Aiming to enter the MBA world? Then, CAT 2024 is the route to your dreams!
CAT is the most popular entrance exam allowing the candidates to be eligible for IIMs and other top B-schools in India.
CAT eligibility has remained the same in the past years. Similar criteria can be expected this year as well. This article highlights the details of CAT 2024 eligibility criteria and related requirements.
CAT 2024
The Indian Institutes of Management conduct CAT (Common Admission Test) in November every year. The CAT committee introduced certain exceptions during the pandemic. The same may be followed for CAT 2024 as well.
CAT 2024 Eligibility
To appear in CAT, the candidate must hold three years of Bachelor’s Degree. Owing to recent changes caused by the pandemic, the criteria for appearing in CAT have become less rigorous than before. Candidates must go through CAT eligibility criteria to avoid any last-minute hustle.
An Overview of CAT Eligibility Criteria
Following are some eligibility requirements to sit for the CAT entrance exam 2024:
| Qualification | Requirements |
| Age | NA |
| Educational Qualification | Bachelor’s Degree (with min. 50% marks) |
| Work Experience | Not Compulsory |
| Reservation | As per category |
Other Information:
- Work experience is not mandatory before applying for the exam. However, candidates with work experience will have an advantage over a fresher candidate during the selection process for IIms.
- The minimum percentage criteria will not be considered for the upcoming exam, in case of exceptions (stated below)
CAT 2024 Eligibility – Detailed Criteria
The rules and guidelines of the CAT exam can be understood in the given respects:
Academic Qualification
Students from different educational backgrounds apply for CAT every year. From the time of pandemic, the CAT committee overhauled the complete set of requirements as follows:
- Candidates who have secured “promotion/pass” and not “award of marks” certificates in the last two years of their bachelor’s program can fill “Promotion or Pass” in the CAT application. This applies irrespective of the minimum percentage criteria (50% for Gen. and 45% for reserved categories [or equivalent CGPA] ).
- If the university awards grades or CGPA instead of marks, the conversion factor given by the university has to be used. If the university specifies no conversion factor, the CGPA has to be converted into a percentage by direct conversion, i.e., divide the CGPA received by the highest CGPA possible and multiply the result by 100.
- A candidate’s bachelor’s degree must have validation from any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament.
Eligible Degrees
Degrees eligible to appear in CAT 2024 are given below in a tabulated form:
| Degrees | University |
| Bachelor’s Degree from any University | UGC Approved |
| Engineering Degree – B. Tech/B.E. | MHRD/ UPSC/AICTE Approved |
| CA/CS/ICWA/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) | MHRD/ UPSC/AICTE Approved |
| Final year students pursuing their Bachelor’s degree can also take the examination. | MHRD/ UPSC/AICTE or UGC Approved |
Marks Calculation
- Each University or Institute follows its own pattern to assign marks. Therefore the percentage calculation is based on that.
- If the university has no method to convert marks/ CGPA to percentages, it is done through direct conversion, which means that the candidate should divide the achieved CGPA by the highest possible CGPA. If grades or CGPA are allotted instead of marks, the conversion method provided by the university has to be used to convert the marks to percentages.
Experience
CAT eligibility does not require work experience. Both new and experienced candidates can take the exam. However, some B-schools consider work experience during the admission process.
Eligibility Criteria for Final Year Students
Here are some points that will help the final year students to clear any confusion about their eligibility for the CAT exam:
- Final year students of all Bachelor’s Degrees are eligible to apply for the exam.
- If students are selected for further stages, they must clear their Bachelor’s with the required percentage and provide proof for the same at the time of selection.
- Failing to meet these requirements will render the admission process.
Difference between CAT and IIM Eligibility Criteria
CAT eligibility criteria have not seen many changes over the years. A few changes were introduced in 2014, leading to clashes between CAT exam eligibility and IIMs Admission criteria.
- Applicants are allowed to appear in CAT 2024 exam with a two-year Bachelor’s Degree, but they are not allowed to pursue the management course at IIM unless they have completed a graduation degree with a minimum of three years.
- Factors like work experience, extracurriculars, academic profile, and your performance in the selection process do impact your admission to IIMs.
- While work experience is a mandatory requirement for some MBA programmes, it is not needed for taking the CAT exam.
Except for the above-mentioned, the CAT & IIM admissions eligibility remains the same.
Who is not eligible for CAT 2024?
- A candidate who didn’t appear for Bachelor’s Degree and failed to meet the required qualifications.
- The AICTE / UGC / MHRD does not approve the Institution of the applicant from which he/she graduated.
- If the candidate’s marks are less than 50% (for General Category and NC-OBC) or 45% (for SC/ ST/ PWD) in graduation, except for 2021 and 2024 graduates.
- If a candidate has completed any professional course but not a bachelor’s.
CAT 2024 Reservation Criteria
IIM follows the reservation rules as per the rules stated by the Central Government. The reservation policy for MBA admissions is given below:
| Category | Reserved Seats |
|---|---|
| Schedule Cast (SC) | 15% |
| Schedule Tribe (ST) | 7.5% |
| Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC) | 27% |
| PWD(Persons with Disability) | 3% |
Remember that eligibility in CAT is not a guarantee of admission to any prestigious B-schools. Your final admission is based on a wide range of parameters such as your profile, CAT score, performance in admission rounds (GD/WAT/PI), etc. You must be familiar with the above information to provide the relevant details while applying for the CAT 2024 exam. In case of any deviations, your application is liable to be cancelled by the authorities without notice.