Is 40% Marks Enough for 99 Percentile in CAT 2025? Find Out Reality Here!

Is 40% Marks Enough for 99 Percentile in CAT 2025? Find Out Reality Here!

Sambhav ThakurUpdated on 12 Dec 2025, 12:38 PM IST

Can your CAT 40% marks = 99 percentile? The answer is no. A CAT score of 40% translates into 81-82 marks, which is not sufficient to get a 99 percentile. Though the candidate can expect a 98 percentile for scoring between 78-82 marks in the CAT exam and get top MBA colleges like DMS, IIT Delhi, and IIM Indore. The section-wise requirement for scoring the 99 percentile stands at 41 marks in VARC, 38 marks in DILR, and 33 marks in QA, while you need to score 36 marks in VARC, 34 marks in DILR, and 29 marks in QA for 40% marks, in turn, 98 percentile in the CAT. Keep reading for information on how to calculate the CAT score vs percentile, normalization process, and much more.

This Story also Contains

  1. CAT 40% Marks = 99 Percentile: Expected Score 2025
  2. CAT Marks vs Percentile: What Does This Mean?
  3. CAT Marks vs Score: Section-wise Breakdown
  4. CAT Marking Scheme 202: Calculating the CAT Score
  5. CAT 40% Marks = 99 Percentile: A Comparison (2024 vs 2023)
Is 40% Marks Enough for 99 Percentile in CAT 2025? Find Out Reality Here!
Is 40% Marks Enough for 99 Percentile in CAT 2025? Find Out Reality Here!

CAT 40% Marks = 99 Percentile: Expected Score 2025

You need slightly more marks than 40% to get a 99 percentile in the CAT examination. The 40% marks that translate into around 81-82 marks fetch you somewhere around 98 percentile as indicated in the table below. The table contains the expected 2025 percentile in slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3. Please refer to find your preferred score.

CAT Exam Slot 1 Percentile (Expected)

CAT Percentile 2025

CAT VARC Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT DILR Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT QA Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT Overall Score 2025 (Expected)

99

39-40

31-32

30-31

90

98

30-31

25-26

26-27

82

95

31-32

24-25

23-24

66

CAT Exam Slot 2 Percentile (Expected)

CAT Percentile 2025

CAT VARC Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT DILR Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT QA Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT Overall Score 2025 (Expected)

99

41-42

27-28

30-31

87

98

30-31

25-26

26-27

78

95

33-34

22-23

22-23

63

CAT Exam Slot 3 Percentile (Expected)

CAT Percentile 2025

CAT VARC Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT DILR Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT QA Score 2025 (Expected)

CAT Overall Score 2025 (Expected)

99

42-43

28-29

30-32

93

98

30-31

24-25

23-24

78

95

34-35

23-24

24-25

68

CAT Marks vs Percentile: What Does This Mean?

The CAT percentile is calculated based on the candidates’ scaled scores in the exam and represents the relative position of the candidates in the race for MBA admissions. The following points will brief you regarding the CAT raw score, scaled score, and CAT percentile.

CAT Raw Score: The CAT raw score is calculated based on the candidates’ answers in the response sheet. CAT raw scores are released along with the official answer key.

CAT Scaled Score: IIM calculates the CAT scaled score through the CAT normalization process to avoid potential biases and unfair advantages as a result of different slots. The CAT raw scores are normalized to calculate the CAT scaled scores.

CAT Percentile: In the end, the conducting authority calculates the candidates’ percentile using the percentile formula and scaled scores. This percentile decides an aspirant’s relative position to other candidates in the CAT exam.

CAT Marks vs Score: Section-wise Breakdown

Candidates who are calculating whether their CAT score of 80 marks falls into the desired 99 percentile need to check the section-wise breakdown as well. To check whether your score falls into 99 percentile or not, please refer to the table below.

