How Many Students Clear CAT Exam Every Year?

How Many Students Clear CAT Exam Every Year?

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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 ?

With a 70 percent in CAT Examination, you can go for various B-Schools or private collages. The S. K. Patel Institute of Management in Gandhinagar is an option for those who score 70-80 percent in their CAT examination or The Gujarat Institute of Management (GIM) in Goa with a cutoff of 60-80 percentage. These are the collages you can look for in Gujarat or nearby.

Collage in other regions: BA Colleges Accepting 70-80 Percentile in CAT 2025

Thank You.

Hello dear candidate,

NO. your application for CAT will not rejected for wrong gender small mistake in the OBC NCL certificate. You will be considered as an OBC candidate.

you just need to get your OBC certificate corrected and need to inform the CAT helpdesk about this error.


Hello,

Here are some top MBA colleges in India with fees under Rs. 2 lakh and their exam/cutoff details:

  • SIMSREE, Mumbai – Fee around Rs. 1.3–1.4 lakh for 2 years. Accepts CAT, CMAT, MAH-CET, MAT, ATMA. Cutoff is very high, usually 99+ percentile in CAT/CMAT.

  • PUMBA (Dept. of Management Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University) – Fee around Rs. 1.2–1.3 lakh. Accepts CAT, CMAT, MAH-CET, ATMA. Cutoff approx. 75+ percentile in CAT, 90–95+ percentile in CMAT, high scores in MAH-CET.

  • TISS, Mumbai (MA HRM & other management-related programmes) – Fee around Rs. 1.7–1.9 lakh. Accepts CAT for some courses. Qualifying cutoff is around 60–70 percentile, but final selection cutoffs are higher.

These are the main government institutes where the full MBA/PG programme fee is within Rs. 2 lakh. Cutoffs vary slightly each year and by category, but SIMSREE and PUMBA generally need high scores, while TISS has its own process along with CAT shortlisting.

Hope it helps !

Hey! With a NEET score of 344 in the ST category, it is highly unlikely to get admission in any government BDS college in Delhi through the All India Quota. The cutoff for government BDS seats in Delhi usually falls around 400–450 for ST category, so your score is below that range.

You can consider private dental colleges, state quota seats in other states, or reattempt NEET next year to improve your chances.

Hello dear candidate,

YES, with NEET score 344in the ST category you have high chances of getting admission in a BDS College in J&K through JKBOPEE counselling.

check the seat availability and next participate in JKBOPEE Counselling with all the necessary documents.

Thank you.