What is CAT Exam?

What is CAT Exam?

CAT 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 is a national level MBA entrance exam conducted annually by one of the IIMs. CAT 2023 is all set to be conducted on 26 November 2023. CAT 2022 was conducted by IIM Bangalore on 27 November 2022, similarly CAT 2023 is being conducted by IIM Lucknow. The exam will be conducted in three slots i.e. morning, afternoon, and evening.  

IIM Lucknow is the conducting body of CAT Exam 2023.

The CAT Exam is the most popular 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 explains almost everything about CAT Exam. It covers topics such as CAT Eligibility Criteria, CAT Syllabus, CAT Exam Pattern, etc. as well as the time required to complete the entire syllabus to qualify the exam and various other programs offered by the IIMs. 

Also Read: Preparation Strategy Of CAT Toppers

What is CAT Exam?

CAT stands for Common Admission Test. CAT exam is the most prestigious national level MBA entrance examination in India for admission to the top management institutes. It is, for obvious reasons, the biggest MBA Exam in the country. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) conduct the Common Admission Test on a rotational basis and enrol students based on the marks secured by them in the examination.

Q1. What is CAT Full Form?

A1. CAT Full Form is CAT Admission Test and it is a national level MBA Entrance Exam which is conducted by Indian Institutes of Management. 

CAT Exam 2023 is scheduled to be conducted on 26 November 2023, which is the last Sunday of November. This computer-based test will be held across 156 cities in India. If an MBA aspirant is planning to take CAT 2023, they he/she must gear up with their CAT Preparation right away. 

Related Articles:

• What is CAT Exam Fees?
• What are CAT Eligibility Criteria?
• Is CAT Exam Tough?
• CAT Score vs Percentile
• CAT Normalization Process

IIM CAT Exam Highlights

In the table given below, are some of the important highlights about CAT Exam:

CAT IIM Date and Registration

The total number of students who apply for the exam reaches 2.30 lakh approximately every year. The IIM CAT 2023 is scheduled to be held on November 26, 2023. CAT 2023 official notification has already been released on the official website of CAT – iimcat.ac.in 2023.

Below mentioned are the CAT Exam Date 2023 that students can refer to for strategic preparation:

CAT Application Form 2023

The examination conducting body began CAT exam 2023 registration procedure on 2 August 2023. The officials of IIM CAT Exam have activated the online application link and invited applicants to apply for the examination. The registration process of cat is to be conducted only through online mode. Below mentioned is the brief of the CAT 2023 registration process that candidates must follow in order to register themselves of the exam:

1. Visit the official IIM CAT Exam website – iimcat.ac.in 2023.
2. Register yourself by entering the required details.
3. Fill out the registration form and enter all the details correctly.
4. After the successful registration, procced to fill CAT Exam Form by logging into the website with your created login credentials. 
5. Upload all the required and essential documents.
6. Process the payment of CAT Registration Fees.
7. Complete the final submission process of CAT Application Form. 
8. Download the duly submitted application form of CAT and take a printout of the same for future reference. 

Read More - CAT Exam 2023 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:

Read More - CAT Exam Fees

IIM CAT Exam – Evolution of CAT Exam 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. 

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 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 Exam Syllabus that students must make sure they study before appearing for the examination:

Read in Detail - CAT 2023 Syllabus

IIM CAT Marking Scheme

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:

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

Time Required to Complete IIM CAT Exam 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.

CAT Exam Cities 

Below mentioned is the list of CAT Test Cities where the CAT 2023 will be conducted:

Other 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: