Shruti
Shruti Garg
Assistant Manager- Editorial
Updated on Dec 26, 2025 16:01 IST
CAT 2025 result were declared online. CAT topper 2025 anmol Gupta who bagged 99.96 percentile shares his preparation and exam day strategy for aspirants. He has scores a perfect 100 percentile in DILR. Read this exclusive interview to know more about Anmol Gupta and his preparation strategies.

CAT 2025 results were declared online. CAT topper 2025 anmol Gupta who bagged 99.96 percentile shares his preparation and exam day strategy for aspirants. He has scores a perfect 100 percentile in DILR. Read this exclusive interview to know more about Anmol Gupta and his preparation strategies. 

CAT 2025 Topper Interview

CAT 2025 Topper Interview

CAT 2025 Topper, Anmol Gupta, a graduate from ABES Engineering College, has emerged as one of the top scorers, securing an outstanding 99.96 percentile in CAT 2025 exam. With a perfect 100 percentile in CAT DILR, 99.90 percentile in Quantitative Aptitude, and a strong performance in VARC, Anmol’s journey is an inspiration for CAT aspirants across the country.

This was his third CAT attempt and second serious one. CAT topper 2025, Anmol Gupta shares that consistency and patience are key to success. His preparation focused heavily on CAT mock tests, detailed analysis, and solving CAT past year questions, rather than following a prescribed schedule. In this interview with Shiksha.com, Anmol shares his section-wise strategy, exam-day approach, preparation journey, and practical tips for future CAT aspirants.

CAT 2025 Topper Profile: Anmol Gupta

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Q:   What is the difference between qualifying CAT cut off and final CAT cut off?
A:
Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of an IIM is the minimum percentile (sectional as well as overall) required by candidates to be eligible for the Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI round. These are only eligibility score and not the score for selection. The final CAT cut off percentiles are the scores on the basis of which a candidate is actually selected for the What-PI round. The qualifying CAT cut offs are released publically before the CAT exam and result as a part of selection criteria for the MBA/PGP batch of that year. The qualifying cut offs for CAT are release category wise - General, NC/OBC. General-EWS, SC/ST, PwD. The qualifying cut offs percentiles of General category candidate is higher than then rest. The final CAT cut offs are not released publically. The cut offs are estimate on the basis of candidate's selection for What-PI. The final CAT cut offs for General category candidate is also higher than then rest.
Q:   What is the CAT exam cutoff required to get admission to IIM Bangalore?
A:

The CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore hovers between 97-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off required for being eligible for IIM Bangalore's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 85 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST candidates, it is 65 percentile and for PwD candidates it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore.

  • General category: 80 VARC 75 DILR 75 Quantitative Aptitude 85 (Overall)
  • NC-OBC category: 75 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
  • EWS category: 70 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
  • SC category: 65 VARC 60 DILR 60 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall)
  • ST category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 65 (Overall)
  • PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall)
Q:   Will CAT cut offs rise for 2026 admission?
A:

CAT cut offs do not flutuate much. For the past few years, the CAT exam cut offs for IIMs or other top colleges have not seen much change. If there is any change at all, it is in decimals. However, that decimal point too can make or mar admission chances. CAT cut offs for 2026 admission will largely remain the same as the CAT 2025 exam difficulty level was same as last year and number of takers dipped from last year.

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CAT 2025 Topper Interview: Anmol Gupta

Shiksha: ⁠Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Anmol: I completed my engineering from ABES Engineering College in 2023. I have my parents and my younger brother living with me. I like to write poetry.

Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at the CAT exam?

Anmol: This was my third attempt and second serious attempt.

Shiksha: ⁠When did you start preparing for the CAT exam?

Anmol: I started preparing after my graduation.

Shiksha: ⁠Can you walk us through your section-wise strategy?

Anmol: My preparation was mainly focused on mocks and analysis.

For VARC, I used to read a lot of articles as this has always been my weakest section. Plus, I used to analyze each and every mock that I gave and my aim was to do 3 RCs and all 8 VA Questions.

Q:   How many candidates scored 100 percentile in CAT 2024?
A:

14 candidates have scored 100 percentile in CAT 2024, out of a total of 2.93 Lacs candidates. Out of 14 toppers, 1 is a woman candidate. Check below CAT 2024 result data:

Check the below table for data and statistics of CAT 2024 test takers and toppers. 

