CAT

A: Based on analysis of CAT exam pattern for last 10 years, the toughest year of the CAT exam were CAT 2015 by IIM Ahmedabad, CAT 2018 by IIM Calcutta and CAT 2023 by IIM Lucknow.

A: While the minimum IIM Mumbai CAT Cut Off was 80 percentile for general candidates, the actual cut off for General category admission is expected to be 96-97percentile.

A: The expected CAT 2025 cut-off for top IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta and FMS Delhi is around 98-99+ percentile for the General category. Other IIMs and top B-schools like IIFT, MDI and SPJIMR have lower cut-offs in 90-95% range.

Scaled score in CAT is the raw score adjusted through the CAT normalisation process, because each of the three slots has a different question paper. The process uses the mean, standard deviation and top 0.1% scores of each slot, so that scores from different slots can be compared on a common scale. Percentiles are calculated from scaled scores.

A: According to analysis of previous years CAT Marks vs Percentile pattern, 70 marks in CAT exam are equal to about 96-97 percentile.

The most accurate CAT Score vs Percentile predictor in CAT 2025 was IMS, as per MBAUniverse.com’s comparison of reader data points with the actual CAT 2025 scores.

CAT 2026 Score vs Percentile estimates will be released in stages. Coaching institutes share initial estimates on exam day, November 29, 2026. Revised estimates are expected within a day or two of the answer key, which is expected in the first week of December 2026. Actual data will follow the result, expected in the last week of December 2026.

CAT percentile is calculated in six steps. Responses are checked against the answer key, raw scores are calculated (+3 for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong MCQ), raw scores are normalised across slots into scaled scores, the scaled scores are added, candidates are ranked, and percentile is worked out as [(N – r) / N] × 100.

40 marks in CAT was about 81–82 percentile in CAT 2025, as 80 percentile needed 38 marks and 85 percentile needed 44.2 marks. In the easier CAT 2024 paper, 40 marks was about 75 percentile. As per MBAUniverse.com’s CAT Marks vs Percentile 2026 projection, 80 percentile is expected at 38–41 marks, so 40 marks should be close to 80 percentile.

The marks needed for 99 percentile in CAT 2026 are projected at about 85–90, according to MBAUniverse.com analysis. In CAT 2025, 99 percentile needed 84.8 scaled marks, against 95.13 in CAT 2024 and 76.15 in CAT 2023. The final figure will depend on the difficulty level of the CAT 2026 paper on November 29, 2026.