CAT Exam: Result, Cutoff, Pattern, Syllabus, Admit Card

The CAT Exam 2025 official date has been announced, the exam is scheduled on 30th November 2025. The host for this year is yet to be announced, but as per report IIM Kozhikode is expected to conduct CAT 2025 Exam. The CAT 2025 Exam Registration is expected to begin in August 2025 and is expected to end by the third week of September in the same year. To register for the exam candidates have to fill CAT Exam Application Form 2025 that will be released on the iimcat.ac.in. The CAT Examination will be conducted in 3 shifts in 170 cities this year.

The CAT 2025 Exam Pattern consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA), each with a 40-minute time limit, for a total exam duration of 120 minutes (2 hours).  To fill the application form, applicants have to fulfill CAT Exam Qualification, which includes a bachelor degree in any stream with a minimum of 50% marks. There is no upper age limit for the CAT Exam. 

Approximately over 3 lakh candidates apply for the CAT exam every year. The total number of CAT 2024 registration is 3.29 lakh. Candidates who clear the CAT exam are eligible for admission to over 1300 MBA colleges in India, apart from the IIMs. 

CAT Exam Quick Highlights

The table below shows the quick overview of the CAT Exam 2025.

What is CAT Exam?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 is a national level examination conducted by IIMs to facilitate admission to MBA and other PG  courses in 21 campuses of IIMs and various other institutions.  The CAT Exam Syllabus 2025 consists of three sections i.e.  Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability, each with a 40-minute time limit, for a total exam duration of 120 minutes (2 hours).

Around 3 Lakhs candidates appear for the CAT Exam every year. A record 3.30 Lakhs candidates have registered for CAT Exam in 2023, which was the highest since the CAT Exam started. Last year, approximately 3.29 Lakh candidates applied for the examination. The CAT Exam difficulty level generally lies between moderate to high category.

CAT Admit Card

The CAT Admit Card will be available on iimcat.ac.in. The CAT admit card 2025 will have key details like the allotted exam centre address, date, time, guidelines and more. All candidates will have to present their CAT 2025 admit card along with an original valid ID proof at the exam centre. Students are highly encouraged to keep a regular eye on official websites for latest updates. Here below are the key steps to download CAT Admit Card 2025.

1. Go to iimcat.ac.in and login using required credentials.
2. On the homepage, find the ‘Download Admit Card’ link.
3. The CAT admit card will be displayed on the screen. Check details like name, exam date, time, and venue.
4. Download the admit card and take a clear printout for future reference. A hard copy is required on the exam day.

CAT 2025 Exam Pattern

CAT 2025 Exam Pattern 2025, will include three sections i.e.  Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability, each section is provided with a time limit of 40-minute, for a total exam duration of 120 minutes (2 hours). The table below shows a detailed overview of the CAT Exam 2025.

CAT Exam Eligibility

CAT 2025 Exam Eligibility, includes a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate (45% for SC/ST/PwD) from a recognized university, or equivalent, and those in their final year or awaiting results are also eligible. The detailed eligibility has been shown in the table below.

CAT Exam Syllabus

The CAT Entrance exam syllabus includes a total of 3 sections, i.e Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. Understanding and analysing the syllabus not only helps students to understand the exam pattern and difficulty but also allows them to figure out their weak areas. Here below is the CAT EXAM section wise syllabus and important topics.

CAT 2025 Exam Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Syllabus

The CAT Exam VARC syllabus is shown in the table below.

CAT 2025 Exam Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Syllabus

The CAT Exam DILR important topics are listed below in the table.

CAT 2025 Exam Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus

The CAT Exam QA important topics are listed below in table.

CAT Previous Year Question Paper

To get a decent percentile in the CAT Examination it is important for students to analyse the CAT Exam previous year question papers. By solving the CAT Exam previous year question paper students can get an idea of the exam pattern and syllabus. Students may download the CAT Exam Previous Year Question papers listed below.

CAT Mock Test

A CAT mock test is a copy of the actual CAT 2025 Exam, which features questions with similar difficulty level and time limit. Cat mock tests are available online. Many websites offer a number of free and paid test series. Some of the coaching institutes also provide CAT mock tests series for practice. Apart from all this, there are a number of books available in the market featuring CAT Exam mock tests.

