CAT Score vs Percentile 2026 (Expected) - Check 2025, 2024 Overall & Section-wise Analysis
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
CAT Form Correction
5 Oct '26 - 6 Oct '26
What is the difference between CAT score and Percentile? How much CAT score will fetch you 99 percentile? Why do B-Schools consider CAT percentile for candidate shortlisting? Those planning to appear for CAT 2026 exam must know these answers to prepare for the exam in a focussed manner.Read below all about CAT Score vs Percentile.
CAT score vs percentile 2026: How to calculate?
CAT score vs percentile calculation is key to understanding how candidates' performances are evaluate. CAT result is prepared on the basis of candidates’ relative performances so one needs to be ahead of peers. Only studying hard will not help in this regard. You will need to have a strategic plan as well as the skill to execute it. CAT 2026 preparation strategy should be based on three things – your target college, its admission cut off and your ability to score that much.
It is not about getting a particular score, it is about whether that score will put you in the desired percentile bracket or not. With only 2 months left for CAT 2026 exam (November 29), this is the time to speed up preparation and change the strategy into a more percentile focussed plan. Thus, you must understand the CAT score vs percentile formula now.
So, what is CAT percentile? and what is the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile?
The answer: CAT score is the total marks obtained by a candidate in the exam and CAT percentile is a relative score/rank.
Both CAT score and CAT percentile are equally important as higher the score, higher the percentile. CAT percentile plays a very important role in IIM admission. Read this blog to understand the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile.
- CAT Score vs Percentile Calculation 2026
- What is CAT Percentile?
- What is CAT Scaled Score?
- CAT Score vs Percentile 2026 (Expected)
- What is Normalisation of CAT score?
- How is Overall CAT Percentile Calculated?
- CAT Score vs Percentile 2026: CAT Composite Score Calculation
- CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile
- CAT Score vs Percentile 2024
CAT Score vs Percentile Calculation 2026
As mentioned earlier, CAT percentile is the relative score of a candidate on the basis of their performance compared to other candidates. This relative score is arrived at by evaluating marks scored by them in the CAT exam against a few parameters. So, how to calculate the CAT score and CAT percentile? In order to clear the CAT marks vs percentile 2026 confusion, let’s understand it in detail with an example:
- The CAT question paper has 68 questions from Quantitative Ability (22), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (24) and Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (22).
- The total marks of CAT exam is 204. Every question carries 3 marks for correct attempt and every MCQ carried -1 mark for incorrect attempt.
- There is no negative marking for unanswered questions and non-MCQs.
- The sectional scores are summed up and sorted to arrive at the total CAT score.
What is CAT Percentile?
CAT percentile is referred to as the percentage of candidates who scored less than or equal to a particular candidate in the exam. For example, if a candidate’s CAT percentile is 99, it means his/her performance was better than 99 per cent of the total CAT test takers that year. Or one can say, candidates scoring above 90 percentile would be the top 10 per cent of the students that year.
Let's understand CAT percentile calculation with an example: Suppose,1,000 people take an exam and you bag the top rank, which means 999 candidates scored less than you. Then your CAT percentile will be 999/1000*100 = 99.9.
An important point to note is that, CAT percentile does not refer to the actual performance in the CAT exam. It refers to a particular candidate’s relatie performance in comparison to all the test takers.
Practice Shiksha CAT Mock Tests for 99+ Percentile
Practice Shiksha CAT mock tests to analyse your preparation level and progress needed in the next two months. You can evaluate your strengths and weakness so that you can work on them in a more focussed manner.
| CAT Mock Test by Shiksha | Direct Link for CAT Mock Test |
|---|---|
| Mock Test 1 | Practice CAT Mock Test |
| Mock Test 2 | Practice CAT Mock Test |
| Mock Test 3 | Practice CAT Mock Test |
What is CAT Scaled Score?
CAT exam is held in three sessions. The question papers of all CAT sessions are slightly different from each other and to ensure fairness and equity in comparison of performances, a scaled score is calculated through normalization process. A formula is applied for CAT score normalization. This scaled CAT score might be more or less than the raw score. CAT 2026 will also follow the same pattern of the three slots with different test forms.
Also Read:
- CAT 2026 DILR Strategy to Score 26+ Marks & Get 95+ Percentile
- CAT 2026 Quant Strategy to Score 25 + Marks and Get 95 + Percentile
CAT Score vs Percentile 2026 (Expected)
CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIM Indore so candidates can expect a moderate paper. This may afftect changes in CAT score vs percentile calculation in comparison to last year. Shared below is an estimation of CAT marks vs percentile 2026.
| Percentile |
VARC Score |
DILR Score |
QA Score |
Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.9 |
51 |
46 |
48 |
122 |
| 99.5 |
44 |
39 |
40 |
103 |
| 99 |
40 |
34 |
33 |
90 |
| 98 |
34 |
31 |
30 |
81 |
| 95 |
30 |
26 |
25 |
70 |
| 90 |
23 |
19 |
18 |
53 |
| 85 |
19 |
15 |
16 |
45 |
| 80 |
17 |
13 |
14 |
40 |
| 75 |
15 |
11 |
12 |
34 |
CAT score vs percentile 2026: VARC
Check the table below for an estimation of how much CAT VARC score will convert into VARC percentile.
