What is the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile?

CAT score is the total marks a candidate gets out of the maximum marks, calculated by subtracting the marks of incorrect answers from the marks of correct answers. For every correct answer, +3 is given to the candidates, for every incorrect -1 is deducted from the overall score. Apart from this, a candidate's rank is calculated by normalizing the scores of all candidates and placing them on a common scale based on the difficulty and attempts of the candidates. It is important to understand the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile because IIMs and all MBA colleges in India select candidates on the basis of their CAT and other MBA related exam percentiles and not score. The CAT percentile is referred to as the rank of a candidate against the rest of the test takers. The percentile indicates the total percentage of candidates who scored less than or equal to a particular candidate in CAT. Suppose,1,000 people take an exam and you bag the top rank, which means 999 candidates scored less than you. Then your CAT percentile will be 999/1000*100 = 99.9.

From where can I download CAT question papers?

CAT question papers are released within a week of the exam in the form of a PDF as a response sheet and answer key. Candidates who have appeared for the test are able to access the CAT question paper and answer key. The question paper of every slot is released on the same day along with candidate response sheet and official answer to all question. If any candidate needs previous year CAT question papers for preparation purpose, then they can download them from Shiksha website. We have hosted last five years' CAT question papers for aspirants to download and practice. These official CAT question papers are available for download free. You can download the CAT question paper PDFs at this link: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam-question-papers Candidates must check and practice the latest CAT question paper to know the latest exam pattern and difficulty level.

What are the important topics of CAT syllabus from which maximum questions are asked?

CAT lays a lot of emphasis on analytical skills so the questions are asked mostly from those topics which require deep learning and practice. The three sections of CAT question paper are designed in such a way that candidates have to use their ability of minute observation and fast calculation. Shared below are the section wise main topics from which questions are asked in CAT. Verbal Ability: Parajumbles, Parasummary, Sentence Completion and Inferences Reading Comprehension: Questions based on passages, Para meaning, Order of sentences Data Interpretation: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Data Sufficiency Logical Reasoning: Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Coding-Decoding, Sets and Caselets, Family Tree, Assumptions Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Modern Math, Arithmetic, Mensuration The difficulty level of CAT questions is usually moderate to high. Only a few questions are easy and quick to solve. To crack the CAT exam, one needs to pay attention to the abovementioned topics.

What makes CAT tougher than other MBA entrance exams?

CAT exam is a national level MBA entrance exam conducted by the IIM. Every year, over 2.3 lakh candidates apply for it. Since the last two years, the competition has increased further with oveer 3 lakh candidates applying for the exam. The CAT score is accepted by the Iims and all top MBA colleges in India. To select the best candidates from over 3 lakh test takers there is a need for stringent criteria. That's why, the CAT exam is tougher than other MBA entrance exams. Even though the syllabus of CAT is same as that of other MBA entrance exams, the question paper set by the IIM faculty always has tough questions. Moreover, CAT has sectional time limit for each section which is not there in any other exam except XAT. Having a time limit for each section adds pressure on candidates to complete solving adequate number of questions in a section within the time limit. If a student is weak in a particular subject, they can't use the time as per their need. CAT's Reading Comprehension passages are long and dense unlike other MBA exams. This is one more reason why most candidates feel CAT is tougher than any other MBA entrance exam.

What is the sectional time limit in CAT?

In CAT exam, each candidate gets 120 minutes to solve the paper. There are three sections in CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. For each section 40 minutes are allotted as sectional time limit. For PwD candidates, the sectional time limit is 53.20 minutes per section. Candidates have to complete each section within the given time limit. Since the CAT is an online mode exam, the test screen will move from first section to the next section automatically as soon as the time limit gets over. Thus candidates have to be mindful of the on-screen timer and pre-decide the number of questions to solve in each section. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT has 24 questions, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section has 22 questions and Quantitative Aptitude section has 22 questions. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in CAT so candidates can devise a strategy to use 40 minutes per section as per their strength and weakness.

Which CAT slot has the toughest question paper?

There is no pattern to which CAT question paper can be the toughest. The CAT question paper of every slot has unique questions. The examination body strives to maintain the same difficulty level of the paper across all slots but it may happen that a question can be more difficult from another. It is seen that, to keep the uniqueness of the question paper intact, the examination authority also changes the topic wise weightage a little bit across the exam slots. In most of the previous years, it is seen that the morning slot of the CAT exam is tougher than the rest two. However, candidates must not worry about the difficulty level of the slots as, the scores of all the candidates are normalised on a common scale to root out the possibility of advantage or disadvantage to any student due to difference in difficulty level. To know how the CAT scores are normalised, read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/understanding-cat-normalization-process-blogId-9386.

What is the difference between qualifying CAT cut off and final CAT cut off?

Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of an IIM is the minimum percentile (sectional as well as overall) required by candidates to be eligible for the Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI round. These are only eligibility score and not the score for selection. The final CAT cut off percentiles are the scores on the basis of which a candidate is actually selected for the What-PI round. The qualifying CAT cut offs are released publically before the CAT exam and result as a part of selection criteria for the MBA/PGP batch of that year. The qualifying cut offs for CAT are release category wise - General, NC/OBC. General-EWS, SC/ST, PwD. The qualifying cut offs percentiles of General category candidate is higher than then rest. The final CAT cut offs are not released publically. The cut offs are estimate on the basis of candidate's selection for What-PI. The final CAT cut offs for General category candidate is also higher than then rest.

