Updated on 18th September 2025 | 1:27 pm | #CATScoreVSPercentile
CAT Score vs Percentile 2025: Having a clear understanding of the CAT score vs percentile is important for an aspirant because it is the analysis of scores and percentiles that will help them secure admissions to top B-schools.
The struggle to find the fine line between achieving a good CAT score and a high CAT percentile often confuses candidates. Aspirants must know that the CAT 2025 result will be released in percentiles, and the top B-schools have their own cut-off percentiles that need to be cleared to get the call. The CAT score vs percentile shows the past year’s trends of sectional and overall CAT percentile against specific scores and the expected CAT percentile of 2025.
Here are some key points to consider regarding CAT percentiles and scores:
CAT marks vs percentile analysis help to determine the score needed in CAT 2025 to get the desired percentile.
The CAT 2025 marks vs percentile relationship helps you target the right score for your B-school goals. The table below shows expected slot wise and section wise scores along with net questions for each key percentile based on recent exam trends:
|
Expected Section-wise CAT scores VS Percentile 2025 |
|||||
|
CAT Percentile |
Required CAT Score |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Net Qs |
|
99.5 |
140 |
48 |
47 |
45 |
28 |
|
99 |
103 |
41 |
38 |
35 |
25 |
|
97 |
77 |
32 |
30 |
29 |
20 |
|
95 |
58 |
26 |
23 |
22 |
18 |
|
90 |
47 |
22 |
18 |
17 |
14 |
|
85 |
44 |
20 |
17 |
15 |
12 |
|
80 |
43 |
18 |
15 |
14 |
11 |
The actual CAT cutoffs 2025 will be collated after the CAT 2025 results are out. The CAT percentile is determined based on the score a candidate achieves. Out of the 68 questions in CAT 2025, attempting around 30-35 questions with 85-90% accuracy can get you a 99+ %ile.
|
CAT Percentile |
CAT VARC Score |
CAT DILR Score |
CAT QA Score |
Overall CAT Score |
|
99.5 |
45.5 |
43 |
33 |
100.5 |
|
99 |
40 |
39 |
29.5 |
91.5 |
|
97 |
32 |
33 |
24 |
74 |
|
95 |
27 |
30 |
21 |
66 |
|
90 |
21.5 |
26 |
17.5 |
57 |
|
85 |
18.5 |
23.5 |
15 |
51 |
|
80 |
16.5 |
21.5 |
13 |
45 |
|
75 |
14.5 |
20.5 |
12 |
41 |
|
70 |
12.5 |
19 |
10.5 |
38 |
|
CAT Percentile |
CAT VARC Score |
CAT DILR Score |
CAT QA Score |
Overall CAT Score |
|
99.5 |
46.5 |
37 |
35 |
96 |
|
99 |
41 |
33 |
30 |
86 |
|
97 |
33.5 |
27.5 |
23 |
68 |
|
95 |
28.5 |
25 |
19 |
60 |
|
90 |
23.5 |
20 |
14 |
48 |
|
85 |
21 |
18.5 |
10.5 |
41 |
|
80 |
18.5 |
16.5 |
8 |
37 |
|
75 |
17 |
15 |
6 |
31 |
|
70 |
15 |
13.5 |
4.5 |
28 |
|
CAT Percentile |
CAT VARC Score |
CAT DILR Score |
CAT QA Score |
Overall CAT Score |
|
99.5 |
43.5 |
37 |
33 |
96 |
|
99 |
38 |
33 |
33 |
86 |
|
97 |
30 |
27.5 |
26.5 |
69 |
|
95 |
26 |
25 |
23.5 |
62 |
|
90 |
20 |
20 |
19 |
50 |
|
85 |
18 |
18.5 |
16.5 |
44 |
|
80 |
15.5 |
16.5 |
14.5 |
39 |
|
75 |
13.5 |
15 |
13 |
35 |
|
70 |
12 |
13.5 |
11.5 |
31 |
Read about CL's CAT Score Calculator and IIM Profilizer to find out the calls you would receive from IIMs and other B-schools.
Looking for top MBA colleges with a CAT score? Check out the extensive list of top MBA B-schools and their expected cut-offs for 2025
The first question that pops up for any first-time CAT taker is, “What is CAT percentile and score?
Well, to answer this question in the simplest way possible, we can tell you that your CAT score comprises the marks you scored in your CAT exam, and your CAT percentile signifies nothing but the number of candidates you have performed better than. It is still crucial to decode how exactly you got those marks and the criteria behind converting them into scaled scores and percentiles. For that, let’s first try to understand what exactly these CAT scaled scores and CAT percentiles are.
We are all familiar with the CAT raw scores, the total marks calculated based on a candidate's correct and incorrect attempts. As there are three slots in CAT with varying difficulty levels per section, each candidate's raw scores are converted to scaled scores to standardise the marks across all slots. The raw scores of the aspirants are not mentioned on the score cards; instead, only the CAT scaled scores are mentioned in the score card.
The CAT scaled score is evaluated based on CAT marks, whereas the CAT Percentile is the total percentage of candidates who secured less than or equal to a specific candidate’s score. This brings us to the question: How much do you need to score in CAT to get a 99%ile?
Utilise the best test series for CAT preparation to assess your readiness for CAT 2025 and determine where you stand among the 3 Lakh+ of competition.
CAT percentile, on the other hand, is a reflection of how you have performed across test takers. For instance, the 90%ile reflects that your test score is greater than 90% of the test takers. The higher the percentile, the better. Both the CAT marks vs percentile are different parameters that play a vital role in qualifying for the CAT exam.
Step 1: Calculate the total number of candidates (N) who appeared for CAT (i.e. including morning, afternoon and evening sessions).
Step 2: Assign a rank (r) to all candidates who appeared for CAT based on the scaled scores obtained in all the sections. In the case of two or more candidates obtaining identical scaled scores of the particular section, assign identical ranks to all those candidates.
Note: If two or more candidates' scaled scores are the same, they will be given the same rank (r). That is, if two candidates get the highest scaled score in VARC, they will be assigned rank 1. Also, the candidate with the second highest scaled score will follow at rank 3. The Final Percentile (P) will be rounded off to two decimal places.
Step 3: Calculate the percentile score (P) of a candidate with rank (r) of the particular section as:
where,
P = Percentile of the candidate
N = Number of candidates who appeared for CAT 2025
r = The rank assigned to candidates based on their scaled scores
Step 4: Round off the calculated percentile score (P) of a candidate up to two decimal points.
For example, all percentile scores greater than or equal to 99.995 are rounded off to 100, and all
percentile scores greater than or equal to 99.985 but strictly less than 99.995 are rounded off to
99.99 and so on.
A similar methodology is used to compute the overall CAT percentile scores and the percentile scores of other sections.
Also Check: CAT Syllabus | CAT Exam Pattern
There is no specific answer to this question, as it is subject to the candidate's interests and the college they are aiming to get into. However, ideally, students should target a CAT percentile above 95% to secure a seat in some of the best MBA colleges in India. The table below represents the good CAT scores that have a high chance of achieving a good percentile in CAT 2025.
|
Category |
Good CAT Score |
|
Very Good |
101-120 |
|
Good |
71-100 |
|
Average |
41-70 |
|
Low |
Below 40 |
In order to achieve that CAT percentile, you need to work on getting an appropriate score to match that level, considering the increasing competition nowadays.
Also check out what is a good percentile in 2025 to know more about good CAT score.
There are a few parameters based on which the composite score is determined while calculating the CAT score vs. percentile. These CAT percentiles represent the weightage of the number of candidates you have performed better than, and the composite score is used for shortlisting in the further rounds by considering several factors that carry different weightage, such as:
Certain colleges place a higher emphasis on academics, and in the case of low scores, candidates are advised to consider colleges that take recent achievements into account rather than focusing on past performance.
The CAT exam’s past year's trends would help the aspirants understand the difficulty level of the exam and analyse the expected percentile and score for the year 2025. Studying past CAT score vs percentile data enables candidates to evaluate difficulty levels, identify competition trends, and establish achievable goals.
Aspirants should understand that MBA admissions through the CAT exam rely on percentiles rather than raw scores. This means that they need to perform well, and also outperform other test takers. The table below represents the slot-wise distribution of the CAT Score Vs percentile 2024 to have a fair idea about the expectations regarding the CAT score 2025.
|
CAT Score Vs Percentile 2024 Slot-wise Trends |
|||
|
CAT Percentile |
CAT 2024 - SLOT 3 |
CAT 2024 - SLOT 2 |
CAT 2024 - SLOT 1 |
|
99 |
90-92 |
87-89 |
90-92 |
|
95 |
68-70 |
65-67 |
68-70 |
|
90 |
56-58 |
53-55 |
56-58 |
|
85 |
47-49 |
44-46 |
47-49 |
|
80 |
41-43 |
38-40 |
41-43 |
*The data has been collected by our CAT students and is subject to change based on the number of responses collected on our CAT Score Calculator.
