CAT Cut-off – Dates, Expected and Previous Year’s Cut-offs

CAT cut-off 2020 is the minimum percentile required for admissions in B-schools which accept CAT scores. Every year, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top B-schools release the CAT cut offs for admissions to their MBA/PGDM programmes. It is important to note that the CAT cut-offs keep changing every year, depending on the number of applications a B-school receives and the number of candidates it shortlists for admission. 

Applicants should remember that CAT cut-off is a first-level shortlisting criteria for MBA admissions into B-schools, which is generally followed by other selection processes like Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). Therefore, CAT cut-off becomes a major factor in securing MBA admission opportunities. 

Before digging deep into the topic, here are some general CAT cutoff trends:

1. The top IIMs, as well as many other highly rated b-schools like Faculty of Management Studies and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, etc. generally have CAT cutoff of over 98 percentile. It means that only the candidates with more than 98 percentile will be invited for the further selection process.

2. New IIMs such as IIM Udaipur, IIM Trichy, etc require a CAT cut off of about 90-95% percentile for interview calls. In some new IIMs, the CAT cut off requirements are as low as 85% percentile for candidates with a suitable profile.

3. Tier 2 and Tier 3 B-schools release CAT cut offs anywhere between 50 and 80 percentile.

CAT Cut off – Important dates

Events	Important Dates(Tentative)
CAT 2020 exam date	Last Sunday of November 2020
Release of CAT 2020 Answer Key	First/Second week of December 2020
Announcement of CAT 2020 result	First week of January, 2021
Final selection rounds at CAT participating B-schools	March-June 2021

CAT 2020 Cut off – Determining Factors

CAT cut-off 2020 for various colleges depends on a number of factors. These factors keep changing year-after-after and as a result, CAT cut-off also keeps fluctuating. Here are some key factors that have an impact on CAT cut-off:

1. The difficulty level of the exam – The difficulty level of exam and CAT cut-off are inversely related. A higher level of difficulty in the exam will result in lower average marks and hence lower percentile requirement.

2. Number of candidates appearing for the exam – A higher number of candidates appearing for the exam means higher competition which will result in higher cut-off.

3. Number of candidates qualifying for the next rounds – Final cutoffs (minimum percentile score fixed by the IIMs for selection of candidates for WAT/GD-PI round) also depends on the number of candidates qualifying rounds like Written Ability Test and GD-PI. A higher number of qualifying candidates results in the higher cut-off.

4. Number of Seats – If the number of seats in a college increases, it gives room for more students to take admission. Hence, cut-off for such colleges will decline.

5. B-school ranking – B-schools with a higher ranking are always more sought-after. Hence, the cut-offs for such colleges are usually higher.

CAT Cut-off – How To Check Your Result?

IIMs release the list of shortlisted candidates online. Moreover, every IIM creates a portal which is hosted on their websites where candidates can check their results by entering their credentials (CAT application number and date of birth). 

After a few days, IIMs also send an email to the shortlisted candidates that has a Personal Details Form and a Profile Data Form attached. These are to be filled and submitted before the deadline mentioned in the email. It is to be noted that candidates need to carry copies of Call Letter, Personal Data Form and Profile Data Form on the day of the interview.

Qualifying CAT Cut-Off and Final CAT Cut Off – Difference

Candidates must note that before the CAT exam takes place, every IIM declares a qualifying cut-off for the academic year. Later on, after the CAT results are announced the final cut-off is announced. One can notice the huge difference between these cut-offs. For example, IIM-A’s qualifying cut-off for 2019 was 80 percentile, whereas the final admissions were closed on 100 percentile. It is important to understand the difference between these cut-offs. 

Qualifying CAT cut-offs	Final CAT cut-offs
Also known as the IIM eligibility cut off/IIM shortlist cut off, it is the minimum score required by the candidates to be eligible for the interview call (for WAT / GD-PI round) from the IIMs.	Also called the IIM call cut-offs/official IIM cut-offs, this is the minimum percentage score that is determined by the IIMs for shortlisting candidates for the WAT / GD-PI round.
Even if candidates fulfill the qualifying cut off  requirement, it does not guarantee their selection for the WAT – GD/PI round.	Even if candidates meet the final cut off  requirements, it does not necessarily mean that the candidate will be selected for admission into an IIM.
This specific cut off is ascertained before the CAT result is declared.	This cut off is decided after the announcement of the CAT result.
The qualifying cut off is above 90 percentile for all IIMs except IIM Ahmedabad, the cut off of which has remained at 80 percentile since 2016.	The final cut off can reach as high as 99+ percentile for most IIMs, specifically the top ones, and 95+ for the relatively new ones.
The qualifying cut-offs include both sectional and overall cut-offs.	The final cut-offs also both include overall and sectional cut-offs.
The qualifying cut off is classified into further categories. The cut off for general students is generally 90 percentile and above, while it is usually below 70 percentile for reserved category students.	The final CAT cut off is regulated category-wise. For general category students, specifically males coming from an engineering background, the final cut off is relatively higher than students belonging to the reserved category, female students, and those coming from a non-engineering academic background.

Expected CAT 2020 Cutoffs

Based on previous years’ CAT cutoffs, the expected CAT 2020 cut-off percentiles for general category students for top 20 IIMs are mentioned below.

IIMs	Expected CAT Cut-offs (percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad	100-99
IIM Bangalore	100-99
IIM Calcutta	99
IIM Lucknow	97-98
IIM Indore	97-98
IIM Kozhikode	97-98
IIM Amritsar	95-96
IIM Nagpur	95-96
IIM Sambalpur	95-96
IIM Trichy	94-95
IIM Raipur	94-95
IIM Ranchi	94-95
IIM Kashipur	94-95
IIM Vizag	92-94
IIM Udaipur	92-94
IIM Bodhgaya	92-94
IIM Shillong	90
IIM Sirmaur	90

CAT 2019 Sectional Cut off

The following table enlists the CAT sectional cut-off by various IIMs. The table also shows the overall cut-off percentiles required by the general category candidates.

IIMS	QA	DILR	VARC	OVERALL
IIM Ahmedabad	70	70	70	80
IIM Bangalore	75	75	80	85
IIM Calcutta	80	80	75	85
IIM Kozhikode	75	75	75	85
IIM Shillong	75	75	75	80
IIM Lucknow	85	85	85	90
IIM Raipur	80	80	80	95
IIM Rohtak	70	70	70	95
IIM Kashipur	80	80	80	90
IIM Ranchi	80	80	80	90
IIM Indore	80	80	80	90
IIM Tiruchirappalli	80	80	80	95
IIM Udaipur	80	80	80	90
IIM Bodh Gaya	80	80	80	90
IIM Amritsar	75	75	80	80
IIM Nagpur	72	72	72	85
IIM Jammu	80	80	80	90
IIM Visakhapatnam	80	80	85	90
IIM Sambalpur	80	80	80	95
IIM Sirmaur	80	80	80	95

CAT Cut-off – Top Non-IIM B-Schools Accepting CAT Score

CAT scores are accepted by more than 100 B-schools other than IIMs. Some of these colleges are prestigious and constantly hold top spots in rankings. These colleges are considered desirable among candidates and offer great opportunities to their students. Some of these colleges and their percentile requirement are mentioned in the table below. 

Name of the Institute	CAT 2019 Score Required
Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi	99 Percentile
DMS, IIT Delhi	96+ Percentile
SJMSOM, IIT Bombay	98+ Percentile
Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras	95+ Percentile
Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon	94+ Percentile
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) Mumbai	85+ Percentile
Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB)	94+ Percentile
Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad	90+ Percentile
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai	97+ Percentile
TA Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) Manipal	85+ Percentile
Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) Chennai	79+ Percentile
Institute for Financial Management & Research (IFMR) Chennai	80+ Percentile

CAT 2020 Cut-off – B-school categorization 

Based on the individual MBA admission cutoff, B-schools in India can be classified into different categories. The table below lists the categories of IIMs and other top B-schools based on CAT cut off:

Level (CAT cut-off Percentiles for General Category Students)	Institutes
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of 98.5+	IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, IIM-K, IIM-I, IIM-L, FMS, MDI-PGPM, IIT- B, RGIIMS
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of 96.5+	SPJIMR, IIT-D, NITIE-PGDIM, JBIMS, MDI-PGP HR/IM, IIM-RH, IIM-RN, IIM-RP, IIM-KS, IIM-UP, IIM-T
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of 94.5+	IIT-KH, IIT-KN, IIT-C, IIT-R, IISc-B, IIM-BG, IIM-N, IIM-V, IIM-Asr, IIM-Sam, IIM-Srm, MDI-M, IIM-A (ABM), IIM-L (ABM)
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of 90+	MICA, IMT-G/N, IMI-D, FSM, IRMA, TAPMI, KJ SIMSR, UBS-CHD, SPJAIN-D/S, BIM, NIRMA, PUMBA
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of 87+	WIMDR-M, LBSIM, LIBA, IMI-K/B, GLIM, BIMTECH-PGDM/IB, IBS-ICFAI, MFC-DU, IFMR, MIB-DU, MHROD-DU, IMT-H
B-schools with CAT Percentile cutoff of CAT Percentile 85+	MISB, ISBM-P, AJKMCRC, IIMC (Mass Com Delhi), WIMDR-B, BIMTECH-Retail/Insurance, IIFM, MBE-DU

Minimum sectional cut off for top four IIMs

The table below showcases the minimum sectional cut-off as well aggregate cut off declared by IIM – A,B,C and L in 2019. The table also consists of cut-offs for reserved category students.

CAT Cutoff – FAQs

✔️ What was the CAT cut-off for 2019?

CAT cut-off 2019 for top B-schools was 98 percentile and more. However, many other prestigious colleges set the cut-off much lower than this. Read the article to know more.

✔️ Which IIM has the lowest cut-off?

IIM Udaipur, IIM Kashipur and IIM Raipur have declared the lowest cut-off among all IIMs in 2019.

✔️ Is the CAT score valid for 2 years?

No. CAT is conducted every year and its scores are acceptable for only one academic year.

✔️ How many attempts are allowed in CAT?

There is no limit on the number of attempts in CAT. If the candidate has a graduation degree with minimum degree requirements, he/she can apply as many times as they want.

✔️ Is it possible to score 100 percentile in CAT?

Yes, it is possible to score 100 percentile in CAT. Every year, the top scorers are put in the elite league of 100 percentile. Generally, if you get 61-62 questions right out of the 100 questions, there is a fair possibility of getting listed among 100 percentiles holders.

✔️ Is the admission to IIMs based strictly on CAT cutoff 2020?

Yes. The first level of filtering for candidates is done based on their CAT score only. Further, the CAT score carries significant weightage along with the academic record and work experience during the final selection process.

✔️ Why is the CAT cutoff different for different IIMs?

The CAT cutoff depends on different factors like the number of seats available at a particular institution and the number of applications received for admission. The CAT cutoff is also an indicator of reputation and ranking of an institution. Higher CAT cutoffs indicates a high ranking for a B-school.