CAT 2025 notification coming soon; exam dates, registration, fees, and eligibility explained

The Common Admission Test (CAT 2025) is a national-level entrance exam for candidates seeking admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and over 1,000 MBA colleges in the country. CAT exam 2025 serves as a gateway for several flagship MBA and management courses, making it one of the most competitive entrance exams.

IIMs are responsible for conducting the CAT 2025 exam as a computer-based test (CBT). Every year, the exam is held on the last Sunday of November. This year, the CAT 2025 exam is expected to be conducted on November 30.

Candidates who qualify the entrance exam will receive an interview letter from IIMs for further selection process. However, the shortlisting criteria may vary among different IIMs and may include a Writing Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interviews (PI).

Additionally, IIMs may consider factors such as the previous academic performance, relevant work experience, gender and academic diversity and other similar inputs while shortlisting candidates. The weightage allotted to the CAT exam and interview rounds also varies significantly across different IIMs.

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CAT 2025: Eligibility

MBA admissions are based on the CAT scores, as well as fulfillment of the eligibility criteria.

• To be eligible for the IIM CAT 2025 exam, candidates should have completed bachelor’s degree with at least 50% of equivalent CGPA marks.
• Candidates belonging to SC, ST, PwD categories should have obtained at least 45% marks in the qualifying exam.
• Fifteen percent of the seats are reserved for SC, 7.5% for ST, 27% for OBC-NCL, and up to 10% of the seats are reserved for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates.

CAT exam date 2025

CAT exam is conducted on the last Sunday of November every year. IIMs are expected to hold the exam on November 30.

Candidates planning to appear for this national-level MBA entrance exam can also expect the CAT 2025 notification by the last week of July. CAT registration will be opened in the first week of August and applicants will be given more than a month’s time to complete the application form.

The CAT results 2025 are generally published in January.

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How much is the fee for CAT 2025?

Candidates are required to pay the registration fee only once, regardless of the number of institutes they are applying to. Fees once paid cannot be refunded under any circumstances.