Registration Eligibilty

All exam related events and dates are mentioned below. Make sure you do not miss upon any of these.

Event	Dates (Tentative)
CAT 2021 Official Notification	July 29, 2020
CAT 2021 Application Form	August 8, 2020
CAT 2021 Form Correction Window	September 27- September 30, 2020
Release of CAT Admit Card 2021	October 24 – November 25, 2020
CAT 2021 Exam Date	November 25, 2020
CAT Result Date 2021	Second Week of January 2021

REGISTRATION FOR CAT EXAM 2021

• CAT Registration Form: 5-page documents
• Registration Window: Minimum for 45 days
• CAT Application form is a part of Registration form only.
• IIMs sends unique CAT registration ID and Password to login into the online portal of the Common Admission Test.
• Applying online will mean that you have to opt for the relevant management programs in all the 20 IIMs mentioned in the registration form.

Check CAT Participating Colleges

Documents Required to complete CAT Registration

• Academic history
• Mark sheets (10th /12th/ Degree/Diploma)
• Work experience (if any)
• Certificates (if any)
• Scanned images of your passport size photo and signature
• Debit/Credit cards, Net banking

CAT 2021 Eligibility

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 2021.

• Candidates with CA/CS/ICWA degree (Gen: 50% & SC/ST/ PWD: 45%) are also eligible.
• As for CAT Age Limit, there is no minimum/ maximum limit defined. There is also no restriction on the number of attempts.
• The percentage requirement for the exam is different for different categories. It is explained in the table below:

Category	Percentage 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?

• Wrong information provided at the time of registration will result in rejection of the application form.
• The required set of certificates will be verified at the time of the interview, failure to do so will not be considered for admission.
• Mere fulfillment of minimum eligibility criteria will not ensure consideration for short listing by IIMs. 

Exam Pattern & Syllabus

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.

CAT Exam Pattern 2021 

Mode of Test	Online
Type of Question Paper	MCQ
Section in Question Paper	3
Total Question	100
Total time alotted	180 minutes(3 hours)
Language of Question Paper	English
Total Marks	300
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 2021, the exam authorities will inform at the time of release of CAT 2021 notification. The exam authorities will release CAT tutorial in October for the candidates familiarise themselves with the actual CAT exam. 

Important Points About CAT Exam Pattern

• Use of onscreen calculator will be allowed for computation

• An onscreen clock will help candidates keep a check on time

• A rough paper will be provided for rough work, which has to be submitted at the exam centre as soon as the exam gets over

• The candidates will not be allowed to start solving the question paper before time

• All the computer screens will switch on at the same time

• Candidates must sit in their designated area, if found sitting anywhere else, he/she will be debarred from the exam

Syllabus for CAT 2021

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 2021.

Overview of Syllabus for CAT 2021

Each of the three sections of CAT 2021 - 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.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

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.

• Fill in the blanks
• Verbal Reasoning
• Sentence completion
• Grammar
• Syllogisms
• Jumbled paragraphs
• Para Completion and inference
• Contextual usage
• Foreign language words used in English
• Reading Comprehension
• Analogies
• Sentence correction
• Verbal Logic
• Different usage of same word
• Idioms
• Parajumbles
• Antonyms
• One word substitution

Verbal Ability (VA): Key Points

• Number of questions asked range from 7-11

• Sectional weightage of this section is 7-11 per cent

• The type of questions are all non-MCQs, which means the candidates have to type in the answer (TITA)

• There is no negative marking in VA since the questions are non-MCQ type

• Types of questions range from para-jumbles, out of context sentence in a para, error correction in a para, vocabulary usage and sentence completion to analogies and critical reasoning

Reading Comprehension (RC): Key Points

• Number of questions asked range from 24-28

• Sectional weightage of this section is 24-28 per cent

• The type of questions are all MCQs, hence there is negative marking of -1

• RC section of CAT has a mix of RC passages, on an average 4-3 long passages and 2-3 short passages

• According to the trend of the last three years, long passages are of 900 word and short passages are of 600 words

• Topics of these RCs range from science, history, politics, environment, society to literature, mythology and abstract topics

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

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.

• Blood Relations
• Series
• Proposition
• Direction Sense
• Coding-Decoding
• Assumptions
• Puzzles
• Clocks and Calendars
• Statements
• Data Arrangement
• Family Tree
• Binary Logic
• Seating Arrangement
• Sets & Caselets
• Syllogism
• Venn Diagram
• Data Structures
• Tables& Pie Charts
• Data Sufficiency
• Bars & Line Graphs

Logical Reasoning (LR): Key Points

• Number of questions asked in LR is 16
• Sectional weightage of this section is 16 per cent
• LR contains both MCQ and non-MCQ type questions
• Number of MCQs and non-MCQs may vary
• There is negative marking for MCQs
• There is no negative marking for non-MCQs

Data Interpretation (DI): Key Points

• Number of questions asked in DI is16
• Sectional weightage of this section is 16 per cent
• DI contains both MCQ and non-MCQ type questions
• Number of MCQs and non-MCQs may vary
• There is negative marking for MCQs
• There is no negative marking for non-MCQs

Quantitative Ability

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.

• Geometry
• Trigonometry
• Algebra
• Mensuration
• Partnership (Accounts)
• Profit & Loss
• Ratios and Proportion
• In-equations Quadratic and linear equations
• Surds and Indices
• Time-Speed-Distance
• Number System
• Geometric Progression
• Inequalities
• Work and Time
• Percentages
• Logarithms

Quantitative Aptitude (QA): Key Points

• Number of questions asked in QA is 34
• Sectional weightage of this section is 34 per cent
• LR contains both MCQ and non-MCQ type questions
• Number of MCQs and non-MCQs vary every year.
• Past trends suggest the number of MCQs in QA section range from 24-27 and non-MCQs range from 7-10
• There is negative marking for MCQs
• There is no negative marking for non-MCQs

 

 

 

How To Prepare

For CAT preparation 2021, 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-wise CAT Preparation Plan 2021

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.

Admit Card

CAT admit card 2021 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. 

How to Download CAT Admit Card  2021

To download the CAT 2021 admit card, you will be required to follow the steps given below: 

• Visit the official CAT 2021 website (link will be provided here)
• Click on 'Login' 
• Enter registration ID and password
• The admit card window will open
• Click on download and save on desktop
• Take a print out your CAT 2021 admit card

Details Mentioned on CAT 2021 Admit Card

The CAT 2021 admit card will have the following details:

• Candidate's name

• Caste category

• date of birth

• Registration number

• Date and time of the exam

• CAT exam centre

• Google map link to locate exam centre

• Emergency contact number

• Test system number to identify your examination room

• Exam related instructions

Errors to Check on CAT Admit Card 2021

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:

• The name of the candidate should not be misspelt

• CAT registration number must be the same as the registered user ID

• Date of birth should be the same as mentioned on the application form and in official documents.

• Birth category status should be correct

• PWD/ DA status should be correct

• Test city must be from one of the four options mentioned in the application form

• Candidate's photograph and signature must be clearly visible