CAT 2026 Cut Off for IIMs and Top Colleges

CAT Cutoff 2026
CAT - All You Need to Know

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer-based test conducted annually by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission to their MBA programs and other management courses.

Key CAT Information

Important details about CAT 2026:

  • Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Sections: Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability
  • Total Questions: 66 questions (22 per section)
  • Marking Scheme: +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect answers
CAT Cutoffs 2026

CAT cutoffs vary across different IIMs and categories. Here are the expected cutoffs for CAT 2026:

Top IIM Cutoffs (General Category)

IIM Expected Cutoff
IIM Ahmedabad 99.5+ percentile
IIM Bangalore 99+ percentile
IIM Calcutta 99+ percentile
IIM Lucknow 97+ percentile
IIM Kozhikode 96+ percentile

Category-wise Cutoffs

General 90+ percentile
OBC-NCL 82+ percentile
SC 65+ percentile
ST 55+ percentile
PwD 50+ percentile
CAT Marks vs Percentile Analysis

Understanding the relationship between raw scores and percentiles is crucial for CAT preparation:

Expected Marks vs Percentile

Percentile Range Expected Marks Performance Level
99+ percentile 160+ marks Excellent
95-99 percentile 130-160 marks Very Good
90-95 percentile 110-130 marks Good
80-90 percentile 90-110 marks Average
Below 80 percentile Below 90 marks Needs Improvement
Sectional Cutoff

Sectional cutoffs for top 7 IIMs - candidates must clear these minimum percentiles in each section:

IIM VARC DILR QA Overall
IIM Ahmedabad 70 70 70 80
IIM Bangalore 80 75 75 85
IIM Calcutta 80 80 80 85
IIM Lucknow 85 85 85 90
IIM Kozhikode 85 85 85 90
IIM Indore 85 85 85 90
IIM Shillong 75 75 75 85

Important Notes:

  • • VARC = Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
  • • DILR = Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
  • • QA = Quantitative Ability
  • • All percentiles shown are for General category candidates
  • • Reserved category candidates have lower sectional cutoffs
Factors Affecting Cutoffs

Several factors influence CAT cutoffs each year:

Number of Test Takers

Higher number of candidates generally leads to higher cutoffs due to increased competition.

Difficulty Level

Easier papers result in higher cutoffs, while difficult papers lead to lower cutoffs.

Number of Seats

Available seats in each IIM directly impact the cutoff requirements.

Previous Year Trends

Historical cutoff patterns influence current year expectations and preparations.

Reservation Policy

Category-wise reservations create different cutoff levels for different groups.

Overall Performance

The general performance level of all candidates affects percentile calculations.

FAQs on CAT Cutoffs

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