How Many Questions to Attempt in CAT to Score 99+ Percentile?

IIMs typically require candidates to secure a minimum of 99 percentile in CAT to get shortlisted for admission rounds. Primary challenge among all aspirants lies in how to prepare to score 99 percentile in CAT? For that, one must know how many questions to attempt in CAT 2026 to score 99 percentile.  

Number of Good Attempts for 99 Percentile in CAT

How many questions to attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile? Every IIM aspirant must know the answer to this question so that they can make it to the selection round of the IIMs and other top B-Schools. For admission to the top IIMs, the minimum CAT cutoff is 99 percentile and above. Out of over 2.5 lakh aspirants every year, only a handful of candidates score 99+ percentile. In CAT 2025, the maximum number of 99.99 percentiles was 26. The number of 100 percentilers was 12.

Why is the number of top scores so low in CAT? Because no matter how many questions you solve correctly, your performance is directly affected by the number of aspirants who have solved more or fewer questions than you. Yes, in CAT, it's the percentile that matters not the raw score. Many candidates perform well in the exam but get a percentile lower than what they had expected because CAT percentiles get affected by even decimal points. Thus, the significance of the question - "how many questions to attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile?".

Why is it important to know it? Because scoring 99 percentile in CAT is the only way you can get closer to an IIM or a top MBA college in India. The CAT cut off for admission to the top IIMs  - IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode is always above 99 percentile for General category candidates. Other top B-Schools such as FMS Delhi University, SPJIMR, IMT, MDI, IIT-DoMS also have a cutoff range of 95-99 percentile for CAT. Thus, it is only prudent to know your target beforehand and make a CAT 2026 preparation strategy accordingly. 

How many questions to attempt in CAT 2026 to score 99 percentile?

This is tricky. There is no accurate number of questions that you can attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile, but yes, you must aim to attempt 2/3 of the total questions in every section accurately. Even though there are less chances of the number of questions changing in CAT 2026, you should be prepared for every situation. So, to be able to score 99 percentile, you need to do more than just attempt a certain number of questions. Let's understand further.

CAT percentile is influenced by three things:

• CAT exam pattern and marking scheme
• Accuracy in solving the CAT questions
• CAT normalisation process

Let’s look at them one by one to answer the question - How many questions to attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile?

CAT Marking Scheme 2026

During the CAT exam preparation 2026, focus on the strategy of targeting a particular score range in the exam from the very beginning. So check out previous years' CAT cutoffs for admission to your preferred colleges. Given below is the CAT marking scheme. 

• Three marks are awarded for each correct attempt and one mark is deducted for every wrong answer in CAT. However, there is no penalty on leaving questions unanswered.
• Non-MCQs don't have negative marking, but they are often lengthy or tricky. They usually appear in the Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT.
• The key here is to attempt only those questions which you are 100 per cent sure of answering correctly, as only 100 per cent accuracy will earn you full marks. A slight miss and you may lose the score. Experts suggest that there is no need to attempt the entire CAT question paper. Overall accuracy target should be 85 to 95 per cent.
• The CAT paper pattern is never the same. CAT has seen changes in the number of questions topic wise weightage in the last two years. So, there is no sure-shot formula of scoring 100 or 99 percentile. It is all about how accurately you solve a question and in the least time taken.

But the question, "How many questions to attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile?", remains.

Experts suggest that to aim 99 percentile, one should attempt at least 75 per cent of the questions accurately. Since sectional percentile and overall percentile hold individual significance in IIM admissions, it is important to maintain good accuracy in each section of the CAT exam.

Also Read:

• CAT 2026 quant strategy to score 25 marks and get 95 percentile
• CAT 2026 DILR strategy to score 30 marks and get 95 + percentile
• CAT 2026 VARC strategy to score 30 marks and get 95 + percentile

Number of Good Attempts for 99 Percentile in CAT

Find the table below for the number of good attempts in CAT 2026 based on previous year's exam analysis

Also Read:

• CAT 2026 Preparation Road Map: Month-wise plan
• CAT 2026 Preparation without Coaching: Is it Possible?

