CAT 2024 Exam: Dates, Exam Pattern, Syllabus
IIM CAT is the highest taking MBA entrance exam for Management aspirants in the India. This year, the Common Admission Test 2024 will be conducted by IIM Calcutta in more than 155 cities and the exam Notification is likely to be out in July last week and it is expected to be held on Sunday November 24, 2024 in three slots of two hour duration each.
CAT exam Conducted by one of the top IIMs every year by rotation, CAT is the highest taking MBA entrance exam for Management aspirants for MBA admission in 21 IIMs and all top B-schools. All the 21 IIMs, IIFT Delhi & Kolkata, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, and 100 of other top B-schools in India.
Every Year more than two lakh candidates appear in CAT to explore admission opportunity in MBA/PGP programmes offered by IIMs and MBA/PGP/PGDM programmes offered by other top MBA colleges in India.
CAT 2024 Highlights
| CAT Exam Importents Points | Details |
|---|---|
| CAT Full Form | Common Admission Test |
| Who Conducts CAT Exam? | One of 6 old IIMs conducts CAT every year |
| CAT 2024 Conducting IIM | IIM Calcutta |
| CAT 2024 Exam Date | Sunday, November 24, 2024 |
| Exam Slots | Likely to be Conducted in 3 sessions – Morning, Afternoon & Evening on same day |
| Exam duration | 2 hours per slot |
| CAT Sectional Time Limit | 40 Minutes for Each of the 3 sections |
| Testing Mode | Computer based exam at test centres but not an online exam |
| CAT 2024 Notification Release | July 2024 Last week |
| Testing Mode | Computer based |
| No. of sections & Questions | Quantitative Ability: 22 Qs Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension: 24 Qs Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning: 20 Qs |
| Total Questions in the Exam | 66 |
| Number of Answer Options for MCQs | 4 |
| Number of Answer Options for Non-MCQs | No Answer Option; Type In the Answer on Computer screen |
| Scoring Pattern in CAT exam | -1 Mark for Each Wrong Answer (Only for MCQs) +3 Marks for Each Correct Answer 0 Mark for Each Wrong Answer or Unattempted Question for Non-MCQs |
| Number of CAT 2024 Applicants | 3.30 lakhs (CAT Registration Data 2023) |
| Number of Test Takers in Previous CAT Exam | 2.88 lakhs (CAT 2023 test takers) |
| Official Website for Form Filling | https://iimcat.ac.in |
| CAT 2024 Registration Fee | Rs.2500 |
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024
Below are the important points that determine eligibility criteria 2024
● The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PwD) categories], awarded by any University or educational institution as incorporated by an Act of Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as an University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognised by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
● Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.
● Candidates applying for CAT 2023 should fulfill any one of the following conditions:
a) Completed Bachelor’s degree with the required percentage of marks*.
b) Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with required percentage*.
c) Should be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree with required percentage*.
*SC/ST/PwD candidates should have a minimum 45%. For General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates, the minimum is 50%.
CAT Reservation Criteria 2024
● As per the legal requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of the seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candidates belonging to the “non-creamy” layer (NC-OBC). Up to 10% of the seats are reserved for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates.
● For the purpose of being considered for reservations, the applicable Central Government list as on the last date of CAT registration shall be binding. No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT 2023 and any subsequent selection process of the IIMs. For an updated central list of state-wise OBCs eligible for availing of the benefit of reservation and information in respect of the creamy layer, visit the website http://www.ncbc.nic.in.
● As per the provisions of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), 5% seats are reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD). “Person with Benchmark Disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where a specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where the specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority. “Specified disability” means the disabilities as specified in the Schedule of the RPwD Act 2016.
The categories of disability are:
a) Blindness and low vision
b) Deaf and hard of hearing
c) Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy.
d) Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
e) Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d)
f) Other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in ‘The Schedule’ of the RPwD Act 2016
● The candidates belonging to the reserved categories need to note the eligibility requirements carefully before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavor of IIMs that the candidates belonging to SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwD categories join the Programme in proportions mandated by the law, they have to meet the minimum eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance to be considered for the admission process.
● The candidates should read the updated description of the selection process followed by each IIM on their respective websites. No change in the category will be entertained after CAT registration. The applicants are advised to pay attention while registering. Additional Information for SC, ST, NC-OBC
CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Key Changes & Revised Structure
● Since 2015 has remained on similar pattern of CAT but from 2020 due to Covid pandemic situation, the number of questions and time duration have been reduced without change in pattern and structure of the exam. The same pattern is likely to be followed for 2024 also, as under:
CAT2023
| Section | No. of Questions (MCQs/Non MCQs) | Topics | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 ( 5 Non MCQs, 19 MCQs) | 4 RC Passages Verbal Ability | 16 8 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 (14 MCQs, 8 Non MCQs) | Modern Math Geometry Algebra Arithmetic | 1 3 8 10 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 (15 MCQs, 5 Non MCQs) | Logical Reasoning (1 Set) Data Interpretation (3 Sets) | 5 15 |
CAT2022
| Section | No. of Questions (MCQs/Non MCQs) | Topics | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 (20 MCQs, 4 Non MCQs) | Verbal Ability: 4 RC Passages with 4 Qs Each: | 8 16 |
| Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 (15 MCQs, 5 Non MCQs) | Data Interpretation (3 Sets of 5 Qs) Logical Reasoning (1 Set of 5 Qs) | 15 5 |
| Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA) | 20 (15 MCQs, 5 Non MCQs) | Arithmetic Algebra Geometry | 12 7 3 |
CAT2021
| Section | No. of Questions (MCQs/Non MCQs) | Topics | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 (19 MCQs, 5 Non MCQs) | Verbal Ability 4 RC Passages | 8 16 |
| Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 (14 MCQs, 6 Non MCQs) | Data Interpretation (2 Sets with 4 Qs) Logical Reasoning (2 Sets with 6 Qs) | 8 12 |
| Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 (14 MCQs, 8 Non MCQs) | Arithmetic Algebra Geometry Modern Math | 10 Qs 5 Qs 3 Qs 4 Qs |
CAT Exam Pattern 2024
| Sections of Exam | No of questions | MCQs | Non – MCQs | Sectional Time Limit (In Minutes) | Important features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 20 | 4 | 40 | 16 questions of RC – 4 passages of 4 questions each. 8 Questions of Verbal ability – Parajumbles, para completions, parasummary and odd sentence out |
| Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | 14 | 6 | 40 | 4 sets of 5 questions each Areas questioned – Bar Graph, Arrangements, Missing Data and Puzzles (Games) |
| Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 | 15 | 7 | 40 | Dominated by questions of Arithmetic and Algebra. |
| Total | 66 | 49 | 17 | 120 |
