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The CAT total marks for 2026 are 204 for all the CAT sections, with a total of 68 questions. The CAT 2026 total marks will be divided into three different sections, which are 24, 22, and 22 across the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA), respectively. The total time duration for the CAT exam is 120 minutes, with 40 minutes for each section. For every correct answer, 3 marks are given. For each wrong answer, 1 mark is deducted as per the CAT negative marking scheme. This year, IIM Kozhikode will conduct the CAT 2026 on November 29, 2026. The result for CAT 2026 is expected to be announced around December 19-20.
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As per the CAT 2026 eligibility criteria, a candidate needs to have at least 50% marks or an equivalent CGPA (45% for reserved category candidates) in the Bachelor’s Degree. Only the candidates with the above-stated marks are eligible to apply for the CAT exam. Apart from these, the marks of the 10th and 12th standards. IIMs and other colleges give weightage to the marks of the 10th and 12th standards for the final selection process.
To calculate your CAT 2026 score or total mark, you must follow the steps given below:
The CAT total marks for cutoff are the marks required for the candidate to apply for different colleges for admission to their MBA/PGDM courses. The CAT total marks for the CAT cutoff depend on certain factors like the CAT difficulty level, the number of appearing candidates, the normalisation process, etc. The expected CAT 2026 total marks for different percentile cutoffs are provided in the table below.
CAT percentile | Score VARC | Score DILR | Score QA | CAT Total Marks |
99.5 | 42 | 30 | 30 | 86 |
99 | 36 | 25 | 25 | 74 |
95 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 52 |
90 | 24 | 14 | 13 | 42 |
80 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 35 |
70 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 30 |
The CAT total marks for the selection process will be released after the 2026 CAT results are declared. The candidates having enough scores will have the CAT total marks for the selection process at IIMs and other top B schools. The CAT total marks for the selection process will be released by different colleges for shortlisting candidates to their respective MBA/PGDM programs. The CAT total marks for the selection process across IIMs and other colleges are given in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT Total Marks 2024 (General category) | CAT Total Marks 2023 |
84.12 | 99.76 | |
--- | 91.97 | |
--- | --- | |
90 | 92.48 | |
90 | 92.92 | |
85 | 88.14 | |
--- | 88.37 | |
99.69 | 94 | |
90 | 88.02 | |
95 | 94.01 | |
94 | --- | |
94 | --- | |
82 | 82.03 | |
--- | 95.85 | |
--- | --- | |
--- | 98.45 | |
80 | --- | |
97 | 96 | |
85 | 91.54 | |
99 | 98 | |
94 | 95 | |
98+ | 97 | |
90+ | 95 | |
99+ | 99 | |
90+ | 98 | |
95+ | 95 | |
95+ | 96 | |
85+ | 90 | |
90+ | 94 | |
95+ | 95 | |
85+ | 90 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The total marks for the Common Admission Test (CAT) exam are 204. The time duration of the CAT exam is 120 minutes (2 hours). The three sections have 24, 22, and 22 questions, respectively. Each question carries three marks. It also has a negative mark, with 1 mark being deducted for every wrong answer.
A good CAT score will depend on the college that a candidate aims for. If the goal is to pursue an MBA from IIMs then a good score would be percentile between 98-99.9. Other than IIMs a percentile between 90-99 would be considered good enough.
A good number of attempts in CAT would be different for each section and would depend on the accuracy with which a candidate attempts each section. With an estimated accuracy of 90% a good number of attempts would be somewhere between 40-55. Difficulty level of the exam should also be considered.
Yes. The CAT exam has negative marking. For every answer marked wrongly by a candidate, 1 mark will be deducted. For every correct answer, 3 marks are awarded. No marks are deducted for questions left unattempted by the candidate.
On Question asked by student community
Hello, for AP NEET PG Category C seats, NRI documents are generally required if you are applying under the NRI quota, and eligibility depends on the applicable counselling rules. The fee payment currency and procedure should be confirmed from the current Dr. NTRUHS notification at its official website drntr.uhsap.in.
Hello, CAT aur B-school entrance exams ke baare mein aap exam dates, eligibility, registration, exam pattern, syllabus, colleges ya admission process ki information dekh sakte hain. Aapki requirement ke according relevant details yahan mil sakti hain: https://bschool.careers360.com/exams
You can download the latest CAT syllabus from here:
Hey there,
For a B.Sc. with Chemistry, Botany and Zoology (CBZ), if the CAT application asks separately for:
If the Discipline dropdown has a more specific option such as “Biological Sciences,” “Life Sciences,” or “Zoology/Botany,”
Hey there,
Yes. With 2 years of work experience, you are eligible to target the regular 2-year MBA at IIM Calcutta as long as you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). Work experience is not required for eligibility.
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