The much-anticipated CAT 2025 notification was released on July 27, 2025, marking the official start to India’s most sought-after MBA entrance exam cycle. If you’re planning to pursue management at an IIM or other top B-school, here’s everything you must know about CAT Exam 2025, including key dates, eligibility, fees, registration steps, and a deep analysis of past year trends.
|
Event |
Date/Timeline |
|
Notification Release |
July 27, 2025 |
|
Registration Window |
August 1 – September 13, 2025 |
|
Admit Card Download |
November 5 – 30, 2025 |
|
Exam Date |
November 30, 2025 |
|
Result Declaration (Tentative) |
December 2025 |
Eligibility Criteria for CAT 2025
· Educational Qualification:
o Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university.
o Minimum 50% aggregate for General/EWS/OBC (NCL); 45% for SC/ST/PwD.
o Candidates in the final year of graduation (or awaiting results) can apply.
o Professional degree holders (CA/CS/ICWA/FIAI) are also eligible.
· Age Limit: No upper age limit.
· Number of Attempts: Unlimited.
· Reservation Policy:
o OBC: 27%
o SC: 15%
o ST: 7.5%
o EWS: 10%
Recent changes allow candidates from 2023/2024 batches who were graded on a "Promotion/Pass" basis due to pandemic modifications to enter those instead of marks.
CAT 2025 Application Fee
· General/OBC/EWS: ₹2,600
· SC/ST/PwD: ₹1,300
The fee has been increased by ₹100 for General and ₹50 for reserved categories compared to last year. Payment can be done online via Debit/Credit cards, Net Banking, UPI, or Paytm wallets.
CAT 2025 Exam Pattern & Syllabus
|
Section |
No. of Questions (2025) |
Time Allotted (mins) |
|
VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) |
24 |
40 |
|
DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning) |
20 |
40 |
|
QA (Quantitative Aptitude) |
22 |
40 |
|
Total |
66 |
120 |
· Medium: English only
· Type: MCQs & TITA (Type In The Answer)
· Marking: +3 correct, -1 incorrect; no negative for TITA
· Test Mode: Computer-based, across 170+ cities
· Shifts: 3 slots on exam day.
Syllabus Overview:
· VARC: RC passages, para jumbles, odd sentence out, summaries, vocabulary, logic, inferences.
· DILR: Data tables, graphs, logical sequences, puzzles, arrangements, caselets.
· QA: Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, number systems, modern math, trigonometry, percentages, profit & loss.
1. Register on Official Website: Visit CAT Registration Link – iimcat.ac.in and click “Register”.
2. Create Profile: Fill in name, DOB, email ID, and mobile to receive OTP.
3. Form Filling: Login using sent User ID/Password and complete all segments:
o Personal Information
o Academic Qualifications (10th, 12th, Graduation, etc.)
o Work Experience (if any)
o Programme Preferences (select IIMs/programs)
o Test City Choice (up to 6 preferences)
4. Upload Documents: Recent photograph, signature, category/EWS certificate (if applicable).
5. Pay Fees: Make online payment and submit application.
6. Download Confirmation: Save the acknowledgment for future reference.
Tip: Double-check all details and upload clearly scanned documentation to avoid rejections.
With 2.93 lakh test-takers in CAT 2024, headcounts at key percentile cuts are:
|
Percentile band |
# Candidates below cut |
Still in play (≥ cut) |
|
10% |
29,300 |
2,63,700 |
|
25% |
73,250 |
2,19,750 |
|
50% |
1,46,500 |
1,46,500 |
|
75% |
2,19,750 |
73,250 |
|
90% |
2,63,700 |
29,300 |
|
95% |
2,78,350 |
14,650 |
|
99% |
2,90,070 |
2,930 |
|
99.9% |
2,92,707 |
293 |
(Headcounts scale linearly with future test-taker totals.)
3. Category-Wise 99+ Percentilers (Official Top-Bands)
IIM Calcutta’s CAT 2024 media release lists the very top layers
|
Percentile |
Total |
Female |
Engg |
Key states (≥2 toppers) |
|
100 |
14 |
1 |
13 |
Maharashtra 5 - Telangana 2 |
|
99.99 |
29 |
2 |
28 |
Karnataka 4 - Maharashtra 5 - Haryana 3 |
|
99.98 |
30 |
1 |
22 |
Delhi 3 - Gujarat 3 - WB 4 |
While IIMs don’t publish reservation-wise counts, past admission data show ~80% of 99+ scorers are General/NC-OBC
