CAT 2021: Exam Date & Registration – CAT 2021 is the premium MBA entrance exam held by IIMs for admissions into PGDM and MBA courses at 20 IIMs and over 1000 B-Schools in India. CAT 2021 registration is expected to happen from August 8, 2021 to September 24, 2021 while the exam would be held on November 24, 2021. The CAT score is valid for a year until December 2021. Around 2 lakh people appear for this exam every year.
CAT 2021 Notification
CAT 2021 exam notification to be out in the last week of July for MBA admissions to various management Programs in IIMs and B-schools all over India. IIM will be held CAT-2021 exam likely on November 24, 2021 in two sessions. There are around 20 IIMs and 1000 other B schools which accept the score of CAT 2021. CAT exam is conducted by IIMs on a rotational basis. This year the notification for the CAT exam is expected to be out in July 2021.
August 8, 2021
CAT 2021 registration starts on August 7, 2021.
Sep 24, 2021
Last date for CAT 2021 registration is September 18, 2021.
Oct 25, 2021
CAT 2021 admit card download from October 25, 2021.
Nov 24, 2021
CAT 2021 Exam date is November 24, 2021.
- Morning Session: 9 AM to 12 PM
- Afternoon Session: 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM
Jan 10, 2021
CAT 2021 result to be out likely on January 7, 2022.
The CAT 2021 online registration process will be open from 08-08-2021 to 18-09-2021. To register for CAT exam, check the age criteria, educational qualification, online application process, exams dates, syllabus, admit card, cut off, result, etc.
International B school of Singapore, Singapore Management University joined the list of colleges accepting CAT results. This is the first international B school accepting CAT score. IIMs would be releasing the question and answer key of the exam.
CAT 2021 is a computer-based exam now. It is a 3-hour duration exam with a total of 100 questions divided into 3 sections. The test will be conducted in more than 140 cities across India. The exam will be conducted in last week of November or first week of December and will be conducted in two slots morning and afternoon.
CAT Eligibility 2021
Checklist of CAT 2021 eligibility criteria
- Candidate should have at least a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university as per the government of India
- Candidate should have got at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA in the bachelor’s degree for the candidates belonging to General or OBC category. For other reserved categories, this cut off is 45%. Or equivalent CGPA
- Students appearing in the final year exam this year can also apply for the CAT exam, however, they should be able to complete the bachelor’s degree in the allowed duration. If selected the candidate needs to submit the passing certificate and mark sheet by 30 June 2021
- Duration of the bachelor’s degree should be at least 3 years; however, IIM Indore has also started accepting a 2-year graduation program.
- There is no age limit for appearing for the CAT exam.
- A professional degree like CA/CS/ICWA is also accepted, with the minimum percentage is also eligible for the admission.
- Candidate to appear for the exam is also required to have a valid phone number and an email id throughout the process.
CAT 2021 Exam Date
| Important Events | Tentative Dates |
|---|---|
| CAT 2021 Registration starts | August 7, 2021 |
| CAT 2021 Registration ends | September 18, 2021 |
| CAT 2021 Admit card release date | Oct 23, 2021 |
| CAT 2021 Exam date | Nov 24, 2021 |
| CAT 2021 Result Release date | Jan 7, 2022 |
Let us look at the CAT 2021 Exam date and schedule.
- The CAT 2021 registration form will be released through online mode on August 7, 2021 & the applicants will be able to submit the application form till the last date i.e. September 18, 2021.
- Last date for CAT 2021 registration is September 18, 2021.
- The admit card for CAT 2021 online test will be issued to the eligible candidates in October 2021.
- CAT 2021 online based test will be expected to conduct on November 24, 2021.
- The announcement of CAT 2021 result for online exam will be released at iimcat.ac.in in the second week of January 2022.
CAT Registration 2021
CAT 2021 registration CAT 2021 registration would begin on August 7, 2021. The process for registration to CAT is completely online. The user needs to go to the CAT official website and click on registration tab. On the registration tab, the candidate needs to give some basic details like Name, Mobile number and, email address.
After this, the candidate will receive a CAT user ID as well as the CAT password through both email id and the mobile number entered by the candidate. The user id and password once generated would be applicable throughout the selection process.
In order to fill the CAT application, the candidate needs to fill the form using this user id and password. The candidate needs to then fill the form divided into various sections with the correct details. The various categories/sections of the CAT form include:
- Personal details
- Contact details
- Academic details
- Work experience
- Selecting IIMs to apply for
- Test centers and interview cities
After putting the details on every page the candidate needs to fill the details and move to the next page. The candidate also needs to put their recent photograph and signature on the format and dimension as specified. The last step of the form filling includes the payment of the application fee which can be done using a valid debit/ credit card or Net banking.
