99 %ile |
| IIM Kozhikode | 97 – 98 %ile |
| IIM Amritsar | 95- 99 %ile |
| IIM Nagpur | 95- 99 %ile |
| IIM Sambalpur | 95- 99 %ile |
| IIM Trichy | 93-94 %ile |
| IIM Raipur | 92-94 %ile |
| IIM Ranchi | 93-94 %ile |
| IIM Kashipur | 92- 94 %ile |
| IIM Vizag | 92- 93 %ile |
| IIM Udaipur | 92-93 %ile |
| IIM Bodhgaya | 90-92 %ile |
| IIM Shillong | 90-92 %ile |
| IIM Sirmaur | 93-95 %ile |
| IIM Rohtak | 90- 95 %ile |
| IIM Mumbai | 97+ %ile |
Cutoff for Non-IIM
| CAT Colleges | Expected Cutoff |
| FMS, Delhi | 98.20 %ile |
| BITSOM | 94 %ile |
| DMS, IIT Delhi | 98-99 %ile |
| Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) Chennai | 90-95 %ile |
| SJMSOM, IIT Bombay | 99-100 %ile |
| Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad | 90- 99 %ile |
| MDI Gurgaon | 95- 97 %ile |
| IIM Mumbai | 95-99 %ile |
| SPJIMR | 85-90 %ile |
| XIMB | 90-99 %ile |
| Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras | 95-99 %ile |
| TAPMI, Manipal | 85-90 %ile |
CAT Score vs Percentile 2025
| DILR Score | VARC Score | QA Score | Overall Score | Percentile |
| 30 | 42 | 30 | 86 | 99.5 |
| 25 | 36 | 25 | 74 | 99 |
| 20 | 30 | 22 | 52 | 95 |
| 14 | 24 | 13 | 42 | 90 |
| 11 | 20 | 9 | 35 | 80 |
| 9 | 18 | 7 | 30 | 70 |
CAT exam 2025: Exam Centre
Here is the list of Exam centre for CAT exam 2025
| Exam Centres | Test Cities |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore and Rajahmundry |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar |
| Bihar | Aurangabad, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Purnea |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| Chhattisgarh | Bhilai and Raipur |
| Delhi-NCR | Panipat, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Delhi, New Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram and Noida |
| Goa | Madgaon and Panaji |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara |
| Haryana | Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Hisar, Palwal, Rohtak and Sonipat |
| Himachal Pradesh | Simla and Waknaghat |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu, Samba and Kashmir |
| Jharkhand | Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Banglore, Belagavi (Belgaum), Dharwad, Gulbarga, Hubli, Mangalore, Mysore and Udupi |
| Kerala | Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Kollam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur and Trivandrum |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur and Sagar |
| Maharashtra | Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Raigad, Satara, Solapur, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur and Mumbai |
| Meghalaya | Shillong |
| Manipur | Imphal |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Rourkela |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Punjab | Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Ropar, Sangrur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh and Fatehgarh Sahib |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar and Udaipur |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli and Tirunelvelli |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Warangal |
| Uttar Pradesh | Gorakhpur, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, Varanasi, Agra, Allahabad, Barabanki, Bareilly and Ghaziabad |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Roorkee |
| West Bengal | Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri, Asansol, Bankura, Burdwan and Durgapur |
| Dadra | Kohima |
| Ladakh | Leh |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu | Silvassa |
| Tripura | Agartala |
| Mizoram | Aizawl |
CAT 2025 Exam Day: Do’s & Don’ts
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| Reach the CAT exam centre at least 30 minutes before the start of the exam. | Do not carry any electronic gadgets to the CAT exam hall. |
| Carry the hard copy of the CAT admit card and ID proof. | Do not sign on the CAT admit card beforehand. |
| Do your rough work in the extra sheet provided by the invigilator. | Do not request for seat change. |
| Use the washroom before entering the exam hall. | Do not ask for a break in between the tests. Candidates who are diabetic can carry a medical certificate with them in case of medical emergencies. |
| After reaching the CAT exam centre, find out their respective exam hall and seat. | Do not peep into the computer screen of fellow candidates. |
Best Books for CAT Preparation
| CAT 2024 Subjects | Top Books for CAT 2024 Preparation |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT – Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT – Arun Sharma Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT – Nishit Sinha Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT – Pearson |
| Quantitative Aptitude | How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude – Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude for CAT -Nishit K Sinha Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT – Sarvesh Verma |
MBA Entrance Exams in India
| CAT | SNAP |
| MAT | CMAT |
| XAT | GMAT |
| NMAT | IIFT |
| MH CET | TISSNET |
| TANCET | KMAT |
| IBSAT | PG CET |
| MICAT | ATMA |
FAQ- (Frequently Asked Questions)
Question: What is CAT exam for?
