CAT 2021
MBA stands for Masters in Business Administration is one of the most popular courses that give a pathway to the corporate world. Students from any field i.e. Science, Commerce, Art, etc can opt for MBA Course. MBA is a two year course divided into 4 or 6 semesters including theory classes, practical projects, and internships. PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) is a equivalent to MBA. There are different modes of doing MBA/PGDM i.e. regular, online, part time, distance education, etc. There are around 6500 colleges that offers MBA/PGDM courses in different modes. All these colleges accepts different scores and conducts different examinations for admissions i.e. CAT, XAT, CMAT, SNAP, NMAT, GMAT, etc. All these examinations are conducted different authorities which come under National level, state level, international level, etc.
Eligibility for MBA/PGDM
The eligibility criteria for MBA are different for different colleges but here we list some of the basic eligibility criteria which is mandatory to fulfill in order to get admissions:
- Candidates must have completed their graduation or in their final year of graduation are eligible for MBA course.
- Institutes like IIM’s and IIT’s ask for 60% of marks, but there are other B – Schools and colleges which accepts 50% of marks.
- Relaxation of 5% is offered for reserved categories like SC/ST/OBC.
CAT 2021:
Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the most common entrance exam accepted by 20 IIM’s and around 1200 B – Schools in India. CAT 2021 is a CBT (Computer Based Test) conducted across 156 cities. Brief information about CAT is provided below:
Fast Facts about CAT 2021
| Features | Details |
| Exam Name | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
| Conducting Body | IIM |
| Conducting Institute | IIM Indore |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Once a year |
| Exam Fees | Rs 2,000 (General category) and Rs 1,000 (Reserved category) |
| Number of Applications | 2.30 lakh (In 2021) |
| Exam Purpose | Admission into IIMs, SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, IMT and over 1200 B-Schools in India |
| Course Offered | MBA/PGDM |
| No. of Test Cities | 156 |
| Exam Helpdesk No. | 1800-209-0830 (Toll Free) |
| Exam Website | https://iimcat.ac.in |
Important Dates for CAT 2021
| CAT 2021 Events | CAT 2021 Dates | Salient Features |
| CAT 2021 notification release | 29-July-2021 | CAT 2021 official website made live and exam schedule announced |
| CAT 2021 registrations start | 05-Aug-2021 | Online registrations commence for candidates to apply for CAT |
| Registrations end | 23-Sep-2021 | Registration process to end for all candidates |
| CAT form correction | 27-Sep-2021 to 29-Sep-2021 | Candidates can upload new photo and signature and edit test city choices. No other information can be edited |
| Admit card release | 28-Oct-2021 | To be downloaded from CAT 2021 website until the exam day |
| CAT mock test release | 05-Nov-2021 | The official mock test was released on the official website. Only registered candidates can take the mock test. |
| CAT official tutorial release | 05-Nov-2021 | The exam conducting body will release a video to help candidates understand exam day guidelines |
| CAT exam 2021 | 29-Nov-2021 | Exam was held in 156 cities in three slots – morning, afternoon and evening |
| CAT answer key release | 08-Dec-2021 | To be downloaded from CAT website. Candidates can raise objection (if any) |
| Answer key challenge process | 08-Dec to 11-Dec-2021 | Candidates can challenge official responses online by paying Rs 1,000 per question |
| CAT result 2021 declaration | Second week of January, 2021 | Release of scorecard on official website by 9 AM |
CAT 2021 Registration/Application Process:
Like other Entrance Exam the registration process is almost same. The complete application cum registration process is online and the application form for CAT is available at the official website of IIM i.e. https://iimcat.ac.in . The steps to register for CAT 2021 are provided below:
Step – 1 Online registration via entering the basic details of the aspirant like
Name, Date of Birth, E-mail ID, Contact No, etc.
Step – 2 Creation of a CAT account with the User ID and Password, this
Could done by confirmation of registration via OTP/email
Step – 3 Filling the complete Application form by furnishing the personal and
Academic details.
Step – 4 Uploading passport sized photograph and signature in a prescribed
Format and file size.
Step – 5 Payment of the registration fee for CAT 2021 via debit/credit card or
Other online payment modes.
