CAT Notification 2023: Exam Dates, Registration, Eligibility Criteria
The CAT notification is expected to be released in July 2023 on the official website. It will contain the details about the CAT Exam Date, the reservation policy, the CAT 2023 registration dates, the eligibility criteria, etc. As per the past trends, CAT is expected to be held on Sunday, 26th November 2023.
Here is the tentative timeline for the CAT Notification 2023:
- Official Notification Release - Last week of July 2023
- CAT 2023 Registration Commences - First week of August 2023
- CAT 2023 Registration Ends - Third week of September 2023
- Application Edit Window- Last week of September 2023
- Issuance of Admit Card- Last week of October 2023
- CAT 2023 Exam Date - 26th November 2023
- Declaration of Result - Second week of January 2023
CAT Notification 2023: Overview
CAT (Common Admission Test) or CAT exam is one of the premier MBA Entrance Exams in India which is accepted by hundreds of B-Schools. Around 2.5 lakh candidates registered for CAT in 2022. The number of candidates appearing for CAT this year is estimated to be more than the previous year. CAT 2023 will be conducted across around 150 test cities in the country. In order to appear for the exam, one needs to complete the registration process within the stipulated deadline and meet the eligibility criteria. The timeline, which will be released in the CAT Notification, includes a registration start and ending deadline.
Here are the highlights of the CAT 2023 exam-
| Event | Details |
|---|---|
|
Name of Exam |
CAT (Common Admission Test) |
|
Official website |
iimcat.ac.in |
|
Conducting Body |
Indian Institutes of Management |
|
Type of Exam |
Computer-based |
|
Medium of Exam |
English |
|
Time Duration |
120 minutes |
|
Courses |
Management courses |
|
Sections in Exam |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
Read more about CAT 2023
CAT Notification 2023: Other Important Information
Once the CAT notification 2023 is released in July 2023, candidates will have the option of downloading the entire document from the updated CAT website. The CAT Notification 2023 will mention the names of twenty IIMs and their registered programmes which a candidate can go through. As it is a time-consuming process, it is advisable to keep a notebook handy while going through the IIM list and writing down your choice in the order of preference so you would quickly finish the registration process.
Also read: How to get into an IIM?
CAT Notification 2023: Eligibility Criteria
Based on the past years' trends, the eligibility criteria for CAT 2023 are expected to be the same as that of CAT 2022. Some of the details of the CAT 2022 Eligibility Criteria are:
- In order to be eligible for the CAT Exam, the candidate has to pass their Bachelor's degree with at least 50% (for General Category, EWS and NC-OBC caste). For SC/ST and Differently Abled (PwD) candidates, the percentage required is 45%.
- For the Degree to be counted, the University that has awarded the degree has to be recognized by the MHRD.
- If the University awards grades or CGPA instead of marks, the conversion factor given by the University has to be used. If the University specifies no conversion factor, the CGPA has to be converted into percentage by direct conversion i.e. divide the CGPA received by the highest CGPA possible and multiply the result by 100.
- Candidates who have completed their professional degrees with over 50% (45% for SC/ST/PwD) are eligible for CAT.
Suggested Readings
CAT 2023 Registration
The registrations for CAT 2023 are expected to begin in the first week of August 2023. Once the registrations open, candidates can fill out the application forms and apply to appear for the CAT exam. Students will require a valid email ID and phone number to register for CAT 2023 as mentioned in earlier CAT notifications too.
Also, students need to continue using this account even after completion of CAT 2023, till the entire selection process of IIMs and other MBA colleges that you have applied for is over. The process for the CAT form follows registering on the official website and then filling out the different sections which are given as follows:
- Personal Details
- Academic Qualifications
- Work Experience
- Programmes
- Test City
After the details have been filled out, the candidate must make the payment after which they will receive a payment confirmation.
Some of the documents required for the CAT form are:
- Scanned photograph and signature of the candidate
- Grade Sheet from Xth and XIIth standard
- Other documents based on the candidate's qualifications (Work Experience Letter, Graduation Certificate, etc.)
To understand the application form filling process in detail, click here.
CAT Notification 2023: Application Fee
To complete the CAT 2023 registration process, the candidate needs to pay the application fee for the exam. The details about the amount will be available in the CAT 2023 Notification and the candidates need to fill out the form and pay the amount within the CAT 2023 registration dates window in order to be eligible to appear for the CAT 2023 exam.
The CAT 2023 application fee will be along similar lines to the CAT 2022 application fee which is given below:
- The application fee for General category candidates is Rs 2300
- The application fee for SC/ST/PWD category candidates is Rs 1150
- The mode of application fee payment is through Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking
CAT Notification 2023: Exam Centers
During the application form filling, the candidate will be required to fill in the preferred exam centers. The candidate will have to select six preferred locations for their exam center in order of preference. The conducting body attempts to offer the candidates their preferred exam centers wherever possible.
The exam center will be mentioned on the admit card for CAT 2023.
CAT Notification 2023: Events Post Registration
Once you submit your CAT 2023 application form, the convening IIM will send you alerts regarding all the future events associated with CAT 2023, such as:
- Successful completion of the CAT 2023 Application Process
- Downloading the CAT 2023 admit card
- Instructions and changes related to CAT 2023
- Application Correction for 2023
- Objection Window for CAT 2023
- Declaration of CAT result
- Your CAT 2023 percentile
CAT Notification 2023: Exam Pattern and Syllabus
Following the pattern of the past years, CAT 2023 is likely to be held across 3 slots on 26th November 2023, each being 120 minutes long. Similar to CAT 2022, CAT 2023 will also have three sections, namely Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability.
