CAT 2026 Registration Drop: Why Only 2.84 Lakh Applied This Year

Around 2.84 lakh candidates registered for CAT 2026, according to figures reported by IIM Indore. This is 11,000 (3.7%) fewer than the 2.95 lakh registrations in CAT 2025.

The number is also 13.7% lower than the 3.29 lakh registrations recorded in CAT 2024.

• Registration ran from August 3 to September 22, 2026, after IIM Indore extended the original September 15 deadline by one week; the fee payment window closed on September 24.
• Around 2.4 - 2.5 lakh candidates are likely to appear on November 29 if attendance matches the 86% recorded in CAT 2025 (an estimate, not an official figure).
• IIM Indore has not stated any reason for the dip, so the factors discussed below are analysis, not official findings.
• CAT 2026 will be held in three sessions and the admit card is scheduled for November 4.

Related Articles:

• How Many Students Applied in CAT 2026 Registration
• CAT 2026: Admit Card on Nov 4, Exam on Nov 29, Eligibility, Syllabus and IIM Cutoff

Key Summary

• 2.84 lakh is the second straight fall after the 3.29 lakh peak in 2024 (2.95 lakh in 2025).
• Registrations are not test-takers: 2.58 lakh of 2.95 lakh appeared in CAT 2025.
• A lower headcount does not automatically mean an easier paper or an easier IIM call.
• Early social-media claims of 3.20 lakh registrations were unconfirmed and did not match the final number.

CAT Registration Trend: 2021 to 2026 (Registered vs Appeared)

CAT 2026 registrations of 2.84 lakh are the lowest in the last four cycles, while the number of candidates who actually appeared has stayed between 2.58 lakh and 2.93 lakh since 2023.

The trend shows a slowing decline: the 2026 dip of 3.7% is much smaller than the 2025 dip of about 10% from 2024.

Check:

• CAT 2026 Exam Date November 29 Confirmed by Trends: Full Schedule & Slot Details

Why Did Only 2.84 Lakh Candidates Apply?

No official explanation has been published, but the data points to a few likely factors that aspirants should read as context rather than confirmed causes.

• Incomplete applications: one registration tracker reports about 3.27 lakh CAT IDs generated against 2.84 lakh completed registrations, which suggests roughly 43,000 candidates created an account but did not finish the process.
• Other MBA routes: aspirants also target XAT 2027, GMAT, and state or institute-level tests, and some choose not to attempt CAT at all.
• Post-peak correction: registrations rose sharply to 3.29 lakh in 2024, so part of the fall may be a settling back from an unusually high year.
• Cost and timing: the CAT 2026 fee is reported at ₹2,700 for General and ₹1,350 for SC/ST/PwBD candidates, and the exam falls on a late-November Sunday, as in earlier years.

Check:

• CAT Preparation 2026: Last 50 Days Strategy, Mock Test Series, PYQs & CAT Online Perparation
• CAT Topic-Wise Weightage for QA, VARC and DILR, Check Previous Years’ Questions

Does a Lower Registration Count Make IIM Admission Easier?

Not necessarily. CAT results are percentile-based, so a candidate's position depends on how the serious test-takers perform in the same exam, not on the headline registration number.

• The 22 IIMs are reported to offer around 8,284+ seats in their flagship programmes, and IIM shortlists also weigh sectional scores, profile and the WAT-PI stage.
• A 3.7% dip changes the pool by only about 11,000 candidates, a small share of those aiming for the 99+ percentile band.
• Paper difficulty and session-wise normalisation will matter more to your percentile than the registration count.3

Check:

• How to Score 99 Percentile in CAT 2026: Section-Wise Strategy and 30-Day Preparation Plan
• How to Score 99 Percentile in CAT 2026: 4-Week Study Plan and Section-Wise Strategy

What Aspirants Should Do Now

• Download the CAT 2026 admit card as soon as it is released on November 4 and check the session and centre details carefully.
• Treat the competition as unchanged: stay focused on accuracy, sectional time management and mock analysis.
• Check the result timeline: the CAT 2026 result is expected in late December 2026 or the first week of January 2027, subject to IIM Indore.

Check:

• CAT 2026 Admit Card Download on Mobile: Steps, PDF Saving and Printing Tips

What 2.84 Lakh Registrations Mean for Your CAT 2026 Percentile

Percentile is a rank-based measure, so the number of people who actually sit the exam decides how many candidates stand ahead of you. If attendance matches CAT 2025 (86%), about 2.44 lakh candidates would appear in CAT 2026 against 2.58 lakh in CAT 2025.

Check: CAT Cutoff 2026 for Top MBA Colleges and IIMs: Expected Percentile, Sectional & Category-wise Cutoffs

Takeaway: the same raw performance buys a similar percentile in both years, but the pool of candidates ahead of you at 99 percentile could be about 140 candidates smaller. This is a marginal change, not a different exam.

Who Registered? Gender and Category Mix (Latest Published: CAT 2025)

IIM Indore has not yet published the CAT 2026 gender and category breakup, so the CAT 2025 data is the most recent reference point for the profile of the applicant pool.

• Gender in CAT 2025: of 2.95 lakh registered candidates, about 1.10 lakh were female, 1.85 lakh were male and 9 were transgender candidates.
• Among test-takers: about 0.97 lakh were female and 1.61 lakh were male, which works out to attendance of about 88% for female candidates and 87% for male candidates (own calculation from the reported figures).

Source: IIM CAT Official Website

CAT 2026 Preparation: Previous Year Questions

Below are the previous year questions PDF with solutions for 2025-2021. The PYQs are for the Slot 1 exam of each section:

Source: IIM CAT Official Website

IIM Seats and Expected Cutoffs: How Competitive Is CAT 2026?

Around 8,284+ seats across the 22 IIMs have been reported for the flagship MBA/PGP programmes, which works out to roughly 34 registrations per seat at 2.84 lakh. Seat counts differ between sources depending on which programmes and IIMs are counted, so treat this ratio as indicative only.

Source: IIM CAT Official Website

Related Links:

• IIM Ahmedabad Cutoff CAT 2026 & Admission Criteria: Check Eligibility & Score Vs Percentile
• IIM Bangalore Cutoff CAT 2026 and Admission Criteria: Check Category-wise cutoff & Eligibility Criteria​
• IIM Calcutta Cutoff CAT 2026 & Selection Process: Check Category-wise cutoff & Admission Criteria

CAT 2026 Official Documents

Candidates can verify registration figures, dates and the exam pattern directly on the official portal below.

CAT 2026 Registration Drop FAQS