CAT 2021 – Application Form, Exam Date, Syllabus

CAT 2021 : CAT 2021 Notification will be released by IIM Ahmedabad on 5th Aug 2021. CAT registration 2021 will commence from 16 September 2021. CAT 2021 apply online link will be available on the official website @ iimcat.ac.in. The last date of CAT registration will be 16 September 2021 till 5:00 pm.

• CAT is a national-level MBA entrance test, which is conducted by one of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). CAT 2021 exam will be administered by the IIM Ahmedabad.
• CAT exam is compulsory to get admission in IIM’s across India. Apart from IIMs, other top-notch management colleges/institutions also prefer CAT scores for admissions.
• CAT Admit Card will be available from 28 October 2021 to 29th Nov 2021.
• CAT exam will be held on Sunday, 29th November 2021 in two sessions.
• The Common Admission Test known as CAT is one of the most challenging exams held in India every year and 2.44+ lakh students registered in 2019 and the exam held in 156 cities and over 650 test venues.  
• It is a computer-based test for candidates who want to get admissions in several post-graduate management programs run at several business schools across India.

Read further to know more about CAT 2021 entrance test, including official notification, eligibility criteria, important dates, application fee & process, admit cards, result, cut-off, etc.

CAT 2021 Overview

• CAT Preparation Plan
• CAT Syllabus 2021
• CAT Exam Pattern 2021

CAT Notification 2021

CAT 2021 notification will be released on 5th Aug 2021 by IIM Ahmedabad and CAT 2021 registration will start from 5th Aug 2021 and the last date to apply online is 16 Sept 2021. CAT Notification is a detailed document that contains details about MBA admissions in various programs offered by 20 IIMs.

Download CAT Notification 2021 PDF

Download CAT 2021 Information Bulletin PDF

IIM Programs

Note : Separate advertisements may be released for programs other than PGP, specific to participating IIMs, hence visit the official website of IIM and check the course details and eligibility.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2021

Before applying online, you must meet the CAT eligibility criteria as mentioned below.

• Applicants must have a recognized bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA ( Minimum 45% marks for SC, ST, and PWD candidates)
• Candidates pursuing their final year Graduation or equivalent qualification or awaiting their results can also apply for CAT 2021 exam. However, they must submit a certificate issued by the Principal/ Registrar of University stating that they have completed the requirements to be eligible for obtaining a degree on the date of issue of the certificate.
• ICWA/CS/CA candidates can also apply.

CAT Seat Reservation 2021

Candidates belonging to the reserved categories must fulfill all the eligibility conditions prescribed by IIM. Such candidates also have to upload a copy of the certificate concerned at the time of CAT 2021 application registration otherwise they will not be considered under the reserved category.

CAT 2021 Application Fee and Mode Of Payment

• For General and OBC candidates, CAT’s online application fee will be 1900 INR. The application fee for ST, SC, and PWD candidates is 950 INR.
• Candidates can pay their fees through net banking or via a debit/credit card. There is no provision for offline fee submission.

CAT Application Form 2021

The CAT 2021 application form will be available on CAT’s official web portal from 07 Aug to 18 Sept 2021. To apply online for CAT 2021, candidates must have to register themselves on the CAT website in order to generate a unique User ID and Password.

Once ID and password are generated, candidates can fill in the CAT 2021 application form. Along with the application, candidates also have to pay a fee online. 

How To Apply For CAT 2021?

If you want to appear in CAT 2021 exam then you need to fill an online registration form on the website. To fill the online registration form, you must follow the below-mentioned steps.

• Go to the official CAT web portal @ iimcat.ac.in
• Click on the registration button and fill in your complete details correctly and submit to register yourself
• Following details will be required for New Registration

• • Name of candidate
  • Date of birth
  • Email address
  • Country
  • Mobile number

• Once all the details have been entered, click on the tab ‘Generate OTP’
• Enter captcha code then submit the OTP
• Read and accept declaration then click on the ‘Submit’ tab
• Once registration completes, you will get a user ID along with a password
• With this user ID and password, you can log in to your account and complete your CAT online application 
• Following details will be required to fill in CAT online application
  • Personal details such as father’s / husband’s / guardian’s / mother’s name (whatever applicable), category, nationality, communication address, emergence contact details, soft copies of passport size photo & sign, EWS / NC-OBC / SC / ST, and PWD Certificate, as applicable, etc.
  • Academic qualifications such as details of SSC / 10^th / equivalent, HSC / 12^th / equivalent / dip., bachelor’s course, master’s course, other professional course
  • Details of work experience (only full-time experience after completion of bachelor’s course should be entered)
  • Programs (any number of Programme Names can be selected)
  • Test city (up to 4 test cities can be selected)
• After entering all the details in the CAT online application, click on the ‘Save and Continue’ tab
• Now go to the payment section
• Select any mode of payment then enter details of the selected mode
• Make payment online
• Once payment is done, you will receive a confirmation mail
• Print your application and keep a printed copy safe for future reference

Note – Candidates need to declare and maintain a unique and valid email account with a mobile number all over the admission process

List Of Documents Needed

• Personal details as per 10^th/12^th mark sheet or certificate
• Valid email address and mobile number
• Academic details (10^th/12^th/bachelor’s degree details)
• Scanned copies of PP size photo, signature, SC/ST/PwD certificate (if applicable) in the prescribed format
• Work experience certificates
• Credit/debit card details for online fee payment

CAT Exam Pattern 2021

• Mode of exam: CAT exam is a Computer Based Test (CBT)
• Exam duration: Online paper is divided into 3 sections and each section needs to be solved in a maximum of 60 minutes and the total exam duration is 180 minutes.
• The name of all three sections is Quantitative Ability, Reading Comprehension & Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation.
• Type of questions: The paper contains questions of both types- objective and subjective
• The total number of questions in an online paper is 100
• Each correct answer will give you three marks
• There is also a provision of negative marking in objective-type questions. 1 mark will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

Read: CMAT 2021

CAT Syllabus 2021

CAT Syllabus section wise is tabulated below.

