CAT 2023 Answer Key Released for 2.88 Lakh Test Takers: Check how to Download, Verify Answers & Calculate Your CAT Score Vs Percentile; Last Date

The wait is over and the CAT 2023 answer key with candidate response sheet has been released on December 5 for the CAT test takers. You can download it from iimcat.ac.in. This year CAT answer key release was much eagerly awaited due to the high difficulty level of CAT question paper and expected low cut offs announced by experts. Moving fast after the CAT 2023 exam got over on November 26, in 3 slots, IIM Lucknow has released Official CAT 2023 Answer Key in 8 days for highest number of 2.88 lakh CAT test takers.

Once you download your CAT answer key for your slot and check the same, you may calculate your score and expected percentile in CAT exam. This will help you to check your shortlisting chances for admission 2024 in IIMs and other top B-schools accepting CAT score. Please note CAT answer key will remain live only till December 8, 2023. After this, IIMs will inactivate the CAT answer key and Response sheet tab from official CAT website. 

 

CAT Answer Key 2023 Release: Date, Time and Last Date
The Objection Management tab for CAT 2023 is active from 10.00 AM on the CAT answer key release date till 5:00 PM - three days after its release. Candidates can see the Answer Key as well as their Individual Responses to Questions during this duration.  CAT Answer Keys 2023 for all the three slots have been released separately:

CAT Exam Answer Key 2023 Timeline	Important Dates
CAT 2023 Exam Date	November 26, 2023
CAT 2023 Answer key Release Date	December 5, 2023
Last Date to Check & Download CAT Answer Key	December 8, 2023
Answer Key download closing time	5.00 PM
Last date & time to challenge and file objection form to CAT Answers	December 8, 2023 till 5.00PM
From where to Download CAT Answer Key 2023	IIMCAT.ac.in (CAT official website)

Check below the key components of CAT Answer key, how to download and calculate your CAT score and percentile, cut off for top Colleges and more:

What You will Find in CAT 2023 Answer Key Pdf?
CAT 2023 answer key Pdf contains following components:

• Your responses to all the questions for your CAT exam slot. You can’t check answer key for other slots
• Wrong Answers are marked in Red with a ‘X’ Mark
• Correct official answers from IIMs marked in Green  
• An Objection Form to Challenge the official CAT Answer Key

If your objection on official CAT answer key is found correct, IIMs will update the answer key and will drop the particular question giving its benefit to all the candidates. Your objection fee will also be refunded by IIMs.

How to Download & Use CAT 2023 Answer Key?

You can download CAT answer key in following 3 steps: Check detailed instructions below

(1) Log on to CAT official website with your CAT Id and Password

(2) Your Personal CAT Page will appear with Candidate Response Tab.

(3) Click on ‘Candidate Response’

(4) After verifying your answers and calculating your CAT score, use CAT Percentile Predictor to Convert your CAT Score into Percentile.

How to download CAT Answer Key 2023? Step by Step Process  
The step by step process how to download CAT answer key 2023 are shared screen by screen below:

 

Step-2: Your Personal CAT Page will appear. This has a Candidate Response tab. Follow the instructions on this page.

Step 3: Click on ‘Candidate Response’ Tab to download your response for CAT. It is your Response Sheet which contains your own marked answers in the exam as shown in the example below

 

Step-4: Challenge CAT Answer key, If Not Satisfied
You can challenge and raise objection to the CAT 2023 answer key which is considered as correct by IIMs but wrong by you. There is an objection form tab at the side of Response tab on CAT website. You can ‘Click here to raise objection’. Before going to fill the objection form, read instructions

Step-5: Fill the Objection Form (Only if you are sure)
Your responses with question IDs are displayed on right hand side. You need to select the section and question ID to raise objection and should give the relevant reason for raising the objection in the Objection form as shared below

Step-6: Pay Rs.1500 for Each Objection
You can submit the objection form by paying a fee of Rs. 1500/- for each answer key objection.

