Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national-level entrance exam for admission in management programmes under various specializations at the postgraduate and doctorate level in 21 IIMs and over 1300 management colleges across the country. The exam is held annually and CAT 2026 will be administered by Indian Institutes of Management and conducted by one of IIMs; the details of which will be released by the authorities on a later date. If you are an MBA aspirant willing to take admission in any of the IIMs, CAT is the way through. It is the most preferred entrance among aspirants who are looking for admission in the best B-schools in India.
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What to expect from CAT 2026?
The competition is going to be high with the increasing number of registrations and test takers. Here is some key insights based on previous year trends that will help you start your preparation strategically:
- Steady Increase in Registrations: Registrations have consistently increased each year. From 2020 (2.28 lakh) to 2024 (3.29 lakh), there’s a 44.4% increase in registrations.
- Consistent Growth in Test Takers:.Number of actual test takers rose from 1.90 lakh in 2020 to 2.93 lakh in 2024. This is a 54.1% increase over five years.
- Rising Attendance Rate: Attendance rate improved from around 83% in 2020 – 2021 to 89% in 2023–2024, showing better exam participation.
- Year-on-Year Growth: The largest registration jump was from 2022 to 2023: 26.4% growth. The highest attendance rate was in 2023 at 89.16%.
Given a basic overview on how competitive the exam is, this article explains everything in detail that you need to know as a CAT 2026 aspirant.
A Brief on CAT 2026
CAT 2026 registration is expected to start from August 2026. Usually, the exam is held on the last Sunday in November. If we go by the trends, the CAT 2026 exam date might fall on November 28, 2026 (tentative). The exam will be held in three slots with 120 minutes for each slot. Aspirants after successfully completing the registration will receive the CAT 2026 admit card, wherein the date, time, exam centre, exam slot will be mentioned along with other details. The CAT exam paper will consist of 68 MCQ and TITA based questions. Candidates will be awarded three marks for every correct answer and one mark will be deducted for every wrong MCQs. The total marks in CAT 2026 will be 204.
CAT 2026 Important Dates (Expected)
| Upcoming Events | Dates |
| CAT Notification 2025 Release Date | Last Week of July 2026 |
| CAT Registration 2025 | August – September 2026 |
| CAT 2025 Application Form Correction | September 2026 |
| CAT 2025 Admit Card | November 2026 |
| CAT 2025 Exam | November 30, 2026 |
| CAT 2025 Answer Key Challenge | December 2026 |
| CAT 2025 Result Announcement | December 2026 |
CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria
Before starting with your preparation, you need to ensure that you are eligible for CAT 2026. The CAT eligibility criteria is provided below:
- You need to have a bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognised institution with 50% aggregate marks or CGPA equivalent to it.
- If you belong to SC/ST/PwD categories, the minimum eligibility criteria for CAT 2026 is 45% marks in aggregate.
Or
- If you have completed any of the following professional courses – CA/CS/ICWA (CMA)/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with 50% marks (45% in case of SC/ST/PwD categories)
Or
- If you are a final year student or waiting for results at the time of CAT 2026, you can apply for the same. However, if selected, you need to make sure to submit the course completion certificate signed by either Principal or Registrar within the given date.
CAT 2026 Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme – Overall
Once you check your eligibility criteria, it’s time to plan your preparation. To plan smartly and strategically, you need to understand the exam pattern. The CAT 2026 exam pattern is tabulated below:
| Particulars | Highlights |
| Total Number of Questions Asked | 68 |
| Total Marks | 204 |
| Total Duration | 120 minutes |
| Total Sections | 3Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
| Sectional Timing | 40 minutes |
| Type of Questions | MCQ (multiple choice questions) and TITA (type in the answer) |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for Correct Answer-1 for Wrong Answer |
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Section-wise CAT 2026 Exam Pattern
Here is all the details regarding the section-wise exam pattern:
- Time Allotted
| CAT 2025 Section | Time Allotted |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 40 minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 40 minutes |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 40 minutes |
- Total Questions
| CAT 2025 Section | Total Questions |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 22 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 |
- Total Marks
| CAT 2025 Section | Total Marks |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 52 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 66 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 66 |
CAT 2026 Score vs Percentile
After going through the exam pattern, the next step is to understand how your marks will be calculated. There are three important terms that you need to understand – Raw Score, Normalised Score and Percentile. Let’s understand it in detail:
Raw Score: The actual marks you get based on the number of correct and incorrect answers.