|
CAT Score Vs Percentile 2024 overall Trends |
|
|
Percentile |
Approximate Marks in 2024 |
|
99.5 |
140 |
|
99 |
103 |
|
95 |
58 |
|
90 |
47 |
|
85 |
44 |
|
80 |
43 |
|
Expected Percentiles |
VARC Score |
DILR Score |
QA Score |
Overall Score |
||||||||
|
Slot 1 |
Slot 2 |
Slot 3 |
Slot 1 |
Slot 2 |
Slot 3 |
Slot 1 |
Slot 2 |
Slot 3 |
Slot 1 |
Slot 2 |
Slot 3 |
|
|
99 |
40 |
40-42 |
38-40 |
25-27 |
25-26 |
27-28 |
25-28 |
28-30 |
27-28 |
80-81 |
82-83 |
78-80 |
|
95 |
28-30 |
30-33 |
28-30 |
18-20 |
18-20 |
18-20 |
20-22 |
20-22 |
18-20 |
55-56 |
57-58 |
57-58 |
|
90 |
22-24 |
24-26 |
24-25 |
15-17 |
14-15 |
15-17 |
15-17 |
15-17 |
15-17 |
45-48 |
46-48 |
46-48 |
|
85 |
20-22 |
20-22 |
20-22 |
13-14 |
12-13 |
12-14 |
12-14 |
12-14 |
12-14 |
39-41 |
40-43 |
40-41 |
|
80 |
18-20 |
18-20 |
18-20 |
11-12 |
10-11 |
10-11 |
10-12 |
10-12 |
10-11 |
35-37 |
36-39 |
36-37 |
*Fill in the score calculator to determine your overall score and predicted percentile using Career Launcher’s Percentile Predictor. Take advantage of our resources to stay one step ahead of your competition.
|
Percentile |
Approximate Marks in 2022 |
|
99.5 |
145.83 |
|
99 |
109.9 |
|
95 |
59.75 |
|
90 |
48.44 |
|
85 |
41.32 |
|
80 |
36.02 |
Out of the 68 questions in CAT 2025, attempting around 45-48 questions with 85-90% accuracy can get you a 100 percentile. Here is the section-wise number of questions to attempt in CAT 2025 to get a good percentile for your reference:
|
Section-Wise Attempts For 99+ Percentile In CAT 2025 |
||||
|
CAT Percentile |
VARC questions to attempt |
DILR questions to attempt |
QA questions to attempt |
|
|
99.5 |
14-16 |
13-15 |
11-13 |
|
|
99 |
12-14 |
11-13 |
10-11 |
|
|
95-98.99 |
10-12 |
9-11 |
8-9 |
|
|
90-94.99 |
8-10 |
8-10 |
7-8 |
|
|
85-89.5 |
6-8 |
6-8 |
5-7 |
|
Aspirants planning to appear for CAT 2025 should focus on improving your CAT mock percentile with the experts and start taking full-fledged CAT mock tests in case you haven't so far.
For an exam as competitive as CAT, it is best to know where you stand in the competition of over 3 lakh aspirants. Improve your readiness for the CAT exam and take your preparation to the next level with Career Launcher's free CAT mock tests.
Take your free mock test today!!If the candidates managed to score around 104-108 marks in the CAT exam, they have a strong chance to achieve 99 percentile in the exam.
75 marks typically correspond to around 97 percentile in CAT, though the overall percentile can vary depending upon the difficulty level of the exam.
There is no hard and fast rule to score the 99.99 percentile in CAT; however, by following a dedicated study schedule and the right approach, you can easily secure a good score in CAT 2025. Regular practice is key to success in CAT. Dedicate a significant amount of daily time to solving practice questions and taking mock tests.
A safe score in the CAT is considered when you have achieved marks in the CAT exam that could get you the call from the top business schools. Technically, a CAT safe score is not a number because of the multiple categories, hence it can vary for different candidates.
After ranking all test-takers based on scaled scores, the CAT percentile is:
where,
P = Percentile of the candidate
N = Number of candidates who appeared for CAT 2025
r = The rank assigned to candidates based on their scaled scores
Based on recent analyses, a raw score between 100 and 105 is likely to fetch you a 99 percentile.
Yes, it is very important to understand the CAT marks Vs percentile trends because it would help you set clear goals during preparation and help you choose the right B-school for you.