CAT at a glance

Conducting body

Indian Institutes of Management (IIM rotates host each year - IIM Bangalore in 2024, IIM Calcutta in 2025, TBD for 2026)

Full form

Common Admission Test

What is the CAT exam format?

Duration: 120 minutes total (40 min per section, sectional timing enforced)

Scoring: Each correct +3, incorrect -1 (MCQs); TITA questions no negative marking. Raw scores normalised across CAT slots into percentile scores.

• VARC - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

  40 minutes

  Reading comprehension passages + verbal ability questions (para summary, para jumbles, odd-one-out).

• DILR - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

  40 minutes

  Sets of 4-5 questions each - caselets, tables, graphs, arrangements, puzzles.

• QA - Quantitative Aptitude

  40 minutes

  Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, modern math. Mix of MCQ and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions.

What does my CAT score mean?

99+ percentile

Competitive for IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C calls. Section-wise cutoffs (typically 80+ in each) matter as much as overall percentile.

95-99 percentile

Competitive for new IIMs (Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow, etc.) and tier-1 non-IIM schools (FMS, MDI, SPJIMR).

85-95 percentile

Strong calls from tier-2 non-IIM schools (IMI, IMT, NMIMS, GIM, etc.) and IIMs at the entry end of the range.

70-85 percentile

Calls from established tier-3 management programs; consider XAT / CMAT in parallel for broader options.

How does T.I.M.E. Coimbatore teach CAT?

Batch types

Classroom (full-time) • Classroom (weekend) • Online live • Test-series only

Course duration

12-18 months for foundation-to-CAT track; 6-8 months for the accelerated track

Mock series

AIMCAT - T.I.M.E.'s flagship full-length mock series (typically 25+ AIMCATs per cycle)

AIMCATs run on a national schedule with percentile reporting against the all-India T.I.M.E. cohort - useful for calibrating against CAT difficulty rather than self-study guesswork. Fee structure and current cycle dates: please enquire below.

When should I start preparing for CAT?

Most aspirants who score 95+ percentile have prepared for 12-18 months. If you're a final-year student or working professional starting fresh, target the foundation track from January / February for the next-November exam. Accelerated 6-8 month tracks work if you're already strong in 2 of the 3 sections.

Are AIMCATs harder than the actual CAT?

Section-by-section difficulty varies by AIMCAT, but the cohort against whom your percentile is computed is the all-India T.I.M.E. student base - a more competitive pool than the broader CAT-taking population. A 92+ AIMCAT percentile consistently is a strong signal of 95+ on CAT itself.

How does CAT compare to XAT, MAT, and CMAT?

CAT is the most competitive (~2.5L candidates for ~5K IIM seats). XAT (held in January) gates XLRI and other Xavier schools and is closer in difficulty to CAT. MAT and CMAT are easier and gate tier-2/3 schools. Most T.I.M.E. students prep for CAT primarily and add XAT in parallel; MAT / CMAT are usually optional safety nets.