What is a Good Percentile in CAT 2023? - Check Here

‘What is a good percentile in CAT 2023?’ is one of the most common queries of MBA aspirants. Well, the answer can vary depending on the college you are targeting. For admission to IIMs, a 97-98 percentile in CAT is considered good and for other leading B-schools, a CAT percentile between 90-95 is good. A good percentile score for CAT 2023, can be defined as one that helps you get admission into your dream college or university using your CAT result 2023. For most candidates, a 90 percentile in CAT or above is an excellent score. But, for some, a 95 percentile would not be enough, especially when seeking admission into the top 3 IIMs in India. 

A majority of CAT test takers score 80-90 percentile and become eligible to get admission in 100s of MBA colleges accepting CAT scores in this range. However, there are several other parameters for getting MBA admission other than the CAT percentile. The CAT result was declared on December 21, 2023, which means the CAT selection process will begin soon. In this article, we have mentioned all the information candidates would need to understand what is a good percentile in CAT 2023.

Also Read: 

What is a Good CAT 2023 Score/Percentile?

The question 'What is a good CAT percentile 2023?' is incomplete and lacks context. The actual question should be 'What is a good score in CAT for XYZ college?' Without specifying the target college, any CAT score is meaningless. Therefore, a good CAT score is the one that helps you get into your desired college. This leads to the critical point that every CAT aspirant should keep in mind - setting a target is essential for CAT preparation, and your preparation strategy should be based on that target.

As each B-school has a different cutoff for shortlisting applicants, the definition of a good CAT score varies from institute to institute. For example, IIMs require a minimum of 95 percentile for admission, while other B-schools like IIFT, IITs, FMS Delhi, and SPJIMR accept CAT scores below 95 percentile. On the other hand, tier-3 B-schools might accept applicants with slightly lower-than-average CAT scores. Therefore, it is crucial to research the admission criteria of your target college and set a realistic target score accordingly.

What is a Good CAT 2023 Percentile for IIM Admission?

To answer this question, we need to see the number of seats in IIMs, the number of candidates appearing for CAT as well as the interest of CAT aspirants in a particular IIM. Roughly speaking, the total seats in IIMs is around 5,000 and the total number of aspirants appearing for CAT every year is around 2,00,000. Hence, you have to be in the top 5,000 candidates to be eligible for admission. And the top 5,000 candidates come in the 97.50+ percentile bracket. However, practically speaking, you can get into an IIM such as IIM Jammu, IIM Amritsar, etc. even with a 90 percentile CAT score.

When it comes to old private colleges vs new IIMs, many of the candidates prefer to take admission into a prestigious institute such as ISB Hyderabad, XLRI Jamshedpur, or SIBM Pune. This can be attributed to the poor availability of infrastructure as well as a lack of alumni network at these newly-built IIMs. However, as time passes by and these IIMs are shifted to their own campuses and start building their alumni network, the CAT score required to get admission to these IIMs will also increase.

However, for the top IIMs often called BLACKIS (IIMB, IIML, IIMA, IIMC, IIMI, IIMK), a good score in CAT is 99+ percentile. To get admission into these top-ranking IIMs, it is crucial to be in the top bracket of CAT scorers. And since many factors such as work experience, academic performance, etc. are given weightage in IIM selection criteria, even a 99 percentile score cannot guarantee admission.

Also Read: IIM Eligibility Cut Off vs IIM Call Cut Off

Good CAT 2023 Score for Tier-I, II & III B-Schools

Each institute will have a different minimum CAT score requirement to be eligible for admission. Other business schools that accept CAT scores are listed in the table below:

How Many Questions to Attempt for 99+ Percentile in CAT 2023?

To achieve a 99+ percentile in CAT 2023, it's advisable to attempt around 41 questions with an accuracy rate of 85-90%. Below is a breakdown of the number of questions required to attain a 99+ percentile, 95+ percentile, and 90+ percentile in each section of the CAT 2023 exam.

Understanding CAT Score & Percentile

CAT test-takers often get confused between the CAT score and CAT percentile and wonder whether these are the same things or two different terms. To clear this confusion, we have talked about the CAT score and CAT percentile in detail below. 

What is CAT Score?

