Comparison of year-wise CAT cutoffs helps understand the changes in the pattern. Each year, several factors like the CAT exam difficulty level, number of test takers, candidates who actually cleared the exam, number of seats available and the individual ranking of each institute affect the CAT cutoff. An increase in CAT cutoff is based on easy paper and less competition.
This year’s CAT cutoffs are expected to decrease due to a difficult paper. CAT 2025 was moderately difficult across all 3 slots. Around 2.58 Lakh candidates were facing a tough competition during the CAT 2025. CAT 2025 results are expected to be released by mid-December 2025. According to past records, just 10% of 2.58 Lakh students shall get through IIMs.
CAT cutoffs which are normally between 99-100% for top colleges like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta among other IIMs are yet to be released. Similarly CAT cutoff which usually starts at 98% are yet to be announced for top B schools in India after IIMs. CAT cutoffs are of 2 types, one is the minimum marks required to qualify for the GDPI rounds and the 2nd type of cutoff is the final admission cutoff which determines if you will get a call for admission.
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CAT Cutoff Analysis 2025
The CAT exam cutoff this year is expected to drop. It is expected that the CAT cutoff 2025 will decrease by 2-4 points compared to the CAT 2024 cutoff. Based on this prediction, close to 94-96% shall get you into top IIMs instead of 98-99% marks. Since the CAT 2025 exam was difficult with most sections being moderate to difficult, the total number of attempts which are correct will also decrease affecting the overall cutoff.
| CAT 2025 Cutoff Analysis | ||
| Particulars | Facts | Observation |
| CAT Exam Difficulty Level | CAT 2025 was a difficult paper. | The CAT cutoff 2025 will likely drop. |
| Total Correct Answers | Total attempts are expected to drop by 10-15%. | Overall CAT scores will be low due to less attempts. |
| Total Marks Secured | Due to less attempts, each student may score 10-15 marks less than expected | Lower attempts means that the candidate pool shall score low marks overall. |
| CAT Score Normalization | Due to varying difficulty levels across 3 sections of the CAT slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3, normalization will impact marks. | CAT 2025 aggregate score and percentile after the normalization process is expected to drop by 1-2 points due to a tough paper. |
Expected CAT 2025 Cutoff for Top Colleges
Due to a 10-15% rise in the CAT exam difficulty level this year, more students are expected to score lower marks leading to a decrease in CAT cutoff 2025 across top colleges. It is important to check the college website of the particular college you are interested in to know their official CAT cutoffs which will be out soon. Once certain that you clear the minimum cutoff set by an institution, proceed with the application process.
| CAT 2025 Cutoff for IIMs (Expected) | |
| Name of the IIM | Expected CAT Cutoff 2025 |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 99-100 |
| IIM Bangalore | 99-100 |
| IIM Calcutta | 99 |
| IIM Lucknow | 97-98 |
| IIM Indore | 97-98 |
| IIM Kohzhikode | 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 Rohtak | 92-94 |
| IIM Udaipur | 92-94 |
| IIM Bodhgaya | 92-94 |
| IIM Shillong | 90 |
| IIM Sirmaur | 90 |
| IIM Jammu | 90 |
| IIM Mumbai | 90 |
Comparison of Year-wise CAT Cutoffs
It is expected that the CAT cutoffs will decrease this year for top management colleges. As per a recent news update, IIM Ahmedabad has raised its minimum CAT cutoff to 95% for the General and EWS students and 85% in each section, i.e., VARC, DILR and QA. From the 2024 cutoffs of IIM Ahmedabad at 80% overall and 70% sectional cutoffs, 2025 cutoffs have become tight.
| CAT Cutoff Comparison Between IIMs ABC, Other IIMs and B-Schools Year-wise | |||
| Year | IIM A, B, and C | Remaining IIMs | B-Schools |
| 2025 | 95-99% | 94-99% | 95-99% |
| 2024 | 98-99% | 95-97% | 85-95% |
| 2023 | 97-99+% | 94-96% | 83-94% |
| 2022 | 98-99% | 95-97 | 85-95% |
| 2021 | 96-98+% | 93-95 | 80-93% |
| 2020 | 96-98+% | 92-95 | 78-92% |
Category-wise Expected CAT Cutoff 2025
The table below shows the expected CAT cutoff for each student category for top IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore among others. While there is high a chance that the category wise cutoffs may drop by a few points (2-3 points) due a challenging paper, students are expected to consider the below ranges as the expected cutoff during the meantime. Official CAT results and category-wise expected CAT cutoffs 2025 will be out soon.
| CAT 2025 Category-wise CAT Cutoff for Best IIMs | |
| Category | Expected Cutoff Percentile for Top IIMs |
| General | 99+ |
| OBC/NC-OBC | 97-98% |
| SC/ST/PwD | 90-95% |
CAT 2025 Percentile vs Score for Each Slot
While the slot 1 expected marks for 99.9% are similar to the CAT 2024 expected marks for 99.9%, the CAT 2025 slot 2 marks are lower compared to CAT 2024 slot 2 scores. The 99.5% equivalent scores for CAT 2025 have dropped by 2 points in 2025 compared to 2024 data. CAT 2025 scores for 99.5% marks in Slot 2 and Slot 3 have also dropped by 7 and 1 point respectively compared to CAT 2024 scores.
| CAT 2025 Slot wise Percentile vs Score Data | |||
| CAT 2025 Percentile | CAT 2025 Slot 1 | CAT 2025 Slot 2 | CAT 2025 Slot 3 |
| 99.9 | 122 | 115 | 119 |
| 99.5 | 103 | 97 | 101 |
| 99 | 90 | 83 | 87 |
| 98 | 81 | 74 | 77 |
| 95 | 70 | 65 | 66 |
| 90 | 53 | 51 | 52 |
Comparing CAT 2024 Percentile vs Score
On comparing CAT 2025 scores vs percentile data and CAT 2024 scores vs percentile statistics, it is found that the CAT 2025 scores for each percentile category have dropped or remain the same as CAT 2024. CAT 2024 scores for the fixed percentile category are high compared to CAT 2025 expected scores. CAT 2024 paper was easier resulting in increased cutoffs while the CAT 2025 paper was tough which means the cutoffs will drop due to low marks.
| Comparing CAT 2024 Slot wise Percentile vs Score Data | |||
| CAT 2024 Percentile | CAT 2024 Slot 1 | CAT 2024 Slot 2 | CAT 2024 Slot 3 |
| 99.9 | 120-125 | 119-124 | 117-122 |
| 99.5 | 105-110 | 104-100 | 102-107 |
| 99 | 95-100 | 93-97 | 91-94 |
| 98 | 71-75 | 70-74 | 67-71 |
| 95 | 59-62 | 58-59 | 56-57 |
| 90 | 46-48 | 46-50 | 45-48 |
| 85 | 41-42 | 43-44 | 39-41 |
| 80 | 36-38 | 40-41 | 35-37 |
