XAT- Xavier Aptitude Test 2026
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CAT cutoff 2025 for the general category is higher compared to other reserved categories. The CAT 2025 cutoff for the general category for IIMs and non-IIM admissions will be released for the academic year 2026. The general category does not get any reservations in the seats for IIMs as well as non-IIMs. The collective seats for MBA/PGDM courses the IIMs offer are close to 5500. The CAT percentile range required for IIMs for the general category candidates is between 95 and 99.9. This year, 14 students secured the 100 percentile, and 29 students got 99.99 percentile in the CAT exam.
For the CAT exam registration 2025, candidates should keep ready the scanned copies of a passport size photograph, signature, and category certificates, along with all educational details and work experience.
The CAT cutoff for the general category for IIM will depend on the CAT 2025 difficulty level, the number of appearing candidates, seats offered, and the normalization process. The expected CAT cutoff for general category candidates for IIMs and non-IMs is mentioned in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT cutoff for General category for IIM (Expected) |
99-100 | |
99-100 | |
99-100 | |
97-98 | |
97-98 | |
97-98 | |
95-96 | |
95-96 | |
95-96 | |
94-95 | |
94-95 | |
94-95 | |
92-94 | |
92-94 | |
92-94 | |
90 | |
90 | |
92-94 | |
94 | |
97-99 | |
88-90 | |
90 | |
75 | |
90 | |
85-90 | |
94 | |
94 | |
90-95 | |
91 | |
96 | |
85 |
The trends have remained unchanged when it comes to the CAT exam cutoff for the general category. The previous year's IIM general cutoff and CAT general cutoff for non-IIMs are listed in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT cutoff for General Category 2024 | CAT cutoff for General Category 2023 |
99-99.5 | 99-99.5 | |
99 | 99 | |
99 | 99 | |
97-98 | 97-98 | |
97-98 | 97-98 | |
97-98 | 97-98 | |
95-96 | 95-96 | |
95-96 | 95-96 | |
95-96 | 95-96 | |
94-95 | 94-95 | |
94-95 | 94-95 | |
94-95 | 94-95 | |
92-94 | 92-94 | |
92-94 | 92-94 | |
92-94 | 92-94 | |
90 | 90 | |
90 | 90 | |
90-92 | 90-92 | |
95 | 95 | |
98 | 98-99 | |
85 | 85+ | |
90 | 90 | |
80 | 80-85 | |
90 | 90+ | |
90 | 90 | |
94+ | 95+ | |
85+ | 85+ | |
85 | 92 | |
81-86 | 80+ | |
85-90 | 85+ | |
85 | 85 |
CAT cut-offs hold significant importance for all MBA aspirants as they represent the minimum percentile score the candidates need to have to become eligible for further stages of the admission process at various MBA colleges.
The CAT cut-offs will act as eligibility criteria and will determine whether an applicant's CAT performance is sufficient for a particular business school to consider their candidature for selection rounds, such as Group Discussion and Personal Interview.
Furthermore, CAT cut-offs will indicate the competition level for admission to specific MBA programs; higher cut-offs will lead to greater applicant volume and a more competitive environment.
The lowest IIM cutoff for the General category comes to 90 percentile. A few IIMs like IIM Bodh Gaya, and IIM Nagpur can be aimed for this percentile. The IIM cutoff for the General category for most of the IIMs remains between 95-100 percentile.
The CAT cutoff for non-IIM colleges offering MBA/PGDM programs ranges mostly from 80 to 90 percentile. Few of the non-IIM institutes like the FMS, Delhi are expected to have a CAT General category cutoff close to the 98 percentile.
For a General category candidate the IIMs close their applications at a minimum CAT percentile of 90. With a CAT percentile of 85 candidates from the General category can target non-IIM colleges with good ratings.
For IIM admission the CAT percentile required for the General category is between 90-100. At the upper band of 99-100 CAT percentile the IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Bangalore can be targeted. For the lower band 90-95 of CAT percentile IIMs like IIM Trichy, IIM Raipur, and IIM Ranchi can be aimed for.
Category | Cutoff 2025 | Cutoff 2024 | Cutoff 2023 | Cutoff 2022 | Cutoff 2021 |
General | 92 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
EWS | 70 | 70 | 70 | 74 | 75 |
NC-OBC | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 75 |
SC | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 55 |
ST | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
DAP | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
Hello Aspirant,
Yes, if your caste is listed under Central OBC and you come under the category of Non-Creamy Layer, then you shall be eligible for the OBC-NCL reservation in the CAT exam and IIM admissions, irrespective of its being categorized as OEC in Kerala. Remember to get a valid OBC-NCL certificate obtained as per the format prescribed by the Government of India.
Hey Vijay:)
Thanks for reaching out!
OEC,(Other Eligible Communities) is a state-specific reservation category used in Kerala,and it is not recognised as a separate category in central-level exams like the CAT.
For Central govt exams candidates must choose from the recognised categories: General,SC,ST,OBC-NCL,EWS or PwD.If your community is listed under OEC-SC or OEC-ST in Kerala,you should check whether it falls under SC or ST in the central list and apply accordingly.
Similarly,If your OEC community is in the central OBC list and you meet the non-creamy layer(NCL)rules,you can apply as OBC-NCL, otherwise you need to apply under the general category.
You can verify caste's status in the central list on the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) website.
Hope this clears your doubt!
You can easily get CAT previous year question papers online in PDF format, with solutions too. Websites like CollegeDunia, Careers360, SelfStudys, Cracku, and Aglasem have papers from CAT 2024, 2023, 2022… even back to the 1990s.
Hi dear candidate,
The score of your CAT exam is valid for one year from the date of exam.
For example: If your CAT exam was held on 24th November 2024 then your score is valid till 31st December 2025 meaning that you can take admission in the academic year 2025 - 27.
BEST REGARDS
With a Telangana EWS state rank of 2000 in NEET 2025, you have a decent chance of getting an MBBS seat under Category A (Convener quota) in government or semi-government medical colleges, especially during the later rounds of counselling. Your chances are higher in newer or peripheral colleges.
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