Common Admission Test

About This Exam

Entrance Exams Regional Entrance

Conducted by	Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
Exam type	National computer-based entrance test
Field	Management
Who can apply	A Bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% for SC, ST and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities), or a professional degree (CA, CS, ICWA/CMA, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India) with the same percentage, or final year of a Bachelor's degree. Final-year and result-awaited candidates are admitted provisionally only with a certificate of completion. Meeting the minimum does not guarantee shortlisting.Source: Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 - Eligibility, p. 1, the first three bullets and the footnote
How often	The test is held once a year; CAT 2026 is announced for Sunday 29 November 2026 in three sessions, with the score valid up to 31 December 2027.Source: Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 - Information Bulletin, p. 1 (opening paragraph); p. 5, CAT 2026 SCORE
Stages	Computer-based test with three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability. Each IIM then runs its own selection process using the score and other inputs it publishes.Source: Media Release for Common Admission Test 2025 (CAT 2025), 1 December 2025, p. 1, section-wise table; and cat-bulletin p. 5, ADMISSION PROCESS
What it leads to	A prerequisite for admission to management programmes (PGP/MBA) and doctoral (FPM/PhD) programmes of the IIMs. Some non-IIM institutions also use CAT scores.
Recognition	Government

Official links and how they were checked

Common Admission Test (CAT) - official website Verified against the document
Official website · Indian Institutes of Management (CAT) · 2026 · checked 20 Oct 2026
Opened https://iimcat.ac.in on 2026-10-20; it forwards to the CAT 2026 web portal (a script-driven page with no readable text of its own). The official PDFs below were reached from iimcat.ac.in addresses.
Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 - Information Bulletin Verified against the document
Information bulletin / notification · Indian Institutes of Management (CAT) · 2026 · checked 20 Oct 2026
Downloaded from iimcat.ac.in on 2026-10-20 and read all 6 pages: conducting IIMs and programmes (p. 1-3), eligibility and reservation (p. 3-4), registration fee, registration window, admit-card, test cities, score validity, admission process (p. 4-6). It states no section-wise pattern, marking scheme or topic syllabus.
Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 - Eligibility Verified against the document
Notices / FAQ · Indian Institutes of Management (CAT) · 2026 · checked 20 Oct 2026
Downloaded from iimcat.ac.in on 2026-10-20 and read both pages: degree and percentage rule, final-year candidates, professional degrees, reservation, certificates.
Media Release for Common Admission Test 2025 (CAT 2025), 1 December 2025 Verified against the document
Notices / FAQ · Indian Institutes of Management (CAT) · 2025 · checked 20 Oct 2026
Downloaded from iimcat.ac.in on 2026-10-20 and read the one page: the 2025 test was 120 minutes, 40 minutes a section, with 24, 22 and 22 questions in the three sections.

Official website ↗

Details checked against official sources on 20 Oct 2026. Always confirm against the current official notification before applying. [1] [2] [3]

Subjects and Chapters

4 subjects • 21 chapters • 84 classes

CAT Test Strategy

3 chapters

LAPT Schools

CAT Test Strategy

Common Admission Test

CAT Test StrategyLAPT Books · Common Admission Test All books of this class ›

LAPT guidance for the Common Admission Test of the IIMs: the test shape, time and attempt strategy, and an error log with a weekly plan. LAPT-defined guidance built on the organisers' published documents.

Test Shape and Section Strategy 4 classes

The Three Sections and What They Measure

The Published Pattern and Its Arithmetic

Sectional Timing and How It Shapes Strategy

How the IIMs Use the Score and Who Can Apply

Time, Accuracy and Attempt Selection 4 classes

Seconds per Question from the Published Pattern

Question Triage: Easy, Medium or Skip

Accuracy, Attempts and the Value of a Guess

Sectional Clock Discipline

Error Log and Weekly Plan 4 classes

The Error Log and Its Four Causes

The Mock Analysis Routine

A Weekly Plan for a Working Graduate and a Final-Year Student

Revision Cycles, Mocks, Wellbeing and the Last Week

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

5 chapters

LAPT Schools

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Common Admission Test

Data Interpretation and Logical ReasoningLAPT Books · Common Admission Test All books of this class ›

Data interpretation and logical reasoning for the CAT. LAPT-defined scope: the organisers publish the test pattern, not a topic list.

