Not Done Well in CAT Exam? Don't Fret, You Can Still Get Admission in a Good B-School
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 12 Nov '25
Don't worry if your CAT performance does not match your expectation and you feel you may not be able to make it to your dream B-School. You can still get into a good MBA college, if do the college search right.
CAT exam is a high diffculty exam, thus scoring 95 percentile and above is a steep hill to climb for a lot of aspirants. And every year nearly about 3 lakh candidates apply for it making it tougher to score 99 percentile. So, what if you do not get above 95 percentile? Will you not get a top B-School?
Don’t be demotivated if you feel your scores are not as per your expectation in CAT 2025 exam. Don’t lose heart, all doors are not closed for you. You can still find a good B-School to pursue PGDM/MBA programme. In fact, if you score between 80-90 CAT percentile, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta are still within your reach. Yes, the qualifying CAT cut off score for IIM Ahmedabad is 80 percentile. For IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta too, it is 85 percentile for General category students. Although, the actual CAT cut off could be higher you still have a chance if your academic record is good (Predict Your CAT 2025 Percentile).
Not only the IIMs but many other popular B-Schools are within your reach. B-schools such as GIM-Goa, K J Somaiya-Mumbai, TAPMI-Manipal, FORE-New Delhi, IFMR-Chennai, IRMA-Anand, MICA-Ahmedabad, LIBA-Chennai, XIME-Bangalore etc. accept students with CAT score range of 70-95 percentile. Moreover, it is not only the CAT score but your academic record and performance in Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) play a bigger role in MBA selection.
- IIM MBA qualifying CAT cut offs
- CAT 2025 Cut Offs: Non-IIMs
- Predict Your MBA Admission Chances
- Apply to new IIMs
- Apply to non-IIMs
- CAT percentile cutoff range for Non-IIMs accepting CAT score for admission
- Take other MBA entrance exams
- FAQs Related to CAT Result, Cut Offs and Admission
IIM MBA qualifying CAT cut offs
Reserved category students don’t need to worry much as they are given marks relaxation in IIMs as per government rule. The below mentioned cut off marks are qualifying marks. The actual cut off marks may be higher, to be declared after CAT result 2025 declaration.
| IIM |
CAT 2024 cut offs (qualifying) |
|---|---|
| 80 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
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CAT 2025 Cut Offs: Non-IIMs
Given below is the table indicating expected CAT 2025 cut offs of other top MBA colleges in India.
| B-School |
Expected CAT cut offs 2025 |
|---|---|
| 98-99 |
|
| 95-99 |
|
| 95-97 |
|
| 96 |
|
| 97-99 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 91 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 86 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
Predict Your MBA Admission Chances
After the exam, you will have a fair idea of your performance and how much marks will you score. With that tentative score check out which IIMs and MBA colleges are within your reach. Shiksha has launched an online tool which helps in shortlisting colleges. The IIM & Non-IIM Predictor Tool is free and easy to use.
Let’s look at the options available to the candidates, incase they miss the minimum CAT cut off percentile mark:
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.
CAT score is a national level test and is not accepted by B-Schools outside India. For pursuing MBA in foreign countries GMAT score is accepted. Indian B-Schools accept GMAT score for admitting foreign/NRI/PIO students.
CAT is also accepted for Executive MBA, PhD, FPM and other such management programmes in top colleges in India. Similarly, GMAT is also accepted for admission to domestic students in to Executive MBA and such programmes.
Apply to new IIMs
If you can’t make it through to the WAT-PI round of the top IIMs, you still stand a chance in new IIMs like IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Ranchi, IIM Shillong, IIM Kashipur and IIM Sambalpur as their cutoff eligibility is low compared to top IIMs and other top B-Schools. So keep this option open.
Also Read: What After CAT Result?
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Apply to non-IIMs
Another option for those scoring low in CAT exam is applying to non-IIMs.
- Many B-Schools like SPJIMR, IMI Delhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, TA Pai Management Institute accept CAT scores between 80-90 percentile. These institutes rank above some of the IIMs in the NIRF-MHRF’s ranking list.
- Candidates with CAT score from 70 to 80 percentile can apply to institutes like Amity University, BIMTECH, BITS-Pilani, Great Lakes Institute of Management, IBS Business School and Institute of Management, Nirma University.
- Candidates with CAT score from 60 to 70 percentile can apply to institutes like Doon Business School, IIBS, Bangalore, Indus Business Academy, Jagan Institute of Management, Sharda University and MIT School of Telecom Management.
Complete list of colleges accepting CAT scores
Take other MBA entrance exams
Typically, every MBA aspirant applies to more than one MBA entrance exam. On the top of the list are CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, NMAT by GMAC and SNAP. So, in case you are not happy with your performance in CAT exam, pay attention on other exams you will be taking in the coming months. Do well in them. Better scores in those MBA entrance exams will help you secure admission in a well reputed college. A poll conducted by Shiksha reveals that CMAT is a preferred choice among MBA aspirants after CAT.
Also Read: 20 MBA exams you can take this year
However, if you don’t want to compromise on your dream institute, then you may take a break and prepare for CAT next year. But take this decision only after weighing all the pros and cons of taking a gap year.
Having a good academic profile for IIM admission is very critical. The top 6 IIMs lay a lot of emphasis on Class 10 and Class 12 score for selection of candidates for WAT-PI round. The academic profile is evaluated again at the time of preparation of final merit list. It has been seen in the past that some candidates despite having 99+ percentile, were not selected for PI round due to low score in Class 12.
The academic profile is assessed for academic as well as gender diversity. Which means a candidate who studied Arts in Class 12 may be selected for PI with lower marks than a candidate who studied Science in Class 12.
Candidates aiming for IIMs must know that while the importance of academic profile is very important for top IIMs, it is moderately important for rest of the IIMs. For, other top MBA colleges, overall profile matters more than academic score. So, if you do not have superlative scores in Class 10 and 12, build a good profile with work experience and extra curricular activities to increase your chances of selection.
IIM waitlist means the number students who are kept waiting for the second shortlist. The institutes select a number of students for admission out of which some miss the first list due to a few points. Such students are kept in waitlist incase any candidate from the first list chooses to not appear for WAT-PI. Those who are kept in the waitlist are invited for WAT-PI if there are seats remaining to be filled after WAT-PI round of the first batch of the students. Also read: IIM Waitlist Movement - Meaning and Past Trends
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.
Read More:
FAQs Related to CAT Result, Cut Offs and Admission
Q: What is a good score in CAT?
Q: What score should I get on the CAT to get into an IIM?
Q: What are the top institutes, other than IIMs, accepting CAT scores?
Q: Which are the top B-schools considering candidates having 60-70 percentile in CAT?
Q: Which are the top B-schools considering candidates having 70-80 percentile in CAT?
Q: Is a 95+ score mandatory to get calls from an IIM?
Q: Apart from the CAT score, what qualifications are needed to get into an IIM?
Q: Which IIMs give a low weightage to CAT scores?
Q: Can I attempt CAT more than once?
Q: Can exams other than CAT land me into a good B-school?
Q: What is the validity of the CAT score?
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Student Forum
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hi.
- Entrance Exam Score (Approx. 40% weightage): A valid score in any of the accepted national-level exams (CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, GMAT, etc.) is a primary eligibility requirement for shortlisting.
- Group Discussion (GD)
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The CAT admission process for non-IIMs includes Written Ability Test (WAT) or Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). For admission the institutes also take into consideration candidate's academic record and work experience. Overall, the admission process of all CAT accepting colleges is same where selection is based on candidate's overall personality, communication ability and consistency in academics.