CMAT Cut Off 2026 (Expected 95 to 99): Check 2025 Cutoff for Top MBA Colleges

CMAT cutoff refers to minimum percentile required for admission to a particular college. Score accepting colleges determine the cut offs individually based on certain parameters. CMAT cut offs for top colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, PUMBA are generally 99 percentile and above.

The minimum academic criteria for MBA admission through CMAT is minimum 50% in graduation for General category students and minimum 45% for SC/ST/PwD category students. Even though this eligibility criteria is not mandatory for CMAT, it is the basic requirement for full time MBA as per the AICTE regulations.

After CMAT result has been declared, colleges accepting the exam score for MBA/PGDM admission will start the selection process. CMAT qualifying students will be required to fill the application forms of their target MBA colleges for admission. Colleges will select students on the basis of CMAT cut offs, and then will conduct GD/PI round for final selection. 

Meeting CMAT cut off is the first stage of MBA admission. Candidates need to clear the Personal Interview/Group Discussion/Written Ability Test round too. Some institutes conduct only Personal Interview, some conduct Personal Interview/Group Discussion and some conduct all three, Personal Interview/Group Discussion/Written Ability Test. Apart from that, candidates must also meet the academic criteria for selection.

It is quite unlikely that you can get admission if you do not meet the academic eligibility criteria for MBA. The basic criteria of selection are CMAT score and academic score. As per the AICTE, the minimum score required in graduation to qualify for MBA programme is 50 % (for SC/ST/PwD category, the minimum score requirement is 45%. So, MBA aspirants must ensure that they have scored at least 50 percent in their Bachelor's degree programme.

If you score between 80 to 85 percentile CMAT you need not worry about admission. There are a large number of MBA colleges that accept candidates with CMAT score in the range of 80 to 85 percentile. A number of government as well as private institutes with good infrastructure and placements are within your reach. Some of those popular colleges include, Welingkar Institute of Management-Mumbai, Welingkar Institute of Management-Bangalore, Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management, IFIM-Bangalore, IFMR- Chennai, NIBM-Pune, NL Dalmiya Institute of Management, IMT Hyderabad, IMT Nagpur, XISS Ranchi, ITM Navi Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, Xavier Business School-Xavier University, Great Lakes Institute of Management-Gurgaon, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, XIME-Bangalore, ISBM-Pune, Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow, KIIT School of Management, IPE Hyderabad, SIES College of Management Studies-Navi Mumbai and Chetana Institute of Management and Research-Mumbai among others.

Candidates with CMAT score of 65-75 percentile, must not feel bad about their comparatively low score. There are number of good MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT scores in this range for their postgraduate management courses. Some of the college that accept CMAT score of 65-75 percentile include, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, BIT-Mesra, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, Calcutta Business School, New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) New Delhi, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) Chennai, IES Management College And Research Centre, Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, FIIB Delhi: Fortune Institute of International Business, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII Ahmedabad), VESIM Mumbai, Durgadevi Saraf Institute of Management Studies, Delhi School of Business, EMPI Business School New Delhi, Jaypee Business School (JBS) Noida, International Institute of Management Studies (IIMS) Pune among others.

Since CMAT is usually conducted in two shifts, there are chances of the question paper of one shift being slightly tougher or easier in comparison to the question paper of other shift. In order to negate the possibility of any candidate having an advantage or disadvantage due to this, the exam authorities normalise the CMAT scores before percentile calculation. Once that is done, the authorities use the normalised score for percentile score calculation. CMAT percentile is basically a rank of a candidate vs the total number of candidates who appeared in the exam. Given below is the formula for calculating CMAT percentile prescribed by NTA: Formula to Calculate CMAT Percentile: If 10,000 candidates appeared in CMAT and only 1 candidate scored the highest marks (365/400). Since they have scored the highest in exam, their rank will be 1 and CMAT percentile score will be: 100 x 9999/10,000= 99.99.

MAT and CMAT both are moderately difficulty exam, but have their own challenges. While, CMAT has one extra section Innovation and Entrepreneurship, MAT has a separate section for Data Interpretation having 30 questions. With focused preparation, you can crack either of the two that you choose.

For admission to MBA/MMS courses offered by State affiliated universities, Maharashtra State CET cell accepts CAT/MAT/CMAT/XAT/GMAT/ATMA scores too for All India category candidates. If you wish to participate in the MAH MBA CAP round through your CMAT score, you can fill the CAP registration form and participate in seat allotment rounds. The MAH MBA CAP is conducted in June-September every year, after the announcement of MAH MBA CET result.

CMAT score is not accepted by the IIMs. These institutes accept only CAT score for their management programmes. CMAT is accepted by over 1300 MBA colleges in India which belong to mostly Tier 2 and Tier 3 status. You can seek admission with CMAT score to all AICTE approved institutions – private, government and government aided.

It is not tough to score 99 percentile in CMAT but it is not a cake walk either. One need to study for the exam in a focused and time bound manner. It is speed based test in which time management is the key. One needs to also achieve maximum accuracy in solving CMAT questions to be able to aim for 99 percentile. Moreover, there is negative marking in CMAT, so one needs to be extremely careful in choosing questions in the exam.

CAT cut offs hare higher than CMAT cut offs, due to various factors such as number of applicants, exam difficulty level, ranking of institutions, etc. CAT is conducted by IIM and is the toughest MBA entrance exam in India. Nearly 3 Lakh candidates appear for CAT exam and scores are accepted by some of the top ranking institutes. To select best of the best candidates CAT cut offs of IIMs and top colleges are very high. CMAT on the other hand is a moderate difficulty level exam and nearly 75000 candidates appear for it. It is accepted mostly by Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges.