Not Done Well in CAT 2025 Exam? Don't Fret, You Can Still Get Admission in a Good B-School

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 was conducted on November 30 and you fairly know your performance. 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 soon- live updates

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

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.

Also Read:

• Institute wise IIM CAT cut offs and admission criteria
• IIMs' actual CAT cut-offs of previous years

 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.

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:

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

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.

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