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Top MBA Colleges Without Sectional Cutoff in CAT | List of Top MBA Colleges and B-Schools with No Sectional Cut-offs

FMS DU, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurugram, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras are the best B-schools that don't use sectional cutoffs to choose candidates.

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Preparing for a competitive entrance exam like CAT (Common Admission Test) can be difficult, especially for students who are weak in one section from VARC, DILR or QA. While many top IIMs require a sectional cut-off in each section, some top-ranked B-schools do not set a minimum cutoff for each section. Those MBA colleges focus on the overall percentile of the applicants. 

This article is a complete guide on top MBA colleges with no sectional cutoffs in CAT, and overall CAT percentile cut-offs to secure admission.

Top MBA Colleges with no sectional cutoff

Why do sectional cut-offs matter?

MBA aspirants must know that the CAT exam has three sections with a time limit of 40 minutes for each section. 

  • VARC

  • DILR

  • QA

Many students secure a good CAT score but are unable to qualify the sectional cut offs due to low sectional score in any one section and a higher one in the other two. This is an obstacle for students aiming for the BLACKI IIMs; however, some IITs, IIMs and top-ranked private B -schools do not impose a rigid sectional cut-off. 

Why MBA colleges have 'No sectional cut-off' 

Some top-ranked MBA colleges such as FMS Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, IIM Rohtak and IIT Delhi do not have a sectional cut-off. For MBA admissions, these colleges focus on 

  • Overall Percentile in CAT

  • GD-PI/WAT Performance

  • Work experience

  • Academic Performance

  • Positions of Responsibility 

  • Profile Diversity

  • Achievements

This is because some top B-schools such as IMT Ghaziabad (known for Marketing) or FMS Delhi (known for Finance), do not need sectional scores. Students pursuing marketing may not be 'that good' at QA or those pursuing finance may not be good enough at VARC to meet the strict sectional cut-offs. This way, some colleges relax the sectional cut-offs in CAT, giving students with lower sectional scores an opportunity. 

Tier 1 MBA Colleges accepting CAT without sectional cutoff

Top colleges accepting CAT without sectional cut-offs, are mentioned in the table with the CAT overall cutoff. 

CAT Colleges with no sectional cutoff

CAT 2025 exam cut-off

FMS Delhi

99+

IIT Delhi

98

IIT Roorkee

94

IIT Kharagpur

90-92

IIT Madras

95+

Tier 1.5/2 MBA Colleges with No Sectional Cutoff

This list of B-schools, such as KJ Somaiya Mumbai, GIM Goa, TAPMI, IMT Ghaziabad, popular for MBA in Marketing and other top MBA colleges in India, mentioned in the table, are the ones with no sectional CAT cutoffs. These top b-schools consistently rank among the top B-schools, as they have experienced faculty and focus on the good overall percentile. Many MBA colleges offer excellent placement records. The table mentions the cut-off for IIMs and other best b-schools in India. For CAT aspirants targeting top b-school, these colleges offer the right balance of accessibility and excellence. 

CAT Colleges with no sectional cutoff

CAT 2025 exam cut off

IMT Ghaziabad

90

IMI Delhi

88-90

IIM Rohtak

94+

TAPMI Manipal

88

GIM Goa

86-88

XIM Bhubaneshwar

90+

IRMA

80+

DSE Delhi University

95+

KJ Somaiya

82+

Great Lakes Institute of Management

84+

Wellinkar Mumbai

75-80

LIBA Chennai

80+

The tier 1.5/2 category colleges with no sectional cut off are the right choices as they evaluate students based on overall CAT scores. This way CAT sectional scores are not very important and students with low sectional percentile in DILR or any other section are still eligible for many colleges.

FAQs

The top IITs are IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur. The are the MBA schools with no sectional cut offs.

XIM Bhubaneswar offers an interview call to students who have a CAT score of 91 percentile or more in the CAT exam.

The top MBA colleges with no sectional cut-offs are FMS Delhi and IMT Ghaziabad.