CAT 2021 Application fee: Online registration fee of the CAT 2021 exam once paid will not be refunded to the candidate back. The CAT application fee is Rs. 1900 for General & OBC category candidates and where as for SC/ST/PWD category candidates it’s Rs. 950 only. Following is the category wise fee to be made while filling the CAT application form 2021.
| S.N | Category | Application Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC/ST/PWD | Rs. 950/- |
| 2 | General & OBC | Rs. 1900/- |
CAT Preparation 2021
The preparation of CAT 2021 is done with an aim to get admission into top IIMs or a good college which accepts CAT score.
There are many successful candidates who have cleared CAT exam without coaching. Below check the ultimate guide to prepare for the CAT 2021 exam without coaching plus experts recommended books, strategy and tips.
1. Know the detailed CAT exam syllabus and pattern
Candidates should go through the latest CAT syllabus and exam pattern in detail. Thus test takers should focus more on questions having higher weight-age. One should go through the CAT syllabus once and identify the weak and strong areas and then one should work around his week areas. E.g. for improving verbal ability and reading comprehension, one should read novels, newspapers, watch English movies etc.
2.Take CAT online mock tests
It is also important to attempt CAT online mock tests that available to evaluate and to find the improvement areas. For data interpretation, one should practice a lot, attempting different types of questions.
IIMs will release the official CAT 2021 mock tests in October to get the aspirants acquainted with the type of questions and familiarize themselves with the online test format and the navigation process.
Candidates can also practice the use of calculator and timer in the exam. However, candidates should take into account that the mock test is only for the practical purpose and the real exam would be totally different.
3. Accuracy matters in the CAT exam
There is negative marking of 1 mark for each wrong answer applicable to multiple choice questions aka MCQs in the CAT exam. So while attempting the question in online test make sure to maintain accuracy and balance the number of questions to attempt with right option. However, there will be no negative marks for the non-multiple choice questions.
4. Get the Right Study Material
For CAT preparation, it is important to find out the right content that should be referred to prepare for the exam, it is important for the CAT aspirant to refer to the right content for the CAT exam preparation and should evaluate his/her strategy from time to time.
Refer the following CAT preparation books recommended by experts.
CAT Preparation Books
| Section | Book Name | Author Name/Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Ability | How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests for Admission into IIMs | Sarvesh K. Verma | |
| Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | CAT 2020Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | |
| Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha | |
| How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma | |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay/Arihant |
| 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback | Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis/ Simon & Schuster | |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay | |
| PSC for VA for CAT Exam | Nishit Sinha |
CAT Syllabus 2021
Detailed CAT Syllabus 2021
| Quantitative Aptitude | DI and LR | Verbal Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Number Systems | Tables | English Usage or Grammar |
| Profit, Loss and Discount | Caselets | Vocabulary Based (Synonyms/ Antonyms) |
| LCM and HCF | Bar Graphs | Fill in the blanks |
| Speed, Time and Distance | Line Charts | Sentence Correction |
| Percentages | Column Graphs | Cloze Passage |
| Time and Work | Venn Diagrams | Jumbled Paragraph |
| Ratio and Proportion | Pie Chart | Meaning-Usage Match |
| Averages | Other Basic Reasoning Questions | Analogies or Reverse Analogies |
| Quadratic Equations & Linear Equations | Calendars | Summary Questions |
| Complex Numbers | Number and Letter Series | Verbal Reasoning |
| Simple and Compound Interest | Clocks | Facts-Inferences-Judgments |
| Logarithm | Venn Diagrams | Reading Comprehension |
| Sequences and Series | Cubes | |
| Inequalities | Seating Arrangement | |
| Probability | Binary Logic | |
| Surds and Indices | Logical Matching | |
| Set Theory & Function | Logical Sequence | |
| Permutation and Combination | Syllogism | |
| Mixtures and Alligations | Logical Connectives | |
| Trigonometry | Blood Relations | |
| Coordinate Geometry | ||
| Geometry | ||
| Mensuration |
The important thing about the CAT 2021 syllabus is that there is no set boundary to the content that is covered in CAT exam. In fact, the syllabus of the CAT is around the last years CAT exams. Although CAT is believed to come with a different set of questions and pattern every year.
CAT syllabus tests the verbal ability & reading comprehension, quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning & data interpretation of the candidate. Almost equal number of questions is considered in each section.
CAT exam 2021 covers the entire syllabus and has equal weight for all the sections. For preparation, it is important to know the syllabus to score effectively in the exam.
Syllabus for Data Interpretation: Data interpretation is based on data tables, data charts, bar diagrams, Pie charts, Graphs, Data analysis and comparison of tables. This includes questions based on text, tables, charts, graphs. In this section how the person interprets the data and interprets the answers/options the questions is tested.
Logical reasoning: Logical reasoning questions include, questions based on clocks, calendars, binary logic, seating arrangement, blood relations, logical sequence, Assumption, premise, conclusion, linear and matrix arrangement etc.
Quantitative Aptitude: This section is very vast and covers most of the topics of mathematics which include Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, probability, mixture and allegations, binomial theorem, Surds and Indices, coordinate geometry etc.
