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    CAT 2026 Pass Percentage: What Percentile Is Required for IIMs and Top MBA Colleges?
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    • CAT 2026 Pass Percentage: What Percentile Is Required for IIMs and Top MBA Colleges?

    CAT 2026 Pass Percentage: What Percentile Is Required for IIMs and Top MBA Colleges?

    Himanshu ShekharUpdated on 05 Sep 2026, 09:01 AM IST

    CAT 2026 pass percentage is the minimum percentile a candidate needs to get in the CAT 2026 exam to be eligible to apply to different CAT accepting colleges. The CAT pass percentage is calculated based on the normalized CAT scores. The CAT pass percentage varies for every college. The CAT pass percentage is released in the form of a CAT cutoff by all the participating MBA/ PGDM/ MMS institutes. In this article, learn the college-wise expected CAT pass percentage.

    This Story also Contains

    1. CAT Pass Percentage 2026: Expected
    2. CAT Pass Percentage: Previous Year Trends
    3. CAT Pass Percentage: VARC Scores
    4. CAT Pass Percentage: DILR Scores
    5. CAT Pass Percentage: QA Scores
    6. CAT Pass Percentage for IIMs
    7. CAT Pass Percentage for Non-IIMs
    CAT 2026 Pass Percentage: What Percentile Is Required for IIMs and Top MBA Colleges?
    CAT Pass Percentage

    CAT Pass Percentage 2026: Expected

    The CAT pass percentage will depend on factors like CAT 2026 difficulty, seats offered, the number of candidates appearing, and the normalization effect. Considering all these contributing factors, the expected CAT pass percentage for 2026 for different categories is provided in the table below.

    CAT Pass PercentileVARC ScoreDILR ScoreQA ScoreCAT Total Marks

    99.5

    42

    30

    30

    105-110

    99

    36

    25

    25

    95-100

    95

    30

    20

    22

    70-75

    90

    24

    14

    13

    58-62

    80

    20

    11

    9

    44

    70

    18

    9

    7

    30

    Also see: What is a good CAT score? How to achieve it in CAT exam

    CAT Pass Percentage: Previous Year Trends

    Here are the CAT pass percentage previous year trends to help candidates preparing for the CAT 2026 exam understand the required percentile and target accordingly.

    CAT PercentileCAT Exam 2024CAT Exam 2023CAT Exam 2022CAT Exam 2021CAT Exam 2020
    99.59123101109124130
    99.51048492110115
    9996768498101
    977961728285
    957054627376
    905844496063
    804435364548

    CAT Pass Percentage: VARC Scores

    VARC is one of the important sections of the CAT exam. The candidate must score higher in the VARC section to maximise chances of selection. Here are the CAT pass percentage VARC scores for your reference.

    CAT VARC Percentile CAT VARC Score 2024CAT VARC Score 2023CAT VARC Score 2022
    99.95557.3252.43
    99.5444445.57
    994039.741.77
    973331.4734.18
    953028.6829.12
    902423.3924.06
    8520--
    801817.68-
    751515.27-
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    CAT Pass Percentage: DILR Scores

    DILR previous year scores vs the percentile breakout are given below. Candidates preparing for the CAT exam can check the table for more information.

    CAT DILR PercentileCAT DILR Score 2024CAT DILR Score 2023CAT DILR Score 2022
    99.95042.748.31
    99.54129.7134.37
    993727.39-
    973020.88-
    952719.6-
    902215.6318.56
    851913.01-
    801711.67-
    7514--
    Past 10 years CAT Question Papers with Solutions
    Ace CAT with confidence! Download the Past 10 Years' CAT Question Papers with detailed answers to understand exam trends, improve accuracy, and maximize your percentile.
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    CAT Pass Percentage: QA Scores

    The CAT exam section of QA is considered difficult among the three sections. Candidates appearing for the CAT 2026 exam must check the CAT QA previous-year scores vs the percentile breakout given below for better understanding.

    CAT QA PercentileCAT QA Score 2024CAT QA Score 2023CAT QA Score 2022
    99.945-46.3
    99.536-36.85
    9933-36.07
    9725-26.85
    9522--
    9017--
    8513--
    8011--
    759--
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    CAT Pass Percentage for IIMs

    The pass percentage in the CAT exam for IIMs is expected to be in the range of 97-99.9 CAT percentile. The CAT pass percentage is used by IIMs to shortlist candidates for the next selection rounds. The CAT pass percentage 2023, the CAT 2022 pass percentage, and the CAT pass percentile 2021 are given in the table below.

