Vipra
Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Dec 24, 2025 17:49 IST
IIM has shared the formula of Scaled CAT score calculation for three different slots. Read below to understand how scaled score in CAT is calculated and the formula that will be applied to prepare the CAT 2025 result of about 2.95 lakh test takers. Read more.

IIM Kozhikode will use the same formula of Scaled CAT score calculation for three different slots, as used in previous years. Read below to understand what is scaled score in CAT and how it is calculated and the formula that has been applied to prepare the CAT 2025 result.  

CAT score calculation

What is scaled score in CAT? The exam is held in three slots every batch of candidates got  different set of questions. The examination authority normalize the CAT scores of all candidates to assess their performance on a standardised scale. This is critical to ensure none of the candidates have any advantage or disadvantage over another due to varied difficulty levels of the test slot. For result preparation, CAT authorities calculate raw scores of candidates and then evaluate each performance on a common scale so that there is fairness in percentile calculation. Read below to know how CAT 2025 score has been calculated for Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3. 

Latest: CAT 2025 result out, cut off, admission criteria- live updates

CAT 2025 result: 12 candidates get 100 percentile

CAT 2025 result: Check state wise toppers' list

Table of contents
  • What is scaled score in CAT Exam?
  • Scaled CAT Score Calculation for All Three Slots
  • CAT Scaled Score vs Percentile 2025

What is scaled score in CAT Exam?

The CAT exam pattern changed in 2020 and it became a three slot exam (earlier there were only two slots). The exam authorities introduced a modified process of Scaled CAT Score calculation in line with three-slot system. CAT 2025 will follow the same method of Scaled Score calculation for preparation of candidate scorecards. Read below to understand the scaled score in CAT and its calculation for performance normalisation and assessment. 

Also Read:

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
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:   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 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.

Scaled CAT Score Calculation for All Three Slots

IIMCAT has shared the formula of scaled CAT score calculation of students appearing in the exam in three different slots this year. In the process below, the CAT scaled score calculation has been explained with the example of Quantitative Aptitude section, same methodology is applied for scaled score calculation for VARC and DILR. If any candidate’s scaled score is more than 100, it will be rounded down to 100.

Step 1: Calculate the Mean (M) and the Standard Deviation (SD) of the raw scores in QA section for all candidates appearing in the morning session. Let Mean = M1 and SD = S1 and G1 = M1 + S1.

Step 2: Calculate the Mean (M) and the Standard Deviation (SD) of the raw scores in QA section for all candidates appearing in the afternoon session. Let Mean = M2 and SD = S2 and G2 = M2 +S2.

Step 3: Calculate the Mean (M)  and the Standard Deviation (SD) of the raw scores in QA section for all candidates appearing in the evening session. Let Mean = M3 and SD = S3 and G3 = M3 + S3.

Step 4: Calculate the Mean (M) and the Standard Deviation (SD) of the raw scores in QA section for all candidates appearing in CAT (i.e. including all the three sessions). Let Mean = M and SD = S and G = M + S.

Step 5: Calculate the Mean (M) raw score in QA section of the top 0.1% candidates in the morning session and denote it by M10.1 

Step 6: Calculate the Mean (M) raw score in QA of top 0.1% candidates in the afternoon session and denote it by M20.1

Step 7: Calculate the Mean (M) raw score in QA of top 0.1% candidates in the evening session and denote it by M30.1

Step 8: Calculate the Mean (M) raw score in QA of top 0.1% candidates appearing in CAT (i.e. considering all the three sessions) and denote it by M0.1.

Suppose now XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the morning session and her raw score in QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say r given by:

r = (RG1 ) M0.1G

-------------------------------- + G

M10.1G1

In case XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the afternoon session and her raw score in QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say r given by:

r = (RG2 ) M0.1G

---------------------------------------- + G

M20.1G2

In case XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the evening session and her raw score in QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say r given by:

r = (RG3 ) M0.1G

----------------------------------- + G

M30.1G3

Check in detail CAT scaled score calculation:

CAT_Scaled_Score_Calculation

Staying updated about the latest educational events is just a click away
Enter Mobile Number

Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates

MU BAAT 2026 Early Evaluation Exam

12 Jan '26 - 5 Apr '26

VITBEE Application Form 2026

31 Oct '25 - 12 Apr '26

Amrita CAT 2026 Last Date of A...

15 Apr '26

JET MBA 2026

1 Apr '26 - 2 Apr '26

PU MET 2026 Last Date for Uplo...

