What is CAT Exam - Everything You Need to Know

What is CAT Exam? → The CAT Exam is the most prestigious MBA Exam conducted for admission to IIMs. Pursuing MBA from a business school of national importance is a dream of many MBA aspirants. Candidates seeking admission to MBA in any such institute must take and qualify CAT Exam since it is the only way to get admission into the IIMs and India’s top business schools.

This article aims to provide detailed information about "What is CAT Exam". It covers topics such as CAT Eligibility Criteria, CAT Age Limit, CAT Syllabus, CAT Exam Pattern, CAT Marking Scheme etc. as well as the time required to complete the entire syllabus to qualify the exam and various other programs offered by the IIMs.

CAT 2025 Exam → Candidates who wish to pursue their career in the field of management from Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) must start preparing for IIM CAT Exam at the earliest. CAT Exam is a national-level MBA entrance exam conducted annually by one of the IIMs. CAT Exam Date for CAT Exam 2025 is 30 November 2025. CAT Exam is conducted by one of the IIMs on the last Sunday of every November month. The Common Admission Test is conducted in three slots i.e. morning, afternoon, and evening.

Also Read: Preparation Strategy Of CAT Toppers

What is the Full Form of CAT?

"What is the full form of CAT?" is one of the most asked questions by MBA aspirants. CAT stands for Common Admission Test. The CAT exam is the most prestigious national-level MBA entrance examination in India for admission to top management institutes. For obvious reasons, it is the biggest MBA Exam in the country. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) conduct the Common Admission Test on a rotational basis and enroll students based on the marks secured by them in the examination.

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IIM CAT Exam Highlights

the table given below, presents the key highlights of the most prestigious MBA exams - CAT. Candidates can refer to the table to understand about the CAT exam and get an idea about the same.

CAT 2025 Exam Date and Registration

The total number of students who apply for the exam reaches 2.30 lakh approximately every year. The CAT Entrance Exam 2025 will be held on November 30, 2025. CAT 2025 official notification will be released on the official website of CAT. Below mentioned are the CAT Exam Dates 2025 that students can refer to for strategic preparation.

Also download → CAT study materials - PDF version

CAT Registration 2025

IIM Kozhikode is expected to begin the CAT 2025 Registration on 1st August 2025. The officials of IIM CAT 2025 Exam will activate the direct link to apply for CAT 2025 Exam on the official website and invite applicants to apply for the examination. CAT Application Form is to be filled only through online mode. Below mentioned is the brief of the CAT 2025 Registration that candidates must follow in order to register themselves for the exam:

• Visit the CAT Official website – iimcat.ac.in 2025.
• Register yourself by entering the required details in CAT Registration Form.
• Fill out the registration form and enter all the details correctly.
• After the successful registration, procced to fill CAT Form by logging into the website with your created login credentials.
• Upload all the required and essential documents.
• Process the payment of CAT Exam Fees.
• Complete the final submission process of CAT Application Form.
• Download the duly submitted application form of CAT and take a printout of the same for future reference.

Also Read -

• CAT Application Form Correction
• CAT Exam 2025 Registration

CAT Registration Fees

Candidates applying for the exam must also make the payment of CAT Exam Fee before submitting the CAT Application Form. The registration process will not be considered complete without the payment of CAT Application Fee. The registration fee for CAT Exam varies for candidates belonging to various categories.

Below mentioned is the CAT Form Fees that candidates must pay while filling the CAT Registration Form

IIM CAT Exam – Changes Over the Years

The IIM CAT Exam has undergone several changes since the time the exam was switched to Computer based mode. It was previously conducted in Paper pen mode. The table below presents some important changes made in the CAT exam. These changes include the time limit changes, number of questions, and more.

CAT Exam Resources

Below mentioned are some of the CAT Exam resources that candidates can check by clicking on them. These links will help students understand CAT Exam and various aspects in a better manner so that they can start preparing for the upcoming exam in a more modified way.

CAT Exam Syllabus

CAT Syllabus is another equally important aspect of CAT Exam that all the aspirants must be thoroughly aware of. Understanding of CAT Entrance Exam Syllabus is the best way to determine your direction. It will become easier to determine how much time students must spend on each topic.

Below mentioned is the brief of CAT 2025 Syllabus that the students must make sure to study before appearing for the examination.

Read in Detail -

• CAT 2025 Syllabus
• Download CAT study plan here

CAT Exam Pattern

The total number of questions in CAT IIM is 66 (as per the previous year question paper) and these questions are to be completed in 120 minutes. CAT Total Marks is 198 marks. Below mentioned is the CAT IIM Marking Scheme.

CAT Marking Scheme

• For each correct answer, candidates will be rewarded with 3 marks.
• For every incorrect answer, there will be a deduction of 1 mark.
• There is no negative marking for Non MCQ type of questions.

CAT Exam - Division Of Questions

Below mentioned is the outline of the MCQ and Non MCQ questions for CAT Exam.

Also Read - CAT Exam Pattern

Various Programs offered by IIMs

How much time is required to complete CAT Syllabus?

More than 2 lakh candidates apply for the CAT Exam every year. In order to ace the examination, there should be an extensive preparation running over a period of at least 10 months before the commencement of the exam. However, candidates who started preparing for the exam a little late and are behind the schedule, must be fully committed to passing the examination. They can still do well if they have devoted at least 4 months to the preparation.

Download our CAT preparation PDF guide here

Download CAT previous year question papers PDF here - 2017 to 2024

CAT Exam Cities - expected for 2025

Below mentioned is the list of CAT Test Cities where the CAT 2025 will be conducted.

Other Popular MBA Entrance Exams

Besides CAT Exam, there are other MBA Entrance Exams that CAT Aspirants are usually aware of. The other MBA Exams are mentioned below.