CAT 2026 Cutoff: IIM Percentile, Sectional and Category wise

CAT 2026 cutoff is not one number. Each of the 22 IIMs and over 1,200 other B-schools sets its own qualifying percentile, its own sectional cutoff across VARC, DILR and QA, and its own shortlisting threshold independently. The exam is scheduled for 29 November 2026, with registration expected to open in August on iimcat.ac.in. No centralized counselling exists for CAT admission; every IIM conducts its own WAT and PI process after the result. This page covers what percentile each tier of IIM is expected to need, how sectional cutoffs work, and what the 2025 numbers looked like.

CAT 2026 Cutoff Highlights: Exam Date, Pattern and Timeline

CAT 2026 is still more than four months away, so every cutoff figure on this page is an estimate built from previous cycles. The table below puts the confirmed dates and expected milestones together so the percentile numbers further down have a clear context around them.

How CAT Cutoff Works: Qualifying, Sectional and Shortlisting Percentile

Most entrance exams publish one pass mark and one admission cutoff. CAT uses three separate layers, and a candidate can clear one layer while failing another. Getting the difference straight now saves confusion once the result is out in December 2026.

• A candidate scoring a 99.5 aggregate percentile but falling below the sectional cutoff in DILR at IIM Ahmedabad will not receive a call from that IIM, even though the aggregate number is strong.
• The qualifying percentile is much lower than the shortlisting percentile. IIM Bangalore's qualifying floor for General is 85 percentile, but the actual shortlisting call goes to candidates at 99 percentile and above.
• The shortlisting percentile is not the final admission cutoff either. After the WAT and PI round, IIMs calculate a composite score that includes CAT percentile, Class 10 and 12 marks, graduation marks, work experience, and diversity factors.

CAT 2026 Expected Cutoff: IIM wise Qualifying Percentile for General Category

CAT 2026 has not been held yet, so every figure below is an estimate built from the 2024 and 2025 cycles. Once IIMs publish their 2026 admission criteria after the result in late December, confirmed numbers will replace this table.

IIM Ahmedabad increased its qualifying floor from 80 to 95 percentile for the 2026-28 batch, a 15 percentile jump from the previous cycle. This single change is the biggest shift in recent CAT cutoff history and is worth watching for whether other IIMs follow in 2026.

CAT Cutoff Category wise: General, OBC, EWS, SC, ST and PwD Percentile

Reserved category candidates face a lower CAT qualifying percentile at every IIM, but the gap between the qualifying floor and the actual shortlisting call is just as wide as it is for General candidates. The table below shows the typical range across IIMs for CAT 2026, based on 2025 data.

CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff: VARC, DILR and QA Minimum Percentile

Sectional cutoffs are the part of the CAT cutoff system that eliminates candidates who are strong in two sections but weak in a third. Each IIM sets its own minimum for each of the three sections, and missing even one section's floor disqualifies a candidate from that IIM regardless of the aggregate score.

CAT Marks vs Percentile: What Score Gets What Percentile in 2026

Because CAT is a percentile-based system rather than a marks-based one, a raw score of 80 can translate to a 95th percentile in one year and a 93rd in another, depending on how tough the paper was. The table below uses the 2025 cycle as a reference for CAT 2026 planning.

CAT Cutoff Factors: Applicants, Difficulty and Seat Count

CAT cutoff percentile is not a fixed number carried forward from one year to the next. Several factors shift it, and understanding them helps set a realistic target for 2026 rather than relying on a single year's benchmark.

• Total number of candidates who appear. Around 2.58 lakh took CAT 2025, and a similar or slightly higher count is expected for 2026.
• Difficulty of the paper. An easier paper pushes scores up across the board, which means a higher raw score is needed to reach the same percentile.
• Normalization across three slots. CAT is held in three time slots on the same day, each with a different question paper. Scores are normalized to ensure no slot has an advantage.
• Seat count at each IIM. Older IIMs have smaller intakes relative to applications, which keeps their shortlisting percentile at 99 and above.
• IIM-specific admission criteria. Some IIMs give heavy weight to academics and work experience in the composite score, which can lower the effective CAT percentile needed for a final offer.

CAT 2026 Admission Process: No Centralized Counselling, IIM wise Selection

Unlike most state entrance exams covered on this site, CAT has no centralized counselling at all. Each IIM and each non-IIM B-school conducts its own selection process after the CAT result, and a candidate must apply to each institute separately. This is the single biggest structural difference between CAT and every other exam on this page.

