Common Admission Test (CAT) is the most popular management entrance exam in India, conducted by one of the older IIM’s on a rotational basis. It is a gateway to 20 IIMs and over 1200 B-schools in India. Around 2.4 lakh candidates register for the exam very year. CAT 2025 Application Form will be available from last week of July after the release of official notification.The name of the convening IIM will be announced in the month of May, 2024. Candidates will be tested on their Quantitative, Verbal/reading, Data Interpretation and Reasoning Skills. Exam Pattern is devised by IIMs and candidates have to attempt a total of 100 MCQ & Non-MCQ questions in 3 hour duration. With growing demand of management courses, there are several top colleges offering admissions to their MBA programs. With high paying management and entrepreneurship job opportunities, the number of CAT aspirants have also been increasing over the years. Long term preparation will give an edge to the candidates over others. A strong preparation ensures conceptual clarity and accurate problem-solving approach.
CAT 2025Conducting Body | Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode (Expected)
CAT 2025 Official Website | iimcat.ac.in
Duration | 2 Hours (120 Minutes- 40 Minutes for Each Section)
Number of Sections | 3 (Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning)
CAT Application Mode | Online
Exam Mode | Computer Based Test
Medium of Exam | English
CAT Marking Scheme | ✎ Each question will carry 3 marks✎ 1 mark negative marking for every wrong answer✎ No CAT negative marking for Non-MC
All exam related events and dates are mentioned below. Make sure you do not miss upon any of these.
EventDates (Tentative)
CAT 2025 Official Notification | July 30, 2025
CAT 2025 Application Form | August 2, 2025 September 21, 2025
CAT 2025 Form Correction Window | September 25 28, 2025
Release of CAT Admit Card 2025 | November 7, 2025
CAT 2025 Exam Date | November 30, 2025
CAT Result Date 2025 | December 21, 2025
Check CAT Participating Colleges
In order to be eligible for CAT, an aspirant must be a graduate degree holder in any stream. Candidates appearing in the final year/semester of their degree program can also apply for CAT 2025.
CategoryPercentage Required
General and OBC | 50%
Scheduled Caste | 45%
Scheduled Tribe | 45%
Persons with Disabilities | 45%
Why is it important to verify eligibility criteria before applying?
CAT exam pattern, prescribed by the IIMs has remained the same since past five years. CAT question paper is divided into three sections. The format of questions is multiple choice questions (MCQ) and Type In The Answer (TITA). The number of MCQs is more than TITA questions.
Mode of Test | Online
Type of Question Paper | MCQ
Section in Question Paper | 3
Total Question | 66 (Expected)
Total time alotted | 120 minutes(2 hours)
Language of Question Paper | English
Total Marks | 198
Number of Answer Choices | 4
Negative Marking for MCQ | -1
Negative Marking for Non-MCQ | 0
The CAT question paper is split between three sections
1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
3. Quantitative Ability (QA)
If CAT exam pattern will change for 2025, the exam authorities will inform at the time of release of CAT 2025 notification. The exam authorities will release CAT tutorial in October for the candidates familiarise themselves with the actual CAT exam.
CAT syllabus is prescribed by IIM and it includes all the important topics of Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). There has been no change in the CAT syllabus for over 10 years and is expected to remain the same for CAT 2025.
Each of the three sections of CAT 2025 - QA, DILR and VARC - will contain various important topics the students need to study and prepare for. The tables below list the important topics that fall under CAT syllabus.
VARC section is the first section of the CAT question paper and is to be solved first. The section is divided into two sub-parts, VA and RC. The sectional time limit for VARC is 60 minutes. Take a look at important topics and some key points of this section.
Verbal Ability (VA): Key Points
Reading Comprehension (RC): Key Points
DILR is the second section of CAT question paper and is to be solved after the VARC section. This section is further divided into two sub-sections - DI and LR. The sectional time limit for DILR is 60 minutes. Take a look at important topics and some key points of this section.
Logical Reasoning (LR): Key Points
Data Interpretation (DI): Key Points
QA is the last section of CAT question paper and is to be solved in the last one hour of the exam. Take a look at important topics and some key points of this section.
Quantitative Aptitude (QA): Key Points
For CAT preparation 2025, candidates must make a subject-wise plan. The CAT exam has three sections – VARC, DILR and QA. When making a CAT preparation plan, keep in mind which subject is your weak point and allot time to it accordingly. Experts advise that a candidate must begin CAT preparation with the subject they find the toughest. Take a look at some of the important aspects of CAT preparation, below.
Step 1: Check the CAT syllabus thoroughly and understand the CAT exam pattern and marking scheme well.
Step 2: Obtain the best books for CAT and other study material.
Step 3: Join online study groups on Quora, Facebook, Whataspp, etc.
Step 4: Make a monthly time-table, a weekly time-table and a daily time-table.
CAT admit card 2025 will be available for download on the official website from October third week. Candidates can download their respective admit cards by using their CAT login ID until the exam day. CAT admit card is a mandatory document to be carried to the exam centre. Failure to carry the admit card at the exam centre can lead to disqualification from taking CAT exam. Thus, the candidates must download their admit cards before the CAT exam day as hard copy of the same will not be issued.
To download the CAT 2025 admit card, you will be required to follow the steps given below:
The CAT 2025 admit card will have the following details:
As soon as the candidates download your CAT admit card, they must check the all the information mentioned on it. The below listed information on admit card should match the information on the CAT application form: