CAT 2022: Admit Card (27 Oct), Form Correction (Closed), CAT Exam Date (27 Nov), Syllabus, Pattern, Question Papers

CAT 2022 exam will be held on November 27 and admit card for the same will be issued on October 27. Registered candidates will be able to download their CAT admit card 2022 until the exam day. 

CAT exam 2022 application process is over. The deadline for CAT registration and application form submission earlier was September 14 but it was extended till September 21 (5:00 PM). CAT 2022 form correction was allowed from September 23 to 26. 

CAT 2022 exam will conducted by IIM Bangalore in three sessions in 150 cities across India. CAT 2022 duration will be two hours and with sectional time limit of 40 minutes for each section. Candidates will have to solve 66 objective-type questions in the stipulated time.

What is CAT Exam?

Common Admission Test or CAT exam is a national level management aptitude test, that a candidate has to clear for admission to the MBA courses offered by 20 IIMs and over 1,200 B-schools in India. Over two lakh candidates apply for the CAT exam every year which is conducted in computer based mode for two hours. The CAT question paper comprises MCQs & non-MCQs from Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Difficulty level of the exam is moderate to high. Apart from MBA programmes, the CAT score is valid for admission to Executive MBA, PhD and FPM programmes. 

CAT Exam Highlights

MBA aspirants planning to appear for the CAT entrance exam this year, must know the key highlights of CAT 2022 exam. Take a look at the table below:

Particulars

CAT Exam Details 

CAT Full Form

Common Admission Test (CAT) 

Conducting Institute

IIM Bangalore

Exam Level

National

Exam Frequency

Once a year

CAT Exam Date

November 27, 2022

CAT Exam Timings

  • Session 1: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
  • Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
  • Session 3: 4:30 PM to 6:30PM

CAT Exam Fees

INR 2,300 (General category) and INR 1,150 (Reserved category)

Eligibility Criteria

Graduation with 50 % aggregate (45 % for SC/ST students)

Number of Applications

2.31 lakh (in 2021)

Number of Test Takers

1.92 lakh (in 2021)

Exam Purpose

Admission into IIMs, SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, IMT and over 1,200 B-Schools in India

Courses Offered

MBA/PGDM

CAT syllabus

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

CAT pattern

Computer Based Test (CBT) with MCQs and non-MCQs

No. of test cities

150

CAT exam website

https://iimcat.ac.in

Exam helpdesk no.

1-800-210-1088 (Toll Free)

What's New in CAT 2022?

  • CAT 2022 notification was released online a day before scheduled date. Until last year, the official notification used to be released on July 31 but this year, it was released on July 30.
  • The CAT entrance exam fee for General/EWS/NC-OBC candidates has been hiked from INR 2,200 to INR 2,300. For the SC/ST/PwD candidates, it has been hiked from INR 1,100 to INR 1,150.
  • The number of CAT test cities have been reduced from 156 to 150.
  • Among professional degrees acceptable, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) has been added to CAT eligibility criteria.
  • Imphal has been added as a test city for CAT 2022.
  • This year, candidates have to mention their COVID-19 vaccination status in the CAT application form.

CAT Exam Dates 2022

CAT exam dates 2022 was announced on July 30. Take a look at the table below for the schedule of CAT 2022:

CAT 2022 Events

CAT 2022 Exam Dates

Salient Features

CAT 2022 registrations start

03-Aug-2022

Online registrations commenced on the official website.

Registrations end

14-Sep-2022

21-Sep-2022

Registration process ended for all candidates.

CAT form correction

23-Sep-2022 to 26-Sep-2022

Window was opened for uploading of new photo and signature and change of test city choices.

CAT admit card release

27-Oct-2022

Admit card download process to start on CAT 2022 website.

Mock test release

Fourth week of October 2022

The official mock test to be released on the official website. Only registered candidates can take the mock test.

CAT 2022 exam

27-Nov-2022

Exam to be held at various exam centres across India in three sessions.

CAT 2022 answer key release

First week of December 2022

Preliminary answer key and individual response sheet to be released for download from CAT website.

CAT answer key challenge

First week of December 2022

Candidates can challenge the official answer key by filling an online form.

CAT 2022 result declaration

First week of January 2023

CAT 2022 scorecards to be released official website for download.

CAT 2022 Admit Card

CAT 2022 admit card will be available on the official website for download from the scheduled date. The CAT admit card is a mandatory document to be carried to the exam centre, thus candidates must download a colour print-out of the same. It is advised to download two copies, as one copy is to be submitted at the exam centre. The CAT 2022 admit card has test centre location, exam slot, reporting time and other related information printed on it. Here’s the process to download CAT 2022 admit card:

  • Log on to CAT website: iimcat.ac.in
  • Click on ‘login’ tab
  • Enter CAT 2022 application number and password
  • Go to ‘admit card’ section
  • Click on ‘download’

CAT Syllabus 2022

The syllabus of CAT 2022 exam has remained the same for more than last ten years. Check below the in-focus topics of CAT 2022 syllabus for exam preparation:

CAT Syllabus sections

CAT Syllabus topics

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

Reading ComprehensionPara Jumbles, Para Summary and Odd Sentence Out

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Set Theory (Variables), Set Theory + Puzzles, Puzzles with Additional Data, Coding-Decoding and Series

Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

Number SystemAlgebra, Arithmetic, Geometry and Mensuration

CAT Exam Pattern & Test Structure 2022

CAT question paper is divided into three sections: VARC, DILR and QA. Candidates are required to solve both MCQ and Non-MCQ type questions. The questions paper is usually of moderate to high difficulty level with QA posing more challenges in terms of tough questions. Check the highlights of CAT 2022 exam pattern below:

CAT exam pattern and structure
CAT exam sectionsVARC, DILR and QA
Duration of CAT exam

40 minutes per section (Total 120 minutes)

Total number of questions

76

66

Section-wise number of questions
  • VARC – 26 24
  • DILR –  24 20
  • QA – 26 22
Total marks

228

198

Language of question paperEnglish
Number of answer choicesFour
Type of questionsMCQs and Non-MCQs
Marking scheme
  • 3 marks for every correct response
  • Negative marking of 1/3 (-1) for every wrong MCQ response
  • No negative marking for wrong non-MCQ response

CAT Exam Difficulty Level

CAT exam is considered to be the toughest MBA entrance exam in India. The overall paper is moderate to tough in terms of difficulty level, with one of the two sections being easier than the other. Check the table below for overall difficulty level of CAT Exam in past five years:

CAT Year

Difficulty Level

Paper Analysis

2021

Moderately difficult 

Read: CAT 2021 exam analysis

2020

Moderately difficult

Read CAT 2020 exam analysis

2019

Moderately difficult

Read CAT 2019 exam analysis

2018

Moderately difficult

Read CAT 2018 exam analysis

2017

Moderately difficult

Read CAT 2017 exam analysis

2016

Moderately difficult

Read CAT 2016 exam analysis

CAT Exam Preparation Tips 2022

A minimum of six months of preparation is required to score 99+ percentile in the CAT exam. There are three elements in CAT 2022 preparation – conceptual clarity, practice and revision. Those taking CAT exam for the first time should start much earlier (by March). They should first get familiar with the syllabus and exam pattern and then make a study plan. We have listed some key tips on how to start CAT 2022 exam preparation below:
  • Make a list of topics according to your strengths and weaknesses.
  • Join online study groups on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, etc.
  • Collect relevant study material and recommended books for CAT preparation.
  • Make a day-wise plan and allot one topic each from VARC, DILR and QA.
  • Practice two-three questions from the topic studied on the same day to assess how much you have learnt.
  • Gradually, increase the speed in covering the number of topics each day.

CAT Exam Day Prep and Guidelines

Like last year, CAT 2022 exam will be conducted by following COVID-19 guidelines. Read below documents to carry and items prohibited at the CAT 2022 exam centre.

Documents to carry

Candidates appearing for the exam must carry the following documents to the CAT exam centre to get entry inside the exam hall: 

  • Admit card: Candidates appearing for the CAT 2022 exam must carry two print outs of their admit cards with their photo affixed on it. Entry without admit card and photo ID will not be permitted. 
  • Identity Proof: Along with the admit card, candidates are required to carry a photo ID proof such as College ID (must be supported with a valid debit/credit card), employer ID, driving license, passport, PAN card, Voter ID or Aadhaar card
  • Name change document: In case a candidate changed their name, they will be required to carry a name change certificate/document

Items prohibited inside the CAT 2022 exam hall:

  • Calculator, watch, phone, iPad or any other electronic item
  • Bags and purses
  • Eatables and beverages
  • Jewellery and accessories that contain metal
  • Jackets and clothes with pockets
  • Closed footwear 

Note: Candidates with a metal implant, pacemaker, etc. in their body will be required to bring medical certificate of the same to the test centre.

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