Download CAT Syllabus PDF 2021

CAT Admit Card 2021

• The CAT Admit card 2021 will be available only to those applicants who have successfully submitted their online application form
• Admit card can be downloaded from CAT’s official website from 28th Oct 2021
• To download an admit card, the applicant need to enter their user ID along with the password
• CAT admit card contains the following information- user ID or registration number, candidate’s name, test center address/date, PWD status, etc
• if some info on the Admit card is incorrect, contact CAT’s exam officials as soon as possible
• A candidate must bring CAT admit card to the exam center on the day of the exam

How to Download CAT Admit Card 2021?

• Open official website of CAT
• Open candidate login screen
• Enter User ID and password
• Then click on the ‘Login’ tab
• After login, find and click on the ‘CAT 2021 admit card’ link
• Admit card will be displayed on the screen
• Print it on the A4 size paper

CAT Test Centres

CAT 2021 exam will be conducted in centers located in more than 156 cities. The names of a few test cities/centers are as follows.

CAT Result 2021

Candidates can check the CAT result 2021 in the 2^nd week of Jan 2021 (Tentative). The CAT scorecard will be made available on the CAT’s official website. To view and download the CAT scorecard, you need to log in to your account using your User ID and Password.

How to Check CAT Result/ Download CAT Score Card?

• Visit CAT website @https://iimcat.ac.in
• Click on ‘Login’ under ‘Download CAT 2021 Score Card’
• Log in using the User ID and Password (Use Forgot option to retrieve if forgotten)
• Click on the Score Card link
• Download Score Card and Take a printout

Details on Score Card

• Name of the Candidate
• Candidate Contact Details (Town/City/District/State/Email)
• CAT Registration number
• Gender
• Date of Birth
• PWD Status
• Category
• Date & Time of Test
• Section-wise scaled score and Percentile
• Overall scaled score and Percentile
• Instructions

Scorecard Instructions

• Keep a scorecard printed copy for reference
• Overall scaled scores are the sum of sectional scaled scores
• Percentile refers to the percentage received by the candidates less than or equal to the score received by the candidate.

Normalization of marks & Percentile

• Section-wise marks scored are added together to arrive at overall marks
• Section-wise and overall marks will be normalized to arrive at scaled marks as the test is held in 2 sessions
• Normalized scores are converted into percentile

CAT Cut Off 2021

After the final result declaration, Participating IITs will publish CAT Cut-off 2021 on their respective websites. To check the final cut-off, candidates need to visit the respective Institute’s web portal.

CAT Score

• CAT Score Card will be made accessible on the website and the candidates are intimated about the availability of CAT Scorecards through SMS.
• CAT Score will be valid till 31st December 2021 and accordingly, the scorecard made accessible on the website, thereafter no request for scorecard issue will be entertained.
• CAT Score will be allowed to be used by non -IIM member Institutes listed on the website of CAT.

Admission Process

• Candidates should note that each IIM is independent to mandate eligibility criteria that include academic performance and related weights and different selection processes.
• IIM may consider previous academic performance, work experience, and other related parameters for shortlisting candidates at various stages.
• Performance in CAT 2021 is one of the important factors in the IIM admission process.
• Candidates meeting the Cut Off marks set by each IIM have to apply for the admission process. IIM shortlists candidates and conducts Written Ability Test, Group Discussion, and Personality Test to select the candidates for admission.

CAT 2021 Preparation Tips

1. Prepare a time schedule with effective study strategies
2. According to your daily routine, make a timetable and give equal time to each subject
3. Collect all the syllabus details and study every single topic thoroughly
4. Practice the previous year’s CAT question papers. It will help you in understanding the exam’s pattern.
5. Do exercise and yoga. It will keep you healthy and refreshes your mind

CAT 2021 FAQs

Q. Which Is The Official Website To Apply Online For CAT 2021?

A. https://iimcat.ac.in.

Q. What Is The Last Date To Apply Online For The CAT Exam 2021?

A. Candidates can apply online for CAT 2021 up to 16 Sept 2021 (Wednesday) @ 05 PM.

Q. When The CAT Exam 2021 Will Be Conducted?

A. CAT 2021 exam will be conducted on Sunday, Nov 29, 2021.

Q. How Many Questions Will Be In CAT Exam?

A. 100 questions will be asked in the CAT exam.

Q. Who Will Conduct The CAT Exam 2021?

A. IIM Ahmedabad will conduct CAT 2021 exam.

Q. Is There Any Change In The CAT Exam Pattern 2021?

A. No. CAT 2021 exam pattern will be the same as CAT 2020.