Introduction
Common Admission Test or “CAT” is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on a rotation basis every year. CAT scores are used by the IIMs and other top business schools in India such as SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, NITIE etc. for admission to their MBA, PGDM, and other management courses. CAT 2019 is expected to be held in November 2019. More than two lakh aspirants apply for CAT every year.
Suggested: Learn in detail about XAT 2019 and IIFT Admissions 2019.
Latest Update
The applications for CAT 2019 have started and will remain open until 25th September, 2019. For more information, please scroll down below.
List of Contents
- Important Dates.
- Date of Examination
- Medium of Examination
- Mode of Examination
- List of IIMs and their Programs through CAT
- CAT Eligibility Criteria
- CAT Exam Pattern
- Previous Year Question Papers
- How to Apply?
- CAT Selection Procedure
- CAT Syllabus
- CAT Test Centers
- CAT Admit Card
- CAT Answer Key
- CAT Results.
- Frequently Asked Questions.
- Important Links.
CAT 2019 Important Dates (Tentative)
| Events | Exam Dates (Tentative) |
| CAT Official Notification | 28th July, 2019 |
| Start of CAT 2019 Online Registrations | 7th August 2019 |
| Last Day of Registrations | 25th September 2019 |
| Correction Window | Last week of September 2019 |
| Issuance of CAT Admit Cards | 23rd October 2019 – 24th November 2019 |
| CAT 2019 Exam Date | 24th November 2019 |
| Declaration of CAT Results | 2nd week of January 2020 (tentative) |
CAT 2019 Exam Date
CAT 2019 will be held on the 24th November 2019.
It will be conducted in two sessions on the same day: morning (9 am to 12 pm) and evening (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Candidates are allotted one of the slots randomly.
Medium of Examination
CAT exam 2019 will be conducted in ENGLISH only.
Mode of Examination
CAT exam 2019 will be a Computer-Based Test (CBT) and thus shall be conducted online.
List of IIMs and their Programs through CAT
Post Graduate Programs in Management
- IIM Ahmedabad: PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP
- IIM Amritsar: PGP
- IIM Bangalore: PGP, PGPEM, PGPPM
- IIM Bodh Gaya: PGP
- IIM Calcutta: PGP-PGDM
- IIM Indore: PGP (Indore, Mumbai), EPGP, PGP-HRM
- IIM Jammu: PGP
- IIM Kashipur: PGP, EPGP
- IIM Kozhikode: PGP
- IIM Lucknow: PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM
- IIM Nagpur: PGP
- IIM Raipur: PGP, PGPWE
- IIM Ranchi: PGDM, PGDHRM
- IIM Rohtak: PGP, EPGP, EPGPX
- IIM Sambalpur: PGP
- IIM Shillong: PGP, PGPEX
- IIM Sirmaur: PGP
- IIM Tiruchirappalli: PGP, PGPBM
- IIM Udaipur: PGP
- IIM Visakhapatnam: PGP
Fellow Programs in Management (FPM) [equivalent to PhD]
- IIM Ahmedabad: FPM
- IIM Bangalore: FPM
- IIM Calcutta: FPM
- IIM lndore: FPM
- IIM Kashipur: FPM & EFPM
- IIM Kozhikode: FPM
- lIM Lucknow: FPM
- IIM Raipur: FPM & EFPM
- IIM Ranchi: FPM
- IIM Rohtak: FPM
- IIM Shillong: FPM
- IIM Tiruchirappalli: FPM
- IIM Udaipur: FPM
CAT 2019 Eligibility Criteria
Following sub-headings describe the CAT Eligibility Criteria.
Qualifying Examination
The candidate must have completed his/her graduation (bachelor’s degree) or passed an equivalent qualifying examination from a recognized college or university.
He/she should have scored minimum 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PWD). The bachelor’s degree must be of minimum 3 years’ duration.
CS/CA/ICWA candidates and candidates who are in their final year of college are also eligible to apply.
Age Limit
There is no age limit for taking CAT.
NRI/FN Candidates
NRIs and foreign candidates can apply to the institutes with their GMAT scores.
CAT 2019 Exam Pattern (Based on Current Pattern)
The duration of CAT 2019 will be 3 hours or 180 minutes, with 60 minutes for each section.
