The CAT 2026 cutoff for the general category is higher than the other reserved category candidates. IIMs and non-IIMs will release the CAT 2026 general-category cutoff for MBA admissions 2027-29 after the CAT 2026 results. The general category does not get any reservations in the seats for IIMs as well as non-IIMs. The collective seats for MBA/PGDM courses that the IIMs offer are close to 5500. The CAT percentile range required by IIMs for general-category candidates is between 95 and 99.9. Check out the expected CAT 2026 cutoff for the general category along with past years' data for comparison and estimation.
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The CAT cutoff for the general category for IIMs will depend on the CAT 2026 difficulty level, the number of appearing candidates, seats offered, and the normalisation process. The expected CAT cutoff for general category candidates for IIMs and non-IIMs is mentioned in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT 2026 cutoff for General category (Expected) |
90-95 | |
91-96 | |
- | |
91-93 | |
92 | |
88-92 | |
88-90 | |
92-95 | |
80-82 | |
94-96 | |
- | |
- | |
82 | |
95 | |
- | |
95-98 | |
90-95 | |
95-97 | |
- | |
98.20 | |
94 | |
98+ | |
90+ | |
99+ | |
90+ | |
95+ | |
95+ | |
85+ | |
90+ | |
96 | |
85+ |
The trends have remained unchanged when it comes to the CAT exam cutoff for the general category. The previous year's minimum IIM general cutoff and general cutoff for non-IIMs accepting CAT 2026 scores are listed in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT cutoff for General Category 2024 | CAT cutoff for General Category 2023 | |
90.98 | 93.76 | ||
95.45 | 91.97 | ||
- | - | ||
| Non-Pwd | 91.02 | 92.48 | |
| PwD | 60.16 | ||
92.43 | 92.92 | ||
91.03 | 88.14 | ||
- | 88.37 | ||
- | 94 | ||
85.01 | 80.02 | ||
95.01 (non-DAP) | 94.01 | ||
- | - | ||
- | - | ||
82.03 | 82.03 | ||
95.26 | 95.85 | ||
- | - | ||
| IIM Kashipur | 95.09 | 94 | |
- | 98.45 | ||
| Non-PwD | 95 | 90 | |
| PwD | 43.29 | ||
97 | 96 | ||
| IIM Jammu | 90.06 | 89.01 | |
97.04 | - | ||
98 | 98-99 | ||
85 | 85+ | ||
90 | 90 | ||
80 | 80-85 | ||
90 | 90+ | ||
90 | 90 | ||
94+ | 95+ | ||
85+ | 85+ | ||
85 | 92 | ||
81-86 | 80+ | ||
90 | 85+ | ||
85 | 85 | ||
After the candidate has met the IIM CAT cutoff, the following are the next steps that they will need to follow:
CAT cut-offs hold significant importance for all MBA aspirants as they represent the minimum percentile score the candidates need to have to become eligible for further stages of the admission process at various MBA colleges.
The CAT 2026 cut-offs will act as eligibility criteria and will determine whether an applicant's CAT performance is sufficient for a particular business school to consider their candidature for selection rounds, such as Group Discussion and Personal Interview.
Furthermore, CAT cut-offs will indicate the competition level for admission to specific MBA programs; higher cut-offs will lead to greater applicant volume and a more competitive environment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The CAT 2026 exam is expected to be moderate to tough, as per previous trends.
The CAT cutoff for non-IIM colleges offering MBA/PGDM programs ranges mostly from 80 to 90 percentile. Few of the non-IIM institutes like the FMS, Delhi are expected to have a CAT 2026 General category cutoff close to the 98 percentile.
The CAT cutoff for IIT Bombay for candidates belonging to the General category will likely be around 90 percentile, and for SC/ST/PwD category, the CAT cutoff is expected to be 60 percentile.
The lowest IIM cutoff for the General category comes to 90 percentile. A few IIMs like IIM Bodh Gaya, and IIM Nagpur can be aimed for this percentile. The IIM cutoff for the General category for most of the IIMs remains between 95-100 percentile.
For a General category candidate the IIMs close their applications at a minimum CAT percentile of 90. With a CAT percentile of 85 candidates from the General category can target non-IIM colleges with good ratings.
For IIM admission the CAT percentile required for the General category is between 90-100. At the upper band of 99-100 CAT percentile the IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Bangalore can be targeted. For the lower band 90-95 of CAT percentile IIMs like IIM Trichy, IIM Raipur, and IIM Ranchi can be aimed for.
On Question asked by student community
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