CAT Cutoffs 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 for IIMs and Top MBA Colleges

CAT cut-offs are not announced along with the CAT result. The cut-offs are also not released publicly. They are known after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs will open the shortlist 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 qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 85 percentile for 2023-25 batch. However, the final CAT cut off for IIM Ahmedabad will go up to 99-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off is the minimum score required to be eligible for shortlisting of IIM Ahmedabad PI round. The score on which a candidate is selected is called the final cut off and is much higher than the qualifying cut off. Given below is the qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Ahmedabad: General/EWS: 70 VARC 70 DILR 70 (QA), 80 (Overall) NC-OBC/transgender: 65 VARC 65 DILR 65 (QA), 75 (Overall) SC: 60 VARC 60 DILR 60 (QA), 70 (Overall) ST: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 (QA), 60 (Overall PwD (General/ EWS, NC-OBC/transgender, SC): 60 VARC 60 DILR 60 (QA), 70 (Overall) PwD (ST): 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 (QA), 60 (Overall). .

CAT score is the total marks a candidate receives 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.

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)

Sectional cut-off in the CAT exam refers to the section-wise percentiles required by the candidate to make it to the Personal Interview round of the IIMs or other top MBA colleges. The sectional cut-offs are lower than the overall cut-offs of any institute. To understand better, check the table below for sectional CAT cut-offs for IIM Ahmedabad:

Category	VARC percentile	DILR percentile	QA percentile	Overall percentile
General	70	70	70	80
NC-OBC-Transgender	65	65	65	75
SC	60	60	60	70
ST	50	50	50	60
PwD (General, NC-OBC-cum-transgender, SC)	60	60	60	70
PwD (ST)	50	50	50	60

For sectional cut-offs of all IIMs, check this article – IIM shortlist and selection criteria

CAT score is the total marks a candidate receives 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.

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:

1. IIM Ahmedabad: 85 percentile
2. IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile 
3. IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
4. IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
5. IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
6. IIM Indore: 90 percentile
7. IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
8. IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
9. IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
10. IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
11. IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
12. 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
13. IIM Jammu: 93 percentile 
14. IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
15. IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
16. IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
17. IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
18. IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile 
19. IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
20. 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.

DMS (Department of Management Studies) IIT Madras does not have a specific CAT cut-off for admissions to their MBA programme. The selection process for DMS IIT Madras involves considering the candidate's performance in CAT, followed by a Written Ability Test (What), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI). However, candidates with a percentile of 95 and above in CAT are generally considered highly competitive for admissions to DMS IIT Madras. However, it's important to note that CAT score is not the only factor considered for admissions, and the final selection also depends on the candidate's overall profile, including academic qualifications, work experience, extracurricular activities, and performance in the What, GD, and PI.

The CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow is usually around 97-99 percentile. The two courses - PGP Agri-Business Management (ABM) and PGP Sustainable Management (some) are extremely popular among MBA aspirants who wish to make a career in these areas. The institute also offers PGP programme. The qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 90 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST and PwD candidates, it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow PGP course. General category: 85 VARC 85 DILR 85 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) EWS category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall) ST category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Lucknow admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-lucknow-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-18509.

The Indian Institute of Management Jammu accepts CAT scores for admission to the MBA/PGDM courses. The Institute does not release the final CAT cutoff publicly and only allows access through account login to candidates who appear in the CAT exam. However, candidates seeking admission must aim to secure a cutoff percentile range between 92 and 95 to improve their chances for admission at IIM Jammu. This is for the General AI category students, and the cutoff data varies for different categories. 

The IIM Indore cut off is usually around 95-97 percentile. The overall qualifying CAT cut off percentile for What-PI shortlisting is 90 for General category students. For EWS category too, the minimum qualifying CAT cut off is 90 percentile. However, for NC-OBC candidates the minimum qualifying cut off it is 80 percentile whereas for SC/ST candidates, it is 60 and 45 percentile, respectively. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for Indore PGP course. General category: 80 VARC 80 DILR 80 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 70 VARC 70 DILR 70 Quantitative Aptitude 80 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) ST category: 40 VARC 40 DILR 40 Quantitative Aptitude 45 (Overall) PwD category: 40 VARC 40 DILR 40 Quantitative Aptitude 45 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Indore admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-indore-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-19051.

DTU offers a two-year full-time MBA programme via its own campus, Delhi School of Management (DSM) and University School of Management and Entrepreneurship (USME). Delhi Technological University accepts CAT scores for admission to the MBA course. As per DTU cut off 2024, the overall CAT percentile Cutoff was 85 for the General category student. So, considering the past year cutoff trends, candidates with 93 CAT percentile can easily get admission to MBA course at DTU.  

Candidates can refer to the table given below to check out the past three years DTU CAT percentile for the General category students: 

Section	2022	2023	2024
Overall	85	85	85
Quants	50	50	50
VA-RC	50	50	50
DI-LR	50	50	50

Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad accepts CAT scores for admission to the PGDM courses. As per IMT Gaziabad cutoff 2020 and 2021, the CAT cutoff percentile was 90 for the General All India category students. So, considering the previous years cutoff trend, yes, a candidate can get into IMT Ghaziabad with 90 percentile. 

Talking about IMT Ghaziabad cutoff 2024, it is estimated that CAT cutoff percentile will range between 95 and 97 for the General All India category students. This is the estimated cutoff range, the actual cutoff percentile might vary for IMT Ghaziabad. 

IIM Ranchi final CAT cutoff 2021 was 94 percentile for the General category students. Cosidering the previous year trends, it is estimated that the final CAT cutoff 2024 for IIM Ranchi will be range between 94 and 95 percentile. Apart from IIM Ranchi, candidates can also get admission to IIM Raipur, IIM Trichy and IIM Kashipur, among others with a CAT percentile of 94-95. Refer to the table given below to check out the list of other top B-Schools other than IIMs which provide admission with a final CAT percentile of 95 and above: 

Top MBA College	*CAT Cut Offs (percentile)
SPJIMR, Mumbai	95-99
IMT, Ghaziabad	95-97

*Note: These cut offs are based on previous years' trends.

As per the IIM CAP criteria, the qualifying CAT cut off for the batch of 2023-25 is 93 percentile for the General category students. So students belonging to the General category can not get into IIM Rnachi with 85 percentile. However, other categories student can easily get a call for the Personal Interview (PI) round for IIM Ranchi admission. Final selection, however, is entirely depends on candidates' performance in the PI round. Apart from PI, IIM final selection process also consider other criteria such as Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Comprehension and Verbal Comprehension, among others. 

 

 

IIM Shillong cutoff percentile 2023 will be released after CAT 2023 exam is conducted and the results have been released. Candidates seeking admission to IIM Shillong can check out the minimum CAT cut off for the previous year IIM Shillong admissions in the table below.

Category	VARC percentile	DILR percentile	QA percentile
DA (D)	50	50	50
ST (T)	50	50	50
SC (C )	60	60	60
EWS (E )	75	75	75
Others (General)	75	75	75

The selection process for the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad is highly competitive and rigorous. It typically consists of multiple stages that assess the candidates' academic performance, work experience, aptitude, and communication skills. While the specific process may vary from year to year, here is a general overview of the selection process for IIM Ahmedabad: 1. Eligibility Criteria: Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria set by IIM Ahmedabad, which typically include a minimum academic qualification (usually a bachelor's degree) with a specified minimum percentage or CGPA. Additionally, candidates need to appear for and qualify in the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management. 2. CAT Exam: Candidates are required to take the CAT exam, which assesses their quantitative aptitude, data interpretation, verbal ability, and logical reasoning. The CAT score serves as a crucial component in the selection process. 3. Shortlisting for Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI): Based on the CAT scores, IIM Ahmedabad shortlists candidates for the next stage of the selection process, which typically includes a Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI). The shortlisting criteria may also consider factors such as academic performance, work experience, and diversity. 4. Written Ability Test (WAT): In the Written Ability Test, candidates are given a topic or a case study and are required to write an essay or provide a written response within a given time frame. This stage evaluates candidates' analytical and communication skills. 5. Personal Interview (PI): Shortlisted candidates appear for a Personal Interview, where they are assessed on various parameters such as academic achievements, work experience, general awareness, communication skills, and leadership qualities. The PI panel may include faculty members, industry professionals, and alumni. 6. Final Selection: After considering the CAT score, WAT performance, and PI performance, the final selection is made. The selection criteria may also include factors like academic diversity, work experience, and gender diversity. The weightage assigned to each component may vary each year. It's important to note that the exact selection process and criteria may change from year to year, and IIM Ahmedabad may introduce additional components or variations based on their discretion. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it is recommended to visit the official website of IIM Ahmedabad or refer to the admission notifications and brochures released by the institute for the specific academic year you are interested in.

Great Lakes Institute of Management Gurgaon accepts CAT/ XAT score, followed by Group Discussion and a Personal Interview round for admission to the MBA programme. Great Lakes Gurgaon CAT cutoff 2024 will be released soon after the declaration of CAT 2024 result. Great Lakes Gurgaon CAT cutoff 2022 was 70 percentile for the General All India category students. So, considering the past year cutoff trend, the reauired CAT cutoff percentile will be over and above 70 percetile for the General category candidates. 

