CAT Exam 2023 Notification; Download PDF

CAT stands for Common Admission Test, which is one of the popular exams in India. CAT is an entrance exam which is conducted once a year by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to get admission to business schools (MBA colleges) all over India. 

The CAT exam is usually conducted in the 3rd or 4th week of November every year. This year, the CAT 2023 is scheduled to be conducted on 26 November 2023. The IIMs released the CAT 2023 Notification on 2 August 2023 on the official website, i.e. iimcat.ac.in.  

Registration for CAT 2023 began on 2 August 2023 and the last date to apply was 21 September 2023. The admit card will be released on 7 November 2023. It is a computer-based test conducted for admission to MBA and PGP courses offered by IIMs and other best B-schools in the country.  

Candidates who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for the CAT exam. Check out the post to learn everything there is to know about the CAT exam, such as the selection process, eligibility criteria, and so on, and prepare for the exam.

CAT 2023 Overview

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Bodh Gaya, Calcutta, Indore, Jammu, Kashipur, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Nagpur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Sambalpur, Shillong, Sirmaur, Tiruchirappalli, Udaipur, and Visakhapatnam will conduct the CAT 2023. See the other details in the table given below:

Important Dates for CAT 2023

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) will release the CAT Admit Card 2023 on 7 November 2023. Check all other important dates of CAT 2023 in the table below:

Important Links for CAT Exam 2023

All the CAT 2023 relevant links can be found in the table below:

Eligibility Criteria for CAT 2023

Candidates who want to appear for the CAT 2023 exam and make the merit list must be aware of the CAT's eligibility criteria and rules. IIMs have established some eligibility criteria, which are as follows.

1. Age limit

There is no provision for an upper age limit for the CAT 2023 Exam. The candidates irrespective of their ages (fulfilling educational requirements) can apply for this exam.

2. Educational Qualification

Candidates applying for CAT 2023 must meet at least one of the following educational requirements: 

a) Having a Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% marks for General, EWS, and NC-OBC candidates and 45% for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

b) Professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) completed with above-mentioned percentage.

c) Be in the last year of a Bachelor's degree program with the above-mentioned percentage.

CAT 2023: Application Process 

Candidates who are unfamiliar with how to fill out the CAT form can carefully follow the step-by-step approach to begin the registration process for the CAT exam 2023. So, let's get started. You must have to register yourself for the CAT 2023 exam online through the official website. 

Part-I Registration

Step 1: Go to the CAT's official website.

Step 2: Under the "New Candidate Registration" section, click the Register button.

Step 3: Enter your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, email address, and mobile phone number.

Step 4: Finally, click the Generate OTP number button.

Step 5: This will take you to CAPTCHA, where you must enter the captcha.

Step 6: Enter the OTP and select "Validate the OTP" to authenticate your mobile number.

Step 7: Complete and submit the registration form.

Step 8: You will then receive the User ID and password via email or text message to your mobile phone.

Part-II Application Form

After completing the registration process, log in with the User ID and password to fill out your application form.

Step 1: Then, go to the candidate's dashboard and fill out the CAT Exam Application Form 2023 with the necessary information.

Step 2: Fill in the SSC/Class 10, HSC/Class 12, Bachelor's Degree Details, Master's Degree Details, and Other Professional Degree Details.

Step 3: After completing the preceding steps, applicants must submit any work experience details.

Step 4: Enter additional personal information, communication information, and emergency contact information, and upload any essential papers in the prescribed manner.

Step 5: Choose your preferred number of programs and city.

Step 6: Pay the application fee online at last and preview the final submission form.

CAT 2023 Application Fee

The CAT registration and application fee to be paid is  Rs. 2400 (for applicants in the general category) and Rs. 1200 (for candidates in the SC, ST, and PwD categories). Only online payment methods are available for making payments. 

CAT 2023 Admission Process:

Candidates who meet the CAT 2023 cutoff will be invited to take the CAT exam selection procedure. Each IIM and MBA college will begin the screening process of candidates for admission to postgraduate management programs based on CAT 2023 scores, WAT, GD/PI, and other factors. To get selected for admission, applicants must also do well in the exam. 

