CAT Exam 2025: Syllabus, Pattern, Colleges & Latest Updates

Table of Contents

What is CAT?
Why prepare for an MBA?
CAT Exam Pattern: 2025
CAT 2025 Syllabus
Detailed Section-wise Syllabus
- VARC Section
- DILR Section
- QA Section
Important Dates: CAT 2025
CAT Exam Centres 2025
Top Colleges Accepting CAT Score 2025
CAT Sample Papers
Previous Year CAT Papers
CAT 2024 Exam Analysis
FAQs Regarding CAT 2025

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is going to be conducted on November 30, 2025, in 170 test cities. IIM Kozhikode will conduct the CAT in 2025. The registration period is from 01 August to 13 September 2025. The two-hour test consists of approximately 68 multiple-choice (MCQ) and type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions. This article covers all aspects of CAT 2025.

What is a CAT?

The CAT Exam is a national test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management for admission to MBA programs. Many other top business schools, including MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, IITs and IMI, accept CAT scores as part of their admissions process. CAT is a top exam in India. Every year, over 2-3 lakh students sit for this exam. MBAs have emerged as an important tool for those looking to advance their careers. This is demonstrated by the fact that the CAT 2024 registration has received the most applicants (nearly 3 lakh) since its inception.

Why prepare for an MBA?

Obtaining an MBA is essential for those who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of business management and the ability to make critical decisions. Candidates must pass the CAT exam in order to gain admission to top business schools such as the IIMs and others. MBA candidates develop interpersonal skills, leadership skills, communication skills, strategic thinking, decision-making, strategic problem-solving, creativity and innovation, corporate social responsibility (CSR), entrepreneurship, and financial skills.

CAT Exam Pattern: 2025

Candidates must devote a significant amount of time and effort to their CAT exam preparation. The CAT 2025 exam will provide candidates with 120 minutes to answer all 68 objective-type questions (MCQ and TITA). Each section has a time limit of 40 minutes. If they do not finish the section in 40 minutes, the next section will begin automatically, and candidates will be unable to answer questions from the previous section.

The CAT Exam Question Pattern consists of the following sections:

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Quantitative Ability (QA)

Section	Marks	Time Limit
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	24 questions x 3 Marks for right answer	40 minutes (fixed)
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	22 questions x 3 Marks for right answer	40 minutes (fixed)
Quantitative Ability (QA)	22 questions x 3 Marks for right answer	40 minutes (fixed)

Note: Candidates cannot switch sections during the exam. For example, if you have VARC as your first section, you must dedicate the first 40 minutes exclusively to VARC and cannot jump to DILR or QA.

CAT 2025 Syllabus

Reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, and grammar are components of VARC.
In the Quant section, topics such as Number System, Geometry, Mensuration, Algebra, and Arithmetic are covered.
The DILR section consists of sets based on Graphs, Number series, Data Sufficiency, and common reasoning concepts.

Detailed Section-wise Syllabus

The syllabus for CAT 2025 is illustrated in detail below:

VARC Section

VARC is an important section of CAT exam. It comprises two subsections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. Let us examine the key topics covered in this section:

VARC Syllabus
Fill in the Blanks	Para Completion and Inference	Verbal Logic
Verbal Reasoning	Subject-Verb Agreement	Para Jumbles
Sentence Completion	Foreign language words used in English	Different usage of the same word
Grammar	Reading Comprehension	Idioms
Syllogisms	Analogies>	Antonyms
Jumbled Paragraphs	Sentence Correction	One Word Substitution
Parts of Speech	Preposition	Types of Clauses
Phrases Modifiers	Errors in Tenses	Articles Usage

DILR Section

DILR Section The DILR section plays a very important role in CAT preparation. It is subdivided further into two sections: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

Below are some of the most important DILR topics:

DILR Syllabus
Blood Relations	Clocks and Calendars	Syllogism
Series	Statements	Venn Diagram
Critical Reasoning	Data Arrangement	Data Analysis
Direction Sense	Family Tree	Tables
Coding-Decoding	Binary Logic	Pie Charts
Assumptions	Seating Arrangement	Data Sufficiency
Puzzles	Sets and Caselets	Bars and Line Graphs

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QA Section

The QA sections play a crucial role in CAT preparation. It comprises of Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra and Arithmetic, etc. The detailed list is given below:

Check out these essential QA topics:

QA Syllabus
Geometry	Ratios and Proportion	Inequalities
Trigonometry	In-equations Quadratic and linear equations	Work and Time
Algebra	Surds and Indices	Percentages
Mensuration	Time, Speed and Distance	Logarithms<
Partnership (Accounts)	Number System	Square Root and Cube Root
Profit & Loss	Geometric Progression	Probability
Mean, Mode, Median	Binomial Theorem	Simple Interest and Compound Interest

CAT Previous Year Questions by Topic

Given below is the table for studens to understand the expected questions in the exam

