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 will need a minimum of 99.99 percentile, if your target college is one of these three. But, not everyone can score 99 percentile. About 53453 candidates appeared for the CMAT this year and only a handful will score 99 percentile. So, what is a good score in CMAT 2026? Looking at the overall cut off trends over the year, scoring above 85 percentile will keep you safe, if you are okay with a Tier 2 college.
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.
Latest: CMAT 2026 result - live updates
- What is CMAT Score?
- How to Calculate CMAT Score?
- What is a Good Score in CMAT 2026?
- CMAT score vs percentile: Previous years’ Trend
- CMAT 2026 Cut Offs (Expected): Top B-Schools
What is CMAT Score?
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 somewhere between 200- 250.
Also Read: 200 marks in CMAT
Commonly asked questions
CMAT RC passages are easy. Candidates need not worry about RCs in CMAT because they are short and pretty much straight forward. Questions are fact based and generally require candidates to identify the main argument/theme/idea of the passage. Sometimes, there are a few vocabulary and idiom based questions too, but mostly from familiar areas and topics. The length is about 200-500 words.
One should dedicate about 4 to 5 hour in a day for CMAT preparation. If you have started CMAT preparation six months before 4 to 5 hours daily will be good. But if you start preparation 3 months before CMAT exam, you will need to dedicate about 7 hours to exam preparation as you will have to cover a lot in less time.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship syllabus of CMAT is not a very difficult section. The syllabus pertains to business studies, economy and entrepreneurship. So, it will not require must time to cover the syllabus. Candidate can dedicate one month to this section towards the end, while preparing for other sections. You can refer to books - Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker and Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management by R. Gopal, Entrepreneurship by Robert D. Hisrich and Manorama Year Book by Mammen Mathew.
How to Calculate CMAT Score?
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.
- There are 100 questions in CMAT and you attempted 75.
- 60 were correct and 10 were incorrect
- So your CMAT score will be: 75x4 - 10 = 290
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:
What is a Good Score in CMAT 2026?
CMAT 2026 exam was 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 |
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
Since every section of CMAT has 20 questions in total, solving 15 to 18 questions in each section with 80 percent accuracy is considered a good attempt in CMAT, and it can ensure a good percentile in the exam. In the GK section, about 10 to 12 correct attempts will be enough. Out of 100 questions, candidates must try to solve about 70 to 75 questions to achieve a 99 percentile. However, candidates must aim to solve a higher number of questions with maximum accuracy and minimize negative marking. To be able to achieve this target, candidates have to prepare for the CMAT in a disciplined manner. Candidates must set aside about three months to complete the CMAT syllabus, as they have to study five subjects and their numerous topics. If they have appeared for CAT, XAT, and IIFT exams, then they can complete the CMAT syllabus in one month as well. However, it is advised that candidates spend at least three months on CMAT syllabus for complete preparation.
When making a strategy for CMAT exam keep in mind that it is a speed based exam and there is negative marking. Since, there is no sectional time limit, solving adequate number of questions in every section will be key.
Yes six months are enough to prepare for XAT if you plan it well. You will need about 8 hours every day for it. Use first four months to cover exam syllabus and last two months for practice.
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CMAT score vs percentile: Previous years’ Trend
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 |
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CMAT 2026 Cut Offs (Expected): Top B-Schools
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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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 hours ago
CMAT response sheet and provisional answer key are same. Since the answer key contains candidate's responses too, it is also called CMAT response sheet.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
Candidates can use the CMAT answer key to calculate the score in the following manner:
· Check number of correct attempts
· Check number of incorrect attempts
· Add 4 marks for every correct attempt
· Subtract 1 mark for every incorrect attempt
· Sub total will be CMAT score
J
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
Filing objection against the CMAT answer key is not mandatory for all candidates. Only those candidate who feel a question/s is incorrect and they have proof to support the claim, should raise objection.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
The CMAT answer key objection fee per question is INR 200. Candidates have to pay it at the time of filling the objection form.
E
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
CMAT answer key helps the candidate in checking their performance and it is also a window for NTA to communicate transparency in result preparation number.
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
Objection cannot be raised against the final answer key of CMAT, as it contains the answers evaluated again after objections by candidates.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 hours ago
CMAT final answer key is released as a downloadable PDF. Candidates can download it by visiting the NTA-CMAT website and simply downloading the document.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 hours ago
Provisional answer key of CMAT refers to the document released by the NTA indicating answers marked by candidate and correct options. This document tell candidates about how many of their attempts are right.
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Validity of CMAT score is one year in most of the colleges. There are a very few and Tier 3 colleges that may accept CMAT score from previous years. So, if they wish to drop a year, they should appear for the exam again in the next session.
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
The first criteria is CMAT cut off. Candidates should shortlist all the colleges whose cut off is same or lower than their score. Thereafter, check fees, location, accreditation, curriculum, pedagogy and placement reports to choose one foe themselves.
N
Contributor-Level 7
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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