CAT 2025: Admission Process, Eligibility, Selection Criteria, Exam Fee, IIMCAT Cutoffs

IIM Kozhikode will conduct the CAT 2025 exam on 30th November 2025. The 2024 exam saw more than 3.29 lakh registered candidates with 2.9 lakh test-takers. Management education’s growing popularity suggests the 2025 edition might attract over 4 lakh aspirants.

The registration for CAT 2025 will start from 1st August 2025, and the deadline will be 13th September 2025. Candidates can download their admit cards between 5th and 30th November 2025. The eligibility criteria to appear for the exam are a minimum of 50% total marks from a recognised university. There is no age limit to appear for CAT 2025. Any fresh graduates and experienced professionals in their 40s can take the exam if they meet the academic requirements. Moreover, there is no age limit to appear for CAT exam 2025. subjects

Getting into prestigious IIMs through CAT demands outstanding performance. The older IIMs typically expect general category candidates to score above the 98th percentile. To cite an instance, IIM Ahmedabad’s minimum qualifying CAT cutoff stands at 80%, yet final cutoffs for general candidates have touched 99%.

This complete guide will give you detailed information on CAT 2025, along with its admission process, eligibility criteria, selection procedures, exam fees, and expected cutoffs for various IIMs and other top B-schools that accept CAT scores.

CAT 2025 Highlights

Given below are the highlights of CAT 2025.

Particulars	Details
Conducting at IIM	IIM Kozhikode
CAT 2025 Exam Date	November 30, 2025 (Sunday)
Notification Release	July 27, 2025
CAT 2025 Registration Window	August – September 2025 (Tentative)
Exam Mode	Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Exam Duration	120 minutes (40 minutes/section)
Total Questions	66- 68 (Expected)
CAT 2025 Sections	VARC, DILR, QA
Marking Scheme	+3 for correct –1 for the wrong (MCQ only)
Eligibility Criteria	Graduation with 50% (45% for SC/ST/PwD)
Application Fee	₹2400 (Gen/OBC) ₹1200 (SC/ST/PwD)
CAT 2025 Expected Candidates	3 lakhs
Total IIM Seats	Approx. 5,500 – 6,000

CAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates need a graduation degree with 50% minimum marks from a recognized university to appear for the CAT exam 2025. Moreover, Professionals with CA, CS, ICWA (CMA), or Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) can also take the exam if they meet these percentage requirements. The minimum eligibility marks needed are given below in the table.

Category	Minimum Required Percentage
General/EWS/NC-OBC	50% or equivalent CGPA
SC/ST/PwD	45% or equivalent CGPA

CAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria For Final-Year Students

Final-year students can apply for CAT 2025 if they finish their graduation by June 2026. Selected candidates can join the programme temporarily if their Principal/Registrar gives them a certificate showing they’ve completed all bachelor’s degree requirements.

CAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria For Candidates With Backlogs

Students with backlogs in their bachelor’s degrees can take CAT 2025. They need to clear all backlogs before starting the admission process at their chosen management institutes. This includes students with pending supplementary re-examinations, who must eventually score a minimum of 50% for the general category and 45% for the reserved categories.

CAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria For Reserved Categories

The reservation policy for CAT 2025 follows government guidelines:

Category	Reservation Percentage
Scheduled Caste (SC)	15%
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	7.5%
Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC)	27%
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)	Up to 10%
Persons with Disability (PwD)	5%

Students from reserved categories should upload valid category certificates during registration. SC/ST candidates must belong to a caste/tribe listed in the Government of India schedule. PwD candidates should get a UDID card and include it with their application.

CAT 2025 Eligibility Criteria For International/NRI Candidates

All the eligible NRIs and International candidates can apply through CAT 2025. Although some IIMs accept GMAT or GRE scores.

Indian nationals applying as international candidates must have lived outside India for at least 18 months as of January 1, 2025. These candidates should be outside India on the day of the exam. They need a certificate from their local Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate confirming this.

Foreign nationals must have a valid passport/travel document from a country other than India.

Also Check: CAT Exam Strategy 2025

CAT 2025 Registration Process

Students can register for CAT 2025 from August 1 until September 13, 2025, on the official website. Candidates must submit their applications by 5:00 pm on the closing date to take the examination scheduled for November 30, 2025.

