CAT

CAT is the principal common entrance examination route for many IIM postgraduate management programmes and fellow/doctoral programmes. The CAT 2025 official bulletin listed programmes such as PGP/MBA variants across the IIM system, while also allowing listed non-IIM member institutions to use CAT scores.

A CAT score alone does not constitute an admission offer. The receiving institute controls programme eligibility, shortlisting, interviews and final selection. For example, IIM Ahmedabad’s domestic MBA process for its 2026–28 batch used a valid CAT 2025 score for shortlisting, followed by an Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI) for shortlisted applicants.

• Use CAT to establish eligibility for participating programmes, then apply and satisfy the separate rules of every target institute.
• Confirm whether a non-IIM school accepts the relevant CAT cycle; IIMs state that they do not run the selection processes of non-IIM institutions.

The CAT 2025 baseline rule was a recognised bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification with at least 50% marks/equivalent CGPA for General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates, or 45% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. The bulletin also recognised certain completed professional qualifications—CA, CS, ICWA/CMA and Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India—subject to the required percentage.

Final-year bachelor’s students and candidates who had completed degree requirements but were awaiting results could apply in CAT 2025. If selected, they had to meet the respective IIM’s documentary and completion requirements. Meeting CAT’s minimum eligibility did not guarantee an IIM shortlist.

• Use the university’s prescribed CGPA-to-percentage conversion where available; CAT 2025 specified a fallback calculation where no conversion scheme existed.
• Check programme-specific rules in addition to CAT eligibility: an IIM or a particular MBA/PGP programme can apply additional academic, category, work-experience or other requirements.

CAT 2025 was a computer-based examination conducted in three sessions on one test day. Its three assessed areas were VARC, DILR and QA. These details are useful as the latest fully published official-cycle reference available in the cited material, not as a promise of the next cycle’s exact pattern.

Candidates should treat the current CAT information bulletin, official mock/test instructions and admit-card notices as controlling for the number of questions, time limits, accessibility arrangements, session timing, permitted items and test-centre procedures for their own cycle.

• Prepare for all three areas; individual IIM selection policies can require sectional as well as overall CAT performance.
• CAT percentile expectations are institute- and programme-specific. For example, IIM Ahmedabad published separate overall and sectional preliminary thresholds for its CAT 2025-based MBA selection process.

Apply only through the official CAT portal when registration for the relevant cycle is open, using a unique email address and mobile number that remain available throughout the selection process. The official CAT material warns applicants to verify that they are using the official website.

CAT 2025 is historical reference only: registration opened on August 1, 2025, the advertised closing date was later extended to September 20, 2025, the test was held on November 30, 2025, and results were published on December 24, 2025. Its registration fee was ₹1,300 for SC/ST/PwD candidates and ₹2,600 for other candidates. Dates, fees, test cities, documents and payment rules are variable by cycle and must be checked in the new official notice before applying.

• Complete the CAT registration accurately, including category and academic information; CAT 2025 did not permit category changes after registration.
• In the CAT 2025 process, applicants selected up to five test-city preferences and received a city/centre subject to availability.
• After CAT, follow each chosen institute’s application and admission instructions separately; some institutes require additional forms or steps.

Build preparation around VARC, DILR and QA, and practise working across all three rather than relying on a single strong area. This follows from CAT’s three-section structure and from institute policies that can apply sectional as well as overall CAT thresholds.

Plan beyond the test score. Keep academic records and applicable category documentation ready, research each target programme’s selection policy early, and prepare for post-CAT assessment components where required. At IIM Ahmedabad, for example, shortlisting and final selection for the CAT 2025-based MBA process used CAT performance alongside academic records, AWT/PI performance, and other achievements and work experience.

• Use official CAT notices and any official practice/test instructions for the applicable cycle as the primary source for rules and interface expectations.
• Create a target-institute list before results: compare programme eligibility, sectional requirements, application steps and interview/assessment methods rather than assuming one percentile ensures admission everywhere.

A valid CAT score can support applications to a range of IIM management programmes and, where a school is listed for the relevant cycle, to participating non-IIM institutions. Programme names and availability vary across institutes and admission years.

For IIM admissions, the outcome is normally a multi-stage decision rather than a score-only allocation. The CAT 2025 bulletin states that IIMs independently determine their own relative weights and may use prior academic performance, relevant work experience and similar inputs. IIM Ahmedabad’s MBA process additionally used AWT and PI after shortlisting; its graduates receive the Master of Business Administration degree.

• Possible downstream study paths include MBA/PGP and specialised management programmes; research-oriented routes such as FPM/PhD may also accept CAT subject to their own policies.
• Do not treat one institute’s published cut-off or selection formula as universal: it is dated, programme-specific and subject to change.