| VARC score |
CAT Percentile (estimated) |
|---|---|
| 59.00 |
100.00 |
| 41.00 |
99.00 |
| 36.00 |
98.00 |
| 30.00 |
95.00 |
| 24.00 |
90.00 |
| 20.00 |
85.00 |
| 18.00 |
80.00 |
CAT score vs percentile 2026: DILR
Check the table below for an estimation of how much CAT DILR score will convert into DILR percentile.
| DILR score |
CAT Percentile (estimated) |
|---|---|
| 63.00 |
100.00 |
| 38.00 |
99.00 |
| 34.00 |
98.00 |
| 27.00 |
95.00 |
| 22.00 |
90.00 |
| 19.00 |
85.00 |
| 18.00 |
80.00 |
Also Read:
CAT score vs percentile 2026: Quantitative Aptitude
Check the table below for an estimation of how much CAT Quant score will convert into Quant percentile.
| QA score |
CAT Percentile (estimated) |
|---|---|
| 57.00 |
100.00 |
| 33.00 |
99.00 |
| 29.00 |
98.00 |
| 22.00 |
95.00 |
| 17.00 |
90.00 |
| 14.00 |
85.00 |
| 11.00 |
80.00 |
What is Normalisation of CAT score?
CAT normalisation process is based on GATE scoring, where the normalisation is based on the assumption that distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the sessions. The calculations are based on statistic equations. GATE normalisation takes into account all the variations in the difficulty levels of the question papers across different session.
Also Read:
Explore colleges based on CAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
How is Overall CAT Percentile Calculated?
The CAT percentile is mapped against scaled score of each of the three sections and overall scaled score. All these six measurements are taken into account for reporting purpose, i.e. each candidate’s CAT result-cum-scorecard will contain section wise and overall scaled scores and percentiles.
It must be noted that even though CAT percentile is a popular terms and indicates the candidate’s performance compared to the rest, it is the CAT score (scaled) which is used for the calculation of composite score for shortlisting candidates for WAT-PI round of IIMs.
CAT Score vs Percentile 2026: CAT Composite Score Calculation
The composite score of each candidate is arrived at by calculating their score on the basis of some parameters. The parameters for CAT 2026 score and percentile calculation will include:
- CAT score (scaled)
- Class 12 marks
- Class 10 marks
- Graduation score
- Work Experience
- Diversity (Gender)
- Diversity (Academic)
Given below is the formula of calculating CAT Composite Score used by the IIMs.
Composite score calculation formula
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
20 Aug '26 - 10 Oct '26
14 Oct '26 - 17 Oct '26
24 Oct '26
15 Sep '26 - 22 Nov '26
21 Aug '26 - 25 Nov '26
24 Oct '26 - 28 Nov '26
30 Nov '26
12 Dec '26
14 Dec '26
13 Dec '26
Also Read:
Shiksha CAT Call Predictor
Check CAT cutoffs and predict calls from IIMs and other Top MBA Colleges, Also know Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria.
Commonly asked questions
CAT cut off is prepared by all accepting colleges individually. There is no one authorized body to do so. Even the IIMs determine their admission cut offs separately.
CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile
Check the below table for CAT percentile and score calculation of CAT 2025 exam. The exam was conducted by IIM Kozhikode and the difficulty level of the test was on the tougher side. CAT 2025 score vs percentile calculation.
| CAT Percentile |
CAT Score |
|---|---|
| 99.99 |
132 |
| 99.95 |
110 |
| 99.9 |
112 |
| 99.5 |
93.5 |
| 99 |
84.6 |
| 98 |
75 |
| 97 |
71 |
| 95 |
62.7 |
| 90.00% |
51.5 |
| 85 |
44.28 |
| 80 |
37-38 |
| 75 |
33-34 |
| 70 |
30-31 |
| 65 |
26 |
| 60 |
23 |
| 55 |
20 |
CAT Score vs Percentile 2024
Given below is the table indicating the CAT score vs percentile calculation of 2024 exam. The number of test takers was highest in CAT 2024, at 2.93 lakh.
| CAT Percentile |
CAT Score |
|---|---|
| 99.9 |
127 |
| 99.5 |
103 |
| 99 |
95 |
| 97 |
78.9 |
| 95 |
70 |
| 90 |
58 |
| 85 |
50 |
| 80 |
44 |
| 75 |
40 |
Commonly asked questions
Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of Iims for Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI are listed below. Candidates who MET the qualifying CAT cut off, were eligible for What-PI round. These qualifying CAT cut offs are for General Category. The cut offs for Reserved category students are lower:
- IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
- IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile
- IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
- IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
- IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
- IIM Indore: 90 percentile
- IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
- IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
- IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
- IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
- 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
- IIM Jammu: 93 percentile
- IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
- IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
- IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
- IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
- IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile
- IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Amritsar: 90 percentile
For complete details of IIM selection and admission process read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-shortlist-selection-admission-criteria-blogId-18787.
