CAT: Common Admission Test

The Common Admission Test is administered on behalf of the IIMs. Taking CAT may make you eligible to apply, but it does not submit applications to each school, guarantee that a school will consider you, or place you in a shared seat-allocation round. The CAT portal and each participating programme's admissions page identify the relevant routes; verify that a specific institution and course accept the score in the cycle you are applying for.

Think of CAT as one assessment feeding several separately managed admission routes. First decide which programme you want, then check that programme’s current policy for accepted test, minimum eligibility, application deadline, category rules, shortlisting and later stages. The IIMA two-year MBA page, for example, describes CAT for domestic applicants followed by an analytical writing test and personal interviews for shortlisted candidates; it says selection also considers prior academic performance and performance in those later stages. Other IIMs and non-IIMs publish their own policies. A CAT percentile should therefore be read as one input into a target programme’s process, not as an admission decision in itself.

CAT is most useful when management programmes are genuinely on your list and you can apply to the institutions whose selection rules fit your profile. It is less useful to treat the exam as a substitute for researching programmes: a score accepted by an institution does not establish that every course, campus, category or application route there accepts it. Check the official admissions page of each intended programme, and use the CAT website’s participating-institution information as a starting point rather than as a promise of selection.

As of 27 October 2026, the announced exam cycle is CAT 2026. IIM Ahmedabad’s admissions page links to the CAT-2026 portal and its advertisement and information bulletin. The published schedule, reported by The Indian Express from the CAT notice, places the test on Sunday, 29 November 2026, in three sessions. The same report says registration opened on 3 August and that the original 15 September deadline was extended to 22 September. That registration window has passed. The current CAT portal is the place to check operational notices, including the admit-card instructions and result update.

The timing aligns with admissions for programmes beginning in 2027, but an intake label is not an exam-cycle label. IIMA’s two-year MBA admissions page is for its programme and points applicants to CAT-2026; other programmes may use a different calendar or a different test. Do not describe the forthcoming test as “CAT 2027” merely because you are targeting a 2027 start. Nor should a programme cohort such as IIMA’s 2027–29 batch be mistaken for the CAT cycle. A cohort label such as 2027–29 describes the entering programme class, not the name of the entrance examination. Follow the programme policy for that exact cohort and its test-validity rules.

The latest fully visible CAT-specific schedule located for this overview is CAT 2026. It is not evidence of CAT 2027 dates, fees, eligibility or pattern. If you are planning for a later intake that would require a future CAT sitting, wait for that cycle’s official notice instead of projecting the 2026 calendar forward. Annual repetition may make a date seem predictable, but only the current notification establishes a candidate’s actual deadline and obligations.

The CAT 2026 notification coverage states that applicants need a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks, with a 45% threshold for SC, ST and PwD candidates; candidates in the final year of graduation may also apply. The live CAT-2026 information bulletin linked by IIMA is the controlling document for the exact qualification wording, recognised-equivalent routes, category treatment and proof requirements. Read it before submitting rather than relying on a coaching summary, especially if your degree uses CGPA, is awarded outside the standard route, or your final results will be pending.

Meeting the minimum exam eligibility is only the first check. The CAT 2025 advertisement explicitly cautioned that minimum eligibility does not ensure consideration for IIM shortlisting. IIMA’s current MBA admissions page likewise describes selection as a combination of test performance, previous academic record and later-stage performance. Individual programmes may require additional conditions or use different shortlisting weights, and those rules can change by cohort. Your practical checklist is therefore: confirm that your qualification makes you eligible for CAT, then separately confirm that you meet each programme’s requirements for the intended cohort.

For final-year students, distinguish permission to appear from the later evidence needed to complete admission. The CAT notification’s appearing-candidate route does not waive a programme’s requirement that the degree be completed and the minimum marks be documented by its stated deadline. Check both the CAT bulletin and each target programme’s policy for the required completion date, certificates and any undertaking format. If the wording is unclear for your qualification, use the official helpdesk or admissions office before the deadline; do not assume that eligibility for the test automatically settles eligibility for a particular MBA.

Category status also needs careful handling. The CAT advertisement says category cannot be changed after CAT registration. The precise certificate, format and date rules belong to the current bulletin and the admissions policy of the programme you apply to. Check that the category you select is supported by the applicable certificate and matches the relevant central or programme-specific rules. A category-based minimum threshold in the exam notice should not be confused with a programme’s shortlist cutoff or final selection score.

The CAT 2026 examination is scheduled in three sessions. The current format reported for CAT 2026 consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). The Indian Express reported 40 minutes per section and no switching between sections. Since the official CAT information bulletin and any subsequent notice take precedence, verify the exact 2026 instructions there before relying on a question count or marking detail.

A sectional timer changes how you allocate attention. You cannot leave a difficult question in one section and use its remaining time elsewhere once that section closes. Practice each section under its own time limit, and review both the questions you attempted and the time lost to choices that did not pay off. In VARC, the work is reading accurately and distinguishing a passage’s argument from attractive but unsupported options. DILR rewards structuring a set before calculating; a set that looks long may become manageable once its conditions are represented clearly. QA tests selection as well as execution: recognise when a problem is worth pursuing and when a reliable attempt elsewhere is a better use of the section clock.