For Example: Suppose in CAT 2026 you attempted 20 correct answers, 5 incorrect answers and skipped 10 questions.
Your raw score = (20 × 3) – (5 × 1) = 60 – 5 = 55
Normalised Score: Since CAT 2026 will be held in three slots, and one slot might be slightly easier or tougher than another, your raw score is adjusted or normalized so that everyone is treated fairly.
For Example: If your raw score is 55 and you took Slot 2 (which was tougher), your normalised score might be increased to 58. If someone in Slot 1 (which was easier) also scored 55 raw, their normalised score might be adjusted down to 52.
Percentile: Percentile tells you how you performed compared to other aspirants.
For Example: If 2,00,000 students took CAT 2026 and your rank is 4,000, based on the percentile calculation formula you are in the 98th percentile. It means you performed better than 98% of the students.
Here is the table that you can refer to get an idea on score vs percentile:
| Marks (2024) | Marks (2023) | Percentile |
| 127 | 101.43 | 99.9 |
| 103.97 | 84.29 | 99.5 |
| 95.13 | 76.15 | 99 |
| 78.9 | 61.45 | 97 |
| 70 | 54.86 | 95 |
| 58 | 44.36 | 90 |
| 44 | 35.5 | 80 |
| 25.3 | 28 | 70 |
| 19.5 | 21 | 60 |
Syllabus for CAT 2026
Now that you are aware of the CAT 2026 score and percentile, let’s go through the simplified CAT 2026 syllabus for each section.
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Fill in the Blanks, Para Summary, Finding the Odd Sentence, Grammar, Sentence Completion, Verbal Logic, Antonyms, Parts of Speech.
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Set Theory (Variables), Set Theory (Puzzles), Puzzles with Additional Data, Coding-Decoding, Series, Syllogism, Data Charts and Tables, Seating Arrangement , Bar Graphs, Blood Relations, Team Formation, Clocks and Calendars, Venn Diagrams, Binary Logic, Direction Sense, Tables, Family Tree, Assumptions, Pie Charts, Data Sufficiency
Quantitative Ability (QA)
Number System, Square Root and Cube Root, Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry, Mensuration, Binomial Theorem, Ratios and Proportion, Work and Time, Percentages, Surds and Indices, Time, Speed and Distance, Simple Interest and Compound Interest, Mean, Median, Mode, Geometric Progression.
Qualifying CAT 2026 CutOff (Expected)
The qualifying cutoff provided below is based on previous year analysis. Based on the data provided below, IIM Rohtak might have the highest cutoff at 95 followed by IIM Trichy, IIM Nagpur, IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Udaipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Kashipur at 94 percentile. Have a look at the cutoff for other IIMs:
| IIMs | Qualifying CAT Cut-Off |
| IIM Rohtak | 95 |
| IIM Trichy | 94 |
| IIM Nagpur | 94 |
| IIM Bodhgaya | 94 |
| IIM Jammu | 94 |
| IIM Sirmaur | 94 |
| IIM Sambalpur | 94 |
| IIM Udaipur | 94 |
| IIM Raipur | 94 |
| IIM Kashipur | 94 |
| IIM Ranchi | 92 |
| IIM Amritsar | 90 |
| IIM Lucknow | 90 |
| IIM Indore | 90 |
| IIM Bangalore | 85 |
| IIM Calcutta | 85 |
| IIM Mumbai | 85 |
| IIM Kozhikode | 85 |
| IIM Vizag | 82 |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 80 |
| IIM Shillong | 75 |
CAT 2026 Score Weightage
Apart from your CAT score, there are multiple factors that are considered to determine the final selection results for IIMs. Academic performance, work experience, diversity factors, WAT (written ability test) and PI (personal interview) are few other factors taken into consideration. For the time being as you are just about to start your preparation, let’s focus on the CAT score weightage for different IIMs:
| IIMs | CAT 2026 Score Weightage |
| IIM Rohtak | 60% |
| IIM Trichy | 50% |
| IIM Nagpur | 50% |
| IIM Bodhgaya | 50% |
| IIM Jammu | 40% |
| IIM Sirmaur | 45% |
| IIM Sambalpur | 30% |
| IIM Udaipur | 60% |
| IIM Raipur | 42% |
| IIM Kashipur | 33% |
| IIM Ranchi | 40% |
| IIM Lucknow | 30% |
| IIM Indore | 37.5% |
| IIM Bangalore | 25% |
| IIM Calcutta | 30% |
| IIM Mumbai | 55% |
| IIM Kozhikode | 35% |
| IIM Vizag | 25% |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 25% |
| IIM Shillong | 40% |
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CAT 2026 Preparation Strategy – Overall
After you have gone through the syllabus for all the three sections, you can start with your preparation strategy. Since you will be giving the CAT in 2026, you will get enough time to prepare. Delaying the preparation can increase your chances of failure as the competition is increasing. Let’s get into the details of the ‘how to start’ part.
