CAT Exam Age Limit

CAT Exam Age Limit And Academic criteria

Common Admission Test (CAT) is the most important examination for getting into an MBA program in India. It is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for granting access to their MBA/PGDM courses and more than 1,300 B-schools. As of now, IIM Calcutta is scheduled to conduct the CAT on 30th Nov 2025. It is expected that over 3.2 lakh candidates will appear for the examination for 21 IIMs and other top-tier institutions. For example, knowing the limits of age limits for the CAT examination and the criteria for admission in IIMs is very important for candidates who want to pursue an MBA. This information aims to demystify the applicants' age limits alongside the policies to enhance their chances of admission, thereby assisting them in making informed choices while planning their MBA.

CAT Exam Age Limit

The age criteria for the CAT exam are flexible, which makes it possible for a lot of candidates to take the exam. According to the CAT 2025 eligibility criteria, there is no age cap or minimum age requirement for taking the exam. It is indeed a current policy of IIMs that grants any applicant the eligibility to sit in the examination irrespective of their age, and might be a fresh graduate or a professional in his or her 30s or 40s. For instance, a 30-year-old professional or a 40-year-old looking to advance his career can freely register for CAT 2025. This is beneficial to many people, including those who want to study for an executive MBA. Nonetheless, each IIM might have its own rules regarding a particular age limit for certain courses, such as IIM Ahmedabad's BPGP, which had a minimum age requirement of 24 as of March 31, 2025. 

Academic Criteria  

To be considered for CAT 2025, applicants should fulfill the following educational qualifications:  

Bachelor’s Degree –  Participants should possess at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA from a recognized university (45% for SC/ST/PwD). The institution should be one granted by an Act of Parliament, State Legislature, or UGC under Section 3 of its 1956 Act.

Professional Degrees –  Holders of CA, CS, ICWA, or Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) are eligible with 50% marks (45% for reserved categories).  

Final-Year Students – Applicants who are in the last year of their bachelor’s study or are waiting for examination results may apply, as long as they present a certificate from the institution’s Registrar/Principal confirming that all requirements would have been completed by the IIM deadline.  

Backlogs – Applicants who have backlogs in the final year are allowed, but those backlogs must be cleared before admission.  

Candidate’s Class 10 and 12 marks are not a requirement for CAT eligibility. However, all IIMs consider them during the final selection process.

Admission after CAT

Achieving a good score in CAT is just the beginning. At IIMs, students must go through an elaborate multi-stage selection procedure which includes:  

CAT’s Score – Attainment of a high percentile (95-100 for generally, lower for reserved categories) is mandatory for consideration to sit for written ability tests, group discussions, and personal interviews.  

Academic Evaluation – as observed in IIMs, there is a distinct weighting assigned for class ten and twelve marks and graduation. To illustrate this, IIM Ahmedabad has a composite score that incorporates an academic rating (AR) based on the percentage in grades 10 and 12, therefore using a blend approach.

Work Experience – While not a requirement for CAT, both IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta allocate some consideration (5–10%) to work experience in the final selection. Candidates should submit work experience certificates, joining letters, and salary slips for approval. 

Diversity Factors – In the case of IIM Bangalore, academic diversity (non-engineering fields), along with gender diversity, are additional criteria. 

WAT/GD/PI – These rounds focus on communication and analytical skills, and leadership potential. Final merit lists consider CAT results (40–50%), WAT/GD/PI performance (30–40%), and profile factors (10–20%). 

Each IIM establishes its cutoffs and weightages, so visit individual sites like iima.ac.in or iimb.ac.in for details. 

Reservation Policies 

IIMs follow the Government of India’s reservation policy for proportionate representation in the following:

- Scheduled Caste (SC): 15% seats reserved. 

- Scheduled Tribe (ST): 7.5% seats. 

- Non-Creamy OBC (NC-OBC): 27% seats. 

- Economically Weaker Sections (EWS): Up to 10% seats. 

- Persons with Disabilities (PwD): 5% seats, including low vision/blindness, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, and other specified disabilities under the RPwD Act, 2016. 

Candidates from the reserved categories must possess valid SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwD certificates at the time of CAT registration and document verification. There is a mark relaxation of 5% for graduation (45% instead of 50%) for SC, ST, and PwD. There are no age-based reservations, which helps maintain a level playing field irrespective of age.