CAT 2021 Application Fee:
The application fee is different for the different categories of the society. The application fee is provided below:
Rs 2,000 (General category) and
Rs 1,000 (Reserved category i.e. SC/ST/PwD)
CAT 2021 Exam Pattern:
CAT 2021 exam consists of 100 MCQ’s and Non MCQ questions from specifically three sections i.e. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Each section have a stipulated time period allotted i.e. 40 minutes. Brief description of the exam pattern is provided below in a tabular format.
| CAT question paper pattern and structure | |
| Sections | VARC, DILR and QA |
| Duration of exam | 40 minutes per section (Total 120 minutes) |
| Total number of questions | 76 |
| Section-wise number of questions |
· VARC · DILR – 24 · QA – 26 |
| Total marks | 300 |
| Language of question paper | English |
| Number of answer choices | Four |
| Type of questions | MCQs and Non-MCQs |
| Marking Scheme |
· 3 marks for every correct response · Negative marking of 1/3 (-1) for every wrong MCQ response · No negative marking for wrong non-MCQ response |
CAT 2021 Exam Centres:
There are 156 cities in which CAT 2021 is going to be conducted. Candidates will choose the centers which are nearest to them and these options will be provided to the candidates at the time of filling up the application form. The list of the cities with the states is mentioned below in tabular format:
| CAT 2021 Test Cities | ||
| Port Blair | Hamirpur | Mumbai |
| Guntur | Jammu | Nashik |
| Nellore | Bokaro | Satara |
| Vijayawada | Dhanbad | Palghar |
| Kakinada | Hazaribagh | Ulhasnagar |
| Rajahmundry | Jamshedpur | Shillong |
| Visakhapatnam | Ranchi | Aizawl |
| Kurnool | Belagavi (Belgaum) | Kohima |
| Tirupathi | Bengaluru | Balasore |
| Vizianagaram | Hubballi(Hubli) | Cuttack |
| Itanagar | Mysuru(Mysore) | Sambalpur |
| Dibrugarh | Kalaburagi(Gulbarga) | Berhampur |
| Silchar | Shivamogga(Shimoga) | Dhenkanal |
| Guwahati | Dharwad | Bhubaneswar |
| Tezpur | Mangaluru(Mangalore) | Rourkela |
| Jorhat | Udupi | Puducherry |
| Aurangabad-Bihar | Kannur | Pathankot |
| Darbhanga | Ernakulam | Ludhiana |
| Arrah | Kollam | Amritsar |
| Muzaffarpur | Kottayam | Bhatinda |
| Bhagalpur | Kozhikode | Patiala |
| Patna | Thrissur | Jalandhar |
| Mohali | Trivandrum | Sangrur |
| Chandigarh | Bhopal | Ajmer |
| Bhilai Nagar | Jabalpur | Jaipur |
| Bilaspur | Ujjain | Sikar |
| Raipur | Gwalior | Alwar |
| Delhi | Sagar | Jodhpur |
| Faridabad | Indore | Udaipur |
| Gurugram | Satna | Bikaner |
| Ghaziabad | Bhopal | Kota |
| New Delhi | Jabalpur | Madurai |
| Greater Noida | Ujjain | Chennai |
| Noida | Gwalior | Salem |
| Meerut | Sagar | Trichy |
| Panaji | Indore | Coimbatore |
| Ahmedabad | Satna | Vellore |
| Mehsana | Amravati | Tirunelveli |
| Vadodara | Jalgaon | Hyderabad |
| Anand | Nagpur | Karimnagar |
| Rajkot | Pune | Warangal |
| Gandhinagar | Solapur | Allahabad |
| Surat | Navi Mumbai | Bareilly |
| Ambala | Ahmednagar | Kanpur |
| Hisar | Kolhapur | Muzaffarnagar |
| Karnal | Nanded | Agra |
| Kurushetra | Raigad | Gorakhpur |
| Panipat | Thane | Lucknow |
| Rohtak | Vasai | Varanasi |
| Shimla | Aurangabad | Aligarh |
| Jhansi | Moradabad | Dehradun |
| Haldwani | Roorkee | Asansol |
| Durgapur | Bankura | Burdwan |
| Kolkata | Hooghly | Kalyani |
| Siliguri | ||
Exam Day Guidelines for CAT 2021
Preparation for the exam as well as for the exam day is one of the crucial things that an aspirant must keep in his mind. Keeping this in mind there are some points that is to be taken into consideration on exam date:
- Carry your admit card of CAT 2021 as hard copy, soft copy/digital copy is not acceptable at the exam centers.