CAT 2025 Preparation Tips

To get a decent score in this CAT 2025 exam, both strong conceptual understanding and time management is required. Some of the key expert curated tips for the CAT 2025 exam preparation are:

1. Syllabus: Cover the full CAT syllabus thoroughly. Try to save time to revisit your weak areas.
2. Mock Test: Attempt as many CAT mock tests as possible.
3. RC: Practice a good number of reading comprehension, to manage Time and accuracy.
4. Revision: Allocate time for quick revisions to retain important formulas, theories, and shortcuts.
5. Manage Time Effectively: Allocate fixed time per question and avoid spending too much time on tough problems.

CAT 2025 Exam Books

Selecting the perfect books for CAT Exam preparation is key to score a high percentile. However, there are a number of books available in the market, the table below shows some best-selling books recommended for different subjects, along with their authors.

CAT 2025 Answer Key 

The CAT 2025 answer key will be released by the designated testing authority. The CAT 2025 answer key will feature the correct responses of the asked questions in the examination. Students can match their answer in the CAT 2025 response sheet. Students may also challenge the answer key with a valid document if they found anything wrong. The detailed process to download CAT 2025 answer key is written below.

• Visit the official website of CAT 2025 (iimcat.ac.in)
• Click on the 'login' tab
• Enter CAT login ID and password
• Click on 'CAT 2025 answer key' will appear on the screen
• Click on 'download' icon to save it as PDF

CAT 2025 Exam Result

The CAT 2025 results will be released on iimcat.ac.in. The result will be declared after the commencement of the final examination, and is expected to be released by December 2025. The CAT 2025 results will feature percentiles that will be considered for the CAT 2025 counselling process. To access and download the CAT scorecard 2025, the candidates will have to log in using their application number and password. Candidates are advised to keep a regular eye on the official website for latest updates regarding CAT 2025 Exam.

CAT Exam Centres

All applicants have to select their preferred CAT Exam Centres while filling out the application form. The CAT Exam centres are shown in the table below.

CAT 2025 Counselling Process

CAT 2025 counselling is the process through which qualified candidates secure admission to IIMs and other management institutes in India. This process involves shortlisting based on CAT scores, followed by a Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) (optional), and a Personal Interview (PI), with final admission decisions based on a combination of these factors and academic/work experience. A detailed step-by-step guide to the counselling process is shown below.

1. Shortlisting and Call Letters: IIMs and other B-schools shortlist candidates based on their CAT scores and other criteria like academic performance and work experience.  Shortlisted candidates receive call letters from the respective IIMs or B-schools, informing them about the dates, venues, and slots for the WAT and PI rounds. 

2. WAT & GD: After shortlisting candidates are required to clear written ability test (WAT) and group discussion (GD)

3. PI: After WAT & GD candidates have to go through personal interview. PI round is a crucial part of the selection process, and candidates are evaluated on their general knowledge, business acumen, and communication skills. 

4. Finalised scored: After the completion of WAT, GD (if applicable), and PI, the IIMs and B-schools make final admission decisions based on a weighted score that considers CAT scores, WAT/GD performance, and PI performance.

5. Final Admission and Reporting: Once the seat is confirmed, candidates must report to the allotted campus within the given timeline.

IIM CAT 2025 Number of Seats

The list below shows the number of seats in the MBA/PGP programs of IIM campuses.

Top Colleges Accepting CAT Exam Score

Along with IIMs about 1300 B-schools in India accept CAT Exam scores for admission. The list of some of the key institutions with CAT 2024 Cutoff is given below.

The CAT Exam 2025 is expected to be organised by IIM Kozhikode this year. Candidates seeking admission to the top management colleges in India including IIMs must fill CAT Application Form 2025 at iimcat.ac.in. The CAT 2025 Exam notification is expected to be released by August, 2025, while the final examination is scheduled on 30th November 2025.

CAT Exam Important Dates

The table below shows some of the key dates concerning the CAT Exam 2025.

The CAT Exam cutoff will be released by IIMs. CAT Exam Cut Off generally displays the minimum percentile requirement for admission to IIM for various courses. The qualifying cutoff for IIM generally lies between 80 to 90(for general category)percentile, while the final cutoff of top IIMs may go upto 98-100 percentile. Here below in the table is the CAT Cut Off 2024 for 21 IIMs.