Start Your Preparation Now!
There is nothing like ‘too soon’ when you are preparing for an exam like this. The competition is high and the exam is tough, given the increasing registrations and difficulty level of the paper. Therefore, if you start now you will be steps ahead from your fellow aspirants.
If still not convinced, here is the difficulty level of the exam paper in the previous 10 years:
| Year | CAT Exam Difficulty Level |
| 2024 | Moderate |
| 2023 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2022 | Moderate |
| 2021 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2020 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2019 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2018 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2017 | Moderate |
| 2016 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2015 | Moderate to Difficult |
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Understand the Exam, If You Want To Bell The CAT!
CAT is an aptitude-based test and therefore it is hard to predict. To understand the exam pattern, type of questions asked and difficulty level, you need to go through the previous year questions. Simultaneously, read the syllabus as many times as you can. Once you are clear about the topics that are asked you will be able to segregate your preparation based on which topic will need more practice.
Start With the Basics!
Always start with clearing the concepts. This is one step that is common among all successful aspirants despite having different preparation strategies. When you proceed with the basics right –
- You boost your confidence through the advanced level preparation
- You understand what you are doing rather than just following the rules.
- It acts like a back-up plan. CAT is a time-based test therefore you need to know the tips and tricks to solve a question fast. In case you forget a formula but your concepts are clear, though it might take a little more time to solve the question, you will be able to solve it.
Consistency is the Key!
Given that you have more than 1.5 years till CAT 2026. If you need to keep your enthusiasm the same. It is advised to start slow but consistent. Take time to complete a topic, but ensure you get to your study desk everyday with the time of preparation being more than the previous day, even if for a minute! Furthermore, revise what you studied the day before.
The More You Practice, The Closer You are to Success!
Make mocks your best friend! No matter how many times you have studied a topic, unless you put into practice under different problem scenarios you will not be able to know where you are lagging behind. Therefore, practice as soon as you have completed a topic. Make short notes on how to solve a problem.
Abhinay Srivastava, a CAT topper with a 99.11 percentile, shared with iQuanta that he maintained a notebook where he listed his own problem-solving methods alongside the expert approaches taught by iQuanta. By comparing both, he was able to identify gaps in his understanding and significantly improve his problem-solving skills.
Take Help if You Don’t Know Where to Start!
When it is a competition-based exam and your success depends on how well you have performed as compared to fellow competitors, the right guidance is of utmost importance. iQuanta has come up with multiple CAT 2026 Flagship Courses that are meticulously crafted keeping in mind the ongoing exam trends and the requirements of the aspirants. Also, you can be a part of its vast CAT preparation community. This will help you get the exposure you need. You can know where your preparation stands and how you need to proceed to make your spot through CAT 2026. You can get guidance from those who are currently pursuing their PG from the top B-schools.
iQuanta’s CAT 2026 Crash Course
iQuanta is known for its dual-pedagogy where you get access to live application classes after each live conceptual classes. Once you enroll you can opt for an expert mentor to personalize your preparation strategy. Through our CAT 2025 course, you will have around 40 assignments for Quant, 30 assignments for VARC and 30 assignments for LRDI after each class, along with practice sessions, daily LRDI sets, VARC practice sets and 2-3 sets weekly for practicing quants. Along with that you can solve your doubts 24*7 within 15 seconds in live classes and within 20 minutes in private groups. On an average, iQuanta is known to solve your queries in under 8 minutes, less than the time taken by sunlight to reach you!
