Exam On - 25 Jan '26
CMAT is a pan India exam and nearly 75000 candidates appear for it every year. CMAT cut off percentiles of top colleges is in the higher range and it is tough to get through if you haven’t scored enough. So, as you prepare to appear for CMAT 2026, check what is a good score in the exam.
What is a good score in CMAT?
CMAT exam score is accepted by over 1300 MBA colleges in India. It includes all AICTE approved institutions, including top B Schools such as JBMIS, SIMSREE, PUMBA, Welingkar, Great Lakes, NL Dalmia, IMT among others. CMAT cut offs for admission are on the higher side in these institutes. So, you need to keep that in mind when appearing for CMAT 2026. If you wish to get admission into any of the top CMAT college, you will need to score accordingly. But, not everyone can score 99 percentile. So, what is a good score in CMAT 2026? Scoring above 85 percentile will keep you safe, if you don’t have any specific B School as target.
In the CMAT exam, candidates are marked per questions, but the result is announced in percentile. So, another question that needs to be answered is what is a good score in CMAT for 99 percentile? Let’s understand this step by step.
CMAT score is referred to as the raw marks obtained by a candidate in the exam, i.e. the sum total of their correct and incorrect attempt. CMAT is of 400 marks so a decent score should be somewhat above 250.
Also Read: 200 marks in CMAT
For every correct answer, 4 marks are awarded and for every incorrect answer, 1 mark is deducted. So, let’s calculate CMAT score with an example.
Now, lets come to the question, what is a good score in CMAT?
The CMAT score of a candidate is converted into percentile for result preparation. This percentile is the key to getting the B-School of your choice. CMAT percentile is essentially a candidate’s rank in comparison to rest of the test takers. For example, candidate who has scored the highest and he/she is the only one to score the highest, his/her percentile will be 100. The CMAT percentile calculation formula is:
Percentile P = 100 x Number of candidates appeared in the examination with raw marks equal to or less than the candidate/Total number of candidates appeared.
Also Read:
CMAT score normalization process
CMAT 2026 exam will be held in a single shift so there will be no score normalization. The percentiles will be calculated from candidate’s raw scores. Check below an estimation of CMAT score vs percentile 2026.
| CMAT Score |
CMAT Percentile |
|---|---|
| 350+ |
100.00 |
| 340 |
99.99 |
| 330 |
99.70 |
| 300 |
99.55 |
| 270 |
99 |
| 265 |
97 |
| 245 |
95 |
| 205 |
90 |
| 180 |
80 |
| 175 |
70 |
CMAT score vs percentile fluctuates, due to difference in difficulty level of the paper and number of test takers every year. Check below the trend of CMAT score and percentile, in the last four years.
| CMAT Percentile |
CMAT Score |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
|
| 99.99 |
340+ |
340+ |
350 |
360 |
| 99.70 |
330 |
326 |
335 |
330 |
| 99.5 |
300 |
310 |
306 |
303 |
| 99 |
270 |
280 |
296 |
293 |
| 95 |
245 |
250 |
265 |
260 |
| 90 |
205 |
225 |
250 |
240 |
| 80 |
180 |
195 |
220 |
211 |
| 70 |
175 |
190 |
190 |
180 |
Check below expected cut off percentiles for top CMAT accepting colleges. These are estimations should be taken as reference only.
| Colleges accepting CMAT score |
CMAT Cut Off (percentile) |
|---|---|
| 99.92 |
|
| 99.85 |
|
| 99.20 |
|
| 99.06 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 82 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| 70 |
|
| SSN School of Management (SSN SOM) |
75 |
| 60 |
|
| 60 |
|
| 60 |
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 18 hours ago
GIBS is pretty flexible when it comes to entrance exams. They accept almost all the common management tests — CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, State CET, and even GMAT. In my batch itself, we had students who came through different exams, not just CAT.
Honestly, that's one thing I liked about GIBS — they d
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
No, GIM Goa does not accept CMAT scores for its PGDM programs for admissions. It only accepts CAT or XAT exam score. CAT score of previous year is accepted and XAT score of current year is accepted.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CMAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into the MBA course at NSUT. Even CMAT scores are not the first priority of the admission committee to shortlist the students. Because the university considers the scores of CAT/ MAT for selecting the students. If the seats get vacant, then only CMAT
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Contributor-Level 10
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CMAT is one of the important examinations for admission to the MBA course at Biyani Group of Colleges. However, as the MBA course at Biyani Group of Colleges is offered with the affiliation of Rajasthan Technical University. Thus, there are chances that the college can accept the relevant scores of
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
CMAT 2026 admit card will be available for download until exam day (January 25). After that, link to download it will be deactivated. Candidates must download CMAT-NTA admit card as soon as it is released and save it.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
CMAT 2026 admit card will be released 4-5 days before the exam. Since CMAT 2026 is scheduled on January 25, the admit card can be expected to be released by January 20, 2026. NTA has not announced any date for CMAT 2026 hall ticket release, though.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
After the declaration of CMAT result, PIGM Indore will start the selection process. The candidates who shall have passed the CMAT exam will be required to fill the application forms for admission. Aspirants will need to apply on the basis of their score and cut offs fixed by PIGM Indore. If a candid
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
With the release of the CMA June 2025 results, 5,491 candidates completed Intermediate Course of the Institute. Such candidates were marked eligible for the practical training.
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
According to Shiksha, CMAT score is accepted by over 1600 MBA colleges in India. These include, government, government aided and private institutions. So, you can select any college based on its cut offs, ranking, location, fees, placements and infrastructure.
E
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
There is no provision of result evaluation in CMAT. The scores mentioned on result will be final and cannot be challenged. Candidates can only challenge the provisional answer key which is released before CMAT result.
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Contributor-Level 6
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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