CAT 2024: Exam Dates, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern

CAT Exam 2024 will be conducted in November 2024. IIM Calcutta will conduct CAT 2024 Exam in 155 cities all over India. The registration will begin in the month of July 2024. In order to crack CAT 2024 exam successfully, students must start their preparation now.

CAT Preparation Strategy || Books || Syllabus

CAT is national level management exam which is a pre-requisite for admission in Post Graduate & Fellow/ Doctorate courses of IIMs. It is conducted once a year in three sessions. Scores of CAT are also accepted by various listed non-IIM member institutions. However, IIMs play no role in the selection process of non- IIM institutions. Through this article, we have provided complete details regarding CAT 2024 registration, exam dates, eligibility, etc.

All you need to know about CAT 2024 Exam:

• Searching for Syllabus to crack CAT 2025? Check Detailed CAT Syllabus
• What to Cover In CAT Syllabus? Refer CAT Preparation Tips & Books
• CAT 2025 Exam Date – 24th November 2024 (Expected), Check CAT Exam Dates
• When will CAT 2025 Registration process begin? Check CAT Registration
• Are you eligible for CAT 2025? Lets check CAT Eligibility Criteria

CAT 2024 Overview

CAT 2024 Exam Dates

Know complete CAT Exam Dates 2024 for various events starting from application to counselling:

CAT 2024 Registration

Check complete details about CAT 2024 Application form from online registration to its submission:

• Online registration process of CAT 2024 will begin from first week of August 2024.
• Complete notification about exam and its registration date will be informed in the notification made available in last week of July 2024.
• Complete must make sure to go through complete instructions provided before filling the form to avoid any confusion later.
• Registration facility will be available online till third week of September 2024.
• Fill all the mandatory details and must make sure to register using unique & valid email address & mobile number as all official communication will be done through it.
• All details like personal information, academic details, work experience, test city, programmes, images, documents, etc. must be gathered before registering.
• After completely filling the form, students must check all details and then finally submit the form as no request for changes will be entertained later.
• Avoid submission of multiple form, as it may lead to rejection of form.

Registration Fee:

• Candidates can pay application fee online mode.
• For ST, SC, PWD category, fee is Rs.1200.
• For all other category candidates (General/ EWS/ NC-OBC), fee is Rs.2400.
• Online fee payment can be done through various modes – Debit card/ credit card/ net banking/ UPI.
• Students are required to pay fee only once, irrespective of the institutions he/she is applying for.
• Once paid, fee will not be refunded under any circumstances.

How to Register for CAT 2024:

Know complete applying procedure of CAT 2024 below:

• Visit the online website (Link will be given above).
• Register Online by creating user profile under given option – ‘New Candidate Registration’.
• Click on Generate OTP and verify it through SMS send on your mobile.
• Fill details – name, DOB, email address, mobile number
• Once form submission is done the entries cannot be edited.
• Agree to declaration and confirmation of registration.
• Now login to website using received generated User Id and Password.
• Now fill application form with details – personal, work experience, academics, test city, programmes, payment, etc.
• Upload mandatory documents as per specified format and size.
• Fill academic qualification details – 10th/ 12th/ UG/ PG degree details.
• Add/ Select work experience (if you have any), applied programmes, test city.
• Now end step is to make fee payment as per provided payment gateways.
• Ensure complete details filled in application are correct and submit finally.
• Take print out of application form for any further reference.

CAT 2024 Application Correction

Students who have submitted the application form and want to make changes can do so after opening of correction facility. CAT Correction window 2024 will open online in September 2024. It remains open for few days only.

Changes in category is not possible after registration. So, students must fill details correctly to avoid rejection of form. For making changes in form, students have to enter their login details.

CAT 2024 Eligibility Criteria

Check below complete details related to CAT Eligibility criteria 2024:

• Applying candidates must have Bachelors’ degree awarded by University or Institution recognised by authority.
• Those who are appearing in final year of their degree or awaiting results after completing degree are also eligible to apply.
• Students with professional degree- CA/ ICWA/ CS can also apply.
• Students in their qualifying degree must have obtained at least of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. 45% marks in case of ST/ SC and PWD. However, the calculation of percentage of marks will be followed calculated according to the procedure followed by respective institution/ university.
• There is no age limit or attempt limit mentioned for applying.

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern

Check details about CAT Exam Pattern 2024 in the below given section:

• Test mode: The exam will be held in online CBT mode.
• Time Duration: 120 minutes are provided to complete the paper. For PWD, 160 minutes are provided.
• Number of sessions/ shifts: Paper will be conducted in three shifts.
• Type of Questions: There will be objective & subjective questions in the paper.
• Number of Questions: Total 66 questions will be asked in exam.
• Marking: 3 marks will be awarded for each correct answer. 1 mark will be deducted for every incorrect response.
• Number of sections: There will be three sections in paper as categorised in the below table.

