CAT 2022 Cut off: Expected & Previous Year Cut off for IIMs PDF Download

The CAT 2022 exam for admission to postgraduate management programs at IIMs and other MBA colleges took place on November 27. About 2.2 lakh candidates took the exam in three shifts. In shifts 1 and 3, approximately 86% of candidates showed up, while in shift 2, more than 87% participated. Of all the candidates who took the exam, 35% were female and 65% were male.

CAT 2022 Result

The results of the CAT 2022 exam, which was held on November 27, have been released by IIM Bangalore on December 21 at 5:00 PM. 

• The scorecards can be downloaded from the website iimcat.ac.in. 
• IIM Bangalore has also published the results statistics, including information about the top performers in the exam. 
• 11 male candidates received a perfect score of 100 percentile. 
• Two objections were considered in the final results, one each from the DILR section of shifts 2 and 3 out of a total of 113 objections received. 
• 17 IIMs have already announced their qualifying cut-off scores and admission criteria for the 2023-2025 academic year.
• To download CAT 2022 score card, candidates need to login using their user id and password at iimcat.ac.in. 
• The qualifying CAT 2022 Cut off percentile for IIM ranges between 80-95 percentile. 
• As per expert analysis of CAT 2022, a score of about 95-97 would be sufficient to score 99+ percentile. 
• Check CAT 2022 Score Vs Percentile

To view CAT 2022 answer key and response sheet, candidates need to login using their CAT user id and password.

CAT 2022 Answer Key

CAT 2022 Answer Key has been released just 4 days after the conclusion of CAT exam. Along with the answer key, IIM has also released the response sheet for CAT 2022 exam on the official website- iimcat.ac.in. Using the answer key and response sheet, candidates can calculate their raw scores. The answer key objection window was opened only till December 4, 2022.

How to Check CAT 2022 Answer Key?

To download CAT 2022 Answer Key, candidates must follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Visit the official IIM CAT official website- iimcat.ac.in.
• Login using your CAT user id and password.

• Click on the link for CAT 2022 Answer Key to download the same in PDF format.
• Save CAT 2022 answer key pdf for future reference.

Check Out:

• CAT 2022 Answer Key 
• CAT 2022 Response Sheet

CAT 2022 Percentile Score Calculation

The Cut Off of CAT is the basic percentile requirement that the college decides for MBA admissions. The CAT Cut Off varies from institute to institute, and it is the minimum score required to get the call from the B School. 

• CAT 2022 percentile score calculation is done on the basis of the scaled scores of the candidates. 
• CAT Scaled scores are calculated through the normalization process across all 3 slots.
• CAT 2022 Cut Off includes both the overall and sectional CAT Cut Off. Additionally, some B-Schools like IIMs have sectional cutoffs also, which the candidate needs to clear to get a call for the PI round.

IIM Bangalore has released the detailed procedure followed for calculating CAT percentile score (both overall and sectional). Given below is an illustration of CAT 2022 score calculation for the QA section.

Percentile Score Calculation

Calculation of percentile score of a candidate: The steps described below arc followed to calculate the CAT 2022 overall and sectional percentile scores obtained by a candidate. While illustrating the percentile score calculation process, QA section is chosen as an example. Similar process is followed for the overall percentile score calculation and for the other two sections, i.c. DILR and VARC in CAT 2022.
Step 1: Calculate the total number of candidates (N) who appeared for CAT (i.e. including morning, afternoon and evening sessions).
Step 2: Assign a rank (r), based on the scaled scores obtained in the QA section, to all candidates who appeared for CAT. In the case of two or more candidates obtaining identical scaled scores in the QA section, assign identical ranks to all those candidates.

As an illustration suppose exactly two candidates obtain the highest scaled score in the QA section, then both of those candidates are assigned a rank of 1. Moreover, the candidate(s) obtaining the second highest sealed score in the QA section are assigned a rank of 3 and so on.
Step 3: Calculate the percentile score (P) of a candidate with rank (r) in the QA section as:

Step 4: Round o f f the calculated percentile score (P) of a candidate up to two decimal points.
For example, all percentile scores greater than or equal to 99.995 are rounded off to 100, all percentile scores greater than or equal to 99.985 but strictly less than 99.995 are rounded off to 99.99 and so on.
A methodology similar to the one described above is used for the computation of the overall CAT percentile scores and for the percentile scores of other sections.

CAT 2022 Cut off and MBA Admission 2023-25

To be considered for admission to MBA programs at IIMs, IITs, and other institutions that accept CAT scores, candidates must meet the minimum CAT percentile requirements, known as the CAT cut-off. 

• To be eligible for admission, candidates must meet both the sectional and overall cut-off scores. 
• The qualifying CAT cut-off for the 2023-2025 academic year will be released by the respective IIMs in order to shortlist candidates for group discussions and personal interviews.

CAT 2022 Cut off for IIM Ahmedabad

CAT 2022 Cut off for IIM Bangalore

CAT 2022 Cut off for IIM Calcutta

CAT 2022 Cut off for IIM Kozhikode

CAT 2022 Cut off for IIM Lucknow

CAT 2022 Admission Criteria & Process for IIMs

Each IIM has its own selection criteria and process for MBA/ PGDM admissions. The 3 stages that form a part of the selection process are:

Clear the qualifying CAT cut offs and fill out the application form on the official website of the respective institute.

GD/ PI shortlist is released on the basis of CAT score, past academic performance, work experience, gender diversity, and academic diversity. 

Appearance for GD/ PI rounds and preparation of final merit list.

Admission to Top Non-IIMs through CAT scores

While it can be challenging to gain admission to IIMs due to high cut-off scores, there are over 500 colleges that accept CAT scores for MBA and PGDM admissions. These top non-IIM institutes include FMS Delhi, Delhi School of Economics, IITs, and KJ Somaiya, among others. The process for admission to these institutes through CAT scores includes the following steps:

1. Candidates must meet the qualifying CAT cut-off score to be eligible to apply.
2. Shortlisted candidates will participate in written ability tests, group discussions, and personal interviews.
3. Final selection will be based on CAT scores, GD/PI scores, and academic qualifications, according to the criteria set by the individual institute.

A list of the top 20 non-IIM institutes that accept CAT scores for MBA/PGDM admission, along with the expected cut-off percentile based on previous year's data, is provided in the table below.

Previous year IIM CAT Cutoff

Each IIM has its own specific cut-off percentile that candidates must meet in order to be eligible for admission. Candidates who score between the 99th and 100th percentile can expect to receive calls from top IIMs such as IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. Non-IIM institutions that typically require a 99th percentile or higher on the CAT exam include FMS Delhi University, ISB Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, and DMS (IIT Delhi).
Generally, the cut-off percentile for top IIMs is expected to be between 99 and 100, particularly for candidates in the general category. For reserved category candidates, the MBA admission cut-off may be slightly lower, at around 97 to 98 percentile.
All 20 IIMs will announce their minimum qualifying CAT cut-off for 2022 in order to shortlist candidates for the next selection rounds according to their admission policies."

Previous Year CAT Cutoff for IIMs (Minimum criteria)

CAT Cut Off Percentile: List of Colleges

More than 1,300 MBA Colleges in India accept the CAT score. Check the link below to know which colleges you are likely to get admission in relying upon your CAT 2022 Cut Off and percentile:

• Top IIMs Accepting CAT: Cut Offs between 90 and 100 CAT Percentile
• Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT in Non-IIM Category: 90 to 100 Percentile
• Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT: 80-90 Percentile
• MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Score: Cut off Percentile - 70-80
• MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Score: Cut off Percentile - 60-70
• MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Score: Cut off Percentile - 50-60

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on CAT Cut off

What is the IIM selection process in detail? What is the advantage of having job experience or being a fresher in the IIM selection process?

IIMs shortlists students for admission based on their CAT score. The second step of selection is GD-PI. For final selection, students are usually shortlisted based on their past academic performance, entrance examination score, and performance in GD-PI. IIMs also consider other factors such as work experience, gender diversity, academic diversity, etc. while shortlisting students. Weights given to these factors are different for different IIMs. 

Which IIM has lowest CAT cut off?

The qualifying CAT cut offs remain above 90 percentile for all IIMs, exception being IIM Ahmedabad whose qualifying cut off has been 85 percentile in the past few years. The final CAT cut offs remain as high as 99+ percentile for all top IIMs and 95+ percentile for new IIMs

How much do I have to score in the CAT exam?

If you are aiming for old IIMs such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, you will need to score above 99 percentile in CAT. For IIMs and other top-tier B-Schools in India, the CAT cutoff stays above 90 percentile. 

If you have a good profile, and 99+ CAT score, you can expect to get calls from old IIMs, XLRI, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, etc.

What will be the sectional cut off scores as well as scores for 90-95 percentile for this year's CAT?

Take a look at the below table to know what CAT score will fetch what CAT percentile, for 2022.

In 2021, for 90 percentile the required score was 59 and for 95 percentile the required score was 72.