4. How Many Score < 50%ile by Category?
Applying CAT 2024 appearance mix
|
Category |
Share of test-takers |
Est. < 50%ile heads |
|
General |
67.2% |
≈98,400 |
|
NC-OBC |
17.5% |
≈25,600 |
|
EWS |
5.1% |
≈7,500 |
|
SC |
8.1% |
≈11,900 |
|
ST |
2.1% |
≈3,100 |
(Assumes near-uniform lower-half distribution; real spread skews slightly in favour of reserved groups per IIM shortlist data
5. Raw-Score Extremes
6. Gender Gap at the Top
|
Percentile |
% Female among achievers |
|
100 |
7% (1 / 14) |
|
99.99 |
6.9% (2 / 29) |
|
99+ (est.) |
11-13% (media reports 2023–24) |
Trend-line: female share has inched up from 4% (CAT 2021) to ~10% today.
7. State-Wise 99+
Top five contributor states in CAT 2024 high-percentile pool
Smaller states (Odisha, Uttarakhand, Assam) placed single toppers—evidence that the gap is narrowing but persists.
8. Dropper vs Fresher Performance
9. Academic Background of 99+ Percentilers
Engineers still dominate:
|
CAT Year |
100%ilers who are engineers |
|
2022 |
10 / 11 (91%) |
|
2023 |
11 / 14 (79% |
|
2024 |
13 / 14 (93%) |
But eight non-engineers broke 99.98%ile in 2024—largest such cohort since TITA era began
10. Work-Ex vs Percentile
IIM Bangalore’s composite score grid awards up to 8-10% weight for 24-36 months work-ex. Analysis of 2023 IIM-L shortlist shows:
|
Work-ex band |
Median overall %ile |
|
0-6 m |
96.5 |
|
6-24 m |
97.8 |
|
24-48 m |
98.1 |
|
> 48 m |
96.9 |
Moderate experience (1-3 yrs) correlates with slightly higher shortlisting threshold.
11. 99%ilers → IIM A/B/C Conversion
Based on 2023-24 offer grids
|
Category |
% of 99+ %ilers getting BLACKI call |
|
General |
≈42% |
|
NC-OBC |
≈58% |
|
EWS |
≈62% |
|
SC/ST |
> 85% |
Reason: lower composite-score cut-offs for reserved groups plus diversity points.
12. 90-99%ilers Who Land No IIM Seat
13. Section-Wise Score Distribution (CAT 2024)
|
Percentile |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
|
99 |
41-42 |
30-38 |
26-33 |
|
95 |
30-32 |
20-27 |
18-22 |
|
90 |
24-26 |
17-22 |
14-17 |
|
80 |
18-20 |
11-17 |
10-11 |
Balanced 99+ profiles (< 5% of candidates) must clear ~95%ile in each section.
14. TITA Behaviour of Toppers
15. Bottom-Half Profile Analysis
16. Mock vs Actual Score Gap
Cracku de-anonymised data
|
Mock band |
Avg. Δ (CAT-raw – Mock-raw) |
|
60-70 marks |
+12 |
|
80-90 marks |
+6 |
|
100+ marks |
±0 to –3 |
Lower-band testers often outperform on D-day due to exam-day adrenaline; high scorers rarely improve further.
17. Attendance vs Registration
|
CAT Year |
Reg. |
Appeared |
No-show % |
|
2020 |
2.28 L |
1.90 L |
16.7 |
|
2022 |
2.56 L |
2.22 L |
13.3 |
|
2023 |
3.28 L |
2.88 L |
12.2 |
|
2024 |
3.29 L |
2.93 L |
11.0 |
Pandemic-era absenteeism (>16%) is shrinking; more serious aspirants now travel for the test.
18. Metro vs Non-Metro Gap
19. Normalisation & Category Impact
20. Redemption: Sub-10%ile → Next-Year Success
IIM-Skills tracker of 380 re-takers (2023 → 2024) shows:
|
First attempt band |
% who reappeared |
Avg. jump next year |
|
Bottom 10% |
41% |
+23 percentile points |
|
10-50% |
26% |
+12 pts |
Structured mock-driven plans close the gap fastest; majority who “disappear” cite job pressure over confidence.
Score vs Percentile Evolution (2019-2024)
|
Percentile |
2019 |
2021 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
99 |
98 |
98 |
76 |
96 |
|
95 |
73 |
72 |
55 |
70 |
|
90 |
60 |
60 |
45 |
57 |
|
80 |
45 |
45 |
41 |
43 |
Scores plunged in 2023 (toughest paper in six years) but bounced back in 2024 when QA eased while DILR stayed tricky
Final Prep Pointers for CAT 2025 Aspirants