Do not build a plan around assumed topic weightage or a predicted question mix unless the CAT Centre publishes it for the cycle. The number of questions in an earlier paper is not a guaranteed count for a later session or year. Use the official bulletin for the test’s rules, the official tutorial when available to learn the computer interface, and timed practice to identify your own accuracy and pacing issues. A tutorial can explain the on-screen process; it cannot tell you which questions will appear or guarantee a score.

CAT is conducted in multiple sessions, so candidates should follow the current cycle’s instructions on how scores are reported and compared across sessions. A raw number of correct answers and a percentile are different measures: the former describes performance on a paper under its scoring rules, while the latter expresses relative standing among test takers under the exam authority’s process. Use the scorecard’s own definitions rather than converting a practice-test raw score into an assumed admission percentile. No past percentile or unofficial predictor can establish a future programme cutoff.

For CAT 2026, registration opened on 3 August 2026. The initially announced closing date of 15 September was extended to 22 September at 5 pm, according to the CAT extension notice reported by The Indian Express. The exam date is 29 November, and admit-card download was scheduled to begin on 4 November. Registration is closed now; If you have registered, check the official portal for your admit card and use the details on it to confirm your session, centre and reporting instructions. If you did not complete registration, there is no basis here to assume a further chance for CAT 2026.

The 2026 advertisement listed a one-time registration fee of ₹2,700 for candidates outside SC, ST and PwD categories and ₹1,350 for SC, ST and PwD candidates. The fee was payable once regardless of how many IIMs were selected in the CAT application, and the advertisement said fees were non-refundable. These are CAT 2026 figures, not an announced fee for a later CAT cycle. The application fee is also separate from any programme application fee, which an institution may charge through its own admissions process.

The CAT notice reported approximately 170 test cities and allowed candidates to rank five city preferences. Allocation depended on availability and could be to a nearby city if demand was high; the report said a centre could not be changed after allotment. This is why test-city selection should be treated as a preference, not a guaranteed venue. Registered candidates should check the final admit-card centre and plan travel using that confirmed location rather than an expected preference.

A compact sequence for a 2027 applicant is: verify your qualification and category documents against the CAT 2026 bulletin; identify the programmes whose 2027 intake rules accept CAT 2026; complete each institution’s separate application; sit CAT on the date and session shown in your admit card; then follow each programme’s shortlist, writing test, interview or other selection steps. The dates and stages after the exam are programme-specific unless the authority states otherwise. CAT does not provide a common application that completes these later steps for you.

The CAT score helps programmes screen applicants, but there is no single CAT cutoff that applies to every institution or course. A published qualifying threshold, where an institution uses one, is not necessarily the threshold at which it will shortlist a candidate. Shortlisting can use section-wise as well as overall performance and may account for academic history, work experience or other programme-defined factors. IIMA’s current MBA admissions description explicitly includes prior academic performance and later-stage assessment alongside CAT performance. Read the target programme’s policy for the relevant cohort and category rather than treating a headline percentile as a universal safe score.

Use a scorecard in two passes. First check whether you meet any published minimums, including sectional minimums, for each programme. Then assess the rest of that programme’s stated selection method: academic record, work experience, written assessment, interview and any other documented component. If an institution publishes category-specific thresholds, compare only within the matching category and programme. Historical cutoffs can help you understand what a school used in a past cycle, but only when the year, category, programme and stage match; they are not a forecast or admission guarantee for 2027.

Also distinguish CAT acceptance from participation in another process. Some institutions may accept CAT while using their own application portal, shortlist rules and interview schedule. Others may join a separate central process for particular programmes. Check the responsible authority for every step, including any payment, document verification, preference form or counselling registration. Missing a separate application can make an otherwise valid CAT score unusable for that programme.

The result and scorecard schedule for CAT 2026 should be checked on the official portal. IIMA links to the CAT 2026 information bulletin and portal but its admissions page governs IIMA’s own process. Do not infer an exact result date or a 2027 score-validity rule from an older advertisement. After the result, download and retain the official scorecard, read the score and percentile fields as defined by the CAT authority, and follow the application dashboards and email instructions of each programme. Contact the relevant admissions office if your scorecard details or eligibility documents need correction.

CAT belongs in your plan if you are ready to apply to programmes that use it, satisfy their educational and category requirements, and can manage a selection process that continues after the test. It gives a common assessment that several schools may use, which can make one test relevant across a portfolio of applications. The trade-off is that a strong test result does not replace separate research or applications, and each programme may weigh the score differently.

Before spending time on preparation or application fees, name the programmes you would actually attend. For each one, record the intake, accepted test cycle, minimum eligibility, application deadline, shortlist method and subsequent stages from its own official page. That small comparison prevents a common planning error: preparing for CAT while assuming that every institution has the same cutoff, application route or calendar. If your intended 2027 programme accepts CAT 2026 and you can meet its conditions, the exam is a relevant part of the application plan. If the programme’s future policy is not yet published, keep that fact open and verify it when the official admissions page updates.