Not Done Well in CAT 2025 Exam? Don't Fret, You Can Still Get Admission in a Good B-School
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
CAT 2026 admit card download
4 Nov '26 - 29 Nov '26
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 difficulty 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?
CAT 2025 result has been declared today. 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 80-95 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 95 percentile. For IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta too, it is 90 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).
Latest: CAT 2025 result out @iimcat.ac.in - live updates
CAT toppers 2025: Names, percentiles and scores
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
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.
| IIM |
CAT 2025 cut offs (qualifying) |
|---|---|
| 90 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
Also Read:
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)
CAT 2025 Cut Offs: Non-IIMs
The CAT cut offs for non-IIMs too are usually high (specifically for top ranked colleges). 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 |
Also read: CAT 2025 score and percentile required for IIM BLACK
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:
Commonly asked questions
CAT cutoffs are usually not announced with the CAT result. The CAT cutoffs are also not released to the public.
They are published after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs opens their shortlisting window based on the CAT cut-offs two to three days after the result announcement. The CAT percentile of candidates shortlisted for the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI) can be considered the cut-off for that IIM. For example, if a candidate with a CAT percentile of 99 belonging to the General category is selected for the WAT/GD-PI of IIM Calcutta, then the CAT cut-off for IIM Calcutta is 99 percentile. Only those candidates who make it to the WAT/GD-PI round of IIMs will get to know the cut-offs.
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.
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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 2025?
Apply to non-IIMs
Another option for those scoring low in CAT exam is applying to non-IIMs. You will find many good colleges in the range of 80-90 or 70-80 CAT percentile ranges. Some of them are listed below:
- 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
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.
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 |
In CAT 2025, the number of 100 percentilers was 12. Check state wise data:
Overall Percentile | Total | Gender and Discipline | State wise distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
100 | 12 | Female - 2 Male - 10 Engineering - 3 Non-Engineering - 9 | Uttar Pradesh 1 Karnataka 1 Maharashtra 1 Delhi 3 Haryana 2 Gujarat 2 Jharkhand 1 Odisha 1 |
CAT cut offs for non-IIMs is usually lower than IIMs.
Top MBA College | CAT Cut Offs (percentile) |
|---|---|
FMS, Delhi | 98-99 |
IIFT Delhi | 95-99 |
SPJIMR, Mumbai | 95-99 |
IMT, Ghaziabad | 95-97 |
JBIMS, Mumbai | 96 |
MDI, Gurgaon | 97-99 |
IMI, New Delhi | 90 |
XIM, Bhubaneshwar | 91 |
GIM Goa | 85 |
K J Somaiya, Mumbai | 86 |
TAPMI, Manipal | 80 |
FORE, New Delhi | 85 |
IFMR, Chennai | 80 |
IRMA, Anand | 80 |
MICA, Ahmedabad | 80 |
LIBA, Chennai | 70 |
XIME, Bangalore | 70 |
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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 2026. But take this decision only after weighing all the pros and cons of taking a gap year.
Read More:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
You cannot see a score or result for the practice mock test taken on the official CAT website because the official IIM mock portal is only designed to familiarize you with the exam interface and structure and it does not generate or save scores.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Yes 75 percent attendance is mandatory at RKDF University Ranchi. As per the official university guidelines and UGC norms students are expected to maintain regular attendance to remain eligible for mid semester and end semester examinations.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
To choose the best CAT coaching institute in Siliguri, evaluate centers based on faculty expertise, mock test quality, batch flexibility, and physical location convenience.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
As of September 2026, IIM Indore has not announced the CAT form correction dates. Past trends indicate that the application form correction window opens a few weeks after the registration window is closed.
Check: CAT Correction Window 2026
B
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, candidates are facilitated with a window to edit exam form once the CAT registration concludes. However, candidates will only be able to edit photo, signature, and test city preference using CAT correction window. IIM Indore will announce the dates for CAT form correction window once the regist
J
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
IIM Indore has not announced the last date extension for CAT 2026 yet. However, past trends indicate CAT registration extends by a few days. If CAT 2026 registration is extended, candidates will find an update on the official website.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, both Oral Extempore Presentation and PI round are mandatory for candidates who apply forAlliance School of Business MBA admission with CAT results.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, in recognition of outstanding performance in CAT, MSB awards special scholarships as follows:
- INR 1,50,000 for students securing a minimum 90 percentile
- INR 1,00,000 for students securing a minimum 85 percentile
- INR 75,000 for students securing a minimum 75 percentile
G
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Students pursuing PGDM from Jaipuria Institute of Management Jaipur and having 65% CAT score can get scholarship of INR 1.50 lakh. Students must have documents proving their eligibility to avail the scholarship benefit.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes, you can strongly aim for interview calls from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta if you have a stellar high school profile and a high CAT score. Top IIMs calculate interview shortlists using strict mathematical formulas. These formulas evaluate your CAT score, Class 10 marks, Class 12 marks
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Contributor-Level 10
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
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