NTA's Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025: What Happens When Scores Are Tied?

NTA's Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025: What Happens When Scores Are Tied?

SundararajanUpdated on 12 Feb 2025, 12:01 PM IST

CMAT 2025 was successfully conducted by NTA on January 25, 2025. The CMAT 2025 provisional answer key has been released, and the objection window is also closed. Next, the NTA is expected to announce the CMAT final answer key and result. Around 74,012 students are eagerly waiting to know their CMAT 2025 results. In case of a tie in the CMAT score, NTA follows a specific tie-breaking rule to decide the rank of candidates. Read this article to know further about the NTA’s tie-breaking rules for candidates with the same scores.

This Story also Contains

  1. NTA's Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025
  2. Expected Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025
  3. How is CMAT Rank Assigned?
  4. Why the Tie-Breaking Rule Matters?
  5. CMAT 2025: Marking Scheme
NTA's Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025: What Happens When Scores Are Tied?
NTA Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025

NTA's Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025

NTA will prepare a National Merit Ranking (All India Rank-AIR) list based on candidates' CMAT scores. As of now, the NTA has not officially announced the tie-breaking rule for CMAT 2025. However, based on the rules followed in previous years, the expected tie-breaking criteria for CMAT 2025 are given below.

Expected Tie-Breaking Rule for CMAT 2025

If two or more candidates score identically in the CMAT exam, NTA will follow the tie-break rule and decide the rank using the following hierarchical criteria:

  1. Higher Marks in QT&DI: The students with the highest marks in the Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation section will get a higher rank in CMAT.
  2. Higher Marks in LR: In case of a tie, preference will be given to the person who scored higher in the Logical Reasoning section.
  3. Higher Marks in LC: If the tie is still not resolved, the student with the highest score in the Language Comprehension section will be ranked higher.
  4. Higher Marks in GA: If the tie persists, the student who scores higher in the general awareness section will get the higher rank.
  5. Older in Age: If the tie is not resolved after consideration of sectional marks, preference will be given to the older candidate (based on date of birth).
  6. Alphabetical Order of Names: If all the above criteria fail to break the tie, then the student who appears first in alphabetical order gets the highest rank.
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How is CMAT Rank Assigned?

Candidates with the same CMAT 2025 score will be given the same merit, and the merit number will be increased. This means if two candidates are in 3rd rank, both will get 3rd rank, and the next student will not be given 4th rank. Instead, she/he will get 5th position.

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Why the Tie-Breaking Rule Matters?

The tie-breaking rule is important for determining the final rank of candidates, especially in competitive exams like CMAT, where even a slight difference in rank can affect MBA admission chances. Understanding this CMAT’s tie-breaking rule helps candidates focus on important sections during preparation to increase their chances of getting a better rank.

CMAT 2025: Marking Scheme

The CMAT exam has a total of 100 questions, with a total of 400 marks. Here's a detailed breakdown of the CMAT marking scheme as per the latest guidelines:

  • Each correct answer is given +4 marks.
  • There is a negative marking of -1 mark for every incorrect answer.
  • No marks are deducted for unanswered/ un-attempted questions.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How many students sit for CMAT?
A:

According to the official report, a total of 74,012 students appeared for CMAT 2025.

Q: What is a good rank in CMAT exam?
A:

90-99 percentile is considered a good score in CMAT. All the popular colleges accepting CMAT, such as GIM GoaKJ SomaiyaPUMBASIMSREEJBIMSGLIM Chennai, and XISS Ranchi, choose students having 90-95 percentile in CMAT 2025.

Q: What is a good score in CMAT?
A:

good score in CMAT would be 250-300 out of 400. If you score within this range, you can get a CMAT percentile of 85 to 95.

Q: What is the criteria for passing the CMAT exam?
A:

Although there is no passing criteria set by the NTA for CMAT, a score of 120 is considered safe to pass CMAT. However, candidates must score 250 or more to get admission to top MBA institutes.

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Questions related to CMAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CMAT ?

Hello aspirant,

The CMAT 2026 exam is set for January 25, 2026, and registration began in October 2025. In two sessions, the computer-based CMAT 2026 will be administered in more than 120 Indian cities. The CMAT syllabus and exam format have not changed for 2026.

For more information you can

Yes, DSM DTU (Delhi Technological University, Department of Management Studies) does accept CMAT score for admission to its MBA programme. Many management institutes in India use CMAT as one of the valid entrance exams along with CAT, MAT, or GMAT, and DTU’s management department is among those that consider CMAT

Hello

You have scored 92 percentile in CMAT, which is a good score, and you have a higher chance of getting admission into a good college. But, if you're targeting only SVNIT Surat, then it's quite tough because SVNIT usually looks for a higher score for the PG course, like

Hello,

The link to the website of careers360, where the preferred colleges and percentiles are mentioned, is attached herewith. You can also get the details of colleges.

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/mba-colleges-accepting-80-90-percentile-in-cmat-exam

Thank you.

Hello

With an 80 percentile in CMAT, you can get admission in decent Tier-2 MBA colleges.
Good options include Jaipuria Institute, IMT Nagpur/Hyderabad, SDMIMD Mysore, and XIME.
Top IIMs are not possible, but these colleges offer reasonable placements and exposure.

Click on the link below to get access to all