Increasing your accuracy while solving questions will increase your CAT percentile but it impacts the time you take to solve each question. So, where does the sweet spot lie in the CAT attempts vs percentile 2022 analysis? Find out here.

CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2022 Analysis: One of the most useful but uncommon pieces of advice that experts share with CAT aspirants is not to try attempting every single question in the CAT exam. Such a suggestion may be hard for many students to follow, since leaving no question unanswered is the typical examination strategy followed by everyone. However, since CAT 2022 is a competitive exam, the approach to solving the CAT 2022 question paper should also be different than average exams.
The CAT attempts vs percentile 2022 analysis is a crucial statistic that candidates require to ascertain their percentile score after the CAT 2022 exam. Many candidates also use this information to devise an examination strategy that will earn them a 99-100 percentile score. Now that the CAT 2022 Result has been released by IIM Bangalore, students can check their overall and sectional percentile and understand which colleges they can get admission into. CAT 2022 test-takers can check out more details about the CAT 2022 result, CAT 2022 score vs percentile analysis, CAT cutoff 2022 for IIMs, and other related information in the links below.
CAT Result 2022 Link | CAT Cutoff 2022 for IIMs |
CAT 2022 Topper List | CAT 2022 100-Percentile Scorers |
CAT 2022 Score vs Percentile |
In this article, we have provided all the necessary information on and around the CAT 2022 attempts vs percentile analysis. Aspirants can also find details on the CAT 2022 exam pattern, marking scheme, score calculation, and other aspects of the exam.
CAT 2022 Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme
Candidates can check out the exam pattern for CAT 2022 in the table below:
CAT 2022 Sections | Total MCQs (Negative Marking) | Total Non-MCQs (No Negative Marking) | Total Questions | Maximum Marks |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 21 | 3 | 24 | 72 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 14 | 6 | 20 | 60 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 14 | 8 | 22 | 66 |
Total | 48 | 18 | 66 | 198 |
CAT 2022 Marking Scheme - You get 3 marks for every correct answer in CAT 2022 and 1 mark is deducted for every incorrectly answered MCQ. There is no negative marking for non-MCQs or TITA questions. Hence, your accuracy has a major role to play in deciding your CAT 2022 percentile.
CAT 2022 Score Calculation
What Is CAT Score?
The CAT score is the overall grade a student receives on the basis of the exam's marking scheme. Simply said, a candidate's CAT score is the sum of his or her marks in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability portions. Here's the CAT 2022 score calculator formula:
CAT Score = (No. of Correct Answers) * 3 - No. of Incorrect Answers |
What are CAT Scaled Scores/Marks?
The CAT exam is administered across many sessions (two or three). To ensure fairness and justice in performance comparison, the question papers for each session are slightly different from one another, and a scaled score is produced through the normalization process. This scaled score could vary in both ways from the raw score.
What Is CAT Percentile?
The CAT percentile, along with a few other factors, shows a student's position in the exam in comparison to the other students who took it at the same time. The position of a candidate among all CAT applications, which is used to determine the candidate's ranking, is indicated by the CAT percentile, to put it simply. It is a unit used to determine or assess the proportion of students on the merit list that are above or below you.
How to Calculate CAT Percentile?
The CAT exam's percentiles are the same as those on other tests. The percentiles just serve as a visual depiction of how many test takers fall short of you. The following is a general formula to compute the percentile:
CAT Percentile = [1 - All India Rank (Total Candidates in the Exam)] * 100% |
What Is CAT Composite Score?
The final score determined by IIMs for admission to their programs is called the composite score. The composite score for a candidate is determined by taking into account a variety of factors in addition to their CAT score.
Two applicants with identical on-paper scores may have different composite scores depending on a number of factors. The following additional factors are taken into account when calculating a composite score:
- Class 10th Marks
- Class 12th Marks
- Graduation Percentage/ Grade
- Work Experience
- Academic Background
- Gender Diversity
The formula for calculating CAT Composite Score used by the IIMs is as follows:

The calculation of the CAT 2022 scores of a candidate basically takes place in 3 steps.
Step 1: Raw Scores of a candidate are calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect attempts by using the marking scheme.
Step 2: Since CAT 2022 is conducted in multiple shifts, the scaled scores of a candidate are calculated after normalizing for any difference in difficulty level across shifts.
Step 3: Finally, the CAT 2022 percentile of a candidate can be calculated. Scaled Scores are used when calculating the percentile of a candidate.
We have explained both the scaled score calculation and normalization process of CAT 2022 in more detail in the following articles.
CAT 2022: How Scaled Score will be Calculated for Three Shifts? | CAT Normalization Process 2022 |
CAT 2022 Score vs Percentile
Here are the expert-estimated CAT overall and section-wise scores for the 99th percentile. Candidates can clearly understand the sectional and total CAT scores by glancing at this table.
Percentile | Score-VARC | Score-DILR | Score-QA | Overall Score |
99.5 %ile | 44 | 35 | 40 | 101 |
99%ile | 34 | 26 | 36 | 96 |
98%ile | 32 | 28 | 30 | 90 |
95%ile | 32 | 20 | 29 | 81 |
90%ile | 29 | 17 | 26 | 72 |
85%ile | 24 | 15 | 20 | 59 |
80%ile | 20 | 12 | 15 | 47 |
CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2022 - Role of Accuracy
Accuracy plays a major role in deciding your percentile based on your number of attempts. The number of attempts drops drastically with the increase in accuracy. However, one should also keep in mind that the time taken per question also increases to maintain high accuracy.