The paper shall have both objective-type questions (MCQs)and subjective-type questions. Each question shall carry 3 marks.
There shall be 3 sections in the CAT 2019 paper: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
While there shall be a penalty of 1 mark for each incorrect answer to an MCQ, there shall be no negative marking for the subjective questions.
| SECTION | MCQs | Non-MCQs | DURATION | TOTAL MARKS |
| Quantitative Ability | 24 | 10 | 60 Min | 102 |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 24 | 10 | 60 Min | 102 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 22 | 08 | 60 Min | 96 |
| TOTAL | 72 | 28 | 180 Min | 300 |
For more details, read the CAT Exam Pattern article.
CAT Previous Year Papers
From 2017 onwards, CAT conducting bodies have been releasing the CAT Question paper for that year along with an answer key.
Aspirants can download the previous year CAT papers in PDF format for FREE at following links:
- CAT 2017 Question Paper [Solved]
- CAT 2018 Question Paper.
CAT 2019 Registration
The official CAT notification has released on 7th August 2019 and will remain open until 25th September 2019, 5p.m.
To register for CAT 2019, please click here.
The CAT registration process will completely be ONLINE.
CAT 2019 Application Fee
| General/OBC Candidates | INR 1900 |
| SC/ST/PWD Candidates | INR 950 |
The application fee can be paid online with Credit Card/Debit Card/Net-banking.
Documents to be Uploaded
- Colored Photograph – 35mm x 45 mm; JPG/JPEG/PNG format; Size: Less than 80 KB.
- Signature – 80 mm x 35 mm; JPG/JPEG/PNG format; Size: Less than 80 KB.
- Caste or Disability certificate (PDF format) in case of SC/ST/OBC/PWD candidates
CAT 2019 Selection Procedure
Every institute, including the IIMs, have different cut-offs and criteria for selection. The institutes take into account overall profile strength which includes one’s CAT score and also one’s 10th, 12thand graduation marks, work experience, extra-curricular activities etc. Based on their selection criteria, candidates are called for group discussion and personal interview (GDPI) rounds. The cumulative scores of all rounds are considered to decide the final merit list for each institute.
Syllabus
While there is no fixed or official syllabus for CAT 2019, there are certain subjects that are asked in CAT every year.
- Quantitative Ability
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.
- Data Interpretation.
- Logical Reasoning.
A detailed article on CAT Syllabus 2019 has been published.
Know about some of the books for CAT preparation.
CAT 2019 Test Centers
CAT 2018 was held in 156 cities across the country. Though the test centers for CAT 2019 have not been officially announced, the current test centers in India are as follows:
| Exam State | Exam Cities |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Vizianagaram, Rajahmundry |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur |
| Bihar | Aurangabad, Arrah, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh, Mohali |
| Chattisgarh | Raipur, Bhillai Nagar, Bilaspur |
| Delhi NCR | New Delhi, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Noida, Gurugram, Meerut |
| Goa | Panaji |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Mehsana |
| Haryana | Ambala, Panipath, Rohtak, Hisar, Kurushetra, Karnal |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu |
| Jharkhand | Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Bokaro |
| Karnataka | Belagavi (Belgaum), Bengaluru, Dharwad, Hubbali (Hubli), Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Mangaluru (Mangalore), Mysuru(Mysore), Shivamogga (Shimoga), Udupi |
| Kerala | Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikhode, Thrissur, Trivandrum |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna, Ujjain |
| Maharashtra | Amravati, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Nanded, Raigad, Thane, Vasai, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nashik, Satara, Palghar, Ulhasnagar |
| Meghalaya | Shillong |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar,Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Punjab | Pathankot, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bhatinda, Patiala, Jalandhar, Sangrur |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Jaipur, Sikar, Alwar, Jodhpur,Udaipur, Bikaner, Kota |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Salem, Trichy, Vellore |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Warangal |
| Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad, Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Varanasi |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Roorkee, Haldwani |
| West Bengal | Asansol, Burdwan, Durgapur, Hooghly, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri, Bankura |
CAT 2019 Admit Card
CAT admit card 2019 will be available in the month of October, 2019. The admit cards can be downloaded from the official website.