CAT 2023 Exam: Exam Pattern
Here is a descriptive overlay of the CAT 2023 exam pattern based on the CAT notification and past trends:
| Important Module | Key Element/ Elements |
|---|---|
Test Administrator |
The Indian Institutes of Management |
Mode of the exam |
Online Computer Based |
Duration |
Total: 2 hours Section-wise: 40 minutes each |
Number of sections |
Three sections
|
Number of Questions per section |
Total- 66 questions
|
Language |
English |
Review the question |
Enabled/non-adaptive |
Read in detail: CAT Exam Pattern
CAT Exam 2023 Syllabus
The IIMs do not release an official syllabus list, thus the CAT syllabus is vague and vast. Don't worry though, our Career Launcher experts have built the CAT 2023 Syllabus as per the topics tested over the years and will more than likely cover anything tested in CAT 2023.
There are three sections in the form of:
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
In 2022, the VARC section consisted of 24 questions, DILR section of 20 questions and QA section 22 questions. If the CAT 2022 Pattern is followed, the VARC, DILR and QA sections would fluctuate as per the previous year's pattern.
Here is the expected marking scheme for CAT 2023:
- Each MCQ question has a marking scheme of +3/-1 while the TITA question has no negative marking which makes the marking scheme +3/0.
- Each section is allocated 40 minutes without exception and time is not carried over from one section to the other.
Therefore the candidate needs to be competent across all sections rather than scoring heavily in any one or two sections. In the same spirit, there are usually sectional cutoffs for most of the top colleges.
- The VARC section is majorly interpretation-based and not vocabulary based, due to which it does not have a fixed syllabus. Thus reading level and grammar rules of Class X and some practice would allow the candidate to adequately prepare for the CAT exam 2023 syllabus for the VARC section.
- The DILR section has no fixed exam syllabus and only practicing different types of sets can help the aspirants prepare for the DILR section of the CAT 2023.
- The QA section, like the VARC section, consists of topics from the CBSE Class X syllabus. The major topics in QA include algebra, arithmetic, numbers, geometry and modern maths.
CAT Notification 2023: Reservation
Candidates must declare if they are a part of a reserved category while submitting the application form. It is stated that changes to this section will not be entertained later on. Candidates will also be required to submit the certificate during the registration process.
Given below is the reservation criteria-
| Reserved Category | Percentage |
|---|---|
|
Scheduled Caste (SC) |
15% |
|
Scheduled Tribe (ST) |
7.5% |
|
Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC) |
27% |
|
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) |
Up to 10% |
|
Person with Disabilities (PwD) |
5% |
CAT Notification 2023: Admit Card
The CAT 2023 Admit Card is one of the most crucial documents for every CAT 2023 Aspirant.
- Candidates will be able to download the admit cards by logging into their accounts on the official website.
- It is required not only at the CAT 2023 exam center but also in some of the procedures post-CAT.
- The test center for each candidate will be mentioned on their admit cards.
The CAT Admit Card contains several details such as:
- Name
- CAT 2023 Time Slot
- Category
- CAT 2023 Registration Number
- Password
- Exam Center Instructions
- Authorized Candidate Signatory
- Declaration Form
- Candidate's photograph
The personal details have to be carefully examined at the time of release to ensure that there are no mistakes in the CAT 2023 Admit Card. If there are some errors, the authorities should be contacted at the earliest to clarify these mistakes as soon as possible.
CAT Notification 2023: Solution Key
The responsible authority will put up the solution key, individual response sheet and question paper of CAT 2023 following the completion of the CAT 2023 examination. It can easily be downloaded from the official website to calculate your percentile and predict IIM calls. The CAT solution key will be delivered in two phases: preliminary and final. The answer key will be released the fastest after the CAT 2023 exam will give the preliminary solution key. Students are open to objecting against this CAT 2023 solution key. Keeping these objections in mind, the preliminary answer key will undergo further revisions and modifications. The final solution key will be released after convening IIM is 100% satisfied with the accuracy of the solution key.
CAT Notification 2023: Result
The CAT exam result will be uploaded on the official website (https://iimcat.ac.in) and each candidate will be able to download his/her scorecard in its entirety after logging in. The CAT Exam result will be applicable only for the current academic year and will be declared in the second week of January 2024 tentatively.
You will be notified here once the official dates are declared.
The validity of the CAT result is one year, i.e. till December 2024. Hence only students who have given CAT 2023 will be considered for MBA batch 2024-26.
- Steps to get CAT 2023 result
- Open the CAT official website
- Login to your account
- Click on the "Scorecard" tab
- Click download and save the file on your computer.
- Open “downloads” and view the result file
Check Out: CAT 2022 Result
Top B-schools Accepting CAT Scores
As mentioned above, the CAT Exam is held for admissions into some of the best MBA colleges in India. Some of these colleges are:
Read in detail: MBA B School Ranking
Also read: CAT Cut offCAT 2018-2022 Registration Pattern
The CAT population has been on a significant rise over the last few years. CAT is a gateway to pursuing a career in management from the best B schools in the country. Almost 100 top B-schools grant admission based on CAT scores, including the twenty IIMs. You can understand the past CAT Registration Pattern better in the form of the graph presented below:
