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    96 Percentile in CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks? Expected Score, Slot-Wise Analysis
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    • 96 Percentile in CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks? Expected Score, Slot-Wise Analysis

    96 Percentile in CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks? Expected Score, Slot-Wise Analysis

    Suvam MaitiUpdated on 02 Sep 2026, 05:48 PM IST

    For candidates who are going to write the CAT 2026 exam, the first question that arises is what the CAT scores will be for the 96 percentile. The question that arises in the mind of the candidate is how many marks one needs to score in the CAT to get the 96 percentile. This article will lead to calculating the possible score after completing the CAT exam. This year, the CAT 2026 will take place on November 29, 2026. Read this article to learn what the 96 percentile in CAT 2026 means and how many marks it is.
    Also Read: CAT Colleges Rank-Wise: Top B-Schools Accepting CAT Scores

    This Story also Contains

    1. 96 Percentile In CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks (Expected)
    2. CAT 2026 Marks for 96 percentile for Slot 1 (Expected)
    3. CAT 2026 Marks for 96 percentile for Slot 2 (Expected)
    4. Comparison Between CAT 2026 vs CAT 2025 vs CAT 2024 vs CAT 2023
    5. CAT 2026 Section and the Marks Division
    96 Percentile in CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks? Expected Score, Slot-Wise Analysis
    96 percentile in CAT 2026 means how many marks

    96 Percentile In CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks (Expected)

    If you scored 96 percentile in CAT 2026, you might be wondering how many marks this corresponds to. The CAT percentile indicates your performance compared to other test takers, but the exact scores vary each year depending on the difficulty level and the overall performance of the candidates.

    The CAT question paper will have a total of 68 questions, for a total score of 204. The VARC section has 24 questions, and the LRDI and QA sections have 22 questions each. CAT 2026 is scheduled for November 29, 2026, so before the exam and result there cannot be an actual CAT 2026 marks versus percentile table.

    96 Percentile In CAT 2026

    Expected Marks for 96 Percentile in CAT 2026

    96.9%

    69.8+

    96.8

    69.3+

    96.7

    68.8+

    96.6

    68.4+

    96.5

    68+

    96.4

    67.7+

    96.3

    67.3+

    96.2

    67+

    96.1

    66.7+

    96

    66.3+

    Suggested - CAT Cut Off 2026 for EWS Category: IIMs & Top MBA Colleges Cutoff

    CAT 2026 Marks for 96 percentile for Slot 1 (Expected)

    Let us look at the section-wise marks and the probable percentile for that. These would be crucial for candidates to understand how many CAT marks for the 96 percentile will be required in expected CAT 2026 Slot 1 Score Range.

    CAT 2026 Percentile

    CAT VARC Score

    CAT LRDI Score

    CAT QA Score

    Overall CAT Score

    99

    39-40

    31-32

    30-31

    90

    95

    31-32

    24-25

    23–24

    66

    90

    25-26

    19-21

    17-18

    56-57

    85

    22-23

    16-18

    14-15

    45-46

    80

    20-21

    13-14

    12-13

    40-41

    70

    16-17

    11-12

    10-11

    35-36

    Data by Careers360

    Also Read: CAT Colleges Rank-Wise: Top B-Schools Accepting CAT Scores

    CAT 2026 Marks for 96 percentile for Slot 2 (Expected)

    Let us look at the section-wise marks and the probable percentile for that. These would be crucial for candidates to understand how many CAT marks for the 96 percentile are needed in the CAT 2026 Slot 2.

    CAT Percentile

    CAT VARC Score

    CAT LRDI

    CAT QA Score

    Overall CAT Score

    99

    41-42

    27-28

    28-29

    87

    95

    33-34

    22-23

    22-23

    63

    90

    26-27

    18-19

    16-17

    55-56

    85

    23-24

    15-17

    13-14

    44-45

    80

    21-22

    12-14

    11-12

    39-40

    70

    17-18

    11-12

    10-11

    35-36

    Data by Careers360

    CAT Percentile

    CAT VARC Score

    CAT LRDI

    CAT QA Score

    Overall CAT Score

    99

    39-40

    32

    33-35

    90

    95

    31

    24

    24

    72

    90

    26

    19-20

    21-22

    60

    New: CAT Marks for 99 Percentile: How Many Marks Should I Score in CAT to Get 99 Percentile?

    Comparison Between CAT 2026 vs CAT 2025 vs CAT 2024 vs CAT 2023

    One of the best ways to get an idea of how the CAT marks for the 96 percentile have differed over the years is to look at the scaled marks for the past year along with the scaled score of CAT 2026. This will also help the candidate to understand the difficulty level of the CAT 2026 compared to previous years.