CAT ToppersGender and 
Discipline
State
100
percentiles 14 - Nos 
Female - 1
 Male - 13
 Engg – 13
 Non-Engg – 1
Andhra Pradesh 1
Delhi 2
Haryana 1
Kerala 1
Maharashtra 5
Odisha 1
Rajasthan 1
Telangana 2
99.99
percentiles 29 -Nos.
Female - 2
 Male - 27
 Engg – 25
 Non-Engg - 4
Chandigarh 1
Delhi 4
Gujarat 2
Haryana 1
Karnataka 3
Kerala 1
Madhya Pradesh 1
Maharashtra 5
Odisha 1
Punjab 1
Rajasthan 3
Tamil Nadu 1
Telangana 1
Uttar Pradesh1
Uttarakhand 1
West Bengal 2
99.98
percentiles 30-Nos
Female - 1
Male - 29
 Engg – 20
 Non-Engg -10
Bihar 1
Delhi 2
Gujarat 2
Haryana 4
Karnataka 4
Madhya Pradesh 3
Maharashtra 3
Tamil Nadu 2
Telangana 3
Uttar Pradesh 2
West Bengal 4
Q:   How many CAT mock tests to practice to score 99 percentile?
A:
Experts recommend that aspirants must practice at least 40 CAT mock tests to score above 99 percentile well in the exam. Most of the CAT test takers take up to 50 mock tests of various types and difficulty level. CAT toppers in previous years have practiced even up to 80 mock tests during their preparation. However, candidates must decide the number of CAT mock tests depending on their control and confidence on topics as the exam day comes closer. Mock tests are the best way to judge your performance viz. The important topics of CAT. The more one practices CAT mock tests, the more accurate they get in solving questions from all subjects. It is very important to know which formula to apply to which type question to solve the problem accurately. Mock tests help candidates in this aspect which is why practicing mock tests is most important in CAT preparation.
Q:   What is the CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow?
A:
The CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow is usually around 97-99 percentile. The two courses - PGP Agri-Business Management (ABM) and PGP Sustainable Management (some) are extremely popular among MBA aspirants who wish to make a career in these areas. The institute also offers PGP programme. The qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 90 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST and PwD candidates, it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow PGP course. General category: 85 VARC 85 DILR 85 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) EWS category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall) ST category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Lucknow admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-lucknow-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-18509.

For DILR, my aim was to solve all 5 sets. I was quite naturally good in this section, as I have been a problem solver throughout my life. I love to solve Sudoku. The strategy I used in this section was to invest a maximum of 5 minutes on a set. I was so confident in this section that, within 5 minutes, I was able to judge whether the set was solvable by me or not. And I never used to do set selection, I was like hit on whatever set is there at the front. In the actual exam also, I was able to attempt all the 5 sets in less than 35 minutes.

For Quants, I always used to go in sequence and try solving a question, if I am unable to solve a question or it seems unfamiliar, I will leave else if I find myself stuck or the question seems to be a bit tricky, I used to mark that question for review.

Shiksha: ⁠Did you join any coaching institute?

Anmol: I used to work at coaching institute so there I got to interact with some amazing faculties. In addition to this, one of the mentors has always guided me and kept a track of my preparation. And there is a CAT preparation community of coaching intstitute on Facebook where there are a lot of mentors available for guidance 24*7. I have myself mentored a lot of students and will love to mentor my juniors over there.

Shiksha: ⁠How many mock tests did you attempt during your preparation?

Anmol: I attempted around 50-60 full length mocks. But, I solved all the CAT PYQs from the year 2000.

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Shiksha: ⁠What was your exam day strategy?

Anmol: My exam day strategy was very similar to my mock taking strategy.

Shiksha: ⁠Who is your role model?

Anmol: My role model is my Mother. She has always been there for her family and has worked selflessly. I learnt the meaning of hard work from her.

Shiksha: ⁠Do you have any tips for future CAT aspirants?

Anmol: Just be consistent in your preparation and never give up on your dreams.

Shiksha: ⁠Which IIMs/Institutes are you targeting for your MBA?

Anmol: I am targeting IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and FMS Delhi.

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About the Author
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Shruti Garg
Assistant Manager- Editorial

Shruti Garg is a graduate in English and Education with over 7 years of experience in content writing/editing and education journalism. At Shiksha.com, Shruti covers UG and PG entrance exams like MBA entrance exams,

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