CAT success rate is of the highest priority concern for all MBA aspirants in India who aspire to get into India's best B-schools such as the IIMs, FMS, SPJIMR, and so on. CAT success rate is 2% according to reports. The Common Admission Test (CAT) is India's most competitive and sought-after management entrance test with more than 2.8 lakh students appearing every year for a mere few thousand of the best MBAs.
This means a very low pass percentage in CAT exam, varying at less than 2% for IIM invitations, so the exam is a high-stakes test. The CAT pass percentage and success rate varied based on various factors such as preparation strategy, academic qualifications, work experience, and category. Although the percentage is low, thousands of students manage to crack CAT and achieve 99+ percentile scores, indicating that smart preparation, persistence, and wise mock test analysis can overcome the odds.
For serious candidates, awareness of the CAT success ratio assists in goal setting, selection of the right coaching or self-preparation strategy, and creation of a customized preparation schedule. As a working or fresher aspirant, awareness of the true success ratio of the CAT test assists in keeping you goal-set and better prepared for one of India's most competitive MBA entrance tests.
Also Check: How Many Students are Expected to Register for the CAT Exam this Year?
What is CAT Exam Success Rate?
Around 3.3 lakh students registered for CAT 2024 whereas only 2.8 lakhs actually appeared for the examination. This year this data is expected to exceed due to rising demand of management trained candidates. 2% CAT success rate means that only 2 candidates in 100 qualify the exam due to high competition. To check out complete data of how many students appear in the CAT exam and how many of them registered for it, students may refer to the following table.
How Many Students Participated in CAT Exam | Previous Year Analysis:
Year | Candidates Registered | Candidates Appeared | Percentage Increase/Decrease |
2005 | 170,000 | 1,55,000 | - |
2006 | 191,000 | 1,80,000 | 12.35 |
2007 | 250,000 | 2,30,000 | 30.89 |
2008 | 290,000 | 2,76,000 | 16 |
2009 | 241,000 | 2,30,000 | -16.89 |
2010 | 2,04,000 | 1,85,000 | -15 |
2011 | 2,05,000 | 1,86,000 | 0.49 |
2012 | 2,14,000 | 1,95,000 | 4.4 |
2013 | 1,94,516 | 1,73,714 | -8.9 |
2014 | 1,96,988 | 1,70,000 | 1 |
2015 | 2,18,664 | 1,79,602 | 11.2 |
2016 | 2,32,434 | 1,95,679 | 5.9 |
2017 | 2,31,067 | 1,99,632 | -0.4 |
2018 | 2,40,338 | 2,09,405 | 4.3 |
2019 | 2,44,169 | 2,09,926 | 1.2 |
2020 | 2,27,835 | 1,90,144 | 6.6 |
2021 | 2,29,969 | 1,91,660 | 0.9 |
2022 | 2,55,501 | 2,22,184 | 11 |
2023 | 3,23,000 | 2,88,000 | 29.41 |
2024 | 3,29,000 | 2,93,000 | 12.29 |
Required Marks to Qualify CAT 2025
In order to qualify for CAT 2025 and be considered for shortlisting by the top IIMs and B-schools, candidates will need to achieve a minimum cutoff percentile, which will be indicative of marks obtained according to the difficulty level for that year. Each year, the CAT results will be normalized and all candidates will have their raw marks adjusted into percentiles. A raw score of 90-100 marks out of a maximum of 198 marks usually equates to approximately 95-98 percentile, depending on the difficulty level.
For the general category of candidates, the qualifying marks for IIMs are usually around 85-90 percentile for the older IIMs, and around 70 to 80 percentile for newer IIMs.
In the case of reserved category candidates, they can qualify with minimum 65 to 70 percentile. Please note that these are only qualifying cutoffs, and admission offers are made based on much higher percentiles. For example the top IIMs, those like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, would like to see candidates score above the 98 to 100 percentile for final selection.
Also Check: Is It Worth Attempting CAT More Than Once? ROI of Retaking the Exam
CAT Cutoff 2025 | Minimum Percentile for Top Institutes
The following table includes estimated cutoff percentile for CAT exam for 2024 and 2025 session both. The CAT 2024 final cutoff will be released once the pre-admission procedure has been concluded by the authorities.
Institute | CAT 2024 Estimated Cutoff | Expected CAT 2025 Cutoff |
IIM Ahmedabad | 99 -100 Percentile | 99 -100 Percentile |
IIM Bangalore | 99 -100 Percentile | 99 -100 Percentile |
IIM Calcutta | 98 -99 Percentile | 98 -99 Percentile |
IIM Lucknow | 97 -98 Percentile | 97 -98 Percentile |
IIM Indore | 97 -98 Percentile | 97 -98 Percentile |
IIM Kozhikode | 97 -98 Percentile | 97 -98 Percentile |
IIM Amritsar / Nagpur / Sambalpur | 95 -96 Percentile | 95 -96 Percentile |
IIM Trichy / Raipur / Ranchi / Kashipur | 94 -95 Percentile | 94 -95 Percentile |
IIM Vizag / Udaipur / Bodhgaya | 92 -94 Percentile | 92 -94 Percentile |
IIM Rohtak | 96 Percentile | 96 Percentile |
Note: Students must prepare with dedication and smart strategies to be in the list of ones who get success in CAT exam or else the increasing competition level may lead students to be disqualified in this race.
→ CAT Score Vs Percentile 2025: Get Complete Section Wise Percentile Analysis