Answer: CAT exam stands for Common Admission Test which is been held every year by different IIMs for the admission in top B-schools and IIMs in different programs like MBA, PGDM and other management programs. CAT is a aptitude exam like GMAT which consists of 3 sections Quants, DILR & VARC.
Question:Â What’s new in CAT exam?
Answer: The basic structure of CAT exam has not been changed except for the number of questions which has been increased from 66 to 68. The number of questions in DILR has also been increased from 20 to 22 questions.
Question: Does CAT have negative marking?
Answer: Yes CAT exam does have negative marking of (-1 marks) for every wrong attempt. TITA Questions have no negative marking and un attempted questions also have no negative marking.
Question: What is the sectional time limit in CAT?
Answer: CAT exam is divided in 3 sections which are Quants, DILR and VARC each section has been allotted with 40 minutes so in total the exam is of 120 minutes.
Question: What is the marking scheme of CAT?
Answer: The marking scheme of CAT exam is there are total 68 Questions divided in 3 sections which are:-
Quants- 22 Ques
DILR- 22 Ques
VARC- 24 Ques
Right Answer- 3 Marks
Wrong Answer- (-1 Negative marks)
TITA Questions- No Negative marks
Un attempted Questions- No negative marks
Question: What is CAT exam pattern 2025?
Answer: The exam pattern for CAT exam 2025 is the exam consist of 3 sections which are:- Quantitate Aptitude which has 22 questions, DILR ( Data interpretation and logical reasoning) which has 22 questions and VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension) which has 24 question. So in total there are 68 question in CAT exam for every right answer there is 3 marks and for every wrong answer there is -1 marks negative marks which is needed to be given 120 minutes.
Question: Is the question type and pattern of CAT and GMAT similar?
Answer: Both CAT and GMAT exam is held for admission in top B-Schools. Both are aptitude based exam. There is slight difference in exam pattern & syllabus GMAT exam has analytical writing assessment unlike CAT exam. GMAT score is accepted by top Ivy schools abroad and few colleges in India. Whereas CAT exam score is accepted by IIMs and other B-schools. GMAT exam slightly less difficult than CAT exam.
Question: What is the weightage of the DILR section in CAT?
Answer: DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) is among one of the subject in CAT exam which has 22 questions each question carry 3 marks so the total weightage is 66 marks
Question: How much percentile is a good score in CAT exam?
Answer: The ideal score in CAT exam is between 95-99 percentile. In this score you will get call from most of the IIMs as well as NON-IIMs. If you are from reserved category then the ideal score is between 80-85 percentile.
Question: How much CAT score is required for MBA at IIM Ahmedabad?
Answer: The minimum CAT percentile required to get a call from IIM Ahmedabad is between 98-100 percentile for general category while some students even get call at 95 percentile. On the other hand students from reserved category requires lesser percentile. OBC- 80-85 percentile, SC-75-80 percentile and ST- 60-70 percentile. Call from IIM also depends on profile of the candidate.
Question: Is CAT 2025 registration open?
Answer: The registration for CAT exam 2025 will start in the first week of August and will end in the third week of September. Candidates are required to fill the form between the given deadline.
Question: When should I start preparing for CAT 2025?
Answer: The ideal time for CAT exam preparation is 9-10 months with 3 hours of daily sitting. Students can starts their preparation in the month of April or May but they need to devote more hours in preparation. But before that students should attempt at least 1 mock to evaluate themselves.
Question: What is the fee for CAT 2025?
Answer: The fee for CAT Exam 2025 for general category is INR 2,500 and INR 1,250 for SC, ST and PwD candidates.
Question: How many attempts in CAT?
Answer: There is no set limit on attempts for CAT Exam. Candidates can give multiple attempts up until they meet eligibility criteria. Many students give more than 1 attempt to improve their percentile in CAT Exam.
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