The CAT score represents the total marks obtained by a student in the CAT exam, which is determined by its unique marking scheme. In simpler terms, a candidate's score is calculated by adding up their marks from all three sections of the exam - Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. To calculate the CAT score, one can use the following formula:

What is CAT Percentile?

The CAT percentile reflects a candidate's rank in comparison to other students who took the exam during the same time frame, based on certain parameters. It is a measure used to evaluate the percentage of students who have scored lower or higher than you on the merit list. Essentially, it indicates a candidate's position among all those who appeared for the CAT exam, which determines their ranking. The CAT percentile is an important factor to consider when analyzing CAT marks vs percentile, as it plays a vital role in determining a student's performance and competitiveness in the exam.

where,

R= Rank of the candidates assigned based on scaled CAT score or total number of candidates who rank below you.

N= Number of candidates who appeared in CAT exam (all three sessions)

Let's understand CAT percentile calculation with an example. Suppose that 50 candidates appeared for the CAT exam. You have done well in the exam and scored 3rd rank on the entrance test, which means that 47 students scored less than you. Now, your percentile should be calculated as follows:

47/50*100 = 94 Percentile

Therefore, you scored 94 percentile in CAT as per the above example

That example also serves to show that you can never get 100 percentile in CAT since 100 percent of the candidates can never score less than you in the exam. CAT percentile not only depends on your score but also on what other candidates scored in the examination. Hence, it cannot be completely in your control.

What is CAT Scaled Score?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is conducted in multiple sessions and each session has slightly different question papers. To ensure fairness and equity in performance comparison, a scaled score is generated through the normalization process. This scaled score may differ from the raw score in either direction. When calculating the scores for each session, the normalization process will be used to ensure that candidates are marked fairly and equally. The CAT normalization process assumes that the distribution of applicants' abilities is constant across all sessions, similar to the GATE score. The normalization procedure used by GATE takes into account variations in the level of difficulty of question papers across different sessions.

What is CAT Composite Score?

The CAT composite score is calculated for shortlisting candidates for the Written Ability Test, Group Discussion, and Personal Interview rounds of IIMs. Each CAT candidate's composite score is determined by calculating each candidate's score based on several factors. The parameters for CAT 2023 composite score will include:

• CAT 2023 score (scaled)

• Class 10 marks/percentage

• Class 12 marks/percentage

• Graduation marks/percentage

• Work Experience

• Gender Diversity

• Academic Diversity

The formula for calculating the CAT Composite Score used by the IIMs is as follows:

Also Read: Non-IIM MBA Colleges to Apply to Before & After CAT Exam

CAT 2023 Score vs Percentile

To understand what is good CAT percentile score, candidates must first know the CAT score vs percentile calculation. Check out the table below to know more:

Therefore, a good score in CAT can be different for each candidate. However, since the CAT is being taken for admission to IIMs, we should take a look at what is a good CAT score for gaining admission to IIMs. Check the following articles to figure out the colleges that accept different percentile ranges in CAT.

Top MBA Colleges Accepting Good CAT 2023 Percentile

Given below are a few of the top IIMs and other MBA colleges that will shortlist you for the final selection round of the MBA admissions in 2023 based on your CAT percentile/score:

How to Get a Good Score in CAT 2023?

Putting in targeted practice and study hours every day is the key to getting a good score in the CAT. You have to adopt new strategies and work on increasing your speed and accuracy as well. If you are targeting to be among the top achievers, you should put in calculated efforts for the same. Given below are some CAT preparation guides created by our experts that you should check out.

The Common Admission Test or CAT is one of those exams that are on the radar of every MBA aspirant. Most of the top MBA colleges in India accept CAT scores for admission to their MBA/PGDM programs. Nevertheless, as one of the most popular MBA entrance exams, CAT is also known for its fierce competition among its candidates. Candidates must leave no gaps in their CAT preparation if they wish to achieve a decent percentile score. The examination strategy that candidates rely on must be in accordance with the exam pattern. With proper time management and presence of mind, any CAT percentile target is achievable.

Related Articles:

If you have any queries, please write to us on the CollegeDekho Q&A Zone. You can even check our CAT 2023 College Predictor and CAT 2023 Percentile Predictor tools to get an idea of your results based on your performance in the CAT 2023 exam. Get help from our experts for admission into your dream MBA college. You can also fill out the Common Application Form (CAF) to target different colleges in one go.