How many questions should I solve to score 99 percentile in CAT exam?

It is tough to give an accurate number as an answer to this questions are the number of questions have been changing in CAT in the last three years. Moreover, percentile also depends on the difficulty level of the exams and the number of test takers in a particular year. However, one can say that it is safe to solve at least 2/3rd of the total questions in each section of the CAT. So, if CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section has 24 questions, candidate must attempt 16-18 questions correctly. If the CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning has 20 questions, the candidate must solve about 12-14 questions correctly. If the CAT Quantitative Aptitude section has 22 questions then candidates must solve about 14-15 questions correctly. For further understanding you can check detailed analysis here: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/how-many-questions-to-attempt-in-cat-to-score-99-percentile-blogId-19639.

Which MBA colleges are available with 80 percentile in CAT?

There are quite a few MBA colleges who accept CAT score of 80 percentile and above for admission. The admission process for these colleges include group discussion and Personal Interview . Fore School of Management Goa Institute of Management International Management Institute, Delhi Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli Praxis Business School, Kolkata Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management development & Research, Bangalore Shiva Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research TA Pai Management Institute Trinity College for Management and Technology, Ghaziabad Click on this link for more: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/colleges-accepting-cat-scores-range-80-to-90-percentile-blogId-11981.

Which MBA colleges are available with 70 percentile in CAT?

A good number of private MBA colleges accept CAT score of 70 percentile in CAT. We have listed some of the colleges in which admission is possible with 70 percentile. Amity University AIMS Institutes (AIMS), Bangalore Amrita School of Business - Bangalore Acharya Bangalore B-School Asian Business School (ABS), Noida Amrita School of Business, Kochi Bengal Institute of Business Studies (BIBS), Kolkata Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Christ Institute of Management, Pune Doon Business School (DBS), Dehradun Eastern Institute For Integrated Learning In Management, Kolkata FOSTIIMA Business School, Delhi International Institute of Business Studies, Noida International School of Business and Media (ISB&M) Bangalore JK Lakshmipat University-Institute of Management, Jaipur National University (JNU), Jaipur JRE Group of Institutions (JRE), Greater Noida Lotus Business School, Pune Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar MATS University, Raipur IIKM Business School, Calicut IILM Institute for Higher Education, Delhi For full list, click here: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/colleges-accepting-cat-scores-range-70-to-80-percentile-blogId-11956.

Which MBA colleges are available with 60 percentile in CAT?

There are a number of private MBA colleges that accept CAT score of 60+ percentile for admission. We have listed some of the colleges below: AIMS Institutes (AIMS), Bangalore Amrita School of Business - Bangalore Acharya Bangalore B-School Asian Business School (ABS), Noida Amrita School of Business, Kochi Bengal Institute of Business Studies (BIBS), Kolkata Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Christ Institute of Management, Pune Doon Business School (DBS), Dehradun Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, Kolkata FOSTIIMA Business School, Delhi International Institute of Business Studies, Noida International School of Business and Media (ISB&M) Bangalore International School of Business & Media, Kolkata IIKM Business School, Calicut IILM Institute for Higher Education, Delhi For full list, click here: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/colleges-accepting-cat-scores-range-60-to-70-percentile-blogId-11984.

What is the difference between slot 1, 2 and 3 of CAT exam paper?

There is no difference between slot 1, 2 and 3 of CAT exam paper in terms of structure and patten. The sectional break up, marking scheme and time limit are the same in all slots. However, due to unique sets of questions in each slot leads to difference in difficulty levels. There is usually a slight difference in the CAT question papers of different slots. Sometimes, topic wise weightage of the questions also vary. To negate advantage or disadantage to candidates due to difference in difficulty level of slots, CAT scores are normalised for result preparation.

What was the key change in CAT question paper 2024?

The key change in CAT question paper 2024 was increase in number of questions in DLIR section. Till 2023, the DILR section used to have 20 questions. In 2024, it had 22 questions. The time limit for it was the same and no other section had less questions. Which means, in CAT 2024, candidates had to attempt 68 questions instead of 66 to solve in the same time (120 minutes). DILR sectional time limit was 40 minutes as in previous years. There was no other change in CAT 2024, the difficulty level was same as previous years.

CAT Exam Analysis 2025 (Available): Check Slot 1, 2 & 3 Paper Difficulty Level

12.9K Students Q&A

Updated on Nov 30, 2025 19:54 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

CAT 2025 analysis for Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3 has been shared here. The CAT exam analysis 2025 includes n-depth discussion of difficulty level of the sections, weightage of the topics, test pattern, changes if any, number of good attempts and sectional CAT cut offs. Overall, all three slots of CAT 2025 can be considered easy to moderate in terms of difficulty level. CAT 2025 exam was conducted in 170 cities today. Read CAT analysis 2025 below.

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