How to Calculate Score and Percentile Based on CAT Answer Key?
Your need to follow the CAT 2023 exam pattern and marking scheme to arrive at accurate score. CAT 2023 was conducted in 3 slots in Morning, Afternoon and Evening and had time duration of 2 hours for each slot with 66 questions and maximum score of 198 marks. Following table will guide you about CAT scoring pattern as per the CAT 2023 sectional composition

Section	Total questions	Total MCQs (With negative marking)	Total Non-MCQs (Without negative marking)	Total Maximum Marks
Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	24	20	4	72
Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	20	12	8	60
Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA)	22	14	8	66
Total	66	46	20	198

Example: CAT score calculation

• Total Answers: VARC-6; DILR-4; QA-5: Total Answers-15
• Total score: VARC-6x3; DILR-4x3; QA-5x3: Total Score – 45 Marks
• Total Correct Answers: 10
• Total Score: 10x3=30 Marks
• Total Wrong Answers: 5
• Total Deduction in Marks including 33% negative Marking: - 20 Marks
• Total Net Score: 25 Mark
   

  Calculate Your CAT Percentile at MBAUniverse.com
  Now, as you have calculated your total net score that you will get, you need to check your likely percentile as the IIMs consider percentile cut off instead of raw score. So, to arrive at your percentile score in CAT 2023 you need to remember following:

• The CAT score will be normalized for the 3 slots: Check Score Vs Percentile
• Given the exam difficulty level, low Score in CAT 2023 is expected to fetch high percentile. Use MBAUniverse.com Percentile Predictor 

• How Important are CAT Answer Keys 2023? 5 Reasons
  CAT 2023 Answer Key Release makes the CAT exam further transparent. It is of utmost importance for the candidates who are looking for MBA admission 2023 in IIMs and other B-Schools due to following key reasons:

• Check Your Right Answers & Cut Offs: The announcement by IIMs for Answer Key Date for CAT 2023 makes the test takers ready to check what they had done in the exam as they have the opportunity to compare Official CAT 2023 Answer Key with their response sheet and assess how many MCQs and Non MCQs were correct and how many marks they have lost to arrive at the cut offs
• Check your Expected CAT Score & Percentile: Official CAT 2023 Answer Keys enable the test takers to check & verify their CAT answers and thereby arrive at their expected CAT score
• Check Admission Chances in Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT: Once you know your likely score with CAT answer key, you can explore chances for MBA admission 2024 in IIMs, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, IITs and other top MBA colleges accepting CAT. You can make choice among the CAT score accepting colleges according to expected score.
• Explore Other MBA Entrance Exams: If your expected CAT percentile score is not upto your desired level, you still have good options to appear in other MBA entrance exams which are still open for MBA admission 2024 in top MBA colleges like XLRI-XAT 2024, MAT, CMAT, IBSAT
• Check MBA Colleges Open for MBA Admission 2024: Apart from taking MBA entrance exam, you need to check the last date to apply for admission in MBA colleges accepting CAT; MBA Colleges Accepting XAT; MBA Colleges accepting MAT among others

• CAT Answer Key 2023: Check & Download Before Last Date: December 8, 2023
  You can check CAT answer key only for your Slot and may calculate your score and expected percentile only for your CAT exam. This will help you to check your shortlisting chances for admission 2024 in IIMs and other top B-schools. Please note that CAT answer key will remain live only till December 8, 2023. After this, IIMs will inactivate the CAT answer key and Response sheet tab from official CAT website.

  Last date to Raise CAT Answer Key Objections: Dec 8
  The last date to raise CAT answer key objection is December 8, 2023- 3 days after the release of CAT answer key. Four key points to note about raising objection to CAT answer key are:

• The CAT 2023 objection form to challenge the official CAT answer keys has been released alongwith the release of CAT 2023 answer key
• No changes are allowed after submission of your CAT answer key objection form
• An objection fee of Rs.1500/- to challenge each official answer key will have to be paid per objection. You can raise only one objection at a time. 

• Eligibility to Check CAT Exam Answer Key

• Only the CAT 2023 test takers who actually appeared in the CAT exam 2023 can view and download the answer key for their respective slot.
• A candidate who appears in Slot 1 can check CAT 2023 Slot 1 Answer Key and the candidate who appears in Slot 2 or slot 3 can verify his answers with the respective slot of Answer Keys. If you have appeared in Slot 1, you are not eligible to check CAT 2023 Slot 2 answer keys and if you have appeared in Slot 2 or 3, you are not eligible to view and check other slot of CAT answer key 2023.
• Alongwith the answer keys, there will a form for CAT answer key objections to raise objection in case the CAT test taker is not satisfied with answers published on the official CAT exam website.
• The answer keys can be accessed with CAT login ID and Password.