Based on the previous year's cutoffs, here is the approximate CAT cut off for the MBA Rural Management and MBA HRM programs at XIMB: - MBA Rural Management: The CAT cut off for the MBA Rural Management programme at XIMB may be around 85 to 90 percentile. - MBA HRM: The CAT cut off for the MBA HRM programme at XIMB may be around 90 to 95 percentile. It is important to note that the cutoff may vary from year to year based on various factors such as the number of seats available, the number of applicants, and the overall performance of the applicants. Additionally, XIMB also considers various other factors such as academic background, work experience, and performance in the selection process including Group Discussion GD and Personal Interview PI before making admission decisions. It is always advisable to check with the college's admission office for the latest and most accurate information on the CAT cutoff for the MBA Rural Management and MBA HRM programs at XIMB.

The CAT cutoff for Fore School of Management, New Delhi for the current year has not been officially announced yet. It is usually announced after the CAT exam results are declared. However, based on the previous years' cutoffs, the expected CAT cutoff percentile for Fore School of Management for its flagship PGDM programme may be around 85-90 percentile. It's important to note that meeting the CAT cutoff percentile is just the first step in the admission process, and Fore School of Management also considers other factors such as academic performance, work experience, and performance in the institutes selection process for final admission. I would advise you to keep an eye on the official website of Fore School of Management for the latest updates on the CAT cutoff and admission process.

CAT score is the total marks a candidate receives 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.

CAT has a total of 66 question. Each section carries 3 marks for correct attempt and -1 marks for incorrect attempt. There is no deduction of marks for unanswered questions. Therefore, the total marks of CAT is 198. Till 2019, the CAT exam used to be of 300 marks as the total number of questions were 100. In CAT 2020, the number of questions was reduced to 76 and the total marks was 228. Since, 2021, the total marks of CAT is 198. Section-wise, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section has maximum weightage. Sectional marking scheme for CAT is given below: 1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: 72 (24x3) 2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: 60 (20x3) 3. Quantitative Aptitude 66 (22x3) Since CAT has sectional negative marking scheme, candidates must choose the questions to solve very carefully. If they are not sure of the correct answer, they should leave the question instead of taking a chance. Remember that 0 is greater than negative.

The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a highly competitive entrance exam for admission to various management programs offered by top business schools in India. The percentile score in CAT exam is based on the relative performance of the test taker compared to all the other test takers.

The cutoff percentile for admission to top business schools varies from year to year and also depends on factors such as the number of candidates, difficulty level of the exam, and the number of available seats. In general, a percentile score of 90 or above is considered a good score and can help you secure admission to some of the top business schools in India. However, to increase your chances of admission to the top-tier business schools, a percentile score of 95 or above is preferred. For IIMs, one needs to definitely have CAT percentile in the range of 97 to 99+ percentile. 

The admission procedure for IIM Shillong MBA 2024 involves two steps. Firstly, candidates with a valid CAT 2023 will be selected for the Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI). Those who score above the minimum cutoffs in both the sectional percentile ranks and the overall percentile rank, with a positive raw score in all sections of CAT 2023, will move on to the next stage. The minimum CAT cutoff percentile ranks for IIM Shillong 2024 are provided in the table below:

Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM) - IIM Shillong : CAT percentile Cutoff (General-All India)
Section	2020	2021	2022
Overall	90	92	92
Quants	70	92	92
VA-RC	70	92	92
DI-LR	70	92	92

Candidates seeking admission to the MBA programme must meet the minimum CAT percentile specified in the cutoff list released by IIM Amritsar. As per the IIM Amritsar cutoff list for admission to the MBA programme, the minimum percentile for overall and section-wise categories in CAT was 95 in the year 2023. So, if trends are to be trusted then the minimum percentile for overall as well as section-wise category in the CAT exam should be near 95. Hence, students are advised to prepare well for the CAT exam. 

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.

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.

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.

The CAT score required for TAPMI varies depending on the category of the candidate. TAPMI CAT cutoff is released for admission to the MBA course at the time of admission. However, based on the previous year's trends, the required CAT cutoff for General category candidates is around 85 percentile. 

Also, the cutoffs for admission to TAPMI may vary for candidates with work experience of more than 20 months. The institute follows a profile-based shortlisting process that considers various factors such as academic performance, work experience, and extracurricular achievements. 

Based on the previous year's cutoffs, here is the approximate CAT cut off for the MBA Rural Management and MBA HRM programs at XIMB: - MBA Rural Management: The CAT cut off for the MBA Rural Management programme at XIMB may be around 85 to 90 percentile. - MBA HRM: The CAT cut off for the MBA HRM programme at XIMB may be around 90 to 95 percentile. It is important to note that the cutoff may vary from year to year based on various factors such as the number of seats available, the number of applicants, and the overall performance of the applicants. Additionally, XIMB also considers various other factors such as academic background, work experience, and performance in the selection process including Group Discussion GD and Personal Interview PI before making admission decisions. It is always advisable to check with the college's admission office for the latest and most accurate information on the CAT cutoff for the MBA Rural Management and MBA HRM programs at XIMB.

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.