Yes, the CAT accepting MBA colleges conduct either GD/PI or WAT/PI. Since MBA is a professional course about business and team management, personality assessment round is essential to ensure that the aspirant has the flair for management which can be polished during the programme. Communication skills, problem solving ability, management and leadership are essential qualities for MBA thus, every B-School conducts GD/PI or WAT/PI.
Commonly asked questions
CAT sectional cutoff is the minimum percentile score required in each individual section (VARC, DILR, and QA) to qualify for an institute's selection process. All IIMs have a distinct admission policy, including the sectional cutoffs and overall cutoff scores.
The general category CAT percentile cutoff at IIM Raipur normally lies between 92 and 95%, though it could differ somewhat depending on the category (OBC, SC, ST) and applicant pool. At somewhat lower percentiles, candidates with a solid academic background and pertinent professional experience may be given consideration. A comprehensive review that takes into account the candidate's performance on the Written Ability Test (WAT), academic background, and personal interview (PI) is required for the ultimate selection. The likelihood of being shortlisted for the following round of the selection process increases with higher scores.
On an average, about 10-15 CAT aspirants score 100 percentile. Given below is the data of CAT 100 percentilers of last 4 years:
Exam year | CAT 100 percentilers | State wise numbers |
|---|---|---|
CAT 2025 | 12 | 1- Uttar Pradesh 1- Karnataka 1- Maharashtra 3- Delhi 2- Haryana 2- Gujarat 1- Jharkhand 1- Odisha |
CAT 2024 | 14 | 1- Andhra Pradesh |
CAT 2023 | 14 | 1 – Andhra Pradesh |
CAT 2022 | 11 | 2 - Delhi 1 - Gujarat 1 - Haryana 1 - Kerala 1 - Madhya Pradesh 2 - Maharashtra 2 - Telangana 1 - Uttar Pradesh |
Apart from the CAT scores, B-schools consider candidates' written and spoken communication skills through Written Ability Test or Essay Writing, Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds. The B-schools also consider candidates' overall profile such as past academic records, work experience and extracurricular activities or abilities. Candidates Class 12 scores and overall academic profile plays a decisive role in selection as institutes look for consistency in excellence.
Commonly asked questions
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)
To get 99 percentile and above, candidates must attempt 40-45 out of 68 questions in CAT, with maximum accuracy.
No, securing a high CAT percentile is not enough for admission. One has to clear the selection process round too, like WAT and PI.
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
15 Jul '26 - 6 Dec '26 | XAT 2027 Registration |
Oct '26 | XAT 2027 Form Correction |
21 Aug '26 - 25 Nov '26 | SNAP 2026 Registration Process |
7 Dec '26 | SNAP 2026 admit card session 1... |
20 Aug '26 - 10 Oct '26 | NMAT 2026 Registration Window |
20 Aug '26 - 22 Oct '26 | NMAT 2026 Scheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
14 Dec '26 | MAT December 2026 PBT Registra... |
17 Dec '26 | MAT December 2026 PBT admit ca... |
18 Jun '26 - 1 Dec '26 | IBSAT 2026 Registration Test 1... |
24 Oct '26 | IBSAT 2026 Mock Test |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 5 days ago
Yes, NISM offers scholarship on not just CAT percentile score but also on XAT, CMAT & MAT entrance scores. Currently they offer 50% scholarship on 1st year tuition fees if you score more than 75 percentile on CAT/XAT. For CMAT & MAT, the percentile score should be above 80 percentile. These may chan
D
Beginner-Level 1
Answered 6 days ago
Dedicate one focused hour in the morning to QA formulas or an RC passage, one hour in the evening to DILR sets, and reserve weekends for full-length mocks and thorough review.
L
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
It is not too late, provided you adjust your scope. Focus directly on core topics, start taking sectional tests immediately, and spend time learning through mock test analysis.
R
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Focus on formula sheets, mental math tables, grammar pointers, and your accumulated test error log. Avoid attempting full-length tests during the final three days before the exam.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Enrolling in a classroom programme is rarely practical with two months left. However, a dedicated mock test series or a targeted crash course for specific weak subjects can provide structured practice material.
D
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
A beginner can build a respectable attempt by focusing strictly on high-yield areas such as Arithmetic, Algebra, core DI arrangements, and Reading Comprehension, rather than attempting the entire syllabus.
R
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Taking 12 to 18 full-length mocks across the 60-day window is generally sufficient. Candidates must scatter these mocks into phases and dedicate at least three to four hours to analysing each test.
B
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, 60 days is adequate if you have a basic understanding of mathematics and reading skills. It provides sufficient time to revise concepts, complete timed sectional practice, and take 12 to 15 full mocks.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
FIIB provides scholarships based on the merit and need of the students. Students with more than 60 percentile in CAT exam can apply for scholarships offered by Fortune Institute of International Business Delhi.
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
IIM Indore will release CAT admit card 2026 on November 4. Candidates will be able to download the admit card of CAT exam 2026 until the exam date, i.e. November 29.
R
Contributor-Level 7
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
Read Full Bio