CAT (Common Admission Test) is one of India’s most competitive MBA entrance exams, conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Many aspirants wonder how many times they can appear for the CAT exam during their preparation journey. Let’s clear that up.
How Many Attempts Allowed in CAT Exam?
There is no official limit to the number of attempts you can make for the CAT exam. The primary question for most aspirants is whether you will be permitted to take the exam again. The good news is that students can take it as many times as they want, assuming they meet the CAT Eligibility requirements for that year.
Why “No Limit” on CAT Attempts?
Here’s why the CAT attempt policy is designed this way:
- Inclusion: Anyone of any age, stream, and experience level can apply each year, as long as they have met the eligibility requirements for graduation.
- Continuously improve: If an aspirant does not achieve their target score in their first attempt (year), they can come back more prepared because there is no limit.
- One exam multiple times: The CAT is conducted one time each year, but the ability to have score re-attempts provides students with a way to adjust their style and improve.
How Many CAT Attempts Should You Plan For?
Although the official limit is unlimited, here is some advice for planning your attempts productively:
- First attempt: Go all in with strong preparation, and call your best shot.
- Second or third attempt (if you need to take one, two, or multiple attempts): Work off the feedback from your initial attempts to find holes, and create a better attempt based on the better strategy you developed from the previous attempts.
- Do not think of “unlimited attempts” as a cushion to take multiple attempts without solid preparation. This also means you must commit some serious time and resources to the process anyway.
- In fact, many institutes, coaching leaders, and educational experts would advocate planning for approximately 2 attempts, one great attempt and a second attempt (or third attempt, if you need to).
To make the most of every attempt, it helps to be familiar with the CAT exam pattern 2025.
Impact of Multiple Attempts on MBA Admission
Here are the key things for you to know:
- Business schools do not pay attention to your number of CAT attempts; they take notice of your percentile and what you bring overall in terms of your profile.
- Each time you take the exam, consider it a new job; use the context you have from a previous exam to assess how you can improve, improve on areas of weakness, and attempt to refine your strategy to do better next time.
- If you take it several times, and do not make great systematic improvement to your previous attempt and try to improve on your weaknesses, it will say something about your preparation and about your dedication to the test.
- Coaching experts are recommending different strategies as opposed to simply attempting the test multiple times.
- A structured CAT preparation strategy can make your next try more focused and rewarding.
Smart Planning for Your CAT Attempts
Here are some strategies if you are planning multiple CAT attempts:
- Review your 1st attempt: Look at time distribution, accuracy, and section performance.
- Set realistic targets for the 2nd attempt: For example, a target of improvement by percentile or greater.
- Work on profile improvement: Use the additional year towards something positive, work experience, some certification or leadership roles that matter in IIM shortlisting.
- Be more consistent: Every time you take the test, you should be better prepared, not just go in and rinse and repeat.
- Be prudent in spending time and money: Each registration and preparation time has a cost to you in both time and money, so be thoughtful about each attempt.
Also Check: Important CAT Formulas
Conclusion
To sum it up: when the question is “How many times can I take the CAT exam?”, the answer is as many times as you want, as long as the eligibility criteria are met. The CAT attempt limit is unlimited.
However, remember that simply appearing multiple times is not the goal. You need to objectively improve your preparation, improve your strategy, and plan for actual improvement in your performance, altogether with more attempts.
In the end, the goal should be an improved profile, not just n number of attempts.
Your overall preparation and performance will truly account for more than the exam attempt count. Make the most of your attempts.
