The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) will release the eligibility criteria for the CAT exam through the CAT notification. The CAT eligibility criteria for 2024 includes a set of requirements that candidates must meet in order to be eligible to appear for and pass the CAT exam. These requirements include academic qualifications, past academic performance, age limit, and other related factors. Each year, more than 3 lakh eligible candidates apply for this entrance exam to gain admission to MBA and PGDPM programs at IIMs and over 1,200 other B-schools in India.

• Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a recognized university.
• For the open category, candidates must secure a minimum of 50%, while for the SC/ST/PwD category, a minimum of 45% is required.
• Candidates in their final year of bachelor’s degree are also eligible to apply for the CAT exam 2024, but they must submit a certificate of completion from their university or institution before the specified date.
• Work experience is not mandatory for CAT exam eligibility, but candidates with work experience may receive some preference or weightage.
• There is no age limit for appearing in the CAT exam 2024. Candidates of any age can apply as long as they have a degree with the required marks.
• There is no maximum age limit for the CAT exam.
• Various business schools are offering admissions for PGDM and MBA programs in 2024. Interested candidates can apply through the provided links.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024- Academic Qualification

To be eligible for the CAT 2024 exam, candidates must meet certain academic qualifications and secure the required marks. The eligibility criteria for the CAT exam set by IIM are as follows:

CAT Exam Eligibility for IIM

The eligibility criteria do not include 12th marks. Instead, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% after completing intermediate education.

MHRD/ AICTE: The university must be declared annexed by an Act of the Parliament or the State Legislature of India, or it should be treated as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956.

NOTE: Candidates who are in their final year of the degree examination must submit a certificate from the Registrar/ Principal of their institution or university. The certificate should state that they have met all the requirements for an equivalent qualification on the date the certificate is issued.

CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria - Registration with Backlogs

Students with academic backlogs in their graduate program often wonder if they can enroll for the CAT 2024 exam. It should be clarified that CAT aspirants with academic backlogs can apply and register for the exam without any problem.

Any candidate who scores above 50% (45% for reserved category) in their degree, even in supplementary exams, can apply for CAT 2024. When completing the CAT 2024 registration form, select “Yes” to the question, “Are you in your final year of your bachelor’s degree?”

IIM CAT 2024 Eligibility- Reservation Criteria

IIMs have their own individual selection criteria for admission and follow the reservation guidelines set by the Government of India. To know the CAT eligibility criteria for OBC, MBC, SC, ST, PwD, and General categories, refer to the table below:

Reservation Criteria

Category and Reserved Percentage

• NC-OBC (Non-Creamy Other Backward Classes) : 27%
• SC (Scheduled Caste) : 15%
• Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) : up to 10%
• ST (Scheduled Tribe) : 7.5%
• PwD (Person with Disability) : 5%

Reservation Policy for Person with Disability (PwD)

For candidates in the PwD category, they must provide a PwD certificate issued by a competent authority. The benefit of reservation for PwD can only be availed upon submission of the PwD certification issued by a competent authority. The accepted types of disabilities for PwD reservation are as follows:

• Low vision/blind candidates.
• Candidates with hearing impairment.
• Candidates with a locomotive disability or cerebral palsy.

CGPA Calculation and Grades for CAT Entrance Exam Eligibility

• The calculation of CGPA and grades for CAT entrance exam eligibility involves converting marks into percentages based on the practice certified by the respective institution or university.
• If no institution or university provides any guidelines for conversion, the percentage can be calculated by dividing the student’s CGPA by the maximum CGPA and multiplying the result by 100.
• For example, if a candidate has a CGPA of 8.8 out of a maximum CGPA of 10, the percentage would be calculated as follows: 8.8/10 = 0.88, and multiplying by 100 gives 88%.

Who is Not Eligible for CAT 2024?

• Candidates who are in the process of completing their professional degree (CS/CA/ICWA) without having completed their bachelor’s degree are not eligible for CAT 2024.
• Candidates pursuing both a bachelor’s degree and a professional degree but have not yet completed both are also ineligible.
• Candidates with a score in their degree below 50% (45% for SC/ST/PWD candidates) are not eligible to apply for the CAT exam.
• If the degree is not recognized by MHRD/AICTE/UGC, the candidate will be considered ineligible for the CAT examination.

CAT Eligibility Criteria - Work Experience Requirements

• Prior work experience is not required for CAT eligibility.
• Even if the CAT application form 2024 asks for work experience, it is not a necessary condition to fulfill.
• Some weightage may be given by IIMs for work experience during the final examination, but the exact weightage varies between different IIMs.

CAT Registration 2024

• The CAT application form will be released in the first week of August 2024.
• Candidates who meet the CAT exam eligibility criteria can fill out the registration form online.
• The CAT 2024 form window will be closed in the second week of September 2024.
• After providing all the necessary information and uploading the documents, candidates need to pay the required fees online, based on their category.

IIM Eligibility Vs CAT Eligibility

• When IIMs conduct the CAT exam, their eligibility criteria may have some minor contradictions that candidates aspiring to study at IIMs should be aware of.