The Newly-Added Advantage:
Syllabus completed twice.
Non-Engineers’ QA Module: Easy-to-follow videos that explain Quant basics, specially made for those who find maths difficult.
Engineers VARC Module for Engineers: Learn how engineers crack the CAT VARC section with 100 videos covering all important concepts and strategies.
VARC Essentials: Covers the most important Reading Comprehension (RC) topics, vocabulary, and types of passages that are often asked in CAT.
LRDI Inception: A collection of 50 high-quality LRDI sets that every CAT aspirant must practice.
LRDI Essentials: Learn all the basics of LRDI like charts, graphs, and tables in a step-by-step format.
CAT Marathon: Practice full-length, CAT-level tests after each topic to test your preparation.
Topic-wise Mocks: Get AI-based mock tests after every class to strengthen your understanding.
| Types of Mocks | Number of Mocks |
| Full Syllabus Mocks with Video Solution | 35 |
| Unproctored Mocks (Time-based with Peer-Performance Comparison) with Video Solution | 15 |
| Sectional Mocks with Video Solution | 45 |
| NMAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| XAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| CMAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| MHCET Full Mocks | 2 |
50 Practice Questions per Topic: Study material includes 50 questions on every topic to give you solid practice.
Updated CAT Mocks: Full CAT mock tests redesigned as per the latest CAT pattern.
Top Colleges Accepting CAT 2026
Here are some of the top B-schools in India accepting CAT:
List of IIMs
- IIM Ahmedabad
- IIM Bangalore
- IIM Calcutta
- IIM Indore
- IIM Kozhikode
- IIM Lucknow
- IIM Trichy
- IIM Raipur
- IIM Bodh Gaya
- IIM Rohtak
- IIM Ranchi
- IIM Nagpur
- IIM Sambalpur
- IIM Sirmaur
- IIM Jammu
- IIM Amritsar
- IIM Shillong
- IIM Udaipur
- IIM Kashipur
- IIM Visakhapatnam
- IIM Ropar
- IIM Mumbai
Courses Offered Through CAT at IIMs
| Institute Name | Programmes Offered through CAT |
| IIM Ahmedabad | PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGD-ABA (ePost Graduate Diploma in Advanced Business Analytics) |
| IIM Amritsar | MBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM, EMBA, M.Sc. in Data Science (MSDSM) jointly offered with IIT Ropar |
| IIM Bangalore | PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA |
| IIM Bodh Gaya | MBA, MBA (Digital Business Management), MBA (Hospital and Healthcare Management) |
| IIM Calcutta | MBA |
| IIM Indore | PGP, PGP-HRM, MSDSM (Master of Science in Data Science and Management) |
| IIM Jammu | MBA, MBA (Hospital Administration & Healthcare Management), Executive MBA |
| IIM Kashipur | MBA, MBA (Analytics), EMBA, EMBAA (Executive Master of Business Administration Analytics) |
| IIM Kozhikode | PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, EPGP-IL, EPGP Kochi |
| lIM Lucknow | MBA, MBA-ABM, MBA-SM, PGPWE |
| IIM Mumbai | MBA, MBA (Operations and Supply Chain Management), MBA (Sustainability Management) |
| IIM Nagpur | MBA, E-MBA |
| IIM Raipur | MBA |
| IIM Ranchi | MBA, MBA-HRM, MBA (Business Analytics) |
| IIM Rohtak | PGP, EPGDSM, PGPx |
| IIM Sambalpur | MBA, Executive MBA, MBA for Working Professionals |
| IIM Shillong | PGP, PGPEX, PGP (WE) |
| IIM Sirmaur | MBA, MBA (Tourism Management), MBA (Travel, Tourism and Hospitality), ExMBA, ExMBA (Digital Transformation & Analytics), MBA (Family Business) |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | PGPM (MBA), PGPM-HR (MBA-HR), PGPBM (MBA for Working Executives in Chennai) |
| IIM Udaipur | MBA, MBA- DEM (Digital Enterprise Management), MBA-GSCM (Global Supply Chain Management), Executive MBA (Online) |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | PGP, EMBA, PGPMCI |