Different IIMs have different selection norms, and each IIM will have a different admissions policy. CAT results are accepted by all CAT participating institutes, including IIMs and non-IIMs. Non-IIMs that accept CAT scores include six IITs, IISc Bangalore, NITs, JNU, IMT Ghaziabad, IPU, MDI Gurgaon, and SPJIMR Mumbai. The CAT 2023 selection procedure is divided into the following three sections.

• Written Ability Test (WAT)
• Group Discussion (GD)
• Personal Interview (PI)

CAT Exam Pattern 2023

The CAT Exam consists of three sections: 

Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 

Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 

Section III: Quantitative Ability 

To be considered for IIM, the candidate must meet the sectional cut-offs for each section. A solid academic record that includes diversity and work experience, as well as good scores in all three areas, can boost your chances of admission to top business schools. 

Check out the table below for more information.                                                                       

CAT Syllabus 2023

Candidates who want to do well in the CAT exam should make the best preparation strategy comprising all the topics of the CAT syllabus and devoting appropriate time to each section. The CAT syllabus covers various subjects, including verbal ability, reading comprehension, maths, and reading comprehension. Candidates should carefully and methodically study for the CAT exam to maximize their chances of being admitted to the business school of their choice.  

For your clear understanding, the CAT syllabus is mentioned below: 

CAT 2023 Exam Admit Card

The IIM will release the CAT Admit Card 2023 on 7 November 2023 on their official website. Candidates have to download their admit card from the official website only, it will not be sent to them through any other means. 

The CAT 2023 admit card is mandatory at the exam centre for the candidate’s identification purposes. The following steps will be helpful for the candidates to download their admit card:

• Go to the official IIMCAT website.
• Under the Registered Candidate login, click the Login button.
• Enter the User ID and password you created during registration.
• The admit card window will open, and you will be able to view your CAT admit card.
• Click the download button and save the admit card to your computer.
• Candidates should bring a color printout of their admit card to the examination.

After downloading the CAT Admit Card 2023, candidates must review the information on the admit card to ensure that no information has been mentioned incorrectly.

CAT 2023 Result

We can expect the CAT 2023 Result in the last week of December 2023 or the first week of January 2024. Candidates can access their CAT 2023 scorecard by visiting the IIMCAT website and logging in with their login ID and username. Each candidate's name, registration number, category, photo, sectional score, overall score, sectional percentile, and overall percentile are listed on the CAT 2023 scorecard.  

How to Check CAT Result 2023

Only the official IIMs official website will have the CAT result 2023 and scorecard available for download. By entering their CAT login IDs, test participants and candidates can check their results and get their score card. The procedure to check the CAT 2023 result is described below:

New IIMs Selection Process After CAT 2023

The new 9 IIMs use the Common Admission Process (CAP 2024) to choose candidates for admission. The following are the 9 new IIMs: 

• IIM Jammu
• IIM Udaipur
• IIM Trichy
• IIM Bodh Gaya
• IIM Ranchi
• IIM Sirmaur
• IIM Sambalpur
• IIM Kashipur
• IIM Raipur  

For admission to the above-mentioned IIMs, Candidates are shortlisted for admission based on their CAT 2023 scores. These IIMs will hold the MBA/PGP admission process separately between February and April 2024. In May 2024, the final admission lists for all top IIMs and IIM CAP participating institutes will be released. 

Selection Process Includes:

Candidates have to submit their application separately on the CAP 2024 website after their CAT 2023 result. While doing so, candidates must choose which IIMs they want to apply for. After the registration, the respective IIMs will forward a list of shortlisted candidates to the Host IIM Udaipur. 

The candidates will then receive their login credentials from the respective IIMs and details regarding the interview. Candidates will have two options for the PI (or Personal Interview) round which is virtual or in-person on campus. Following that, the admissions process will continue and the final offer letters will be mailed to candidates.