2 Apr '26

APICET 2026 Registration Proce...

24 Mar '26 - 5 Apr '26

Karnataka PGCET Registration

23 Mar '26 - 8 Apr '26

MAH MBA ...

7 Apr '26 - 8 Apr '26

Check live updates

Alliance AMAT 2026 Last Date o...

15 Apr '26

CAT Scaled Score vs Percentile 2025

Check the table below for a comparison of CAT scaled score vs percentile to understand the calculation of exam score better:

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 Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT 2025 exam score by clicking the link below:

CAT Percentile Predictor

Read More:

Check CAT cut offs and predict calls from IIMs and Non-IIMs accepting CAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all CAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

Predict CAT Admission Calls
Videos you may like
About the Author
author-image
Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content

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
Download Important Dates for MBA/PGDM Exams

News & Updates

Latest NewsPopular News

Explore Other Exams

Jul '26

XAT 2027 registration dates

Sep '26

XAT 2027 mock test

9 Jan '26

SNAP 2025 result announcement

20 Dec '25

SNAP 2025 session 3

Aug '26

NMAT 2026 Registration Window

Aug '26

NMAT 2026 Scheduling Window

17 Oct '24 -

5 Dec '24

IIFT 2025 registration and app...

1 Apr '26 -

25 May '26

MAT May 2026 Registration PBT

1 Apr '26 -

8 Jun '26

MAT May 2026 Registration CBT

Jul '26

IBSAT 2026 Registration

Dec '26

IBSAT 2026 Exam Date

17 Feb '26

CMAT 2026 result

31 Jan '26 -

2 Feb '26

CMAT 2026 exam answer key obje...

7 Apr '26 -

8 Apr '26

MAH MBA CET 2026 exam

9 May '26

MAH MBA CET 2026 exam 2

16 Mar '26 -

10 Apr '26

TANCET registration window

May '26

TANCET admit card download

Mar '25

IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno...

Feb '25

IRMASAT Personal Interviews

The list of exams are recommended based on what other exams do the students in your area show interest in
qna

Student Forum

chatAnything you would want to ask experts?
Write here...

Answered 5 hours ago

Yes, students can get admission in Manav Rachna University without CAT. The university considers scores obtained in MAT/ GMAT as well. Alternatively, students can appear for the MRNAT test too.

P

Pallavi Karan

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 8 hours ago

Candidates who are applying for the Jain University MBA admissions with CAT must score above 50% to apply. The aforementioned score will allow candidates to directly apply for the next selection rounds after JET for MBA admissions.

Candidates who do not have a score above the aforementioned limit nee

...Read more

S

Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered Yesterday

Yes, students can get admission in KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology MBA without CAT. The college instead accepts TSICET scores. Students do not have to appear for CAT or other management exams.

M

Manashjyoti Srivastava

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 days ago

No, CAT is not a compulsory entrance exam in order to apply for BITSoM Mumbai MBA admission. Other than CAT, candidates also have the option of applying through a valid score of GMAT, GMAT-GRE or GRE for MBA at BITSoM Mumbai.

Appearing for one of the aforementioned entrance exams is a mandatory requi

...Read more

S

Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 days ago

GIBS Business School's PGDM cutoff is moderate and generally does not reach the high levels of an IIM. The main factors impacting cutoff are your entrance test scores and other criteria.

Cutoff Recent Data:

  • CAT: 60-70 Percentile approximately
  • XAT: 60-70 Percentile approximately
  •  MAT: 60-65 Percentile ap

...Read more

M

Mohammed Maqsood

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 4 days ago

The minimum marks or CAT cut off to appear for IIM selection round is different for every institute. Tier 1 colleges select candidates with CAT score above 95 percentile, Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score between 80-90 percentile and Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score lower than

...Read more

P

Pallavi Gupta

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 4 days ago

There is no CAT PI shortlist for IIMs. Candidates have to simply login with their CAT credentials and fill the PI shortlist form.

S

Sreetama Tyagi

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 4 days ago

There is no minimum qualifying marks for CAT. Anybody scoring above 0 in the exam is eligible for admission, however the B-Schools select candidates on the basis of cut offs which are 60 and above percentile.

N

Nitesh Vimal

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 4 days ago

The final CAT cutoff are not released publically. However, candidates can check qualifying cut offs in the admission criteria document released by IIMs and other institute before the exam.

A

Aarushi Hazarika

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 4 days ago

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.

J

Jasleen Dixit

Contributor-Level 7