Are you Ready for CAT 2024? Start Your Preparation Now
Common Admission Test 2024 ( CAT )
CAT 2024 exam preparation will require long terms planning and a good number of months. If you plan to appear for the CAT exam 2024, you should start preparation by March 2024. Check here key CAT preparation strategies for VARC, QA and DILR.
CAT 2024 preparation
Common Admission Test or CAT the gateway to IIMs and all other top MBA entrance exams in India is not easy to crack. The difficulty level is high and competition is tough. Lakhs of MBA aspirants appear for the CAT every year, but a very small bunch of them score 99 plus percentile, the ideal score to bag a seat at the IIMs. Understandably, one needs to prepare hard and smart. Most importantly, one needs to start CAT preparation early. A minimum of nine months are required to prepare for the CAT exam.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.If you are planning to appear in the CAT 2024, you need to start your preparation now. The CAT 2024 exam will be held on November 24, 2024 and if you start exam preparation from now, you will have ample time cover its vast syllabus and practice a good number of mock tests. Many candidates would have already enrolled for CAT 2024 coaching classes. So, decide now and start your CAT 2024 preparation.
Q: What is the CAT 2024 exam date?
Q: Will CAT exam 2025 also be conducted in three shifts?
Yes, the CAT 2025 exam will be conducted in three shifts. Until 2019, CAT was conducted in two shifts and the exam duration used to be 180 minutes. However, in 2020, the number of shifts were increased to three and exam duration was reduced to 120 minutes in order to follow the social distancing guidelines for COVID-19. Since the COVID-9 pandemic appropriate behaviour had to be followed at public places and gatherings, the examination authorities increased the number of exam slots to ensure a limited number of candidates can be accommodated at any exam centre in a given exam slot by following social distancing and seating arrangement with gap. Since then, the CAT is conducted in three shifts - morning, afternoon and evening. In CAT 2025 too, there will be three slots which will be allotted to applicants in no particular order. The CAT exam slot timings will be - 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Q: What are the CAT exam slot timings?
CAT Syllabus 2024
Before starting CAT 2024 exam preparation, know the CAT syllabus and topics included. CAT syllabus includes Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension.
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| CAT Section |
Syllabus and Topics |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude |
Geometry, Algebra, Arithmetic, Mensuration, Trigonometry, Modern Math and their sub topics |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning |
Data Structure, Data Sufficiency, Tables, Pie Charts, Graphs, Series, Coding-Decoding, Family Tree, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Assumptions |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension |
Reading Comprehension, Fill in the Blanks, Para Jumble, Para Completion, Vocabulary, Grammar |
CAT Sectional Break Up
In order to make a CAT 2024 preparation plan, you not only need to know your strong and weak areas with respect to CAT syllabus, but you also need to know the weightage of topics. Knowing which topic will have more questions will help you in making your study plan more focused. Given below is the sectional break-up of the latest CAT question paper (2023). This will give you an idea of which topics carry more weightage.
| CAT Sections |
Number of questions |
Topic wise break up |
Difficulty level |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC |
24 |
4 passages having 4 questions each, 2 para jumble questions, 2 para summary questions, 2 para completion questions and 2 odd one out questions |
Moderate |
| DILR |
20 |
4 sets of 5 questions each |
Moderate to difficult |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
22 |
7 Algebra questions, 7 Arithmetic questions, 3 Geometry questions, 4 Number System questions, 1 Modern Maths questions
|
Difficult |
| Total |
66 |
-- |
-- |
Also Read:
How to Prepare for CAT 2024: Section wise Tips
CAT VARC Preparation: The VARC section is dominated by Reading Comprehension (RC) passages. Out of 24 questions, there are usually 14-16 questions on RC. Which means, your English comprehension should be strong. For that, start early. Start reading English novels, books, newspapers from now on and spend at least an hour every day reading. Keep a dictionary by your side and check the meaning of any new word or idiom that you come across. Keep making a note.
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Q: Which IIM will conduct CAT 2024 exam?
The top 6 Indian Institute of Management are given the responsibility to conduct the Common Admission Test exam. Each of the top Indian Institutes of Management conducts the exam rotation-wise after a gap of five years. The responsibility to conduct the CAT 2023 was given to IIM Lucknow. Professor Sanjeet Singh had been appointed as the CAT convener. For CAT 2024, IIM Calcutta will be the exam convening institute. IIM Calcutta will be responsible for preparation and conduct of the exam without glitches, in collaboration with TCS for test labs and centres. The institute will design the question papers, exam pattern and guidelines, as well as manage the conduct of exam and preparation of admit card, answer key and result.
CAT Conducting Indian Institute of Management Over the Years:
- 2023: IIM Lucknow
- 2022: IIM Bangalore
- 2021: IIM Ahmedabad
- 2020: IIM Indore
- 2019: IIM Kozhikode
- 2018: IIM Calcutta
- 2017: IIM Lucknow
- 2016: IIM Bangalore
- 2015: IIM Ahmedabad
- 2014: IIM Indore
- 2013: IIM Indore
- 2012: IIM Kozhikode
- 2011: IIM Calcutta
- 2010: IIM Lucknow
- 2009: IIM Ahmedabad
For more information, you may visit the Shiksha Common Admission Test page. (https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam). I hope this will help you.