Section	Topic	Sub-Topic	Previous Years' Questions (2017–2024)
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	Reading Comprehension (RC)	General RC Passages	16–18 questions (4 passages, 4 questions each)
	Verbal Ability	Para Jumbles	2–4 questions
		Odd Sentence Out	1–3 questions
		Para Summary	1–3 questions
		Sentence Completion/Correction	0–2 questions
	Total VARC		24–26 questions
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	Data Interpretation (DI)	Tables, Bar Graphs, Pie Charts, Line Graphs, Caselets	8–12 questions (2–3 sets, 4–6 questions each)
	Logical Reasoning (LR)	Arrangements, Puzzles, Grouping, Routes, Networks	8–12 questions (2–3 sets, 4–6 questions each)
	Total DILR		20–24 questions (4–5 sets)
Quantitative Ability (QA)	Arithmetic	Percentages, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Ratios, Averages	8–12 questions
	Algebra	Equations, Inequalities, Functions, Progressions	4–8 questions
	Geometry and Mensuration	Triangles, Circles, Lines, Angles, 3D Geometry	2–4 questions
	Number System	Factors, Multiples, HCF, LCM, Divisibility	1–3 questions
	Modern Math	Permutations and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory	1–3 questions
	Total QA		22–26 questions

CAT Exam Centres 2025

CAT is held across various cities of India. So the candidates can conveniently choose a set of preferred cities from the given list. As per the last year, we are presenting here the complete table of CAT exam centers:

Exam Centres	Test Cities
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Port Blair
Andhra Pradesh	Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore and Rajahmundry
Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar
Assam	Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar
Bihar	Aurangabad, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Purnea
Chandigarh	Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh	Bhilai and Raipur
Delhi-NCR	Panipat, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Delhi, New Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram and Noida
Goa	Madgaon and Panaji
Gujarat	Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara
Haryana	Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Hisar, Palwal, Rohtak and Sonipat
Himachal Pradesh	Simla and Waknaghat
Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu, Samba and Kashmir
Jharkhand	Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and Ranchi
Karnataka	Banglore, Belagavi (Belgaum), Dharwad, Gulbarga, Hubli, Mangalore, Mysore and Udupi
Kerala	Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Kollam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur and Trivandrum
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur and Sagar
Maharashtra	Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Raigad, Satara, Solapur, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur and Mumbai
Meghalaya	Shillong
Manipur	Imphal
Odisha	Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Rourkela
Puducherry	Puducherry
Punjab	Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Ropar, Sangrur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh and Fatehgarh Sahib
Rajasthan	Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar and Udaipur
Tamil Nadu	Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli and Tirunelvelli
Telangana	Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Warangal
Uttar Pradesh	Gorakhpur, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, Varanasi, Agra, Allahabad, Barabanki, Bareilly and Ghaziabad
Uttarakhand	Dehradun, Roorkee
West Bengal	Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri, Asansol, Bankura, Burdwan and Durgapur
Dadra	Kohima
Ladakh	Leh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu	Silvassa
Tripura	Agartala
Mizoram	Aizawl

Top Colleges Accepting CAT Score 2025

A total of 115+ reputed B-schools in India accept CAT scores and a few foreign institutes also consider CAT. Apart from 21 IIMs, CAT participating Institutes include other public and private institutes. Some of the top B-schools accepting CAT scores are:

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta
Indian Institute Of Management(IIM), Lucknow
S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
Indian Institute Of Management (IIM), Kozhikode
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore
International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi
Faculty of management studies (FMS), New Delhi
Institute Of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Trichy
Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (IIM),Shillong
Xavier Institute of Management (XIM), Bhubaneswar
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kashipur
Department of management studies (IIT Delhi), New Delhi
Sydenham Institute of management studies and research and entrepreneurship education (SIMSREE), Mumbai
BITSoM, BITS School of Management, Mumbai
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of management studies (JBIMS), Mumbai
Shailesh J Mehta School of Management (IIT Bombay), Mumbai
Vinod Gupta school of management (VGSOM), IIT Kharagpur

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CAT Sample Papers

CAT sample papers help candidates prepare for the CAT exam 2025. CAT sample papers are the best way to analyse how the pattern of previous year's CAT exam was set up. From the CAT sample papers 2025 candidates can practice multiple types of questions. By solving the questions from the CAT sample papers candidates gain a comprehensive understanding of the CAT exam 2025. The CAT sample paper also assists candidates in identifying their areas of weakness and areas of strength.

CAT Sample Papers	Download Link
CAT Sample Paper

Previous Year CAT Papers

CAT previous year papers are very important for candidates preparing for the CAT exam 2025. These papers are from past CAT exams and help students understand what types of questions they can face in the CAT exam 2025. By practising with previous years papers students can see which areas they are good at and which ones they need to work on. This helps them focus their study time better.

Paper	Description	Take Actual Test
CAT 2024	CAT 2024 Question Paper Slot I
	CAT 2024 Question Paper Slot II
	CAT 2024 Question Paper Slot III
CAT 2023	CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot I
	CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot II
	CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot III
CAT 2022	CAT 2022 Question Paper Slot I
	CAT 2022 Question Paper Slot II
	CAT 2022 Question Paper Slot III
CAT 2021	CAT 2021 Question Paper Slot I
	CAT 2021 Question Paper Slot II
	CAT 2021 Question Paper Slot III
CAT 2020	CAT 2020 Question Paper Slot I
	CAT 2020 Question Paper Slot II
	CAT 2020 Question Paper Slot III
CAT 2019	CAT 2019 Question Paper Slot I
CAT 2019	CAT 2019 Question Paper Slot II

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis

The exam analysis that was done by the Hitbullseye experts team should also be reviewed by candidates. The analysis of the CAT 2024 exam helps candidates figure out how the CAT 2024 exam will be set up. Candidates can refer to the CAT 2024 exam analysis to get a comprehensive overview of the CAT 2024 exam.