Common Admission Test (CAT) is the gateway to the cream of management institutes in India, the IIMs. CAT, or the Common Admission Test, is an aptitude test; it is the most popular test among prospective management students because it is accepted by the best institutes. CAT entrance exam is used as an admission test to shortlist applicants for admissions to the 20 IIMs. It is one of the largest MBA entrance exams conducted in India, annually. The CAT score is also accepted by more than 200 non-IIM institutes across India, some of which are as reputed as the IIMs. (non-IIM Institutes Accepting CAT Scores). The CAT is one of the world's most demanding entrance examinations for any graduate institute.

Eligibility for the postgraduate programmes in management at all IIMs and to appear for IIM-CAT is at least a three-year bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university with 50% Marks in graduation (45% for SC/ST).

Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), the premier business-schools of the country (and counted among the best in the world) conduct this test for selecting potential students for the next round of admission process (comprising of a personal interview and a group discussion) for their MBA and Fellowship programmes. Those appearing in the final year examination of graduation are also eligible to appear in Common Admission Test.