The Common Admission Test is conducted every year by the IIMs for admissions in various management programmes of different B-Schools in the country. Every year the CAT exam date and pattern is decided by the conducting IIM of that particular year.
Generally, the CAT exam notification is released in the first week of August and the conduction of CAT exam is during November to December. Initially, the exam was a pen and paper-based test but since 2009, the exam has become a Computer-based test consisting of a total of 100 questions.
Ever since then, the CAT exam has undergone various changes which always takes the candidates by surprise. Often the CAT examination dates are preponed or postponed due to changes in patterns. In 2015, the CAT exam date was scheduled on 29th November which was delayed by a month from the previous years. Since then, the exam is being conducted on a single day instead of 2 days as was in 2014.
Here is a comparison of the CAT exam date since 2013:
| Exam Year | Date |
| CAT Exam, 2013 | October 16 – November 11 (multiple days) |
| CAT Exam, 2014 | November 16, November 22 (in two sessions) |
| CAT Exam, 2015 | November 29 (in two sessions) |
| CAT Exam, 2016 | December 4 (in two sessions) |
The important dates for CAT 2017 exam are given below:
CAT 2017 Exam Dates |
|
| Events | Dates |
| Starting of Online Application Process | 9 August, 2017 |
| Ending of Online Application Process | 25 September, 2017 |
| Downloading of Admit Card | 25 October, 2017 |
| Conduction of CAT 2017 exam | 26 November, 2017 |
| Announcement of Results | January, 2017 (tentative) |
In 2015, a huge change was included in the exam pattern by introducing sectional timings and descriptive questions for the exam. With no pre-described syllabus, varying patterns and increasing number of registration, the CAT exam is now one of the toughest and most competitive exams in the country. So, having an excellent preparation is very crucial to ace the exam and get admission in any of the prestigious B-schools in the country.
The official notification is first released on the official site mentioning all the important CAT exam info and other details along with the respective CAT exam date of that particular year. So, it is very important to get well aware of all the related dates to avoid missing any important process.
Stay tuned with BYJU’S to get all the latest notifications, the latest Syllabus, pattern and other related news along with various preparation tips and guides to ace the CAT exam. Candidates can also learn from engaging video lessons to make learning more interactive and efficient.