    List of IIMsExpected CAT Pass PercentageCAT Pass Percentage 2023CAT Pass Percentage 2022
    CAT Pass Percentage 2021

    IIM Ahmedabad

    99-100

    99.68

    99-100

    99-100

    IIM Bangalore

    99-100

    99.89

    99-100

    99-100

    IIM Calcutta

    99

    99.71

    99

    99

    IIM Lucknow

    97+

    98

    97-98

    97-98

    IIM Indore

    97+

    98

    97-98

    97-98

    IIM Kozhikode

    97-98

    98

    97-98

    97-98

    IIM Amritsar

    95+

    96

    95-96

    95-96

    IIM Nagpur

    95+

    96

    95-96

    95-96

    IIM Sambalpur

    95+

    96

    95-96

    95-96

    IIM Trichy

    94

    95

    94-95

    94-95

    IIM Raipur

    94

    95

    94-95

    94-95

    IIM Ranchi

    94

    95

    94-95

    94-95

    IIM Vizag

    94

    95

    92-94

    92-94

    IIM Udaipur

    92

    93

    92-94

    92-94

    IIM Bodh Gaya

    92

    93

    92

    92

    IIM Shillong

    92

    93

    90

    90

    IIM Sirmaur

    90

    92

    92

    92

    IIM Rohtak

    95

    96

    92-94

    93-94

    IIM Mumbai

    95

    96

    90

    91-92

    CAT Pass Percentage for Non-IIMs

    CAT scores are accepted nationwide by colleges other than IIMs for admission to their MBA/PGDM programs. The non-IIMs CAT pass percentage for 2023, the CAT pass percentage 2022, the CAT 2021 pass percentage, and the CAT pass percentage 2020 are given in the table below.

    CAT Accepting CollegesExpected CAT Pass Percentage
    CAT Pass Percentage 2023
    CAT Pass Percentage 2022
    CAT Pass Percentage 2021
    CAT Pass Percentage 2020

    FMS

    99

    98.2

    97-99

    98-99

    97-99

    BITSOM

    94

    95

    90

    85

    85

    DMS, IIT Delhi

    98+

    97

    97+

    98

    98+

    Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) Chennai

    90+

    95

    90

    70

    90

    SJMSOM, IIT Bombay

    99+

    99

    99

    99+

    99

    Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad

    90+

    98

    95-99

    95-97

    95-99

    MDI Gurgaon

    95+

    95

    94+

    97+

    95+

    National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai

    95+

    96

    95

    97

    95

    SPJIMR

    85+

    90

    95-99

    95-99

    95-99

    XIMB

    90+

    94

    91

    91


    Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras

    95+

    95

    90

    85.11

    85.11

    T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) Manipal

    85+

    90

    85

    80

    80

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: What is the qualifying score for CAT?
    A:

    The qualifying score for the CAT exam varies from one institute to another. The qualifying CAT cut off required for the top MBA colleges in India is 90 to 99 percentile.

    Q: What is the pass percentage for the CAT exam?
    A:

    The CAT pass percentage generally ranges from 90-99 percentile for most of the good B schools. For getting into IIMs the required CAT pass percentage is usually between 97-99.9 percentile. IIMs also have sectional CAT pass percentage criteria for selection.

    Q: What is the percentage for clearing the CAT exam?
    A:

    There is no specified percentage required for clearing the CAT exam. The IIMs and other B schools accepting CAT scores for admission to their MBA/PGDM programs have their own respective CAT pass percentage for shortlisting applicants.

    Q: What is a good CAT score?
    A:

    A good CAT score will differ from college to college. If a candidate aims for IIMs a good CAT score would be 97-99.9 percentile for normalized CAT scores. For colleges other than IIMs any CAT score above 90 percentile will be considered as a good score.

    Q: Which IIM is easiest to get into?
    A:

    IIM with lower CAT pass percentage are easy to get into. IIMs such as IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Amritsar, IIM Shillong, and IIM Nagpur are much easier to get into if the CAT scores are low and the overall is not strong enough for top IIMs.

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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!