| IIM Ahmedabad | Doctoral Programme in Management |
| IIM Amritsar | PhD |
| IIM Bangalore | PhD |
| IIM Bodh Gaya | PhD |
| IIM Calcutta | Doctoral Programme (PhD) |
| IIM lndore | Doctoral Programme in Management |
| IIM Jammu | PhD, PhD (Working Professionals) |
| IIM Kashipur | PhD |
| IIM Kozhikode | PhD, Fellow Programmes in Management, PhD (PT) |
| lIM Lucknow | PhD |
| IIM Mumbai | PhD, PhD (Executive) |
| IIM Nagpur | PhD, E-PhD |
| IIM Raipur | PhD, PhD (Practice Track) |
| IIM Ranchi | PhD, EPhD |
| IIM Rohtak | PhD |
| IIM Sambalpur | PhD, Executive PhD |
| IIM Shillong | Doctoral Program, Doctoral Program (WP) |
| IIM Sirmaur | PhD, PhD (Executive) |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | PhD, Executive PhD |
| IIM Udaipur | PhD |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | PhD, Executive PhD |
List of IITs
- DoMS IIT Delhi
- DoMS IIT Madras
- SJMSoM IIT Bombay
- VGSoM/HSS IIT Kharagpur
- SME IIT Jodhpur
- DoMS IIT Kanpur
- DoMS IIT Roorkee
- DoMSIE ISM Dhanbad
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Top Non-IIMs Accepting CAT Among 1300+ Others
- GITAM University
- IFMR GSB, KREA University
- DSB, Delhi
- FIIB, Delhi
- IILM Institute of Higher Education
- IMI Delhi
- JNU Delhi
- Maharaja Agrasen Business School
- FORE School of Management
- GGS Indraprastha University
- IIFT Delhi
- JIMS Delhi
- LBSIM Delhi
- University of Delhi
- MDI Gurgaon
- Acharya Bangalore B-School
- AIMSIBS
- GIBS Bangalore
- IBA Bangalore
- Welingkar Bangalore
- AIMS Institutes
- Alliance University
- IIBS Bangalore
- JSSM Bangalore
- TAPAI Bangalore
- KIIT Bhubaneswar
- XIM Bhubaneswar
- DDGDV
- Loyola Chennai
- Thiagarajar School of Management
- SRMIST
- NIT Trichy
- Rajalakshmi School of Business
- Doon Business School
- CIMP
- DMI Patna
- Goa Institute of Management
- The Business School University of Jammu
- IIFM Bhopal
- Jaipuria Institute of Management
- UBS Punjab
- ISB Hyderabad
- NALSAR Hyderabad
- VJIM Hyderabad
- Woxsen University
- IIRM Hyderabad
- School of Management Studies, UoH
- SSIM Hyderabad
- Army Institute of Management Kolkata
- IEM Kolkata
- MDI Kolkata
- EIILM Kolkata
- Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
- University Business School
- Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
- Institute of Rural Management Anand
- School of Management, Pandit Deendayal Energy University
- Nirma University
- MICA
- Rajagiri Business School
- SCMS Cochin School of Business
- Aditya School of Business Management
- Flame University
- National Insurance Academy
- NICMAR University, Pune
- TISS
- N.l. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research
- Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management
- DES Pune
- K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management
- NIBM Pune
- SPJIMR
- ITM Skills University
- BITS Pilani
- Jaipuria Institute of Management Jaipur
- BIMT Noida
- IMS BHU
- KIET Group of Institutions
- GIMS
- IMT Ghaziabad
- Noida International University
- Sparsh Global Business School
- Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology Gorakhpur
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iQuanta CAT Course 2025
CAT 2023 vs CAT 2024 FAQs
As per CAT 2023 vs CAT 2024 trend analysis, the overall difficulty level of the question paper was moderate.
CAT 2024 saw an increase in the number of questions compared to the prior year. The total number of questions increased from 66 to 68 in CAT 2024.
As per previous trends and analysis, the CAT 2025 exam is expected to be moderately difficult. However, the difficulty level of the question paper also depends on your exam readiness and subject knowledge.