For admission to MBA program, IIMs hold a Common Admission Test (CAT) every year, generally in the month of November. The test is conducted on all- India basis at several centers, covering almost the entire country.

A notification regarding CAT usually appears in the month of September in several national newspapers as well as in the “Employment News”. The dates of commencement of academic session are different for all the four Institutes.

Exam profile: CAT has been of 2 hour duration till date. However, it has been extended to time duration of 2hrs & 30 min this yr onwards. It is objective type (multiple choices) and includes questions on English language, analytical ability, reading comprehension, data interpretation and reasoning ability.

In addition to the written test, the candidates may also be tested in the following:

(i) group discussion
(ii) leadership tests
(iii) case study; and
(iv) personal interview.

The thrust of the CAT is to choose the candidates with high intelligence quotient, leadership qualities, clear understanding and good expression. The number of seats varies from 100 to 180 and the IIMs have reservation for SC/ST candidates @ 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.