CAT 2019 Answer Key
From year 2017 onwards, IIMs have decided on releasing on CAT Answer Key.
Results
CAT results 2019 will be announced tentatively in the second week of January 2020 on the official website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Ques.: When is the CAT notification 2019 expected?
Answer: CAT official notification is usually available from the 3rd week of July every year. The notification for CAT this year has been released on 28th July 2019.
Ques.: Who is going to conduct CAT this year?
Answer: As per previous year trends, CAT 2019 shall be conducted by IIM Kozhikode.
Ques.: Is calculator allowed inside CAT exam hall?
Answer: No. Calculators aren’t allowed inside CAT exam hall. However, candidates do have access to a virtual calculator.
Useful Links
Stay tuned for more updates on CAT 2019 Exam. For further queries, post your questions in the comments. Please follow us on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.
hello guys,
I am one of the MBA aspirant and want to appear CAT 2018 . Currently I am in final year of my graduation , In semester V , I somehow get one back due to which I need to re-appear in 2018 December exam . My query is does I am eligible to appear for CAT 2018 as by the declaration of the CAT result in January 2019 , I will receive my improvement result as well . Please get my query solved .
Yes you can apply and write the exam…at the last only you have to submit your certificates.so having a subject is not an issue
Yes ! You are eligible but make sure you complete your graduation as or before commencement of academic session of your MBA in June(2019) as your marksheets and other documents needs to be submitted.
Who can give the exam of CAT….the students who is doing their 1st year can give the exam of CAT
No ! Only the students who have completed the their bachelor graduation or who are in the final year of their graduation are eligible to take the exam.All the best for your future
Hi Palak,
Unfortunately, you need to be in the final year of studies to be eligible for CAT 2018.
Regards
hello
I’m still in the second year of my graduation course. Is m eligible for CAT 2018.
NO … you have to complete your graduation or you should be in final year of your graduation.
gud evng
present we are pursuing degree final year ,when will u conduct the exams in the year of 2018.
even we qualify in the cat examination tution fees are very high,we get any scholars ???
Hi Priya,
CAT 2018 notification is expected to release by the last week of July 2018.
Regards
Gud evng
I am priya,me and my friend want to CAT 2018 present we are pursuing final year degree,if we qualify in the examination tution fees are very high,we can get scholars after joining??
Hi Priya,
Yes, good management institutes are costly in India. You can go for education loans as a medium of finance. As far as scholarships are concerned, they usually vary institute to institute. For scholarship, please check the corresponding institute’s website.
Regards
Hi Priya,
Dont worry about tuition fee, once you get admission you get education loan , so no worry at all.
hi I am working employee of software company having 3 years experience ..will it be helpful for me if I take cat this year
Hi Subu,
Work experience does contribute to the admission process at various management institutes such as IIMs, Narsee Monjee to name a few.
Regards
I secured 49% in b.com. Can i apply for cat exam?
Hi Pratibha,
For general category candidates, minimum 50% marks are required in order to apply for CAT, however, for SC/ST, minimum marks required is 45%.
We hope this solves your query.
Regards
Hi,
My sister studying final year B com, She missed all the entrance exam including CAT, She want to join MBA in this year admission. is there any entrance exam near. Please suggest
What r the uses & advantages of qualifying CAT exam
i completed graduation in BA… am i eligible for mba as im BA graduate
Hi. I will complete my graduation this year in June 2018
So can u tell wat all u guys need in documents.
N also can u tell wat is this tution fees all about.
An NRI student, whether he / she can write CAT and get admn. in IIM?, whether it is mandatory that he should come throo’ GMAT. A 3 Year full fledged/ time Degree taken outside India will be eligible or not?
Hiii…
iam studying in b.com… iam still studying at 3 semester.. so, can i eligible for CAT test…????
Hello Sir
I am one of the MBA aspirant and want to appear CAT 2018 and Currently I am in final year of BBA in Semester 5 . If we qualify the examination of CAT 2018 and I have a problem of regarding about of my graduation result timing plz help us
Hi lakshya,
The final results of graduation is useful while appearing for the interviews at various institutes which is expected to take place during Jan-Feb 2019. So your result should be available by this time.
Regards