MBA Colleges Accepting 85 Percentile in CAT

Is your CAT score 85 percentile? Don't worry, you can still get a good MBA college in your preferred location. Check the list of top MBA colleges with CAT score 85 percentile and above. 

An excellent CAT score is the first step towards securing a seat in a top institute for an MBA/PGDM programme. Not really. If you don't have 99 percentile, even then you can get a good MBA college. Candidates who score between 90-100 CAT percentile can get admission into the IIMs and other top MBA institutes. But, these colleges are out of reach for candidates who score less than 90 percentile in the CAT exam (unless they belong to Reserved category). So, what if your CAT score is less than 90 percentile? Don't worry, there are a large number of reputed B-schools with good placement, that accept 85 percentile in CAT. So, CAT 2025 test takers must focus on college selection for admission. And the first thing to do is to check the CAT cut off and admission criteria of the colleges/institutes of preference.

MBA Admission and Selection Criteria: An Overview

Selection criteria and admission process of most of these institutes includes three steps:

• Inviting application forms and screening of candidates on the basis of CAT score
• Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD/PI)
• Final selection of candidates

Inviting Application Forms

B-schools start inviting applications for admission from September onwards. Some institutes, on the other hand, invite applications only after the declaration of CAT result, i.e. in January. The process of filling up the application form typically includes, online registration on the official website, filling up the online application form and payment of application fee. For admission to MBA 2026 batch through CAT exam scores, the application window will open from August 2025 onwards.

Personal details to be filled in MBA admission forms:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Parents/Guardian name
• Family income
• Domicile
• City
• State
• Nationality

Academic details to be filled in MBA admission forms:

• Class 10 marks
• Class 12 marks
• Graduation marks
• CAT score (incase application process begins after CAT result declaration)
• Choice of course
• Work experience (if applicable)
• SOP/LOR (if applicable)

After the application process gets over, a list of selected candidates is made and calls are made to each candidate for participation in Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD/PI)

Group Discussion and Personal Interview are basically personality assessment tests. They are conducted to judge the candidate’s communication skills, knowledge, personality, confidence, presence of mind, aptitude, leadership qualities, etc. Every candidate is required to be present in person to participate in the GD/PI, as the final selection is majorly based on candidate’s performance in this round. 

Final Selection of Candidates

Final selection for MBA admission is based on the candidate’s overall performance in academics, CAT exam and GD/PI. However, it may be noted that every institute has its own parameters to select candidates for admission. MBA aspirants must check individually, the admission criteria of each of the institutes they are targeting. They must fill the form of only those colleges whose minimum eligibility criteria they meet.

Also Read:

• Colleges accepting CAT scores from 80-90 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores from 70-80 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores from 60-70 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores from 50-60 percentile
• Top 30 MBA Colleges apart from IIMs accepting CAT
• Top 20 MBA entrance exams you can take this year
• Got a low score in CAT? Don't worry, you can still get a good MBA college