How Many Students Clear CAT Exam Every Year?

How Many Students Clear CAT Exam Every Year?

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Team Careers360Updated on 29 Aug 2025, 10:29 AM IST

CAT (Common Admission Test) is one of the most reputed and anticipated MBA entrance exams in India. The CAT exam is the gateway for aspiring candidates to the prestigious IIMs and other top rated B schools in the country. The CAT exam is given by more than 2 lakh candidates every year. The selection of candidates in the IIMs is done based on the specified CAT cutoff. CAT 2025 will be held on November 30, 2025. The number of candidates clearing CAT this year is expected to be in line with earlier trends. Last year, around 2.93 lakh candidates appeared for the CAT 2025 in 3 slots as per the report from CAT officials. The candidates clearing the CAT exam account for less than 10 per cent of the total candidates that appear for the CAT examination every year.

How Many Students Clear CAT Exam Every Year?
How Many Students Clear CAT Exam

Total Candidates clearing the CAT Exam

The total number of candidates that clear the CAT examination is roughly around 10,000. This number is less than ten per cent of the total candidates given the total number of candidates appearing for the CAT exam crosses two lakhs (approximately) every year. Out of these candidates, only a handful of the candidates can gain admission into IIMs and other top B schools.

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Students Took the CAT Exam: Statistics (Last Year's)

Check out the table below to see the total number of candidates who appeared for the CAT 2025 exam.

GenderNumber of candidates attended the CAT exam
Male appeared candidates1.86 lakhs
Female appeared candidates1.07 lakhs
Transgender appeared candidates5
Total candidates appeared in CAT last year2.93 lakhs
Total candidates applied for CAT last year3.29 lakhs
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Also See: How Many Students Took CAT Exam?

Marks required to clear the CAT Exam

The marks required to clear the CAT exam vary every year. The marks vary from one institute to another depending on their specified CAT cutoff. The CAT cutoff for different IIMs as well as non-IIMs is given in the table below.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How many students get into IIM every year?
A:

Every year, it is estimated that approximately 5,500 students get admitted into 21 IIMs, with the total number of seats across all IIMs being slightly higher. 

Q: How many students give the CAT every year?
A:

The CAT exam is given by over 2 lakh candidates every year. The number of students giving the CAT exam varies from 2.5 to 2.9 lakh every year.

Q: What is the success rate of CAT?
A:

The success rate for the CAT exam based on previous year records is around 2%. The success rate for IIMs through CAT is even lesser than that.

Q: What is the pass percentage of the CAT exam?
A:

The pass percentage of the CAT exam is decided by the individual college. CAT exam also has sectional pass percentage for all three sections. The CAT pass percentage ranges from 60 to 80 for the overall CAT exam.

Q: What is the CAT cutoff for IIM?
A:

The CAT cutoff for IIM is between 99 to 100 percentile. This is the CAT percentile at which the final selection of a candidate generally happens. The qualifying CAT percentile for CAT ranges from 70 to 80 depending on the particular IIM. At this percentile a candidate becomes eligible to apply to the particular IIM for its selection process.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello dear candidate,

Yes, you have a very good chance of getting a BPT seat with 488 out of 600 and TS EAMCET rank of 14,000 under the ST category.

As the cut off of BPT for ST category students are generally between 25,000 to 45,000 ranks, depending upon the college and you have TS EAMCET rank of 14,000.

Thank you.

If you got 802 marks in Telangana Intermediate and belong to the ST category, you have a fair chance to get admission in a BPT course in 2025, but it depends on the college and cut-off. Most BPT colleges in Telangana ask for 12th marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and some also use the TS EAMCET rank for admission. The cut-off for ST students is usually lower than for general students, but it changes every year. It is better to check the previous year’s cut-offs of the colleges you want to apply to.

Hello, Getting shortlisted for IIM Lucknow or IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) with your profile is challenging, primarily due to your 58% in Class 10th, which significantly impacts the composite score calculation for both institutes. While your 98 percentile CAT score is excellent, and your 24 months of work experience, B.Com (Hons) background (providing academic diversity, especially for IIM-L), and KVS National player status are valuable additions, top IIMs and IITs heavily weigh consistent academic performance. Your 74% in 12th is also on the lower side. IIM Lucknow places substantial weight on 10th and 12th marks, making a call quite difficult despite your strengths. You likely have a relatively better, though still uncertain, chance at IIT Bombay, as their weighting might be slightly less penalizing for past academics compared to IIM-L, and your high CAT score is a major factor. However, the low 10th score remains a significant hurdle for both prestigious institutions.

I hope you found this information helpful and for study related queries you can ask in careers360 app, Have a great day and!

Hey,

You already have a strong profile with the score of 58% in Class 10, 74% in Class 12, and 80% in graduation, but admission in IIT Bombay, Shailesh J Mehta School of Management is quite competitive, especially if you are in general category because the cutoff for general goes to 98.5-99%. Your CAT percentage is impressive but your 10th marks might reduce your score during the shortlisting process. If you perform well in Written Ability Test and Personal Interview, and present your commerce background you still stand a fair chance. But it would also be wise if you have some backups like MDI Gurugram, IMT Ghaziabad, IMI Delhi, where your marks and profile will fit well in their selection range.

HELLO,

I am providing you the link below through which you will be able to download the previous 10 years CAT question papers

Here is the link :- CAT Previous year Question papers

Hope this Helps!