Common Aptitude Test (CAT) is one of the most prestigious exams. CAT Exam is a highly competitive exam for those candidates who want admission to postgraduate management programs in India. The CAT exam is conducted annually by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The exam is among the most prestigious, and many students appear for the examination every year to get their post-graduation degree in Management.
What CAT exam assesses in students? The CAT exam assesses excellence in various fields, such as Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability.
What is a CAT Score?
Before taking you to the detailed analysis of CAT percentile 2023, firstly, let’s help you understand the major concept of CAT percentile. The cumulative marks that candidates score taking into consideration the marking scheme, is what CAT Score is. Candidates score marks in three major sections that the CAT exam categorizes, i.e. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (24 questions), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (20 questions), and Quantitative Ability (22 questions). CAT Exam have a negative marking scheme, and candidates are rewarded with 3 marks for each correct answer, whereas for every incorrect answer, 1 mark is deducted.
CAT Score vs CAT Percentile
The CAT exam has three major sections, and there is no doubt that the CAT Exam paper slightly differs each year to test the knowledge of candidates appearing for the examination. It seems better to have a choice with the scaled score, isn’t it? Yes! Just to be sure that the performance of the candidates is analyzed without any discrepancy. Let’s check out the scaled score here:
| Section | Number of Questions | Time | Marks (-1 for each incorrect answer) |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 40 | 72 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | 40 | 60 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 | 40 | 66 |
What is CAT Percentile?
A percentile is a measure used to determine a particular candidate’s position in the merit list relative to the general population of learners. For instance, if the test takers assume CAT and you can score 80 per cent, this tells that 80 per cent of the takers scored below you. Thus, the candidates with a percentile equal to or above 80 could be regarded as belonging to the top 20% of the examinees.
How to Calculate CAT Percentile?
The process for converting raw scores in each section of the CAT and in percentage for all the students who sat for the CAT exam is as follows. Irrespective of the candidates’ category or examination time slot, the CAT score is derived using the formula provided below:
P = (R/N) x 100
where,
P = Percentile ranking
R = The candidate’s rank, based on their CAT scaled score or the total number of candidates who scored below it.
N = The total number of candidates observed for the CAT examination for all three sessions.
CAT Exam CUT Off 2023
| Institute Name | General | OBC | SC | ST | EWS |
| IIMA | 99.68 | 97.71 | 78.95 | 72.79 | 97.71 |
| IIMB | 99.89 | 96.08 | 83.38 | 78.93 | 95.48 |
| IIMC | 99.71 | 97.87 | 91.44 | 77.90 | 99.03 |
CAT Score VS CAT Percentile
The IIMs utilize the CAT percentile, which is the selection procedure for the candidates for the WAT-GD/PI. The following table explains the correlation between CAT scores and CAT percentiles.
| CAT VARC Score | CAT QA Score | CAT DILR Score | CAT Overall Score | Percentile |
| 44 | 40 | 35 | 101 | 99.5 |
| 41 | 37 | 30 | 91 | 99 |
| 35 | 32 | 27 | 80 | 98 |
| 29 | 25 | 22 | 66 | 95 |
| 24 | 19 | 18 | 53 | 90 |
| 20 | 16 | 15 | 45 | 85 |
Percentile Vs Marks Distribution 2023
Inside IIM has surveyed to get numbers for overall scores versus percentile for 2023. The following table depicts the find out of the score & percentile of CAT 2023.
| Percentile | Scaled Score |
| 100 | 138.59 |
| 99.95 | 106.95 |
| 99.9 | 101.43 |
| 99.5 | 84.29 |
| 99 | 76.02 |
| 98.5 | 71.15 |
| 98 | 66.68 |
| 97.5 | 63.64 |
| 97 | 61.56 |
| 96.6 | 59.99 |
| 96 | 58.1 |
| 95.5 | 56.41 |
| 95 | 54.86 |
| 94 | 53.32 |
| 93 | 52.35 |
| 92 | 51.95 |
| 91 | 46.13 |
| 90 | 45.13 |
| 85 | 42.29 |
| 80 | 41.19 |
| 75 | 40.02 |
| 70 | 38.94 |
A comparison between CAT 2023 and CAT 2022 reactions indicates that CAT 2023 was more difficult. The same percentile can be obtained in CAT 2023 if the candidate answered fewer questions correctly than in CAT 2022. This implies that the level of difficulty in the CAT exam increases yearly. Test takers should consider this trend while setting down their study regimes to enhance their performance.
Many students are nowadays looking for the best B-schools. If you’re looking for the best B-Schools in Delhi NCR, then Fostiima Business School is one the best options for you to pursue your dream career.