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.
LATEST: Official CAT 2025 Answer Key RELEASED | CAT 2025 Answer Key Link
Candidates can analyze their performance and calculate their expected score based on the answer key of CAT 2025.
This Story also Contains
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.
Name of the College | CAT 2025 cutoff for General category (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 |
ALSO CHECK: CAT 2025 Slot 1 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Slot 2 Score vs Percentile | CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile vs Colleges
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 general cutoff for non-IIMs accepting CAT 2025 scores 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 |
After the candidate has met the IIMT CAT Cut Off, the following are the next steps that they will need to follow:
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)
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 2025 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 |
The CAT 2025 exam was moderate to tough, as expected from previous trends.
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.
On Question asked by student community
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.
Good Morning,
NIT Rourkela CAT cutoff range is between 70-85 percentiles for the general category. 70 is the minimum percentile needed to apply, and 85 is the highest percentile. However, the maximum percentile depends on the particular year competition. It can be changed.
Thank You.
If you filled the UGC NET form under EWS but you don’t have a valid EWS certificate, then forget using the EWS category. They won’t accept it. You’ll automatically be treated as General category during document verification.
And no, this won’t make your form “invalid” or “illegal.” It just means you won’t get the EWS benefit.
So yes — you can still go for General category posts and Professor recruitment. Just don’t try to submit a fake/invalid certificate; that will get you disqualified.
Hello,
If your CAT admit card shows your surname first followed by your first name as entered in the form, it is correct. You do not need to worry about this format as long as it matches the details you provided. Ensure all other information on the admit card is accurate and carry it to the exam along with the required identification documents.
Hope this helps you.
Hello,
If your CAT admit card has a different date of birth than your Aadhaar card, you should get it corrected immediately . Here’s what you can do:
Check the CAT website : Log in to your candidate portal and look for the option to correct personal details.
Contact the CAT helpdesk : Email or call them explaining the issue. Attach a copy of your Aadhaar card as proof.
Do not ignore it : The date of birth must match your ID, otherwise you may face problems at the exam or during admission.
Usually, the CAT authorities allow corrections before the exam, so act quickly.
Hope it helps !
Ranked among top 10 B-Schools in India by multiple publications | Top Recruiters-Google, MicKinsey, Amazon, BCG & many more.
Globally Recognized by AACSB (US) & AMBA (UK) | 17.8 LPA Avg. CTC for PGPM 2025
Top 30 Private B-Schools Nationally and Top 3 in Gujarat | Highest CTC- 20 LPA | Average CTC- 8.4 LPA | 40% Pre-Placement Offers | 670+ Recruiters
UGC Approved Programs | Near 100% Placement Record | Up to 100% Scholarships | Highest CTC 21.32 LPA
Highest CTC 51.38 LPA | Median CTC 10.32 LPA | Top 25% Average CTC 14.32 LPA
EFMD Accredited | AACSB & Business Graduates Association Member | Highest CTC 19 LPA | Application Closing on 7th Jan'26