CAT VARC Section Analysis

CAT Percentile

VARC Score

99

41

98

36

95

30

CAT DILR Section Analysis

CAT Percentile

DILR Score

99

38

98

34

95

27

CAT QA Section Analysis

CAT Percentile

QA Score

99

33

98

29

95

22

CAT Marking Scheme 202: Calculating the CAT Score

To calculate if the 40% mark is equal to 99 percentile, one must know the CAT marking scheme and exam pattern. The following points mention the CAT marking scheme for you to better understand how to calculate the CAT percentile and score.

  • The CAT exam 2025 contains a total of 68 questions divided into three sections. Each questions carry 3 marks, making the CAT exam a maximum of 204 marks.

  • Candidates get 3 marks for every correct answer, while 1 mark is deducted for each incorrect response in the CAT exam. However, there’s no negative marking for type-in-the-answer questions.

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CAT Sections

Number of MCQs

Number of TITA Questions

Total Number of CAT Questions

CAT Maximum Marks

Time Allotted (Section-wise)

VARC

22

2

24

72

40 minutes

DILR

12

10

22

66

40 minutes

QA

14

8

22

66

40 minutes

Total

48

20

68

204

120 minutes

CAT 40% Marks = 99 Percentile: A Comparison (2024 vs 2023)

CAT Exam Percentile Vs Score 2023

CAT Percentile

CAT VARC Score

CAT DILR Score

CAT QA Score

CAT Overall Score

99

39.70

27.39

28.18

76.02

98

35.88

24.58

24.31

66.68

95

28.68

19.60

19.68

54.86

CAT Exam Percentile Vs Score 2024

CAT Percentile

CAT VARC Score

CAT DILR Score

CAT QA Score

CAT Overall Score

99

41

38

33

96

98

36

34

29

85

95

30

27

22

70

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What percentile is 40 marks in CAT?
A:

Generally, a candidate scoring 40 marks in the CAT exam can expect a percentile of somewhere between 80. However, it largely depends on the number of candidates who appear for the exam and the difficulty level.

Q: At what marks can I get 99 percentile?
A:

A 99 percentile means you have scored better than 99% of the aspirants. A candidate is expected to score 85-90 marks to get 99 percentile in the CAT exam. 

Q: Is 99 percentile possible without maths?
A:

Yes, the 99 percentile is possible without maths, but you need to focus more on the VARC and DILR sections and attempt more questions from these sections. However, it is recommended to follow a balanced approach to get a good percentile score in the exam. 

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

HELLO,

With a 74 percentile in CAT ,EWS category and 8/8/7 academics , you are in good spot for many non IIM colleges like :-

1.BIMTECH

2.AIM DELHI

3.AMITY GROUP

4.IMT

5.IMT NAGPUR

6.SDM IMD

7.Great Lakes (GLIM) Institute of Management

8.Alliance University

9.IBS Business School

10. Institute of Management,

Hello there,

Yes, you should surely give a try. Your score and being Non-Engineer gives you an edge. The previous trends shows that cutoff typically hovers around 75-84 for EWS category. Therefore you must give a try.

NIBM  gives proper weightage to academics as well, therefore your 8\8\8 would work

HELLO,

With an overall 98.54 percentile ( QA/DILR 97.55, VARC 94.89) and strong academics 9/9/0, you have a good profile. As a B.Tech candidate you can expect calls from :-

  • IIM Shillong
  • IIM Udaipur
  • IIM Trichy
  • IIM Ranchi
  • IIM Raipur
  • IIM Kashipur
  • IIM Nagpur
  • IIM Indore is Boderline

Hope this

Hello there,

The IIMs you should expect are listed below:

  • A 90-100% chance: IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, IIM Mumbai, and all CAP IIMs( Udaipur, Trichy, Ranchi, etc.).
  • A 50-70% CHANCE: IIM Calcutta and SPJIMR.
  • A very competitive chance, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore

Your biotech background

Hello there,

With a 70 percentile it is not easy to make it in the IMT Hyderabad because the cutoff usually reaches 85-90+ for general category, even IMT Nagpur has low chances since the cutoff usually reaches 75-85. However, IMI Kolkata, is your safe option, since the cutoff is around