Key takeaways
- A cutoff is a minimum percentile. Many B-schools apply both a sectional cutoff (per section) and an overall cutoff.
- A strong overall percentile does not help if you fall below a sectional cutoff.
- Cutoffs differ by institute, category and year, and are published by each institute, not by the exam body.
- Plan for balance: a solid floor in all three sections is safer than one very high section and one very low.
When aspirants say "my CAT percentile is 95", they usually mean the overall percentile. Institutes, however, rarely shortlist on that number alone. Understanding sectional and overall cutoffs helps you decide how to spend your last weeks of preparation. This guide explains the idea in general terms, because each institute sets and publishes its own numbers.
What is a cutoff?
A cutoff is the minimum percentile you need to be considered for the next stage, which is usually a group discussion or a written ability test and a personal interview. Every institute that accepts CAT sets its own cutoffs and may change them every year.
Sectional cutoff and overall cutoff
- Overall cutoff: the minimum percentile on your total CAT score.
- Sectional cutoff: the minimum percentile in each section: VARC, DILR and Quant (QA).
To be shortlisted by an institute that uses both, you usually need to clear every sectional cutoff and the overall cutoff at the same time. This is why a candidate with a very strong Quant percentile and a weak VARC percentile can miss a call that a more balanced candidate gets.
Why cutoffs differ
- By institute: older and newer IIMs, and other B-schools, set different levels.
- By category: general, EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD candidates have different cutoffs at many institutes.
- By year: cutoffs move with the difficulty of the paper and the number of applicants.
After the cutoff
Clearing a cutoff only gets you into the pool. Most institutes then compute a composite score that combines CAT with other factors, such as academic record, work experience, gender and academic diversity, and performance in the group discussion and interview. The weights are published by each institute.
How to plan for it
- Check the published selection criteria and last year's cutoffs on the websites of your target institutes.
- Pick a minimum percentile for each section, not only an overall target.
- Use mocks to find your weakest section and spend the most time there.
- Do not give up a section. A decent floor in all three is safer than a perfect section and a failed one.
Converting marks to percentile
Your percentile is your rank among all candidates in that slot, adjusted across slots, not a percentage of marks. Our post on percentile versus score explains this, and the guide to mock tests shows how to use them to track your sectional balance.
This is a study aid, not admissions advice. Cutoffs and selection weights are set and published by each institute, so confirm the current criteria on their official websites.