CAT 2025 Cut Off refers to the minimum percentile a candidate needs to be shortlisted for the MBA Admission 2026 process at IIMs and other top B-schools. CAT Cut Offs vary by candidate’s category (General, EWS, NC-OBC, SC, ST, PwD) and also differ across older IIMs, newer CAP IIMs, and leading non-IIM MBA colleges. IIMs release minimum CAT Cut Offs in their admission policy documents. This year, IIM Ahmedabad has increased minimum CAT cut off for general candidates to 95%. IIM Calcutta and IIM Bangalore have much lower cut offs. Check details in article below. Also know CAT Cut Offs 2025 for top non-IIM MBA colleges including MDI, SPJIMR, IMI Delhi, FORE Delhi, GIM Goa, TAPMI Manipal and others.
CAT Cut Off is the required CAT percentage for admission into IIMs and other top MBA colleges. CAT Cut Offs varies by the ranking and placements of an MBA college.
IIMs release two different types of CAT Cut Offs: Qualifying CAT Cut Off and Final CAT Cut Off.
Qualifying CAT Cut off: The minimum qualifying CAT cut offs are officially released by the B-schools before the CAT exam. This CAT cut off is the threshold criteria to screen the eligibility of applicants. If the candidates do not clear these CAT cut off, they will not be considered for next admission round. But it does not give any assurance that the candidate will be shortlisted based on qualifying cut off. Qualifying CAT Cut Offs are between 75-90 percent and used only to shortlist candidates for Personal Interview (PI) Round.
Final CAT Cut Offs for IIM admission: The final admission CAT cut off is much higher than qualifying cut off. For example, in its Admission Policy 2026, IIM Bangalore has announced qualifying CAT cut off as 85 percentile, but the actual CAT cut off is expected to go up as high as 98-99 percentile. Final Cut Offs for IIM admission is much higher and between 95-100 percentile.
The CAT 2025 cut-offs for IIM admissions vary by category and differ across IIMs. IIM Ahmedabad sets one of the highest qualifying thresholds, with General candidates requiring 95 overall percentile. IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta have minimum CAT percentiles requirement of 85 percent for general candidates. Check details tables from the official IIM admission 2026 policy documents. Table also includes CAT Sectional Cut Offs 2025. It is important to note that these figures represent minimum eligibility cut-offs only; in practice, the percentiles of candidates who are actually shortlisted are often higher, influenced by academic profile, diversity factors, and the number of candidates applying in each category.
Table 1: IIM Ahmedabad CAT 2025 Minimum Cut-offs (Qualifying Percentile Requirements)
Category | Non-PwD Overall Percentile (PT) | Non-PwD Sectional Percentile (VARC / DILR / QA) | PwD Overall Percentile (PT) | PwD Sectional Percentile (VARC / DILR / QA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
General / EWS | 95 | 85 | 85 | 75 |
NC-OBC | 90 | 80 | 80 | 70 |
SC | 85 | 75 | 75 | 65 |
ST | 75 | 65 | 65 | 55 |
Note: PwD stands for Persons with Disabilities
Table 2: IIM Bangalore CAT 2025 Cut Offs (Minimum Percentile Requirements for First Shortlist)
Category | VARC (Section 1) | DILR (Section 2) | QA (Section 3) | Overall Aggregate Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
General | 80 | 75 | 75 | 85 |
NC-OBC | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
EWS | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
SC | 65 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
ST | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
PwD | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
Note: These are the minimum percentile cut-offs used for shortlisting candidates for the first stage. The actual percentiles of candidates who received interview calls were higher.
Table 3: IIM Calcutta CAT 2025 Cut Offs (Minimum CAT Percentile Requirements for Stage I Shortlisting)
Category | VARC (Section I) | DILR (Section II) | QA (Section III) | Overall Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
OPEN (General) | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥75 | ≥85 |
EWS | ≥70 | ≥65 | ≥65 | ≥75 |
NC-OBC | ≥70 | ≥65 | ≥65 | ≥75 |
SC | ≥65 | ≥60 | ≥60 | ≥70 |
ST | ≥55 | ≥55 | ≥55 | ≥65 |
PwD | ≥45 | ≥45 | ≥45 | ≥55 |
Note: Actual cut-offs used for interview calls may be higher than the minimum percentiles mentioned above. Final shortlist levels depend on number of applicants, score distribution, and institute-specific shortlisting policies.
Table 4: IIM Lucknow CAT 2025 Cut Offs for MBA (Minimum Sectional and Overall Percentile Requirements for MBA Shortlisting)
Category | VARC | DILR | QA | Overall (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
General | 85 | 85 | 85 | 90 |
EWS | 77 | 77 | 77 | 82 |
NC-OBC | 77 | 77 | 77 | 82 |
SC | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
ST | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
PwD | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
Source: IIM Lucknow
Based on IIM Admission policy 2026 previous year trends, the expected CAT 2025 Cutoff for general candidates in top IIMs admission is below. Note that some candidates may have lower percentiles but get admission offer because of their exceptional achievements in international/national sports or extracurriculars.
Table 5: CAT 2025 Cut Offs (Actual) for Top IIMs Admission 2026
IIM | CAT Cut off 2025 |
|---|---|
99-100 | |
99-100 | |
99-100 | |
96-98 | |
94-95 | |
94-95 | |
94-96 | |
95-96 | |
92-94 |
There were eight IIMs that participated in IIM CAP 2025 process, and had common CAT Exam Cutoff for shortlisting. IIM CAP 2026 details are yet to be released. Check IIM CAP Cut Offs 2025 in table below.
Table 6: IIM CAP Cut Off 2026
IIMs | Qualifying IIM CAP 2025 CAT Cut off |
|---|---|
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 |
IIM Joint Admission Process (JAP) 2026 is a new common MBA admission process for IIM Kashipur, IIIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli. IIM JAP CAT Cut Offs 2026 will be announced soon. Meanwhile, check expected IIM JAP Cut Offs 2026 in the table below.
Table 6: IIM JAP Cut Off 2026
IIM | IIM JAP Cut off 2026 |
|---|---|
94 | |
94 | |
94 | |
94 |
After the CAP rounds are over, a few IIMs also initiate the IIM Supplementary Admission Process (SAP) round. Last year, only 2 colleges participated in the SAP round and the IIM SAP cutoff was set at 92%ile. Check details in table below.
Table 7: IIM SAP Cut Off 2026
IIM SAP Participating Colleges | IIM SAP Cutoff 2024 (Percentile) |
|---|---|
92 | |
92 |
CAT cut off category wise for admission in top IIMs has been released. Given below are the IIM cut off category wise including CAT cut off for IIM for General category, CAT cut off for IIM for SC category, CAT Cut off for IIM for OBC NC category, CAT cut off for IIM for EWS and CAT cut off for IIM for ST and PwD category candidates:
Table 8: CAT Cut Off 2025 Category Wise
IIMs | CAT Cut off Category Wise 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen | EWS | OBC-NC | SC | ST | PwD |
80 | 80 | 75 | 70 | 60 | 70 | |
85 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 65 | 60 | |
85 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 65 | 55 | |
90 | 82 | 82 | 65 | 60 | 60 | |
85 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 65 | 55 | |
90 | 90 | 80 | 60 | 45 | 45 | |
85 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 55 | 55 | |
96 | 92 | 82 | 60 | 50 | 86 | |
Apart from the IIMs and IITs, many top MBA colleges in Non-IIM Category use CAT percentile cut off in their admission process including FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IIFT Delhi among others. The expected CAT 2025 cut off for top MBA colleges for admission 2026 is given in table below. Also check their latest admission status and click on Know More link to check placements, fees and other details:
Table 10: CAT Cut Off 2026 for Top MBA Colleges (Non-IIMs)
MBA College | CAT Cut off 2025 (Expected) | Admission Status |
|---|---|---|
98+ | Open | Know More | |
94+ | Open | Apply Now | |
94+ | Open | Apply Now | |
94+ | Open | Know More | |
92+ | Open | Apply Now | |
90 | Open | Apply Now | |
85+ | Open | Apply Now | |
85+ | Open | Apply Now | |
85+ | Open | Apply Now | |
85+ | Open | Apply Now | |
80 | Open | Apply Now | |
75 | Open | Apply Now | |
75 | Open | Apply Now | |
75 | Open | Apply Now | |
75 | Open | Apply Now | |
70 | Open | Apply Now | |
70 | Open | Apply Now | |
70 | Open | Apply Now |
IIT CAT Cut Offs are high and at part with IIMs and other top B-schools. Check their expected CAT Cut Offs in the table below.
Table 9: IIT CAT Cut offs 2026 (Expected)
S.No. | Institution Name | Minimum CAT Score Required for Admission | Actual CAT cutoff percentile (Lowest percentile for final admission offer) |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | DoMS IIT Delhi | 90% | 89.31% |
2. | SJMSOM IIT Bombay | 90% | 94.73% |
3. | DoMS IIT Madras | NA | 84.99% |
4. | DoMS IIT Roorkee | 90% | NA |
5. | VGSOM IIT Kharagpur | 90% | NA |
6. | DoMS IIT Kanpur | 80% | NA |
7. | DoMSIE IIT (ISM) Dhanbad | 75% | NA |
8. | SME IIT Jodhpur | 80% | NA |
After getting the information on CAT Cut off for admission 2026 for IIMs and other top MBA colleges, the question arises what CAT score will get the required cut off percentile so that you can clear the cut offs. CAT 2025 difficulty level is expected to go up moderately than last year. Read this article for complete details on CAT 2025 exam difficulty level. Expected CAT Cut Off Marks vs Percentile 2025 estimates are given in table below.
Table 11: CAT Cut Off Marks Vs Percentile 2026 (Expected)
Percentile | CAT 2024 |
|---|---|
99.9 | 120 |
99.5 | 100 |
99 | 93 |
95 | 68 |
90 | 58 |
80 | 43 |
70 | 23 |
Source: MBAUniverse.com
Factors Determining CAT Cutoff 2026
To close this article, you should remember that CAT 2025 Cut Offs for IIMs and other top B-schools are dependent on many factors such as:
Above CAT Cut Off 2206 estimates will be updated soon after CAT Exam is held on November 30, 2025, and difficulty level is known.
In summary, CAT Cut Off refers to the minimum percentile a candidate needs to be shortlisted for the MBA Admission process at IIMs and other top B-schools. CAT Cutoffs vary by candidate’s category (General, EWS, NC-OBC, SC, ST, PwD) and also differ across the IIMs. IIMs release minimum CAT Cut Offs in their admission policy documents. Cut Offs 2025 for IIMs and top MBA colleges including MDI, SPJIMR, IMI Delhi, FORE Delhi and others are published in above article.
