Common Admission Test or CAT is a popular MBA entrance exam in our country that serves as a gateway to the coveted IIMs and other top B-Schools. With over 2 lakh candidates vying for about 5000 seats in the IIMs, CAT is one of the most grueling entrance exams. It is a computer-based test that assesses a candidate's acumen in English, Mathematics,
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. Lately, there have been some modifications in the type and number of questions in the exam. Keeping up with the varying difficulty level of questions and exam pattern, B-schools have changed their CAT cut-offs from time to time.
Right after taking the exam, students start preparing for the next rounds of the selection process which include the WAT/ GD and PI rounds. However, the exact admission rounds differ from one college to another in the level and type. So, you must have a broad idea of the cut-offs of your dream B-school in order to prepare for the exam as well as the subsequent selection process. In this article, you will get to know about the expected CAT cut-offs 2023 of the top-ranked management institutes.
NOTE: Cut-offs for CAT 2023 are expected to be along the same lines as of the cut for 2022 session.
CAT Cut-off 2023
For B-Schools admissions, CAT scores are used as a primary screening tool for shortlisting candidates.
CAT results are generally out in the month of January, and the students start receiving calls from various B-schools as per their score and profile. While some colleges give more weightage to the candidate's CAT score, others focus equally on his/her profile and CAT score. Generally, B-schools decide on their CAT cut-off after considering a wide range of factors. Listed below are some of the main factors used for determining CAT cut-off:
Major Factors behind CAT Cut-off
- Difficulty level of the exam
- Total number of students who have appeared for the latest CAT exam
- Total number of admission seats in the institute
- Ranking and reputation of the institute.
Also, it is to be noted that initially, the cut-offs for old IIMs used to be higher than those for new IIMs. However, in the last few years, some IIMs have started putting more emphasis on candidate's profile than the CAT score. The following table illustrates the CAT cut-offs 2021 of top colleges. For the upcoming session, the cut-off figures will be on the similar lines.
Top B-schools - CAT Cut-off
Rating
|
Approx. cut-off percentiles Gen.
|
Institutes
|
A+
|
CAT Percentile 94+
|
FMS, MDI-G, IISc-B, JBIMS, IIM-RH, IIM-RN, IIT-R
|
CAT Percentile 90+ (includes profile-based)
|
IIM-I, IIM-T, IIM-J, IIM-RP, IIM-KS, IIM-U, IIM-Sam, IIM-Srm, IIM-BG, IIT-B, IIT-D, IIT-KH, IMT-G, IMT-D
|
CAT Percentile 80+ (includes profile-based)
|
IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, IIM-L, IIM-K, IIM-N, IIM-V, IIM-Asr, SPJIMR, NITIE, IIT-KN, KJSIMSR
|
A
|
CAT Percentile 80+
|
DU, MDI-M, UBS-CHD, IMI-D, IMT-N, GLIM, FSM, IRMA, TAPMI, NIRMA, WIMDR-M, IIFM, LBSIM, LIBA, MICA, BIM
|
B+
|
CAT Percentile 70+
|
IMT-H, BIMTECH, MISB, IFMR
|
For the upcoming session, the cut offs are expected to be on similar lines. Apart from the overall CAT cut-off, most of the B-schools also have sectional cut-off criteria for admission to their MBA programs. Additionally, the overall CAT cut-off varies from one management course to another in a few colleges. For more information, you can checkout the official websites of the respective colleges.