    CAT Percentile

    Scaled Score 2023

    Scaled Score 2024

    Scaled Score 2025

    Scaled Score 2026

    100 CAT Percentile

    145.83

    138.59

    -

    To be Announced

    99.95 CAT Percentile

    115

    106.95

    112+

    To be Announced

    99.90 CAT Percentile

    109.9

    101.43

    102-104

    To be Announced

    99.50 - CAT Percentile

    92.87

    84.29

    88-90

    To be Announced

    99 CAT Percentile

    83.64

    76.02

    76-78

    To be Announced

    98 CAT Percentile

    73.88

    68.68

    -

    To be Announced

    97 CAT Percentile

    --65-67

    To be Announced

    96.6 CAT Percentile

    65.40

    59.99

    -

    To be Announced

    95.5 CAT Percentile

    59.75

    56.41

    -

    To be Announced

    95 CAT Percentile

    --54-56

    To be Announced

    93 CAT Percentile

    53

    52.35

    -

    To be Announced

    90 CAT Percentile

    48.44

    45.16

    44-45

    To be Announced

    85 CAT Percentile

    41.32

    42.29

    38-40

    To be Announced

    80 CAT Percentile

    36.02

    41.19

    34-35

    To be Announced

    70 CAT Percentile

    28.5-29

    38.94

    29-30

    To be Announced

    CAT 2026 Section and the Marks Division

    There are three sections in the CAT 2026 examination: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). 68 questions will be divided into these three sections, each correct answer carrying 3 marks with them. The candidate would get 40 minutes for each of the sections. Each section would contain several non-MCQ questions along with primarily MCQ questions.

    Section

    Number of Questions

    Time Allotted
    (minutes)

    Marks (+3 for every correct answer and -1 for every wrong answer)

    Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

    24

    40

    72

    Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (LRDI )

    22

    40

    66

    Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

    22

    40

    66

    Total

    68

    120

    204

    Read Also: CAT Score Calculator: Estimate Your Raw and Scaled Scores Instantly

    To understand how many marks one should score in CAT 2026 to get the 99 percentile, one needs to understand how the raw score is calculated. The RAW CAT score is determined according to the following process:

    • Raw Score = 3 * (number of correct answers given by the candidate) - 1 * (number of wrong answers given by the candidate)
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    Example: Let us assume that one of the applicants has attempted 58 questions out of 68 questions. Out of these, they have answered 48 correctly. Out of 10 wrong answers, 8 wrong answers are from MCQ, and 2 are from non-MCQ, so the RAW CAT Score would be

    • Attempted - 58
    • Correct- 48
    • MCQ incorrect- 8
    • Non-MCQ Incorrect 2
    • Total = (48*3)- (8*1) = 136
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    96 Percentile in CAT 2026 Means How Many Marks: How Percentile is Calculated

    Moreover, being a competitive exam, the CAT also provides the percentile apart from the RAW CAT score. Percentile shows how one candidate has scored better than other candidates. For instance, last year 76.02 marks fetched one a percentile of 99, which in turn implies that one candidate has scored better than 99% of the appearing candidates. To calculate the percentile of a candidate, the following process is taken:

    Percentile = [1-{One’s CAT Rank / Number of Candidates appeared for the test}] * 100

    CAT Percentile Predictor can be a handy tool for the applicants to get a glimpse of what they can expect as a percentile. They need to calculate the RAW score and then put it in the calculator tool mentioned above to get a sneak peek at the expected percentile.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: What is the score for the 96 percentile in CAT?
    A:

    The scaled score for 96 percentile is expected to be in the range of 59 to 65 for the CAT 2026 exam. 

    Q: What is the weightage of each section in CAT?
    A:

    The CAT 2026 exam has three sections. The CAT VARC section will include 24 questions with a weightage of 72 marks. These will be followed by the DILR section and QA section. The DILR and QA sections comprise 22 and 22 questions, respectively, and they contain 66 marks each.

    Q: What is the difficulty level of CAT 2026?
    A:

    The difficulty level of CAT 2026 is expected to be moderate to hard, looking into the past trends. However, with the proper preparation, the candidates will be able to clear it.

    Q: What is my expected CAT percentile?
    A:

    Applicants can try the Careers360 Percentile to know their CAT percentile. Upon putting the CAT Raw score in the predictor tool.

    Q: What is considered a good CAT score?
    A:

    Looking at the past trends, scoring 120 will gain the candidate's 90 percentile. However, this score can vary according to the difficulty level of the examination each year.

    Q: How to calculate the CAT RAW score?
    A:

    To calculate the the CAT Raw Score one need to follow these steps

    Raw Score = 3 * (number of correct answers given by the candidate) - 1 * ( number of wrong answers given by the candidate) 

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    Questions related to CAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CAT ?

    Hey there,

    For NIT Hamirpur MBA, the General-category CAT cutoff is not a fixed official percentile. NIT Hamirpur's 2026–27 admission process gives CAT a 10/10 weightage in the test component, followed by an interview; it accepts CAT, CMAT and MAT.

    As a practical target, 80+ percentile is worth considering, while

    Hello Student,

    Your question is incomplete because the name of the app or platform is not mentioned.

    Please tell me which CAT online batch or app you are referring to. Then I can tell you whether the classes are conducted through the app, website, or both.

    Best Wishes for your

    If by B-category you mean management/private quota MBBS seats, the cutoff is very different from government-quota MBBS.

    In Tamil Nadu, management-quota MBBS seats are available in self-financing/private medical colleges through the state counselling process. The closing rank varies significantly between colleges and counselling rounds. The 2025 counselling data shows that

    Hello Student,

    With a CAT 2025 percentile of 98.25, you have a good chance of receiving calls from several IIMs, particularly newer IIMs. However, IIM Ahmedabad , Bangalore , Calcutta , and Lucknow generally require higher percentiles for General-category candidates. Calls also depend on sectional percentiles, academics, work experience, and

    Hello Aspirant,

    Yes, you can access CAT preparation resources, including mock tests, practice questions, previous-year papers, and study material. Explore the CAT preparation resources and test series using the link below:

    https://www.careers360.com/mba/download/ebooks-and-sample-papers?exam=45

    Hope this Helps!