Check distribution of questions for various section:

CAT 2024 Syllabus

CAT Syllabus 2024 can be checked by students through online mode on website. It covers topics based on three areas – Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

The different topics covered in various sections are discussed below:

• Verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC): Sentence correction, English Grammar, Synonyms, antonyms, fill in the blanks, Meaning-usage match, jumbled paragraph, summary questions, reading comprehension, para-jumbles, odd one out, syllogism, basic vocabulary, facts inferences judgements, etc.
• Quantitative Ability (QA): LCM & HCF, Ratio and Proportion, Speed time & distance, number systems, averages, percentages, time and work, profit, loss and discount, logarithm, cubes, inequalities, set, theory and function, mensuration, coordinate geometry, permutation and combination, etc.
• Data Interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR): Line charts, tables, bar graphs, Venn diagrams, Caselets, pie charts, clocks, column graphs, calendars, blood relations, other basic reasoning questions, seating arrangement, logical matching, logical connectives, number and letter series, binary logic, syllogism, etc.

CAT 2024 Preparation Tips

Here students can check and follow discussed CAT Preparation Tips for exam 2024:

• Go through complete details about CAT Syllabus, pattern, etc.
• Start making a strategy for exam preparation.
• Follow the prepared routine strictly without any excuse.
• Keep major portion of your day for study and also include short breaks in between.
• Make short notes and go through these regularly.
• Solve previous year papers and sample papers.
• Take mock tests for better practice.

CAT Recommended Books 2024

Here, we have listed few recommended CAT books 2024 for the reference of candidates preparing for the exam:

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT – By Pearson
• How to Prepare for QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE for CAT – by McGraw Hill
• CAT: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning – by GK Publications
• CAT Mock Test 15 Sample Question Papers – by Oswaal Books and Learning Private Limited

CAT Seat Reservation

The seats reserved for various category candidates are mentioned below:

CAT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

CAT 2024 Admit Card

The admit card of CAT 2024 will be made available to the registered candidates in first week of November 2024. The hall ticket will be only provided by online mode on the website. No admit cards will be sent to candidates through post or any offline mode.

In case of any discrepancy in details of admit card, students must contact authority and must make corrections before exam date. While carrying CAT admit card on the day of exam, students also should carry valid id proof & other things as mentioned in the admit card. Make sure you go through complete details and follow instructions as provided in hall ticket.

CAT Exam Centres

Exam centres for CAT are spread across around 150 cities mentioned below. Students are provided option of six test cities as per their order of preference. Complete details about allotted exam centres can be checked on the admit card.

Port Blair, Kakinada, Guntur, Kurnool, Rajahmundry, Vijaywada, Nellore, Vishakhapatnam, Tirupathi, Itanagar, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Chandigarh, Raipur, Bhilai, Delhi, New Delhi, Gurugram, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Panipat, Ghaziabad, Panaji, Madgaon, Anand, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Surat, Bahadurgarh, Hisar, Ambala, Paliwal, Rohtak, Sonipat, Waknaghat, Simla, Jammu, Kashmir, Sambha, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Bangalore, Belagavi, Dharwad, Hubli, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Udupi, Kasaragod, Kozikhode, Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Kollam, Malappuram, Trivandrum, Gwalior, Thrissur, Indore, Bhopal, Sagar, Jabalpur, Amravati, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, etc.

CAT 2024 Answer Key

CAT Answer key 2024 can be downloaded in first week of December 2024. Students have to login with their details to download their answer key. Along with the answer key, papers and responses will be available. Students can download keys in PDF form for various subjects.

If candidates have any objections/ suggestions related to CAT answer key, they can raise objections within the provided time period. Objections must be submitted along with documents and prescribed fee. Final answer key will be released after few days.

CAT 2024 Result

CAT Result 2024 will be declared in third week of December 2024. Candidates can download result online by entering login details. An individual SMS will be sent to candidates about result.

Scorecard will made available for downloading till last week of January 2025. It will contain details of candidate, exam, percentile scored, overall scaled score, etc. The CAT scorecard will be valid for one year only.

Also Check:

CAT Score card

CAT 2024 Cut Off

Every participating institute will release its own cut off online on the website. CAT Cut Off 2024 released by IIMs ranges between 95 to 100 percentiles. For general category candidates, the cut off is higher on comparison to reserved category candidates.

The factors which determine CAT cut off for various IIMs are – seats availability, number of test takers, difficulty level of paper, past year cut off trends, college ranking, etc.

CAT 2024 Admission

CAT Admission/ Selection procedure 2024 will be organised by various participating institutions. Performance in CAT exam is an important component for consideration in the selection process. CAP (common admission process) will begin in January 2025. Interview rounds (GD/ PI) will be organised for selection of students.

At various stages of selection, IIMs may also use relevant work experience, previous academic performance of candidates & other inputs for shortlisting candidates for admission.

CAT Participating Institutions

Various participating institutions (IIMs) which offer admission into various management programmes are:

• IIM Ahmedabad
• IIM Amritsar
• IIM Bangalore
• IIM Calcutta
• IIM Bodh Gaya
• IIM Indore
• IIM Jammu
• IIM Kashipur
• IIM Lucknow
• IIM Kozhikode
• IIM Nagpur
• IIM Lucknow
• IIM Raipur
• IIM Rohtak
• IIM Ranchi
• IIM Sambhalpur
• IIM Sirmaur
• IIM Shillong
• IIM Tiruchirappali
• IIM Vishakhapatnam
• IIM Udaipur

If you have any other query related to CAT 2024, you can ask your query in the comments section given below.