Data Interpretation: Tables, Bar and Line Charts 4 classes

Reading tables and bar charts

Line charts and growth

Ratios and approximation tactics

Missing data and multiple charts

Caselets, Ratios and Percentages in Data Interpretation 4 classes

From paragraph to table: reading a caselet

Percent of a percent, successive change and index numbers

Ratio chains and weighted averages

Venn-style caselets and mixed sets

Arrangements and Grouping Sets 4 classes

Rows, ranks and floors: linear arrangements

Round tables: circular arrangements

Set-up grids: matching people to days, floors and choices

Selection, grouping and case-splitting

Games, Tournaments, Schedules and Networks 4 classes

Round-robin tournaments and points tables

Knockout tournaments and brackets

Scheduling with slots and timetables

Routes, networks and flow puzzles

Logic: Conditions, Truth-Tellers and Venn Sets 4 classes

If-then conditions, contrapositive, necessary and sufficient

Truth-tellers and liars: assume, test, eliminate

Syllogisms and Venn diagrams: what definitely follows

Set counting with Venn diagrams and must-be-true reasoning

Quantitative Ability

8 chapters

LAPT Schools

Quantitative Ability

Common Admission Test

Quantitative AbilityLAPT Books · Common Admission Test All books of this class ›

Quantitative Ability for the Common Admission Test. LAPT-defined scope: the organisers publish the test pattern, not a topic list.

Arithmetic I: Percentages, Profit and Loss, Ratio, Averages, Mixtures 4 classes

Percent change, multipliers and successive changes

Profit, loss, discount and successive discounts

Ratio chains, proportion and weighted averages

Mixtures, alligation and replacement

Arithmetic II: Time-Speed-Distance, Time and Work, Interest 4 classes

Speed, relative speed and trains

Boats and streams, races and circular tracks

Time and work, efficiency, pipes and cisterns

Simple and compound interest

Number System 4 classes

Divisibility tests and remainder arithmetic

Factors, HCF and LCM

Cyclicity, unit digits and remainder theorems

Number bases, factorials and trailing zeros

Algebra I: Equations and Inequalities 4 classes

Linear and simultaneous equations

Quadratic equations: roots, discriminant and sum-product

Modulus equations and inequalities

Integer-solution counting and AM-GM extremes

Algebra II: Functions, Logarithms, Sequences and Surds 4 classes

Functions and their graphs in words

Indices, surds and logarithms

Arithmetic, geometric and harmonic progressions

Recursive sequences and sums of series

Geometry 4 classes

Triangles: angles, similarity and area ratios

Triangle area, centres and special triangles

Circles: chords, tangents and angles

Polygons, quadrilaterals and a mixed timed set

Mensuration and Coordinate Geometry 4 classes

Areas and volumes of the standard solids

Melting, recasting and combined solids

Points, lines and polygon areas in coordinates

Circles in the plane and heights and distances

Modern Mathematics: Counting, Probability and Sets 4 classes

Arrangements: restrictions, identical objects and circles

Selections, distribution and derangements

Probability: classical, independent and conditional

Inclusion-exclusion and Venn counting

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

5 chapters

LAPT Schools

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Common Admission Test

Verbal Ability and Reading ComprehensionLAPT Books · Common Admission Test All books of this class ›

Verbal ability and reading comprehension for the management entrance test. LAPT-defined scope: the organisers publish the test pattern, not a topic list.

Reading Comprehension: Structure and Main Idea 4 classes

Passage maps: giving every paragraph a job

Main idea and the author's purpose

Argument structure: claim, reason, concession, qualification

Long passages: timing, elimination and extreme options

Reading Comprehension: Inference, Tone and Application 4 classes

Inference and assumption: what a passage lets you conclude

Tone and attitude, and words that change meaning in context

Strengthening, weakening and applying a passage's reasoning

Except, not and least questions, and a routine for a whole set

Paragraph Summary and Odd Sentence Out 4 classes

Summarising a paragraph: core claim and detail

What a good summary keeps and what it drops

Odd sentence out: theme and scope

Completing a paragraph and drawing inferences

Para Jumbles and Sentence Placement 4 classes

Openers and mandatory pairs

Pronouns, articles, connectors and chronology

General to specific and one defensible order

Sentence placement and timed mixed practice

Vocabulary in Context and Usage 4 classes

Reading a word from its context

Connotation and shades of meaning

Confused words and words with many senses

Idioms, usage and the daily word habit

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