Here’s how you can register for CAT 2025:

1. Go to the official CAT website (https://iimcat.ac.in).
2. Under the New Candidate Registration section, click on the “Register” button.
3. Candidates need to fill out the information like name, date of birth, email address, and mobile number.
4. Candidates will receive an OTP on the registered mobile number and email. Just verify it to proceed. If you’re an overseas candidate, you’ll get the OTP only via your email.
5. After verification, candidates will get User ID by email and the Password by SMS. Overseas candidates receive both through email.
6. Use these credentials to log in and complete the application form. The form has six sections: Personal Details, Academics, Work Experience, Programmes, Test City, and Payment.
7. Pick up to six test cities where you’d like to take the exam.
8. Double-check all information before paying – you can’t make changes later.
9. Pay the application fee online:

Category	Fee Amount
General/EWS/NC-OBC	INR 2,600
SC/ST/PwD	INR 1,300

9. Save the confirmation page for your records.

Documents required for registration

Get these documents ready before you start registering:

• A recent passport-size photograph (less than six months old with a white background)
• Your signature scan
• Class 10th and 12th mark sheets
• Bachelor’s degree certificate (if you’ve graduated)
• Category certificate (SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS) if applicable
• PwD certificate, if applicable
• Work experience certificate, if applicable

Candidate’s documents must meet these specifications:

Document	Dimensions	Format	Maximum Size
Photograph	1200px × 1200px	JPG/JPEG	80 KB
Signature	80mm × 35mm	JPG/JPEG	80 KB

Common mistakes to avoid during CAT 2025 Registration

Students often make mistakes during registration. Here’s what you should watch out for:

• Your personal information must be accurate. You can’t change details like your name, date of birth, or contact information after submission.
• Keep your academic documents handy while filling in percentages and graduation details. Students often make mistakes in these sections.
• Many applications get rejected because of poor document uploads. Make sure your scanned documents are clear and meet the size and format requirements.
• Take your time with the form. You can save it multiple times before the final submission. Review everything carefully before making the payment.
• Use recommended browsers like Microsoft Edge (80-103), Google Chrome (59+), or Mozilla Firefox (56+) to avoid technical issues while applying.

Also Check: CAT Exam Pattern And Syllabus 2025

CAT 2025 Admission & Selection Process

The CAT 2025 admission process goes beyond entrance exam scores. Candidates must clear multiple stages that assess them on different parameters.

CAT exam and result declaration

CAT 2025 has three main sections: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). IIM Kozhikode will announce results in January 2026. Candidates will receive email notifications and can check their results on the official website. The results show sectional and overall percentile scores that are the foundations of the next selection stages.

Shortlisting based on CAT cutoff

Each IIM and B-school sets its own cutoffs to shortlist candidates. These cutoffs change based on institution and category. IIM Mumbai’s minimum percentile requirements serve as a good example:

Category	VARC	DILR	QA	Overall
General	≥80	≥80	≥75	≥85
NC-OBC/EWS	≥70	≥65	≥65	≥75
SC	≥65	≥60	≥60	≥70
ST	≥55	≥55	≥55	≥65
PwD	≥45	≥45	≥45	≥55

The actual cutoffs might be higher depending on the quality of applicants.

WAT, GD, and PI rounds

Candidates who clear the cutoffs move to the next evaluation rounds. Most IIMs use a Written Ability Test (WAT) to check writing skills and clarity of thought. A Personal Interview (PI) follows to assess communication, personality, and domain knowledge. Some institutes like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, and JBIMS Mumbai also include Group Discussions (GD) to evaluate leadership and team skills.

Final merit list and composite score

Each institution creates its final merit list using a composite score from multiple parameters. IIM Mumbai’s scoring pattern looks like this:

• CAT 2024 Score: 60%
• Personal Interview: 20%
• Academic Performance & Work Experience: 20%

Weightage of Academic and Work profile

Academic records and professional experience play a vital role in final selection. Most IIMs give 5-15% weightage to academics (10th, 12th, and graduation marks) and 5-10% to work experience. IIM Bangalore allocates 15% to academics and 10% to work experience. They multiply the quality of experience by 0.25-2x based on relevance. Newer IIMs such as Sirmaur and Mumbai give up to 20 marks for work experience. This makes these institutes particularly attractive to candidates with exceptional professional backgrounds.

CAT 2025 Cutoffs for IIMs and Top B-Schools

Admission to IIMs depends on specific cutoff percentiles that differ across institutes and categories. These cutoffs act as the primary philtre in selecting candidates through a competitive process.

