CAT Score vs Percentile 2025: Section-Wise Breakup, Normalisation & Top Scores
How Does the CAT Score Differ from the Percentile?
Your CAT score is the sum of marks you earn in the test. Your percentile informs you about how well you did in relation to other examinees. For instance, if you're in the 90th percentile it means you have performed better than 90% of the test-takers.
CAT 2024: Estimated Overall Score vs Percentile
Section-Wise CAT 2024 Score vs Percentile
Score vs Percentile: Section of VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)
Score vs Percentile: Section of DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning)
Score vs Percentile: Section of QA (Quantitative Aptitude)
CAT Marking Scheme (How Your Score is Calculated)
Each correct answer = +3 marks
Each incorrect MCQ = -1 mark
No negative marking for TITA (Type In The Answer) questions.
Total number of questions in CAT = 66
Breakdown:
VARC: 24 Questions
DILR: 22 Questions
QA: 22 Questions
CAT 2025: Score Normalisation and Percentile Calculation
The Common Admission Test (CAT) held in various time slots has a normalisation technique to maintain uniformity among all sessions. As every slot's difficulty level would not be the same the candidate’s scores are accordingly adjusted. If one slot proves to be easier compared to other slots, marks would be reduced marginally. However, if the slot proves to be more difficult a few extra marks would be provided to candidates.
This procedure aids in the preservation of fairness for test takers from various exam slots. For example, in CAT 2023 candidates who wrote an easier third slot 4 marks will be deducted from their raw scores whereas those who wrote the tougher first slot got an addition of 3 marks while doing normalisation.
How Do They Determine CAT Raw Scores?
The amount of right and wrong answers determines the raw CAT score. A correct response earns +3 marks whereas an incorrect multiple-choice response attracts a -1 mark. Non-MCQ (TITA) questions are not penalised.
As different slots contain different question sets, the normalised score provides a better balanced and fair assessment of the performance of a candidate.
What Is the Significance of the CAT Percentile?
CAT is a relative performance test and hence candidates are rated in relation to others. There is no pass or fail. Percentile represents the proportion of candidates who scored below a specific candidate. For instance, 76.02 marks in CAT 2023 translated to a 99th percentile and that means that the candidate performed better than 99% of all the test takers.
The formula for calculating a percentile is:
P = [1 – (r/N)] × 100
Where:
P = Percentile
r = Rank of the candidate
N = Total number of candidates who sat for the exam
CAT Percentiles are utilised by the leading MBA colleges for shortlisting candidates for the next round of the admission process. Final percentiles are rounded to two decimal places and carry immense importance while deciding a candidate's chances of admission.
What Qualifies as a Good CAT Score?
A "good" CAT score varies based on which MBA colleges you are aiming for. But:
Above 90 percentile is good for opening of doors.
For premier IIMs, you must target 99+ percentile.
In order to achieve 99 percentile, get at least 80–83 marks in total.
How Many Questions Should I Try?
Below given is the table that informs how many questions one should attempt with 85-90% accuracy.
CAT 2024 Top Percentile Achievers (Gender, Discipline & State-wise)
100 Percentile
99.99 Percentile
99.98 Percentile
CAT Percentile 2024 for Top B-schools in India
The CAT Percentile 2024 required to get into India's leading B-schools is given. The elite schools IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta need a percentile of 99 or above. Other leading schools like IIM Kozhikode, IIT Delhi, SPJIMR and MDI Gurgaon have cut-offs between 95 and 97+ percentile.
These cut-offs guide aspirants as to what score they should aim for in order to get a seat in their preferred MBA college. Here is a glimpse of the CAT 2024 percentile cut-offs for India's premier management institutions.
Final Thoughts
To get into a premier B-school, the candidates have to make a well-planned strategy, prepare for months together and practice regularly. Knowing how CAT scores and percentiles are related allows the candidates to set achievable goals and tackle the test in a smart way. Emphasis on accuracy, attempting enough questions and consistency of attempts in all three sections will contribute a lot towards improving performance. Even though the raw score might look low, an excellent relative performance against the other candidates coupled with the process of normalising scores can result in a high percentile and increase selection chances.
FAQs
As CAT is taken in different slots with different levels of difficulty the process of normalisation maintains fairness. Scores are adjusted through normalisation for any variation in difficulty between exam sessions.
Yes. Because of the relative grading and normalisation a candidate with a lower mark can get a high percentile if the paper was tougher or if the performance is superior to most of the other candidates.
No, CAT is not a pass/fail type of test. It is a percentile test in which your score is compared to the performance of other candidates.
Yes. CAT reports section-wise percentiles along with the overall percentile. B-schools take both of them into consideration while shortlisting candidates.
Yes, candidates can download their scorecard after the declaration of the result by logging on to the official CAT website using their user ID and password.
The formula is Percentile (P) = [1 – (r/N)] * 100 Where: r = rank of the candidate N = number of candidates who sat for CAT
