CAT cutoff 2026 for the general category is higher compared to other reserved categories. The CAT 2026 cutoff for the general category for IIMs and non-IIM admissions will be released for the academic year 2027-29 after the CAT 2026 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 general-category candidates is between 95 and 99.9. Check out the expected CAT 2026 cutoff for the general category along with past years' data for comparison and estimation.
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The CAT cutoff for the general category for IIMs will depend on the CAT 2026 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 2026 cutoff for General category (Expected) |
90-95 | |
91-96 | |
- | |
91-93 | |
92 | |
88-92 | |
88-90 | |
92-95 | |
80-82 | |
94-96 | |
- | |
- | |
82 | |
95 | |
- | |
95-98 | |
90-95 | |
95-97 | |
- | |
98.20 | |
94 | |
98+ | |
90+ | |
99+ | |
90+ | |
95+ | |
95+ | |
85+ | |
90+ | |
96 | |
85+ |
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 2026 scores are listed in the table below.
Name of the College | CAT cutoff for General Category 2024 | CAT cutoff for General Category 2023 | |
90.98 | 93.76 | ||
95.45 | 91.97 | ||
- | - | ||
| Non-Pwd | 91.02 | 92.48 | |
| PwD | 60.16 | ||
92.43 | 92.92 | ||
91.03 | 88.14 | ||
- | 88.37 | ||
- | 94 | ||
85.01 | 80.02 | ||
95.01 (non-DAP) | 94.01 | ||
- | - | ||
- | - | ||
82.03 | 82.03 | ||
95.26 | 95.85 | ||
- | - | ||
| IIM Kashipur | 95.09 | 94 | |
- | 98.45 | ||
| Non-PwD | 95 | 90 | |
| PwD | 43.29 | ||
97 | 96 | ||
| IIM Jammu | 90.06 | 89.01 | |
97.04 | - | ||
98 | 98-99 | ||
85 | 85+ | ||
90 | 90 | ||
80 | 80-85 | ||
90 | 90+ | ||
90 | 90 | ||
94+ | 95+ | ||
85+ | 85+ | ||
85 | 92 | ||
81-86 | 80+ | ||
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 2026 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 CAT 2026 exam is expected to be moderate to tough, as per previous trends.
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 2026 General category cutoff close to the 98 percentile.
The CAT cutoff for IIT Bombay for candidates belonging to the General category will likely be around 90 percentile, and for SC/ST/PwD category, the CAT cutoff is expected to be 60 percentile.
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.
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.
On Question asked by student community
If by B-category you mean management/private quota MBBS seats, the cutoff is very different from government-quota MBBS.
In Tamil Nadu, management-quota MBBS seats are available in self-financing/private medical colleges through the state counselling process. The closing rank varies significantly between colleges and counselling rounds. The 2025 counselling data shows that
Hello Student,
With a CAT 2025 percentile of 98.25, you have a good chance of receiving calls from several IIMs, particularly newer IIMs. However, IIM Ahmedabad , Bangalore , Calcutta , and Lucknow generally require higher percentiles for General-category candidates. Calls also depend on sectional percentiles, academics, work experience, and
Hello Aspirant,
Yes, you can access CAT preparation resources, including mock tests, practice questions, previous-year papers, and study material. Explore the CAT preparation resources and test series using the link below:
https://bschool.careers360.com/download/ebooks-and-sample-papers?exam=45
Hope this Helps!
Hello CAT Aspirant!
If you mean the CAT ( Common Admission Test) EWS certificate, the important point is whether the certificate is valid and issued in the prescribed format, rather than simply the language used on it.
Yes, a Hindi EWS certificate can generally be accepted for CAT, provided it
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