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    CAT 2026 Registrations: How Many Students Will Appear for CAT 2026?

    CAT 2026 Registrations: How Many Students Will Appear for CAT 2026?

    Team Careers360Updated on 04 Sep 2026, 03:28 PM IST

    CAT 2026 Registrations: As per last year's statistics, 2.58 lakh candidates appeared for the CAT exam. This is almost 35 thousand less than in previous years. However, the CAT 2026 exam is yet to be conducted on November 29, 2026. At the same time, 2.95 lakh candidates were registered for the CAT 2025 last year, which is also 34 thousand fewer candidates than the previous year. The overall CAT 2025 attendance was approximately 87.46%. MBA aspirants who wish to do management courses in the top reputed B-schools like IIMs, IITs, or any other private and public universities are required to appear for the CAT 2026 exam on November 29. The CAT is one of the most important MBA entrance exams every MBA aspirant attends. Explore the article to learn more about how many students take the CAT exam every year.

    This Story also Contains

    1. How Many Students Will Appear for the CAT 2026 Exam?
    2. Previous CAT Exam Trends: CAT 2025 vs 2024 vs CAT 2023 vs CAT 2022 vs CAT 2021 vs CAT 2020
    3. MBA colleges accepting the CAT 2026 exam
    CAT 2026 Registrations: How Many Students Will Appear for CAT 2026?
    How Many Students Give CAT Exam Every Year

    How Many Students Will Appear for the CAT 2026 Exam?

    The total number of students successfully registered for CAT 2026 will likely be lower than the previous year, as per past trends. The CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIM Indore on November 29, 2026. The number of CAT 2026 registration and the total count of students participating in the CAT exam are mentioned here.

    Total CAT 2026 Registrations

    To Be Updated

    Number of students attending the CAT 2026 exam

    To Be Updated
    % of students who attended CAT 2026To Be Updated

    Also Read: How Many Students Clear the CAT Exam Every Year?

    Previous CAT Exam Trends: CAT 2025 vs 2024 vs CAT 2023 vs CAT 2022 vs CAT 2021 vs CAT 2020

    Last year, IIM Calcutta conducted the CAT 2024 entrance exam, and 2.93 lakh candidates appeared for the CAT out of 3.29 lakh registrations. Check out the last five years' CAT exam attendance to understand how the trends have changed this year.

    How Many Students Took the CAT Exam: Previous Years' Data

    Year

    CAT Conducting IIMs

    Total CAT registrations

    Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam

    2025IIM Kozhikode2.95 Lakhs2.58 Lakhs
    2024IIM Calcutta3.29 Lakhs2.93 Lakhs

    2023

    IIM Lucknow

    3.28 lakhs

    2.88 lakh

    2022

    IIM Bangalore

    2.55 lakhs

    2.22 lakh

    2021

    IIM Ahmedabad

    2.30 lakhs

    1.90 lakh

    2020

    IIM Indore

    2.30 lakhs

    1.90 lakh

    MBA colleges accepting the CAT 2026 exam

    The total number of colleges accepting CAT scores is around 1000+. There are 21 IIMs, 8 IITs, and other premium B-schools run by public or private. Candidates will be called for a written test, GD, or PI for the final selection, based on their performance in the CAT exam. Top MBA colleges accepting CAT results are mentioned in the tables below.

    List of IIMs, Number of Seats, and Fee

    Table below contains the list of IIMs along with their fees and number of seats for the MBA admissions 2027-29. The seats and fees are subject to change as per the latest admission policy of each IIM.

    IIMs Accepting CAT

    Number of Seats (Expected)

    IIM Fee (Expected)

    IIM Ahmedabad

    402

    Rs. 25 lakh

    IIM Bangalore

    535

    Rs. 24.50 lakh

    IIM Calcutta

    475

    Rs. 31 lakh

    IIM Lucknow

    576

    Rs. 20.75 lakh

    IIM Kozhikode

    375

    Rs. 23.50 lakh

    IIM Indore

    489

    Rs. 25.15 lakh

    IIM Trichy

    -

    Rs. 21.24 lakh

    IIM Amritsar

    262

    Rs. 21.50 lakh

    IIM Rohtak

    257

    Rs. 17.90 lakh

    IIM Bodhgaya

    326

    Rs. 17.96 lakh

    IIM Sambalpur

    316

    Rs. 21.13 lakh

    IIM Sirmaur

    297

    Rs. 20.00 lakh

    IIM Jammu

    -

    Rs. 22.80 lakh

    IIM Ranchi

    250
    Rs. 19.20 lakh

    IIM Raipur

    314

    Rs. 20.08 lakh

    IIM Kashipur

    463

    Rs. 20.80 lakh

    IIM Shillong

    395

    -

    IIM Udaipur

    330

    Rs. 22.51 lakh

    IIM Nagpur

    356

    Rs. 21.00 lakh

    IIM Visakhapatnam

    344

    Rs. 23.58 lakh

    IIM Guwahati
    -Rs. 18.00 lakh

    List of IITs Accepting CAT Scores

    Apart from IIMs, IITs are also known for their MBA courses. IIT colleges with their number of seats for the management course are mentioned in the following table.

    IITs Offering MBA Admission

    Total Seat Intake (Expected)

    IIT Delhi

    115

    IIT Bombay

    152

    IIT Kharagpur

    200

    IIT Madras

    70

    IIT Roorkee

    95

    IIT Dhanbad

    92

    IIT Kanpur

    78

    Top Colleges Accepting CAT Score between 90-100 Percentile

    Apart from IIMs and IITs, the list of colleges accepting the 90-100 percentile of CAT scores is listed below.

    Best MBA colleges accepting CAT percentile 90-100

    Course Fees

    Faculty of Management Studies

    Rs. 2.43 Lakh

    MDI Gurgaon

    Rs. 26.55 lakh

    Institute of Management Technology (Ghaziabad)

    -

    IMI Delhi

    Rs. 23.54 lakh

    JBIMS Mumbai

    Rs. 8.12 lakhs

    SPJIMR, Mumbai

    Rs. 22.66 lakh

    How many seats are there in the CAT exam?

    The total number of seats available at IIMs is around 7500, and for IITs, it is 760. The majority of the MBA colleges in India accept the CAT marks for management course admissions. The total number of MBA seats available in India is 15000+. Candidates who achieve CAT cutoff marks above the 90 percentile can join any of the top B-schools in India.

    Check out: IIM vs IIT MBA: Which one to choose?

    What is the success rate of CAT?

    Around 2 to 3 lakh candidates appear for the CAT exam every year. The difficulty level of the CAT exam is higher to select the eligible candidates based on their logical, analytical, mathematical, and language skills. So, the success rate of the CAT exam is only 2 percent. This means only 2 candidates out of 100 will clear the CAT exam with decent scores.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: How many students fill the CAT 2026 form?
    A:

    The CAT 2026 applications are ongoing, therefore we don't know yet how many applicants have filled out the CAT 2026 application form. 

    Q: What is the success rate of the CAT exam?
    A:

    The success rate of the CAT exam is nearly 2%, which means only 2 out of every 100 students clear the CAT exam.

    Q: How many candidates appeared for CAT 2026 exam?
    A:

    As per the previous year's trends, the number of candidates who will appear for the CAT 2026 exam is expected to be lower than past years. 

    Q: How many candidates appear for the CAT exam every year?
    A:

    Looking at past years' trends, approximately 2 to 3 lakh candidates appear for the CAT exam every year.

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    Questions related to CAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CAT ?

    Hey there,

    For NIT Hamirpur MBA, the General-category CAT cutoff is not a fixed official percentile. NIT Hamirpur's 2026–27 admission process gives CAT a 10/10 weightage in the test component, followed by an interview; it accepts CAT, CMAT and MAT.

    As a practical target, 80+ percentile is worth considering, while

    Hello Student,

    Your question is incomplete because the name of the app or platform is not mentioned.

    Please tell me which CAT online batch or app you are referring to. Then I can tell you whether the classes are conducted through the app, website, or both.

    Best Wishes for your

    If by B-category you mean management/private quota MBBS seats, the cutoff is very different from government-quota MBBS.

    In Tamil Nadu, management-quota MBBS seats are available in self-financing/private medical colleges through the state counselling process. The closing rank varies significantly between colleges and counselling rounds. The 2025 counselling data shows that

    Hello Student,

    With a CAT 2025 percentile of 98.25, you have a good chance of receiving calls from several IIMs, particularly newer IIMs. However, IIM Ahmedabad , Bangalore , Calcutta , and Lucknow generally require higher percentiles for General-category candidates. Calls also depend on sectional percentiles, academics, work experience, and

    Hello Aspirant,

    Yes, you can access CAT preparation resources, including mock tests, practice questions, previous-year papers, and study material. Explore the CAT preparation resources and test series using the link below:

    https://www.careers360.com/mba/download/ebooks-and-sample-papers?exam=45

    Hope this Helps!