How to Score 99 Percentile in CAT: Focus on Time Management and Accuracy

Scoring 99 percentile requires more than merely knowing all topics. The total time duration of CAT is 120 minutes with a 40-minute sectional time limit for each section, you need to be quick and accurate in solving the questions. Focus more on time management during the last phase of CAT preparation. Additionally, you will have to ensure zero-error performance in the exam. How can you achieve zero-error performance? The only way to achieve this is by choosing the questions wisely. Your accuracy should be 85% and above for every question that you attempt. 

40 minutes can be too less if you target all the questions of a particular question. Don't aim for all questions. We have mentioned above, a tentative number of questions for each section that you should attempt. Stick to that plan. Use the time to improvise rather than trying to do everything.

CAT Score vs Percentile

Here's a table indicating percentile ranges corresponding to sectional and overall raw CAT scores (based on CAT 2025) to help you make a strategy to target the percentile range in CAT 2026.You must target a score of 104 (CAT raw score) to be able to enter the 99 percentile bracket. 

How to Increase Speed and Accuracy in CAT Exam? Key Tips

Plan an exam day strategy in advance and apply it to CAT mock tests to analyse if the strategy is good or not. Take CAT exam day tips from experts and past toppers on how to increase speed and accuracy. Here are a few points aspirant must keep in mind:

Practice CAT questions: Solve a sample question and time yourself, check accuracy and time taken to solve it. Solve the question again. Check accuracy and time taken again. Time taken to solve a question in the second attempt will be less than the first time. Try, try and try again, until you achieve 100 per cent accuracy in the given time.

Sectional time limit: CAT exam has a sectional time limit for each section. Every section of CAT 2026 exam will be of 40 minutes. The arrangement is such that once 40 minutes are over, the screen will jump to the next section of the exam. Now this can prove to be a big hurdle if you don't have good speed in solving questions accurately. Do not spend too much time on a question. The moment you feel you are getting stuck, leave the question and move to next because there is no option to go back to questions left incomplete.

Categorize questions: Identify questions as easy, medium and difficult. Start with easy ones. If at any point of time you feel stuck or unsure of the question, leave it and move on. Don’t attempt a question even if you have even one percent doubt.

Also Read: Expert Tips on How To Prepare for CAT Exam 2026

No guess work: Some people may advise you to go by instinct or guess the answer if you can’t solve it. Never do that. Remember there is negative marking for wrong answer; not for no answer.

Speed reading in RC: Do not speed-read the RC passages in CAT. Unlike other MBA entrance exams, CAT RC passages are inference-based and it is crucial to understand the passage deeply for hidden meanings and references. Don't do reverse reading either. It will only make you read the passage repeatedly to find the right answer, thereby wasting time. Do not do anything that is time-consuming or which will make you read the questions again and again. 

Also Read: Types of Reading Comprehension Questions in CAT

CAT Scaled Score and Normalisation Process

For many aspirants, the CAT scoring and normalisation process is confusing. 'What is the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile?', is a question every CAT aspirant asks. Ti understand that, one needs to understand the CAT normalisation process first.

• Since the CAT 2026 exam will be conducted in three sessions, the difficulty level of CAT question paper of all the sessions will vary a bit. To ensure that there is no disparity in comparison of performances, candidates' scores are scaled on a common plane through CAT normalisation process.
• CAT follows GATE exam’s formula of normalisation process, where the normalisation is based on the assumption that the distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the sessions. It takes into account all the variations in the difficulty levels of the CAT question papers across different sessions.
• The CAT percentile is referred to as the total percentage of candidates who scored less than or equal to a particular candidate. For example, if a candidate’s CAT percentile is 90, it means he/she performed better than 90 per cent of the total candidates in CAT exam that year.

CAT normalisation formula:

CAT normalisation formula

Practice CAT Mock Tests for 99+ Percentile

Candidates must practise as many mock tests as possible to secure a 99 percentile in CAT exam. Find two full-length CAT practice papers with solutions below. These CAT sample papers are curated in line with the difficulty standards of the actual exam 

CAT Preparation Tips

CAT exam is one of the toughest MBA entrance exams and requires months of preparation. Shiksha has a series of CAT preparation articles candidates can refer to improve their performance in the exam. Check some CAT 2026 preparation articles below: