CAT 2024 is the mandatory MBA entrance exam to get admission to any of the IIMs along with getting admission to other top MBA colleges as well. All the 20 IIMs grant admission to MBA programs by taking a Common Admission Test IIM-CAT each year and based on the candidates’ performance in the CAT exam; they get shortlisted for further selection rounds. The students planning to have a flourishing career ahead can get admission to an MBA course that can help them to get a decent job post completing the course. 

  • CAT 2024 is considered as the most extensive MBA entrance test, and the number of aspirants registered for IIM-CAT keeps on increasing year after year. 
  • More than 2.44 lakh candidates gave the CAT 2019.
  • Salary in IIMs varies from INR 10-25 LPA for students getting placed in big-cat companies. 

The Indian Institutes of Management have announced the eligibility criteria to offer admission to MBA/PGP courses. The admission in any of the 20 IIMs will be issued based on the CAT 2024 scores and other parameters such as academic skills, diversity, work experience, to name a few. The criteria for admission in IIMs are independent of each other. There is no role of any other IIM in making any admission policy of another IIM unless it is new.

The majority of the IIMs give maximum preference to the CAT 2024 score and personal interview for admission. While it is the final round of selection, factors such as candidates’ academic performance, cut-offs, gender diversity, work experience, etc. are considered that together hold a significant role in the admission process.

The candidates who qualified for the first stage of admission criteria (CAT) will be asked to appear for the writing ability test (WAT) and personal interview (PI) rounds. Admission criteria in IIMs are independent of each other. Click Here for CAT 2024 updates and information.  

CAT 2024 Salient Features

Source: tico.ca

  • Name of Exam – Common Admission Test 
  • Official Website – iimcat.ac.in
  • Exam Mode – Computer based online test
  • Organizing Body – Indian Institutes of Management & conducted by TCS
  • Duration of exam – 3 hours
  • Score Range – -100 to 300
  • The validity of score – 1 year

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern

Source: newsd.in

CAT 2024 will be conducted in two sessions and the exam pattern slightly changes every year with regards to difficulty level and distribution of questions. The first two sections of CAT: 

  • Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation 
  • Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning

3 marks for the correct answer and 1 mark deducted for incorrect ones.

CAT 2024: IIMs MBA Admission Process

Source: jamesgmartin.center

Presently, there are 20 IIMs all over the country, and all of the IIMs open and close their admission process simultaneously considering the opening and closing of the CAT 2024 registration process. Two out of the four-step admission process at IIMs are common while the remaining two selection steps are taken care of by the IIMs individually or by making a group as done by new IIMs.

  1. Register & Apply for CAT exam- The admission for an MBA program at IIMs begins in August each year and closes in the last week of September when the registration for the CAT exam closes. 
  2. The candidates planning to get admission in IIMs must register and apply for the CAT 2024 exam within the mentioned dates only; mostly the CAT 2024 registration process is available for a minimum of 45 to 50 days.
  3. Appear in CAT Exam – Those candidates who plan to pursue management course PGP/MBA program from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, or from some other IIMs need to appear in CAT 2024.
  4. Shortlisting Process- Post the declaration of CAT 2024 result in January, the shortlisted candidates will be called for the final admission round based on their performance in the CAT exam, their academic skills, work experience, etc. will be evaluated while considering them for admissions.
  5. Each IIM has a separate selection process. The newer IIMs declare the 1st stage shortlists based on the candidates’ CAT scores while the IIMs also consider other parameters at the 1st stage of shortlisting itself.
  6. Final Admission Process – GD-PI-WAT Round- All the shortlisted candidates shall have to take up the Written Ability Test followed by Personal Interview (PI). Some of the IIMs such as Shillong, IIM Kozhikode, take GD rounds based on the WAT performance of the candidates. Weightage will be awarded to CAT 2024 scores, academic profile & diversity, work experience, and gender diversity, the final merit list will be generated, and the respective IIMs will announce the admissions.

IIM Placements 2024 – Maximum Salary Package & Top Appointing Companies

Source: m.economictimes.com

The placements at IIMs mostly start between December-February each year for the PGP batch. The average compensation package offered to candidates in top IIMs varies from INR 20-25 LPA, while salary packages of newer IIMs fall between INR 10-20 LPA. The highest salary offer at the top IIMs – A, B, C was INR 70 lakh to INR 1 crore LPA.

Some of the top and renowned companies that take part in the placement drive held at IIMs include E&Y, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase, Tolaram, Squareyards & Protiviti, Amazon, Zomato, ICICI Bank, Bajaj, WIPRO, among many others that visit the IIM campuses for appointing management graduates in various job roles.

IIM Placements 2024 – Salary packages offered to graduates 

Source: indiatoday.in

The newer established IIMs such as IIM Shillong, IIM Kashipur, IIM Nagpur, etc. have registered a tremendous increase in the highest salary as compared to the last batch. While in 2019, the highest CTC at IIM Shillong was INR 28 LPA in 2024, INR 48.50 LPA was offered as the highest CTC. IIM Nagpur also registered a significant increase in the highest CTC from INR 19 LPA in 2019 to INR 40 LPA.

The below information tells us about the average CTC offered to the graduates across the IIM campuses.

  • IIM Ahmedabad –  25.83 CTC INR
  • IIM Bangalore –  26.18 CTC INR
  • IIM Calcutta – 28 CTC INR
  • IIM Lucknow – 23 CTC INR
  • IIM Kozhikode – 20.80 CTC INR
  • IIM Indore – 22.92 CTC INR
  • IIM Shillong – 18.79 CTC INR
  • IIM Rohtak – 13.70 CTC INR
  • IIM Ranchi – 22.37 CTC INR

IIM Placements: Highest international packages offered

Source: thewire.in

The details mentioned below include the maximum CTC offered at some of the renowned IIMs by global/international organizations.

  • IIM Indore –INR 89.25 LPA
  • IIM Ahmedabad- INR 83.51
  • IIM Kashipur- INR 48.50
  • IIM Udaipur- INR 33
  • IIM Ranchi- INR 59.36
  • IIM Sambalpur- INR 58

IIM Seat Intake 2024

Source: business-standard.com

  • IIM Ahmedabad – 395
  • IIM Kozhikode – 375
  • IIM Visakhapatnam – 120
  • IIM Lucknow – 500
  • IIM Calcutta – 460
  • IIM Indore – 450
  • IIM Bangalore – 400
  • IIM Shillong – 180
  • IIM Rohtak – 240
  • IIM Udaipur – 260

CAT 2024 acts as a gateway to get admission in your dream colleges like IIM Ahmedabad,IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, etc. So, preparing for the CAT 2024 is essential, and to get admission there, the students need to follow a strong strategy.