- Reach 2 hours before the examination timing.
- Don’t carry valuables/electronics gadgets as these are not allowed in the examination room.
- Carry one of the below mentioned Photo Id Proof at the examination centre:
Aadhar card
PAN card
Voter ID card
Passport
Driver’s license
Cut off for CAT 2021 in Top Management Colleges:
| Institute Name | CAT Cutoff Percentile |
| IIM, Ahmedabad | 99.6 |
| IIM, Bangalore | 99.5 |
| IIM, Calcutta | 99.5 |
| IIM, Lucknow | 99.5 |
| IIM, Rohtak | 97.11 |
| IIM, Kozhikode | 96.3 |
| IIM, Indore | 94.7 |
| IIM, Trichy | 94.0 |
| IIM, Raipur | 90.0 |
| IIM, Ahmedabad | 99.6 |
| IIM, Bangalore | 99.5 |
| IIM, Calcutta | 99.5 |
| IIM, Lucknow | 99.5 |
| IIM, Rohtak | 97.11 |
| IIM, Kozhikode | 96.3 |
| IIM, Indore | 94.7 |
| IIM, Trichy | 94.0 |
| IIM, Raipur | 90.0 |
| Department of Management Studies (IIT Delhi) New Delhi | 85-90 |
| K J Somaiya Mumbai | 80-85 |
| IRMA Anand | 80-85 |
| Welingkar Mumbai | 80-85 |
| TAPMI Manipal | 80-85 |
| Great Lakes Institute Of Management, Chennai | 80-85 |
| MICA Ahmedabad | 80-85 |
| GIM Goa | 80-85 |
| Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) Chennai | 80-85 |
| Christ University Bengaluru | 80-85 |
| LBSIM New Delhi | 80-85 |
| FORE School of Management (FSM) New Delhi | 80-85 |
| BIMTECH, Greater Noida | 80-85 |
| ICFAI Business School Hyderabad | 75-80 |
| IFIM Business School Bangalore | 75-80 |
| XIME Bangalore | 75-80 |
| Indus Business Academy (IBA) Bangalore | 75-80 |
| SDMIMD Mysore | 75-80 |
| Sri Balaji University, Pune | 70-75 |
| IFMR Graduate School of Business at KREA University | 70-75 |
| KIIT School Of Management – KSOM Bhubaneswar | 70-75 |
| Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani | 70-75 |
| ITM Navi Mumbai | 70-75 |
| ISB&M Pune | 70-75 |
Selection Process for Admission after CAT 2021 examination:
There are few IIM’s which conducts several other rounds for the admission. Generally there four phases that a candidate have to go through.
Phase 1: Selection through CAT score. Candidates who have achieved the required percentile are eligible for the next round.
Phase 2: IIM conduct Written Ability Test popularly known as WAT
Phase 3: There are certain parameters that has been set by IIM authorities in selecting the right candidate for the seat. These parameters have certain weightage in order to analyze the overall performance and zeal to excel in the management institute. These parameters and their weightage is provided below in the table:
| CAT Parameters | Weight |
| CAT 2021 | 25 |
| WAT | 10 |
| PI | 30 |
| 10th board | 10 |
| 12th board | 5 |
| Graduation | 10 |
| Weighted Work Experience | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
Phase 4: Selection through Final Merit list prepared by the authority.
FAQs on CAT 2021:
Question: Which agency conducts CAT 2021?
Answer: IIM Indore is responsible for conducting CAT 2021.
Question: What is the application fee for CAT 2021?
Answer: The application fee is different for the different categories of the society. The application fee is provided below:
Rs 2,000 (General category) and
Rs 1,000 (Reserved category i.e. SC/ST/PwD)
Question: Is CAT 2021 is an online or offline exam?
Answer: CAT 2021 is an online examination.
Question: What are eligibility criteria for CAT 2021?
Answer: The eligibility criteria for CAT 2021 is
- An Aspirant must have completed graduation in any discipline from a recognized University.
- Aspirant who are in their final year are also eligible to apply for CAT 2021.
Question: What is the frequency of CAT 2021?
Answer: CAT 2021 is an annual exam conducted once in a year.