Practicing sample RC passages is a useful way of preparing for CAT VARC. Since you will need to answer the questions in limited time, you will need develop speed reading. You will also need to develop the skill of finding answers from the passages quickly. This is possible only if you practice time bound VARC test prep.
CAT DILR Preparation: There are a total of 20 questions in DILR - 10 from Data Interpretation and 10 from Logical Reasoning. To prepare for this section of CAT exam, you will need to have a good analytical aptitude. DI is all about tables and bars, so will require mathematical calculations. Logical Reasoning, on the other hand is about puzzles and patterns which require logical deduction and keen observation. In this section too, practice is the key. Apart from strengthening your fundamentals, you will need to practice a lot. Get the best sample question series for CAT DILR and devote a good number of months on it.
CAT Quantitative Aptitude Preparation: This is the section, with the potential of 100 percentile. The topics included in CAT Quantitative Aptitude are advanced level Class 9 and 10 Mathematics, so it is not something completely new. For candidates from Engineering and Technical studies background, CA Quants will be a more familiar field, however, for candidates from non-Engineering background it could be a challenge. So, start with basics. Go back to NCERT Mathematics books for conceptual clarity. Then take up CAT books for Quantitative Aptitude. Again, the key here is practice. You need to practice a huge number of sample papers and mock tests to be quick in solving questions.
CAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha has created free CAT mock test for practice. CAT 2042 aspirants can try these to check their control on CAT topics and preparation level:
| CAT_Mock_Test_1 | CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
Read More:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
No, meeting the CAT cutoff percentile is not the only criteria for admission. IIM Lucknow admission is a two-stage process. In the first stage, candidates are shortlisted for the WAT and PI round on the basis of their performance in the CAT, scholastic achievement, and relevant work experience. In t
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
The IIM Lucknow CAT qualifying cutoff 2024 has been released for admission to PGP, PGP-ABM, and PGP-SM courses for different categories. For 2025 admission, the IIM Lucknow PGP-ABM qualifying CAT cutoff is 85 percentile (overall) for the students belonging to the general category in the AI quota. Fo
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Hey! I've been in your shoes, so I totally get how you're feeling right now. Scoring the 78 percentile in CAT is a solid achievement, and you might be wondering whether it's enough to get into PIBM Pune. Let me tell you, PIBM looks beyond just numbers—they focus on your overall profile rather than j
S
Beginner-Level 1
Answered 2 days ago
MBA in Human Resources Admission is based on either numerous admission tests such as the CAT, MAT, SNAP, CMAT, and others, or on merit. After passing the entrance tests, the student must go through a Group Discussion and Personal Interview Round to be further screened. Students need to hold their b
P
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 days ago
No, your CAT 2026 attempt will not be considerd a gap year because you will be in your final year when you take the exam in November 2026.
- The CAT exam is usually held in November every year.
- Since you graduate in November 2026, you will still be a student at the time of the exam.
- A gap year is counted
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The admission threshold at top IIMs based on CAT scores stands higher than 50 percent hence students with this percentile will have access to other acclaimed B-schools. These colleges form a list of institutions that could accept your application for admission:
- University Business School (UBS), Chand
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
It is mandatory to clear CAT examination to seek admission at IIM Ahmedabad. The Institute considers CAT percentile for the admission to MBA, along with the understanding of the CAT percentile for IIM Ahmedabad that reached up to 99.6 in the past years which shows how challenging it is for a candida
A
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, the CAT 2025 exam will be conducted in three shifts. Until 2019, CAT was conducted in two shifts and the exam duration used to be 180 minutes. However, in 2020, the number of shifts were increased to three and exam duration was reduced to 120 minutes in order to follow the social distancing gui
C
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
Yes, candidates can get into the Vidyasagar University MBA course with the CAT percentile. As per the admission guidelines of the university, candidates are shortlisted for the MBA course based on multiple national-level exams such as MAT/XAT/ ATMA/ CMAT. Candidates must make sure to apply for the e
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
No, CAT is not compulsory for admission to AIMS Mumbai. Aspirants with a valid score in any of the accepted entrance exam such as XAT, CMAT, ATMA, MAH CET, etc. can get admission provided they also fulfil the eligibility requirements. Candidates need to provide the entrance exam score in the applica
N
Contributor-Level 10
The CAT exam is always conducted on the last Sunday of November every year so the CAT 2024 exam is expected to be conducted on Nov 24, 2024. Official announcement of the CAT 2024 exam date will be made by the convening IIM on Jul 30, 2024. The announcement will be made at the iimcat.ac.in website as well as in all the national dailies across India. We at Shiksha also notify the aspirants through our communication channels. Registrations cum application process for CAT 2024 will begin from the first week of August and end in the third week of September 2024.
Check below CAT exam dates for last five years: