CAT 2026 Registrations: As per Indian express report around 2.84 lakh candidates have registered for CAT 2026. However as per the last year's statistics, 2.58 lakh candidates appeared for the CAT exam. This is almost 35 thousand less than CAT 2024. However, the CAT 2026 exam is yet to be conducted on November 29, 2026. Looking at the trends of the past years, there will be 8284+ seats up for grabs in 22 IIMs, the top B-Schools in the country via CAT 2026. 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.
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According to a report by The Indian Express, around 2.84 lakh candidates have registered for CAT 2026. The CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIM Indore on November 29, 2026. The number of CAT 2026 registrations and the total count of students participating in the CAT exam are mentioned here.
Total CAT 2026 Registrations | Around 2. 84 lakh |
Number of students attending the CAT 2026 exam | To Be Updated |
| % of students who attended CAT 2026 | To Be Updated |
In CAT 2024, conducted by IIM Calcutta, 2.93 lakh candidates appeared for the exam out of 3.29 lakh registrations. Check out the last five years' CAT exam attendance to understand how the trends have changed this year.
Year | CAT Conducting IIMs | Total CAT registrations | Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam |
| 2026 | IIM Indore | 2. 84 Lakhs | - |
| 2025 | IIM Kozhikode | 2.95 Lakhs | 2.58 Lakhs |
| 2024 | IIM Calcutta | 3.29 Lakhs | 2.93 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 |
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.
The 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) |
402 | Rs. 27.50 lakh | |
535 | Rs. 26.30 lakh | |
475 | - | |
576 | Rs. 20.75 lakh | |
375 | Rs. 23.50 lakh | |
489 | Rs. 25.15 lakh | |
- | Rs. 21.24 lakh | |
262 | Rs. 21.50 lakh | |
257 | Rs. 17.90 lakh | |
326 | Rs. 17.96 lakh | |
316 | Rs. 21.13 lakh | |
297 | Rs. 21.00 lakh | |
- | Rs. 22.80 lakh | |
| 250 | Rs. 19.20 lakh | |
314 | Rs. 20.08 lakh | |
463 | Rs. 20.80 lakh | |
395 | Rs. 26.18 lakh | |
330 | Rs. 21.51 lakh | |
356 | Rs. 21.00 lakh | |
344 | Rs. 23.58 lakh | |
| IIM Guwahati | - | Rs. 18.00 lakh |
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) |
115 | |
152 | |
200 | |
70 | |
95 | |
92 | |
78 |
Apart from IIMs and IITs, the list of colleges accepting CAT scores in the 90- 100 percentile range is listed below.
Best MBA colleges accepting CAT percentile 90-100 | Course Fees |
Rs. 2.43 Lakh | |
Rs. 26.55 lakh | |
Institute of Management Technology (Ghaziabad) | - |
Rs. 23.54 lakh | |
Rs. 8.12 lakhs | |
Rs. 22.66 lakh |
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?
Around 2 to 3 lakh candidates appear for the CAT exam every year. The difficulty level of the CAT exam is high to select 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)
The CAT 2026 applications are ongoing, therefore we don't know yet how many applicants have filled out the CAT 2026 application form.
The success rate of the CAT exam is nearly 2%, which means only 2 out of every 100 students clear the CAT exam.
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.
Looking at past years' trends, approximately 2 to 3 lakh candidates appear for the CAT exam every year.
On Question asked by student community
Hello, for AP NEET PG Category C seats, NRI documents are generally required if you are applying under the NRI quota, and eligibility depends on the applicable counselling rules. The fee payment currency and procedure should be confirmed from the current Dr. NTRUHS notification at its official website drntr.uhsap.in.
Hello, CAT aur B-school entrance exams ke baare mein aap exam dates, eligibility, registration, exam pattern, syllabus, colleges ya admission process ki information dekh sakte hain. Aapki requirement ke according relevant details yahan mil sakti hain: https://bschool.careers360.com/exams
You can download the latest CAT syllabus from here:
Hey there,
For a B.Sc. with Chemistry, Botany and Zoology (CBZ), if the CAT application asks separately for:
If the Discipline dropdown has a more specific option such as “Biological Sciences,” “Life Sciences,” or “Zoology/Botany,”
Hey there,
Yes. With 2 years of work experience, you are eligible to target the regular 2-year MBA at IIM Calcutta as long as you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). Work experience is not required for eligibility.
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