CAT 2025 Cutoff for General Category for IIMs and Non-IIMs

CAT 2025 Cutoff for General Category for IIMs and Non-IIMs

Team Careers360Updated on 18 Dec 2025, 03:32 PM IST

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 2026-28 after the CAT 2025 results. 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 that the IIMs offer are close to 5500. The CAT percentile range required by IIMs for the general category candidates is between 95 and 99.9. For the previous year CAT exam, 14 students secured the 100 percentile, and 29 students got 99.99 percentile.
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The exact percentile for a CAT score of 37 marks in CAT 2025 cannot be determined until the official results are announced, as it depends on the overall difficulty of the exam and the performance of all candidates. Based on past trends, a raw score of 37 out of 198–200 marks typically falls in the 35–45 percentile range, but this can vary slightly depending on the year and the normalisation process across sessions. Candidates should refer to the official CAT 2025 percentile table once released for an accurate conversion.

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This Story also Contains

  1. CAT 2025 Cutoff for General category (Expected): IIMs and Non-IIMs
  2. CAT cutoff for General category: IIMs and non-IIMs Past Trends
  3. What After Qualifying the IIM CAT Cut Off 2025?
  4. Why are CAT Cutoffs 2025 Important for MBA Aspirants?
CAT 2025 Cutoff for General Category for IIMs and Non-IIMs
CAT 2025 Cutoff for General Category for IIMs and Non-IIMs

CAT 2025 Cutoff for General category (Expected): IIMs and Non-IIMs

The CAT cutoff for the general category for IIMs will depend on the CAT 2025 difficulty level, the number of appearing candidates, seats offered, and the normalisation process. The expected CAT cutoff for general category candidates for IIMs and non-IMs is mentioned in the table below.

ALSO CHECK: CAT 2025 Slot 1 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Slot 2 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile vs Colleges

CAT cutoff for General category: IIMs and non-IIMs Past Trends

The trends have remained unchanged when it comes to the CAT exam cutoff for the general category. The previous year's minimum IIM general cutoff and general cutoff for non-IIMs accepting CAT 2025 scores are listed in the table below.

What After Qualifying the IIM CAT Cut Off 2025?

After the candidate has met the IIMT CAT Cut Off, the following are the next steps that they will need to follow:

  • Shortlisting by IIMs: Each IIM will individually shortlist candidates who will meet their respective cut offs. One must note that these cutoffs will vary significantly between the older and more prestigious IIMs and the newer IIMs. Furthermore, the shortlisting criteria typically consider the CAT score, academic performance (in 10th, 12th and graduation), and sometimes even work experience and diversity factors are included.

  • Written Ability Test (WAT) and Group Discussion (GD): Based on the CAT score, all shortlisted candidates will then be called for further selection rounds, which will include WAT/GD.

  • Personal Interview (PI): All those who clear the WAT-GD rounds will further be called for the Personal Interview (PI) round. In this round, candidates will need to go through a one-on-one interaction with the panel of faculty who will assess the candidates' personality, communication skills, general knowledge and overall suitability for the MBA program. Candidate must be prepared for all types of questions as interviewers can also ask questions about the candidate's background, academic achievements, work exp (if applicable).

  • Final Selection: The final selection will be based on a composite score which will consider the candidate's performance in the CAT exam, WAT/GD/PI, academic record, work experience and diversity factors. One must note that each IIM has its own weightage for different components.

  • Offer Acceptance and Admission: Successful candidates will receive an offer from the IIM. To accept the offer, candidates will need to confirm their acceptance within a stipulated time and pay the required admission fee.

Why are CAT Cutoffs 2025 Important for MBA Aspirants?

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 2025 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.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the lowest IIM cutoff for the General category?
A:

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.

Q: What is the CAT cut-off for non-IIM?
A:

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 2025 General category cutoff close to the 98 percentile.

Q: Can I get IIM with 85 percentile general category?
A:

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.

Q: How much percentile is required for IIM for the General category?
A:

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.

Q: What is the cut off for CAP 2025?
A:
CategoryCutoff 2025 Cutoff 2024Cutoff 2023Cutoff 2022Cutoff 2021
General9292
92
93
94
EWS7070
70
7475
NC-OBC7474
74
74
75
SC54
54
54
54
55
ST4040
40
40
40
DAP40
40
40
40
40
Q: Will CAT 2025 be tough?
A:

The CAT 2025 exam was moderate to tough, as expected from previous trends. 

Q: What is the CAT cut off for IIT Bombay 2025?
A:

The CAT cutoff for IIT Bombay for candidates belonging to General category will be 90 percentile and for SC/ST/PwD category, the CAT cutoff will be 60 percentile.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.

The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.

After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.

Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.

So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.

If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.


Hello aspirant,

With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello aspirant ,

For MANAGE Hyderabad MBA , the OBC cutoff in CAT 2024 was generally around 85-90 percentile for shortlist consideration , tough exact figures vary by section and profile . For CAT 2025, if fewer candidates appeared , the cutoff might slightly adjust , but percentile based cutoffs dont change drastically year to year. A minor decrease is possible , but you should still aim for 90+ percentile to be competitive. Factors like VARC, QA-LRDI and overall profile influence the final shortlist.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutof f

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello,

For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this article you'll find more about the CAT result.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,
With a projected CAT percentile of 87% but not clearing sectional cutoffs, your chances at top IIMs are limited because they require both overall percentile and sectional minimums. However, you still have a good shot at other reputed management institutes and non-IIM B-schools. Consider colleges like NMIMS, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes, and other well-ranked private or state-level B-schools that accept CAT scores and weigh your profile holistically. Your academic record, BSc in Animation with 80%, and 5 years of work experience at Ubisoft India are strong points and may help in institutes that value work experience in their selection process. Also, explore institutes that accept XAT, MAT, or CMAT, where your profile can be competitive.
Hope this helps you.