The Common Admission Test, also known as CAT is a national-level management aptitude test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) every year for admission to several postgraduate and Fellow/Doctorate programs at IIMs. More than 2.5 lakh candidates appear for the CAT exam every year. If you are planning to appear in the CAT 2024 exam you have to understand the exam pattern and start preparations accordingly. CAT Exam Pattern 2024 is designed to test the candidate’s ability to solve mathematical and reasoning problems accurately in the least amount of time.
CAT Exam Pattern 2024
Candidates who are planning to appear for the CAT Exam 2024 then very first you must first understand the CAT Exam Pattern 2024. In this article, we have discussed the exam pattern with a detailed marking scheme, topics to be asked in the exam, and other important points. Candidates who clear the CAT exam are eligible for admission to over 1200 MBA colleges in India, apart from the IIMs.
The CAT 2024 exam will be held on 24th November 2024 in computer-based mode. The exam consists of 66 objective-type multiple-choice questions for a total of 198 marks. The time duration for the CAT exam is 120 minutes which is divided into 40 minutes for each section.
There will be three sections in the CAT 2024 Exam:
- Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI)
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
| Sections | No. of Questions | Marks | Time Duration |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 66 | 40 minutes |
| LRDI | 20 | 60 | 40 minutes |
| VARC | 24 | 72 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 66 | 198 | 120 minutes |
Types of Questions in the CAT Exam
The CAT Exam will consist of 3 sections Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability. Two types of questions will be asked in all 3 sections: MCQs and Non-MCQs (TITA). The section-wise question distributions in the CAT exam and related marks are discussed below.
| CAT Section | Questions | Maximum Marks |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 22 | 66 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | 60 |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 24 | 72 |
| Total | 66 | 198 |
CAT Exam Marking Scheme 2024
In CAT Exam 2024, a total of 76 multiple-choice questions will be asked. For each correct answer, 03 marks will be provided. There is a negative marking, 01 mark will be deducted for the wrong answer.
| VARC | 24 | 03 | -1 |
| DILR | 20 | 03 | -1 |
| QA | 22 | 03 | -1 |