• After the CAT result in late December 2026, each IIM publishes its own shortlisting criteria and calls candidates for WAT (Written Ability Test) and PI (Personal Interview), typically between February and April 2027.
• Nine newer IIMs use a Common Admission Process (CAP) where one IIM conducts the WAT and PI on behalf of all nine, but each of those nine still sets its own cutoff and makes its own final offer.
• Non-IIM colleges like FMS Delhi, SPJIMR, MDI Gurgaon, and IIT business schools also accept CAT scores but run entirely separate application and selection processes.
• There is no seat allotment portal, no web options entry, and no round-by-round counselling. A candidate receives individual offers from individual institutes and chooses one.

CAT Cutoff Previous Year Trend: 2024 and 2025 IIM Shortlisting Data

Looking at two CAT cycles side by side shows how stable or volatile the shortlisting percentile has been at different IIM tiers. The numbers below are for the General category; reserved category shortlisting percentiles are lower at every IIM.

CAT Cutoff for Non-IIM Colleges: FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, IIT Percentile

Several non-IIM colleges that accept CAT scores have cutoffs as high as or higher than some newer IIMs. FMS Delhi, for example, regularly shortlists at a higher percentile than several CAP IIMs because of its extremely low fees and strong placements. The table below covers the most searched non-IIM names.

CAT Safe Score Guide: What Raw Score Reaches Each IIM Tier

A safe CAT score depends entirely on which IIM tier a candidate is targeting. The bands below use the 2025 cycle as a reference and will shift if the 2026 paper turns out to be easier or harder.

About CAT and the 22 Indian Institutes of Management

CAT is conducted once a year on the last Sunday of November, on a rotational basis by one of the six older IIMs: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, and Lucknow. For 2026, IIM Kozhikode is expected to be the conducting body, though the official notification confirming this is due only in late July.

The 22 IIMs accept CAT scores for their flagship two-year MBA or PGP programmes. In addition, over 1,200 other B-schools across India, including FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, the IIT business schools, and MDI Gurgaon, use CAT percentile as part of their admission process. No other management entrance test in India covers as many top-tier institutes through a single exam.

CAT TITA Questions and Their Effect on the Cutoff

TITA, short for Type In The Answer, questions carry no negative marking in CAT, unlike the MCQ questions which deduct 1 mark for a wrong answer. This distinction matters for the cutoff because it changes how candidates attempt the paper and how the score distribution shapes up.

• A candidate who attempts every TITA question risks nothing, since there is no penalty for a wrong typed answer.
• MCQ questions, on the other hand, carry a -1 penalty, which means guessing on an uncertain MCQ can cost a net 4 marks (losing the +3 and incurring the -1).
• The mix of MCQ and TITA varies by section and by slot, so the effective risk profile of the paper differs from one candidate to another depending on which slot they are assigned.
• In the 2025 cycle, around 15 to 18 of the 68 questions were TITA, making the no-penalty portion of the paper a meaningful part of the total score.

CAT Composite Score: Why Percentile Alone Does Not Decide Admission

Most candidates focus only on the CAT percentile, but the final IIM admission decision is based on a composite score that includes several other factors. Understanding this is important because a candidate with a 98 percentile and a strong profile can convert an IIM that a 99 percentile candidate with a weaker profile cannot.

Each IIM publishes its own weightage formula, and these change from year to year. IIM Ahmedabad, for example, gives a combined weight of over 60 percent to the WAT, PI and application rating, which means the CAT score is less than 40 percent of the final decision there.

CAT 2026 is still four months from the exam date, and the official notification confirming the conducting IIM, the registration window, and the exact exam pattern is expected only in late July 2026. Candidates should bookmark iimcat.ac.in for the notification and start building a target percentile based on the IIM tier tables above. Once the result is out in late December 2026, each IIM will publish its own shortlisting criteria, and the confirmed cutoff numbers will replace the estimates on this page.

CAT 2026 Cutoff FAQs

Ques: Can a candidate clear the CAT aggregate cutoff but still miss an IIM call?

Ques: Is the CAT cutoff the same for MBA and other programmes at the same IIM?

Ques: Do all 22 IIMs use the same admission criteria after the CAT result?

Ques: What is the lowest CAT percentile that has ever converted an IIM offer?

Ques: Does work experience help lower the effective CAT cutoff needed for admission?