CAT 2026 Registrations Reach 2.84 Lakh, Down from 2.95 Lakh Last Year

In all, 2.84 lakh students have enrolled for CAT 2026, as per the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, which is administering the Common Admission Test this year.

CAT 2026 test will take place in three sessions. The CAT 2026 scores will be considered for admission into various postgraduate management courses offered by IIMs and other participating institutions.

CAT Registration Trend Over the Years

CAT 2025 was conducted by IIM Kozhikode on November 30. A total of 2.95 lakh candidates registered for the exam, while 2.58 lakh candidates appeared.

Of the registered candidates for CAT 2025, there were 1.10 lakh women, 1.85 lakh men, and nine were from the transgender category. Of the candidates appearing in the exam, there were 0.97 lakh women, 1.61 lakh men, and nine transgender candidates.

In CAT 2024, organized by IIM Calcutta, there were 3.29 lakh candidates who registered for the test, and 2.93 lakh candidates appeared for the exam.

There were approximately 3.3 lakh candidates in CAT 2023 that witnessed the highest registration till then. The exam was held on November 26, 2023, and 2.88 lakh candidates appeared for the exam.

The numbers of candidates registering were comparatively lesser in the previous years. There were about 2.55 lakh candidates registering for CAT 2022, and 2.31 lakh for CAT 2021.

The CAT registration numbers have remained above 2 lakh for several years, showing sustained interest in the management entrance examination.

CAT 2025 Result and Admission Process

CAT 2025 results were declared on December 24. As many as 12 candidates had a 100 percentile score, while 26 candidates got 99.99 percentile and 99.98 percentile scores respectively.

Once the CAT results are declared, then IIMs individually declare their shortlists for the further rounds of admissions. The shortlisting is done based on the CAT score as well as other criteria mentioned by the IIMs.

The candidates who appear in CAT 2026 also have to satisfy admission criteria at the IIMs and other participating institutes once the results are declared.

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