Also Read: What is a Good CAT 2022 Percentile/ Score?
CAT 2022 Attempts vs Percentile Analysis
The following CAT attempts vs percentile 2022 analysis provides a rough estimate to the candidates on how many questions they need to attempt to reach their goal. We have considered the previous year's trends and mathematical estimations while creating the analysis. It is also important to note that an error margin of +/- 5 marks must also be included when calculating the CAT 2022 percentile
CAT Score for 99 Percentile & Above
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 99 percentile range and above in CAT 2022:
CAT 2022 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2022 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 85 | 14-16 | 36-40 | 45-55 | 99+ |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 85 | 12-14 | 32-34 | 44-50 | 99+ |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 14-16 | 36-40 | 46-54 | 99+ |
Overall | 85 | 42-48 | 104-114 | 135-159 | 99-99.5 |
CAT Score for 95-98 Percentile
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 95-98 percentile range in CAT 2022:
CAT 2022 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2022 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 85 | 13-15 | 34-38 | 40-45 | 95-98 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 3-30 | 8-10 | 26-30 | 32-36 | 95-98 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 14-16 | 35-40 | 40-44 | 95-98 |
Overall | 85 | 35-41 | 95-100 | 112-125 | 95-98 |
CAT Score for 90-94 Percentile
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 90-94 percentile range in CAT 2022:
CAT 2022 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2022 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 90 | 11-13 | 29-35 | 36-40 | 90 - 94 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 90 | 7-9 | 17-22 | 22-28 | 90 - 94 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 10-12 | 26-32 | 32-48 | 90 – 94 |
Overall | 85 | 28-34 | 72-89 | 90-116 | 90 - 94 |
The following graph depicts the CAT 2021 attempts vs percentile analysis for different levels of accuracy. The analysis for CAT 2022 is expected to be similar.
The perks of increasing accuracy are clearly apparent in the above graph. Following are some of the major inferences which can be drawn.
Inference No. 1 | ![]() ![]() | The difference between the number of attempts at 70 percentile is much smaller as compared to the difference between the two at 99+ percentile. |
Inference No. 2 |
| For a 99+ percentile score, the difference between 70% and 80% accuracy is much higher as compared to the difference between 80% and 90% accuracy. |
Hence, we can make the following deductions from this given information.
Deduction No. 1 - From Inference No. 1, it can be seen that the benefit of increasing accuracy in CAT 2021 is much higher when aiming for a higher percentile. Thus, a candidate aiming for a 90+ percentile score will benefit more from increasing his/her accuracy as compared to a candidate aiming for a 70 percentile score.
Deduction No. 2 - From Inference No. 2, it can be seen that there are limits to the benefits you get from increasing accuracy in CAT 2021. If you increase your accuracy by over 90%, this difference would drop further. Since time is limited, it is better to try and maintain accuracy between 80 - 90% while also maintaining a good speed in CAT 2021.
Note: The CAT attempts vs percentile 2022 is expected to be similar to that of CAT 2021.
Also Read:
IIM Bangalore Placements 2022 | IIM Ranchi Placements 2022 |
IIM Trichy Placements 2022 | IIM Indore Placements 2022 |
IIM Kozhikode Placements 2022 | IIM Udaipur Placements 2022 |
CAT 2022 Attempts vs Percentile Section-Wise Analysis
Based on the information given above, here is a section-wise breakdown of the CAT attempts vs percentile 2022 analysis. The analysis for CAT 2022 will also follow a similar pattern. Candidates can use the information below to adjust their examination strategy.
With 70% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 11 | 9 | 9 | 29 |
80 %ile | 15 | 12 | 13 | 40 |
90 %ile | 22 | 18 | 20 | 60 |
99+ %ile | 30 | 29 | 29 | 88 |
With 80% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
80 %ile | 12 | 10 | 11 | 33 |
90 %ile | 18 | 16 | 17 | 51 |
99+ %ile | 25 | 23 | 24 | 72 |
With 90% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
80 %ile | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
90 %ile | 16 | 13 | 14 | 43 |
99+ %ile | 22 | 18 | 20 | 60 |
This was a section-wise analysis of the CAT attempts vs percentile 2022. If you have any questions, contact us at the CollegeDekho QnA Zone.
Also Read:Important Topics for CAT 2022: Expected Subject-Wise Weightage
Colleges Accepting CAT 2022
After understanding the CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2022, let us find out which is the best college for you based on the CAT 2022 Cut Off by using the following tools.
CAT College Predictor 2022 | CAT 2022 Rank Predictor |
The following articles can be checked for a list of colleges accepting CAT 2022 for admission to their MBA/PGDM courses.
If you need help with admissions, fill out the Common Application Form (CAF) or call our helpline number 18005729877.
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