CAT 2021 Exam Pattern
| S.No. | Section | MCQs | Non-MCQs | Questions | Total Marks | Time in minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 10 | 34 | 102 | 60 |
| 2 | Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 24 | 8 | 32 | 96 | 60 |
| 3 | Quantitative Ability (QA) | 27 | 7 | 34 | 102 | 60 |
| Total | 75 | 25 | 100 | 300 | 180 | |
CAT is a computer based test which is designed to test the various abilities of the candidate like logical reasoning, reading comprehension, quantitative ability etc. It is a 3 hour long test and has around 100 questions which are a combination of multiple choice and non-multiple choice questions. Generally, 3/4th of the questions are multiple choice and 1/4th are non-multiple choice questions.
Marking scheme: The multiple choice questions consists of three options. For every correct answer, 3 marks are awarded while for every wrong answer one negative mark is cut. The non-multiple choice questions don’t have any negative marking. The order of the questions is pre-decided, it starts with the first section as VARC, followed by DILR and then QA.
The weight of VARC and QA is equal while it is slightly lower for DILR. The marking scheme and sectional division are based on last year CAT exam. Though this keeps in changing based on the IIM which is conducting the exam.
CAT Admit Card 2021
CAT Admit Card 2021: CAT 2021 admit card would be available online from October 25, 2021. The process for download is completely online and IIMs will not be sending any admit card through post. For downloading, a candidate needs to login with their credentials and download the CAT 2021 admit card.
CAT 2021 Admit card is one of the important document that candidate needs to take to the exam center and preserve it till the end of the process. The Process to download the CAT 2021 admit card is detailed below:
Steps to Download CAT 2021 Admit Card
- Go to the CAT official website
- Click on the icon ‘download CAT admit card’
- Enter the user id and the password
- The application details would be available along with the admit card
- Click in admit card
- Click on ‘here’, please click here to download the admit card
- The admit card is downloaded now, take the print out of the same
- Paste one recent photograph on the space provided in the admit card
CAT Result 2021
CAT result 2021 : The CAT 2021 results will be available likely on January 10, 2022. The CAT score card will be valid till the year end (December 31, 2021). Candidates can check results and download score card by simply login on iimcat.ac.in. A candidate should presented CAT Score card during the time of interview along with other relevant documents.
Check CAT 2021 Result and Download Scorecard
- Go to CAT 2021 official website: iimcat.ac.in
- Login using your ID and password
- Then, select candidate score card.
- Finally, click on “download your score card” link.
- In CAT 2021 score card, you can view your percentile and score as well.
The results of the CAT 2021 will be available in the second week of January. The score will be available online and can be downloaded using the user id and password generated. The Scorecard will mention the section-wise marks and the section-wise percentile achieved. Candidates should take and preserve it till the admission process gets over.
CAT normalization score: As CAT exam is conducted across different cities and centers. The score achieved in CAT is normalized across the different centers using the same procedure as used in GATE exam. For each section marks and percentile is given, followed by total percentile.
CAT answer key 2021: IIMs also release the answer key, so the candidates can check the correct answers using the answer key shared and calculate their estimated score.
CAT Cut offs 2021
CAT 2021 Cut-offs: This is the minimum percentile student needs to score in order to get admission in the desired participating institute. Cut-offs keep on changing from year to year based on the level of exam and the performance of students.
The CAT 2021 cut off varies every year depending on the number of test takers, number of seats, their score, ranking of institute and difficulty level of question paper.
For reference candidate should go through the expected CAT cut off 2021 to have a general idea.
| IIM | Gen | OBC -NC | SC | ST | PWD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmadabad | 80 | 60 | 75 | 70 | 70 |
| IIM Bangalore | 90 | 80 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| IIM Kozhikode | 90 | 80 | 65 | 55 | 55 |
| IIM Raipur | 90 | 81 | 75 | 65 | 65 |
| IIM Calcutta | 80 | 75 | 65 | 60 | 65 |
| IIM Lucknow | 90 | 82 | 70 | 65 | 7 |
CAT 2021 – FAQ
Is there any negative marking in CAT exam 2021?
CAT exam consist of 3/4th of the questions are multiple choice and 1/4th are non-multiple choice questions. Only MCQs have negative marking while there is no negative marking for Non-MCQs.
How Can I register for CAT 2021?
Candidates can register for CAT 2021 by visiting iimcat.ac.in from August 7, 2021 to September 18, 2021. CAT 2021 registration process is completely online.
When will CAT 2021 notification come?
For 2021, IIM Calcutta will release CAT 2021 notification tentatively on July 29, 2021. CAT 2021 application form will be released on August 7, 2021 and the applicants will be able to apply for CAT exam till September 18, 2021.
What is the application fees for CAT 2021?
CAT 2021 application fee is Rs. 1900 for General/OBC students and where as Rs. 950 for SC/ST/Pwd category candidates.
What is the Age Limit for CAT 2021?
There will be no age limit restriction to take the CAT exam.
When CAT 2021 exam will held?
IIMs will conduct CAT 2021 exam likely on November 24, 2021 in two sessions. Morning Session: 9 AM to 12 PM and Afternoon Session: 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM.