Every year, one question dominates MBA prep forums:
“How much should I score to hit 95, 98 or 99 percentile in CAT?”
With CAT 2025 following the same 3-section, 120-minute pattern and over 2.93 lakh registrations, the score–percentile conversion remains one of the most crucial strategy indicators for aspirants. Since CAT uses a scaled scoring and normalisation process — often confusing first-time test takers — analysing past-year trends becomes essential.
This InsideIIM-style breakdown simplifies expected 2025 conversions, section-wise targets, and previous-year patterns to help you set realistic goals.
CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile (Expected)
Based on difficulty levels observed in recent CAT papers and early analysis, these are the expected 2025 score-to-percentile estimates:
Overall Score vs Percentile (Expected – CAT 2025)
| Percentile | Overall Score |
| 99.9 | 110 |
| 99.5 | 96 |
| 99 | 85 |
| 95 | 64 |
| 90 | 53 |
| 85 | 47 |
| 80 | 41 |
| 60 | 26 |
A score in the 95–98 range is again expected to fetch 99+ percentile, consistent with the past two years.
Check InsideIIM’s CAT 2025 Percentile Predictor & Interview Shortlist Chances – Click Here!
Section-Wise CAT 2025 Expected Score vs Percentile
VARC 2025
| Percentile | VARC Score |
| 99.9 | 53 |
| 99.5 | 47 |
| 99 | 41 |
| 95 | 32 |
| 90 | 25 |
| 85 | 22 |
| 80 | 19 |
| 60 | 13 |
DILR 2025
| Percentile | DILR Score |
| 99.9 | 42 |
| 99.5 | 35 |
| 99 | 26 |
| 95 | 21 |
| 90 | 15 |
| 85 | 13 |
| 80 | 12 |
| 60 | 8 |
Quant (QA) 2025
| Percentile | QA Score |
| 99.9 | 51 |
| 99.5 | 40 |
| 99 | 32 |
| 95 | 25 |
| 90 | 18 |
| 85 | 16 |
| 80 | 12 |
| 60 | 10 |
CAT Score vs Percentile: What’s the Difference?
| Metric | Meaning |
| Raw Score | Direct score based on correct/incorrect answers |
| Scaled Score | Score after slot-normalisation |
| Percentile | Your standing among all test takers |
Normalization ensures fairness in multi-slot exams, which is why raw scores vary significantly from percentile outcomes.
Previous Year Trends: CAT 2024, 2023 & 2022
Understanding previous years is the best way to estimate targets.
CAT Score vs Percentile: Previous Year (2024–2022)
| Year | 99.9 %ile | 99 %ile | 95 %ile | 90 %ile |
| 2024 | 127 | 95.13 | 70 | 58 |
| 2023 | 101.43 | 76.15 | 54.86 | 44.36 |
| 2022 | 110 | 84 | 62 | 49 |
Insight:
Even a 30–35 mark difference can separate a 99 percentile from a 99.9 percentile year-on-year, showing how much difficulty levels influence scaling.
CAT 2024 Section-Wise Score vs Percentile (Reference)
| Percentile | VARC | DILR | QA | Overall |
| 99.9 | 55 | 50.1 | 45 | 127 |
| 99.5 | 44 | 41.4 | 36.5 | 103.97 |
| 99 | 40.3 | 37.8 | 33 | 95.13 |
| 95 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 70 |
| 90 | 24 | 22.5 | 17 | 58 |
CAT 2023 Section-Wise Score vs Percentile (Reference)
| Percentile | VARC | DILR | QA |
| 100 | 61.66 | 50.4 | 49.46 |
| 99.99 | 58.20 | 42.66 | 44.89 |
| 99.9 | 51.14 | 36.58 | 34.96 |
| 99 | 39.83 | 27.29 | 25.20 |
| 95 | 28.78 | 18.92 | 16.87 |
CAT 2022 Score vs Percentile (Overall)
| Percentile | Score |
| 99.9 | 110 |
| 99 | 84 |
| 95 | 60 |
| 90 | 49 |
| 85 | 41.32 |
| 80 | 36.02 |
How CAT Percentile Is Calculated (Simplified)
CAT uses:
- Raw score → Scaled score → Percentile
Key formula:
Percentile = [(Total Candidates – Rank) / Total Candidates] × 100
Scaling uses slot-wise means, standard deviations, and top scorer performance to ensure fairness.
What Scores You Need for Top B-Schools (Based on Trends)
- 99.5+ percentile: IIM A/B/C shortlist range
- 98–99 percentile: New IIMs, FMS, IITs
- 95–97 percentile: IIM K/S/M/I, MDI
- 90–94 percentile: IMT, TAPMI, GIM
- 80–89 percentile: Great Lakes, KJ Somaiya (profile based), BIMTECH
InsideIIM Take: What This Means for CAT 2025 Aspirants
- Aiming for 99+?
Target a 95–100 raw score, but focus on balancing all three sections.
- Sectional cut-offs matter.
Even a 16–18 score in QA can keep you in the 85–90 percentile bracket.
- Expectations shift every year.
Difficulty has a massive impact — the same score may jump or drop 5–10 percentiles across years.
- Mocks > theory.
Tracking your raw mock scores is the closest predictor of your final percentile.
- Accuracy beats attempts.
With DILR being volatile, high accuracy can significantly lift your percentile.
Conclusion
CAT score vs percentile trends are never static — they evolve with difficulty levels, candidate performance, and scaling models. But historical data clearly shows:
- 95–100 raw score consistently lands in 99+ territory.
- Balanced performance outperforms sectional dominance.
- Even small raw score improvements (5–8 marks) can boost percentile significantly.
Use these benchmarks to calibrate your preparation, analyse mocks smartly, and aim for consistent sectional improvement.
