MBA · Indian Institutes of Management

CAT — Free Practice & Mock Tests

Common Admission Test (IIMs)

CAT is India's most competitive MBA entrance exam, with around 2.5 lakh candidates competing for ~5,000 IIM seats. It is a computer-based test with three sections — VARC, DILR and QA — and rewards accuracy, time management and consistent practice over months.

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Admission to IIMs and 1,200+ other MBA programmes in India
Eligibility
Graduate with 50% (45% for SC/ST/PwD). No age limit.
Authority
Indian Institutes of Management
Cost on Sadhana
Free · No sign-up
Exam pattern

CAT pattern & marking scheme

CAT (CBT)

2h198 marks
  • VARC — Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (24Q)
  • DILR — Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (20Q)
  • QA — Quantitative Ability (22Q)

Sectional time limit of 40 min per section. Negative marking 1/3.

Cut-off (typical): IIM-A overall: 99.5+ percentile (general). Sectional 80+ percentile.

Key topics

Important topics for CAT

Focus on these high-weightage topics first. Each topic on Sadhana has unlimited free practice questions with timer, instant explanations and AI-generated similar questions.

Reading Comprehension
Data Interpretation
Arithmetic
Puzzle Seating
Preparation strategy

How to prepare for CAT

  1. 1
    Reading Comprehension is 16/24 in VARC — read business / liberal-arts essays daily (The Atlantic, Aeon).
  2. 2
    DILR is the deciding section in recent years — solve 4 sets daily, accuracy over volume.
  3. 3
    Mock-test scoring shifts every year; focus on percentile, not raw score.
Past papers

CAT — memory-based past papers

Take any recent CAT paper as an exam-exact mock — sectional timing, negative marking and full results breakdown. All free.

2024 · Main
CAT 2024
66 Q · 120 min
FAQ

CAT — frequently asked questions

Do I need coaching for CAT?

Not strictly. Many top scorers self-study with TIME / IMS test series + free YouTube resources. Coaching helps with structure, not concepts.

What is the IIM-A cut-off for general category?

Approximately 99.5+ percentile overall + 80+ sectional in VARC, DILR and QA. Final selection also considers acads, work-ex and gender diversity.

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