• Top MBA Colleges: CAT 2023 Cutoffs for Admission 2024
  More than Top 100 MBA colleges in India are accepting CAT 2023 score for MBA admission 2024. Some of these B-schools with expected CAT cut offs are shared below for your benefit:

  Top IIMs & Non IIMs	Minimum Required CAT 2023 Cut off percentile
  IIM Ahmedabad	80
  IIM Bangalore	85
  IIM Calcutta	85
  SPJIMR, Mumbai	85
  IIM Lucknow	90
  IIM Indore	90
  IIM Kozhikode	85
  IIM Mumbai	90
  MDI Gurgaon	94
  FMS New Delhi	97
  IIT Delhi; IIT Bombay	90
  IIM Tiruchirappalli	92
  IIM Shillong Cutoff	90
  MICA Ahmedabad	85

  Check complete list of Top B-schools with Cut offs

  10 Key Facts About CAT Answer Keys 2023

• CAT answer keys 2023 is available only for those candidates who have actually appeared in CAT 2023 exam.
• You can have access to the CAT answer key for the question paper which you have attempted.
• CAT answer key enables the test takers to check & verify their CAT answers and thereby arrive at their expected CAT score to explore chances for MBA admission 2024 in IIMs, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, IITs and other preferred colleges.
• CAT 2023 answer keys can be accessed by login to CAT official website with CAT 2023 login ID and password
• CAT answer keys Pdf is released with a Query-cum-objection form. The candidates who are not satisfied with the answers as suggested by IIMs, can challenge any answer by submitting CAT Answer Key Objections to CAT Centre 2023 to get the same redressed after paying requisite fee of Rs.1500/-. If the CAT Answer Key Objection raised by a candidate is found to be valid, the remedial measures taken by IIMs will be applicable to all the candidates.
• The objections received for CAT answer keys 2023 by the CAT centre will be reviewed. If there is no change perceived by experts in the CAT answer key, the objection will not be entertained
• CAT solutions Pdf 2023 is released as CAT 2023 final answer key for all type of questions MCQs & Non-MCQs that appeared in CAT exam
• CAT 2023 final answer key will contain CAT 2023 answer keys with detailed solutions for all the three sections – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC); Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR); and Quantitative Ability (QA)
• All the answer keys for CAT 2023 for MCQs after taking into account the negative marking and only all correct answers for Non-MCQs are counted for percentile calculation in CAT exam 2023
• CAT answers will consist of CAT 2023 Question Paper with solutions pdf for all the question sets that appeared in CAT exam 2023

• Unofficial CAT Answer Key 2023
  Apart from the release of official response sheet by IIMs, top experts and CAT coaching institutes have also released unofficial CAT Answer Key 2023 immediately after the exam, for the benefit of test takers to enable them to assess their performance. These unofficial CAT answer key 2023 are made available online at the respective CAT coaching institute website. While there may be some variation in these unofficial CAT answer key 2023 by the experts and coaching institutes, it will give a good assessment of your CAT performance and expected score that you can get. Check below the CAT 2023 questions and answer key for slot-1, slot-2, slot-3:

  CAT 2023 Slot 1 Answers Key

  Exam Section	Answers Key	Link to Download (Unofficial) CAT 2023 Answer Key
  Quantitative Ability (QA)	Question Topics | Available	CAT 2023 Answer Key Download PDF
  Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	Question Topics | Available	Download PDF
  Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	Question Topics | Available	Download PDF

  CAT 2023 Slot 2 Answer Key

  Exam Section	Answers for CAT 2023 Slot 2 Memory Based Questions	Link to Download Unofficial CAT 2023 Answer Key
  Quantitative Ability	Available	CAT 2023 Answer Key Download PDF
  Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	Check Question Topics	Download PDF
  Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	Check Question Topics	Download PDF

  CAT 2023 Slot 3 Answer Key

  Exam Section	Answers for CAT 2023 Slot 3 Memory Based Questions	Link to Download Unofficial CAT 2023 Answer Key
  Quantitative Ability	Coming soon	To be Published Soon
  Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	Check Question Topics	Download PDF
  Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	Check Question Topics	Download PDF

  CAT 2023 Answer Key Release Date: Previous Trends

  Year of CAT Exam	CAT Exam Dates	Dates of CAT Answer Key Release
  CAT 2023	November 26, 2023	Expected on December 1 or 2, 2023
  CAT 2022	November 27, 2022	December 1, 2022
  CAT 2021	November 28, 2021	December 8, 2021
  CAT 2020	November 29, 2020	December 8, 2020
  CAT 2019	November 24, 2019	November 29, 2019
  CAT 2018	November 25, 2018	December 7, 2018

  Every year, there are grumblings on the ambiguous answer options in CAT exam. The release of CAT 2023 answer keys helps candidates to raise their genuine queries against such answers which are not found correct and the candidates are not satisfied with them. After scrutinizing the objections received from the test takers, CAT Centre at IIM Lucknow will release the CAT 2023 final answer key before release of CAT exam result

  Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2023