Expected IIM CAT cut off 2025

The predicted cutoffs for IIMs in 2025 showcase their reputation and the high need among MBA aspirants:

IIM	General Category Cutoff (Percentile)
Ahmedabad	80-94
Bangalore	85-94
Calcutta	85-94
Lucknow	90-99.5
Indore	90-99.5
Kozhikode	85-91
Mumbai	85-95+
Rohtak	95-96+
Shillong	75
Visakhapatnam	80-82
Newer IIMs (Trichy/Ranchi/Kashipur etc.)	92-95

Category-wise minimum qualifying cutoffs

Top IIMs maintain sectional cutoffs within these ranges:

• VARC: 70-85 percentile for General category
• DILR: 70-85 percentile for General category
• QA: 70-85 percentile for General category

Reserved categories benefit from relaxed requirements. OBC candidates should achieve 70-82 percentile, while EWS candidates need 70-90 percentile. SC candidates must score 45-70 percentile, and ST candidates require 30-65 percentile.

Top non-IIM colleges accepting CAT score

Many prestigious institutions beyond IIMs consider CAT scores:

Institution	Expected Cutoff (Percentile)
FMS Delhi	98-99
SPJIMR Mumbai	85-95
MDI Gurgaon	95-97
JBIMS Mumbai	95-98
IIT Delhi	90-98
NITIE Mumbai	97-98
IMT Ghaziabad	70-90
XIMB	90-92
GIM Goa	90
TAPMI Manipal	80-85

CAT score vs percentile

Raw scores and percentiles share a relationship that helps candidates evaluate their performance:

Percentile	Expected VARC Score	Expected DILR Score	Expected QA Score	Expected Overall Score
99.5	42	30	30	86
99	36-40	25-31	25-30	74-90
95	30-33	20-24	22-24	52-68
90	24-27	14-19	13-18	42-58
80	20-22	11-14	9-13	35-44

CAT Common Admission Process (CAP) for new IIMs

CAT 2025 results will be announced in January 2026. Shortlisted candidates must complete a multi-stage counselling process to get admission to their chosen institutions.

CAT doesn’t have a centralised counselling system. Each institute has its own process that starts with shortlisting based on CAT percentile. Candidates get call letters through email with WAT/GD/PI dates, venue details, and registration links. The next steps include document verification, registration on the institute’s portal, selection of priorities, and evaluation rounds.

IIM Bodh Gaya coordinates CAP 2025, which brings together the admission process for nine newer IIMs including Jammu, Sirmaur, and Visakhapatnam. Students need to pick four cities they want for their Personal Interview and Written Ability Test. Cities are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. CAP requires students to upload several documents including their photograph, identity proof, CAT scorecard, academic certificates, and work experience papers.

Supplementary Admission Process (SAP)

SAP 2025 gives a second chance to candidates with lower percentiles who couldn’t make it through CAP shortlisting. IIMs Bodh Gaya, Jammu, and Sirmaur run SAP with lower cut-offs – 92 percentile for General category compared to 95 for CAP. Students can attend interviews in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and campus locations.

Seat allotment and document verification

Selected candidates must verify their documents. These include academic certificates, identity proof, reservation certificates (if applicable), and work experience documentation. Final-year students need to submit a certificate from their institution that confirms 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD).

Admission confirmation and fee payment

Students must confirm their seat by paying fees before the deadline. Those with provisional admission need to submit their final degree certificates by December 31, 2026. Missing this deadline leads to admission cancellation. Before the programme starts, students must bring their original documents to their assigned institute for final verification.

Also Check: CAT Previous Year Question Papers

Conclusion

Getting ready for CAT 2025 needs proper planning and a clear understanding of how admissions work. Candidates should know the eligibility rules, how to register, and the selection steps well ahead of time. Understanding expected cutoffs helps students set achievable goals and plan their preparation better.

Students get enough time to submit applications during the registration period from August 1 to September 13, 2025. Technical issues and mistakes can happen with last-minute submissions, so it’s best to apply early. The exam doesn’t have age restrictions or limit attempts. Students need a minimum academic score – 50% for General/EWS/NC-OBC and 45% for SC/ST/PwD categories.

The multi-stage selection starts after the exam on November 30, 2025. CAT percentiles determine who makes the shortlist. WAT, GD, and PI rounds assess candidates beyond their test scores. Academic records and work experience are the foundations of final selection. Most IIMs give 5-15% weightage to academics and 5-10% to work experience.

General category candidates need to score above the 98 percentile for prominent IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta. Newer IIMs have lower cutoffs. This makes CAT one of India’s toughest exams. Students with lower percentiles can try the Supplementary Admission Process (SAP) that some IIMs offers.

Frequently Asked Questions