CAT Eligibility Criteria 2018 – IIMs, the conducting body of the exam, prescribes the CAT 2018 eligibility criteria. As per the basic eligibility criteria of CAT 2018, the management aspirants must have a Bachelor’s Degree with minimum 50 percent marks in aggregate. The final year graduation students are also eligible to apply for the exam. There is a relaxation of 5 percent in graduation marks for SC, ST and PwD candidates. MBA aspirants who are planning to appear for the exam must know the CAT eligibility criteria 2018 before applying for it. The application process for CAT 2018 is expected to start in the second week of August. CAT is conducted by IIMs every year on a rotational basis. In this article, candidates will get all the information about the category-wise eligibility criteria for CAT 2018 and other relevant information about the exam.
Highlights of CAT 2018 Eligibility Criteria
The CAT eligibility criteria are defined in terms of academics and categories. The following points explain it better.
Applicants should hold a Bachelor’s Degree with minimum 50 percent marks or equivalent CGPA awarded by a recognised university or educational institute as incorporated by an Act of the Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
For the reserved category candidates, such as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD), the minimum percentage to be secured in Bachelor’s Degree is 45 percent.
Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results are also eligible to apply. However, they will be given provisional admission only till the time they submit a certificate from the Principal / Registrar of their University/institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.
Candidates must fulfil any one of the following conditions in order to be eligible for the exam:
Bachelor’s Degree with requisite percentage of marks Or
Professional Degree with requisite percentage of marks Or
In the final year of Bachelor’s Degree with requisite marks percentage
The calculation of the marks percentage will be done on the basis of the practice followed by the respective University/Institute. In case the Institute/University offers grades/CGPA, the conversion to a percentage of marks would be based on the procedure as certified by the respective University/Institution. In case there is no such conversion scheme followed by the institute, the equivalence will be calculated by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA, and multiplying the result by 100.
Age Limit: There is no age limit to appear for CAT exam.
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2018 - Reservation Criteria
IIMs offers reservations as per the government norms. The table given below explains the reservation criteria for different categories.
CAT Eligibility - Reservation Criteria
Category | Reservation |
Scheduled Caste (SC) | 15 percent |
Scheduled Tribe (ST) | 7.5 percent |
Other Backward Classes (OBC) belonging to non-creamy layers | 27 percent |
Persons With Disability (PWD) | 3 percent |
*PWD - The three categories falling under PwD category are -
- Low vision blindness
- Hearing impairment and
- Locomotor disability/cerebral palsy
This provision is applicable if the candidate suffers from any of the listed disabilities to the extent of not less than 40 percent, as certified by a medical authority as prescribed and explained in the said PWD Act, 1995 (Section 39).
The reserved category candidates have to score minimum cutoff percentile at CAT 2018 along with the eligibility criteria to get shortlisted for the admission process.
CAT Eligibility Criteria 2018 - What Reserved Category Candidates should know?
The caste or tribe of the candidate belonging to SC and ST category have to be listed in the Government of India schedule. The caste certificate to be submitted to IIMs must carry -
Name of the caste or tribe
Whether the candidate belongs to the mentioned category (SC/ST)
District and the State or Union Territory of original residence
The appropriate Government of India schedule under which your caste/tribe is approved by it as Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
The reserved category candidates have to upload the SC / ST / NC-OBC / PWD certificate(s) at the time of application filling process. The application of the candidates who fail to upload the documents may get rejected by IIMs.
Candidates would need to show the original documents and copies supporting their cast/tribe at the time of admission process. The same will be submitted at IIMs during the final admission process. Candidates who do not submit the documents at the time of admission, they may not be considered under reserved categories.
Why is it important to check the CAT 2018 Eligibility Criteria before applying?
Aspiring candidates are advised to check the eligibility criteria of CAT 2018 before applying for the test as only the eligible candidates can apply for the test. If any candidate fills the wrong information or found ineligible, his/her application will be rejected.
CAT Registration is expected to start from the second week of Agust to continue until the last week of September. Approximately 2.31 lakh candidates applied for the test last year and the number is expected to go even higher this year. Eligible candidates who successfully fill the application form along with the application fee and required documents will be to download the admit card of CAT 2018.
CAT 2018 is expected to be held in the last week of November. CAT score is accepted by 20 IIMs along with 100 other B-schools across India. IIMs offer around 4,000 seats through CAT.
