To obtain a percentile of 85 means a candidate has to secure approximately 41-47 marks (overall) in CAT 2025. Achieving 85 percentile in the CAT 2025 exam is considered a good score for a candidate. The marks for the CAT 85 percentile vary slightly for each of the CAT 2025 exam slots. Aspirants can choose from 20+ renowned colleges that will accept 85 percentile in the CAT 2025 for their management programs. KJ Somiaya, IMT Ghaziabad, IIT Roorkee, GLIM, and Fore School of Management are some of the colleges that accept 85 percentile for MBA admissions. The CAT percentile is designed by MBA experts to help students set a target for how much to score in the CAT. Students can check below, 85 percentile in CAT means how many marks in the CAT 2025 (overall). Apart from that, they can review a list of colleges apart from IIMs accepting 85 percentile for MBA admissions 2026. The CAT 2025 was conducted on November 30, 2025, by IIM Kozhikode.
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The overall marks required to achieve 85 percentile in the CAT 2025 exam are expected to be between 41-47, based on the trends from the last few years and as per the data obtained from MBA experts and multiple coaching institutes.
CAT 2025 Percentile | CAT 2025 Marks (overall) |
85 | 41-47 (expected) |
ALSO CHECK: CAT 2025 Slot 1 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Slot 2 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile vs Colleges
Below is the CAT 2025 percentile vs score by IMS for each CAT 2025 slot for 85 percentile and more.
Percentile | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
95 | 70 | 65 | 66 |
90 | 53 | 51 | 52 |
85 | 45 | 41 | 43 |
80 | 40 | 37 | 37 |
75 | 34 | 33 | 33 |
The table below contains the expected 85 percentile vs CAT 2025 marks data from Career Launcher.
Expected Percentiles | CAT 2025 Slot 1 | CAT 2025 Slot 2 | CAT 2025 Slot 3 |
95 | 65 | 66 | 67 |
90 | 52 | 53 | 53 |
85 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
80 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
Candidates can check the CAT percentile vs marks for CAT 2025 slots in the following table, as expected by IQuanta.
Percentile | Slot 1 CAT Marks | Slot 2 CAT Marks | Slot 3 CAT Marks |
95 | 65 | 67 | 65 |
90 | 54 | 56 | 52 |
85 | 45 | 47 | 42 |
80 | 40 | 42 | 38 |
Check Out CAT 2025 cut off IIM ABC | Expected IIM Ahmedabad Composite Score 2026| CAT 2025 Slot 3 score vs percentile
For the slot 1 CAT marks vs 85 percentile, see the table below.
CAT 2025 Percentile | CAT Marks 2025 Slot 1 |
95 | 56-58 |
90 | 45-48 |
85 | 40-42 |
80 | 35-36 |
75 | 32-33 |
70 | 30-31 |
60 | 25-31 |
Data by Careers360
The CAT 2025 marks for 85 percentile are predicted to be around 34-35. See the table below to know the required marks for more CAT percentiles.
CAT 2025 Percentile | CAT Marks 2025 Slot 2 |
95 | 55-57 |
90 | 44-46 |
85 | 38-40 |
80 | 34-35 |
75 | 31-32 |
70 | 29-30 |
60 | 24-25 |
Data by Careers360
For the Slot 3 CAT 2025 exam, the required CAT marks for 85 percentile are listed in the following table.
CAT 2025 Percentile | CAT Marks 2025 Slot 3 |
95 | 54-56 |
90 | 44-45 |
85 | 38-40 |
80 | 34-35 |
75 | 30-32 |
70 | 29-30 |
60 | 24-25 |
There are so many colleges that will accept the CAT 2025 score for MBA admissions 2026. Some of those colleges accepting 85 percentile in CAT for the admission of candidates into their MBA /PGDM program are as follows.
Colleges Accepting 85 Percentile | CAT 2025 percentile (Expected) |
85+ | |
IIT Roorkee cut off CAT 2025 | 85+ |
85-95 | |
85+ | |
BIM Trichy cut off CAT 2025 | 85+ |
85 | |
IMT Nagpur CAT 2025 cut off | 85-90 |
KJ Somaiya cut off CAT 2025 | 83-86 |
IIT Madras CAT 2025 cut off | 85 |
85 | |
Christ University CAT 2025 cut off | 80-85 |
As CAT percentile is calculated based on your section-wise CAT scaled scores and the overall CAT scaled score. The CAT percentile calculation method uses a simple percentile formula using the number of candidates in the exam and the rank of the candidates. Now let us take an example of the VARC section and understand how is CAT percentile is calculated.
Step 1: Calculate the total number of candidates (N) expected to appear for the CAT 2025 exam across both slots, morning and afternoon.
Step 2: Allot Rank (r) based on the scaled score obtained in any one section (e.g., VARC) to all the candidates who appeared in the CAT. If there are two or more candidates with the same score in the section, then assign identical ranks to the candidates.
Step 3: The image below shows how to calculate the CAT percentile using the rank based on the VARC section scaled score. Here, P is the percentile.

The normalisation process is implemented by the institutes to eliminate potential bias and maintain fairness for the CAT 2025 exam. Since the CAT exam is held in three separate slots with potentially varying levels of difficulty, the normalisation process helps create an equal field for all candidates. After evaluating the candidate’s response sheet, raw scores are generated. These raw scores are then converted into scaled scores through the normalisation process. Finally, the scaled scores are used to determine the CAT percentile. FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
KJ Somiaya, IMT Ghaziabad, IIT Roorkee, GLIM, Fore School of Management, and others are some of the colleges that accept 85 percentile for MBA admissions.
Yes, the CAT percentile slightly varies each year.
The CAT percentile is the position or rank of the candidate among all the test takers, whereas the CAT score is a candidate’s raw performance in the exam.
The expected marks in the CAT exam 2025 for 85 percentile are around 44-52.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Here are some top colleges accepting XAT and CAT exams :
Top colleges accepting CAT:
IIMs (All Indian Institutes of Management)
FMS Delhi
SPJIMR Mumbai
MDI Gurgaon
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM)
IIT Delhi (DMS)
IIFT
IMT Ghaziabad
JBIMS Mumbai
Top colleges accepting XAT:
XLRI Jamshedpur
XIMB Bhubaneswar
IMT Ghaziabad
Great
Hi ,
can you please specify the question like in NIT trichy are you looking for admission in B. tech program .
If yes for B. tech program then JEE main exam is necessary and the cut off for each branch may vary.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-cutoff-for-nit-trichy
Hi there,
A female candidate with a CAT percentile of 67.97 and low sectional scores should target private and tier-2/3 B-schools that accept overall CAT scores in the 60–70 percentile range and have flexible sectional criteria.
Some suitable options include AIMS Institute Bangalore, Doon Business School Dehradun, Christ Institute of
Hi dear candidate,
Although, the older and prestigious IIMs require 97 to 99 percentile which is not applicable in your case. The IIM Rohtak and IIM Shillong might be your closest calls with historically cut off range around 91 to 93 percentile in CAT especially with strong hold for female
Hi there,
Yes, you are eligible for XISS Ranchi with a CAT percentile of 67.60.
According to recent admission trends, the CAT cutoff for the PGDM in Human Resource Management for the general category has been around 60 percentile. For other programs such as Marketing, Finance, and Rural Management, the
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