CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024: Overview
Aspirants must meet the following eligibility requirements to appear for the CAT entrance exam 2024-
|
Qualification |
Requirement |
|
Age |
NA |
|
Educational Qualification |
Bachelor’s Degree |
|
Marks in Graduation |
50% (General Category) |
|
Work Experience |
Not Compulsory |
|
Reservation |
As per category |
Tools to Crack CAT
Candidates who aim to get into the top B-schools of the country must ensure that they are meeting the eligibility for CAT exam before aspiring to score well on it. It is very important to know whether you are eligible to take the exam before you plan on writing it. Therefore, provided below is a more detailed description of the CAT exam eligibility which provides an in-depth understanding of the CAT exam and its requirements for your reference.
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024: Check Your Eligibility
The CAT Score allows the candidate to be eligible for most of the best B-Schools in India including the IIMs which hold the CAT Exam and therefore, it is crucial for candidates to verify their eligibility for CAT exam. To avoid any further disqualification in the admission process, applicants should understand the factors and requirements for CAT eligibility criteria 2024. Here are some things that must be kept in mind:
Educational Qualifications
Before taking the CAT 2024 the candidates must ensure that they are meeting the requirements of the eligibility for CAT exam. Here is a brief overview of the CAT exam eligibility based on academics:
- The candidate has to pass their Bachelor's degree with at least 50% (for General Category and NC-OBC). For SC/ST and Differently Abled (DA) 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 there is no conversion factor specified by the University, the CGPA has to be converted into a 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 also eligible for CAT.
Marks Calculation
In order to qualify for the CAT exam eligibility, you must score the following:
- Universities/ institutes follow their own criteria for assigning marks on graduation. The CAT marks calculation will be based on this process.
- If the university awards grades or CGPA instead of marks, the conversion method provided by the university has to be used to convert the marks to percentages.
- In case the university has no methodology for converting marks/ CGPA to percentage, it is to be done through direct conversion. It means that the candidate should divide the achieved CGPA by the highest CGPA possible and multiply the result by 100.
Final Year Students
Final-year students are often confused about their eligibility for the CAT entrance exam. Here are the points these students need to keep in mind when checking their eligibility-
- Final-year students of all bachelor's degrees are eligible to apply for the CAT exam.
- However, if selected for further stages, these students are required to clear their bachelor's with the required percentage and provide proof for the same at the time of selection.
- If the candidate is unable to meet this requirement, their results in the further admission processes will be rendered null and void.
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024: Documents Required for Final Year Students
The number of candidates appearing for CAT shows a massive increase year after year with a major chunk of 60% devoted especially to freshers and 40% for candidates having prior work experience. Thus, the number of final-year students appearing for CAT each year is quite significant. Identifying the CAT Eligibility Criteria is the first step in clearing the CAT exam, and the candidate needs to provide the following documents:
- An additional document, since the candidate does not possess their final degree certificate with the total grade obtained. The document must be signed by the Principal/ Head of Department/ Registrar/Director of the Institute verifying that the candidate has over 50% marks in the course on the date the certificate is issued.
- Post their admission to any of the B-Schools, the candidates will be required to furnish their final certificate from their graduation to continue in the institute.
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024: Additional Requirements for Candidates with Work Experience
As the application form for CAT asks about work experience, candidates are often doubtful of its effect on the overall application and exam process. Here is a better understanding of the role of work experience in the CAT exam-
- Candidates appearing for the CAT entrance exam are not required to have prior work experience.
- Though the CAT application form has a section for work experience, this condition is not a prerequisite.
- Work experience has some weightage in the later stages of the admission process in IIMs. However, within the CAT exam, having any experience will not affect the scores or eligibility.
CAT Exam Eligibility and IIM Eligibility: Is there a Difference?
Even though the IIMs convene the CAT Exam, both bodies have different eligibility criteria. In this field, there are some minor contradictions that every candidate should be aware of-
- While there is no age limit for both the CAT Exam eligibility and IIM eligibility.
- A 2-year bachelor’s degree is accepted by the CAT entrance exam, however, it is not accepted by the IIMs. IIMs only admit a 3-year bachelor's degree for their Management Programs.
- Though CAT does not require work experience, IIMs allot some weightage to work experience though it is not mandatory either.
Apart from this, there are no contradictions between the CAT Exam Eligibility and the IIM Eligibility.
Eligibility Criteria of Top MBA Entrances- Download PDFWho is Ineligible for the CAT Exam?
- A candidate who did not appear for their bachelor's degree and failed to meet the qualifications for CAT exam eligibility.
- A candidate with marks less than 50% in their graduation for General Category & NC-OBC and less than 45% for SC/ ST/ PWD does not qualify the eligibility for CAT exam.
- A candidate pursuing both their bachelor's degree as well as a professional degree but has yet to complete either of them fails to meet the CAT eligibility criteria.
- A graduation certificate from a university not recognized by the UGC/ AICTE/ MHRD does not match the CAT exam eligibility. The candidate will be considered ineligible to appear for the CAT Exam.
Reservation of Seats
After the CAT Exam Eligibility and the exam are cleared, the goal of every student is to enter the IIMs; the highest-regarded MBA Colleges in India. However, the IIMs are government-run institutions which means they follow the government policies regarding reservations for the underprivileged categories.
- Consequently, the CAT entrance exam also follows the reservation criteria.
- There is a separate category for the Differently Abled Individuals or Persons with Disability in the reservations.
- To avail the Caste Based Reservation, the candidates need to provide proof in the form of the SC/ST/OBC Certificate in the application form. Following this, the original document may be required during the final admission process.
- The standard formats for the caste certificates are provided on the official CAT website so that there is some uniformity and verification of the certificate can be done relatively easily.
|
Category |
Reservation |
|
Scheduled Caste |
15% |
|
Scheduled Tribe |
7.5% |
|
Other Backward Classes of NC-OBC |
27% |
|
Economically Weaker Section |
Up to 10% |
|
Person with Disability |
5% |
Person with Disability: Reservation Category
The PwD will include candidates who have the following problems/disabilities:
- Candidates having hearing impairment
- Candidates with low vision/blindness
- Candidates with a locomotive disability or cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy
- Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
- Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d)
- Other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in ‘The Schedule’ of the RPwD Act 2016
These conditions make the candidates eligible for the PwD category in all the colleges under CAT exam eligibility criteria. There is however a caveat that the candidates should have at least 40% of the handicap mentioned above to be eligible. The candidates with disability are also given 20 minutes more per section keeping in mind their condition. For candidates with vision-related issues, a scribe will be provided at the center along with a wheelchair for candidates who have locomotive disabilities or blindness.
Eligibility Criteria of Top MBA Entrances- Download PDFConclusion
It is essential for every student to understand what is CAT exam and the CAT exam eligibility criteria before they start the CAT Preparation in earnest. More importantly, the candidate should be aware of the documents that they may be asked to furnish during the CAT registration process as well as the further admission processes. The documents required for the further processes of different colleges can be easily found online and the candidate would be well advised to keep those documents ready for inspection at the time.