Common Admission Test (CAT) 2023 Cut Off

Once CAT 2023 result is declared, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad will announce the cut-off for CAT 2023 on its official website. There are two types of cut-offs, the first is the qualifying cut off and the second one is the final cut-off.

What is Cut Off?

Cut off can be considered as the first stage that is required to be cleared by an aspirant to be considered eligible to appear in the admissions process for IIMs and non-IIMs. The actual cut-off and the cut-off mentioned by B-school vary most of the time.

Each IIM is independent to mandate their eligibility criteria (including academic cut-offs and relative weights) and follow different selection processes. Performance in the CAT 2023 examination is an important component for consideration in the selection process. IIMs may also use the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience, and other similar inputs in short-listing of candidates at various stages of the selection process.

It has been seen that the actual cut-off for a premier b-school is usually higher than the cut-off given by them.

Why is there a provision of CAT cut-off?

Over two lakh aspirants appeared in CAT 2020, and the number is rising. It becomes quite difficult for b-schools to pick the ideal candidates from such a long list. Hence, a provision of cut-off was introduced to ease the process. In simple terms, a CAT cut-off for any college is the minimum CAT percentile expected by that college for an aspirant to be eligible to apply.

It is interesting to note that the CAT cut-off is directly proportional to the number of test-takers. The more aspirants appear in CAT the higher the cut-off. Another belief is that the cut-off is inversely proportional to the difficulty of the exam. The more difficult the paper is the lesser the cut-off.

Apart from the overall CAT cut-off, top b-schools have a provision of sectional CAT cut-off. Hence, it is important to understand the eligibility and prerequisites of the b-schools you are willing to apply for.

How much cut-off is required for IIMs and non-IIMS?

The expected CAT cut-off may vary from college to college. Considering the cut-offs from previous years, it is quite clear that the top three IIMs i.e. IIM Ahemdabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta require the highest cut off which is above 99 percentile. Whereas, for the next ranked IIMs, it is slightly lower, and so on. Similarly, there are some top category non-IIM B-schools that have high cut-off criteria. There are various good b-schools in tier-2 and tier-3 categories which have lesser cut-off criteria.

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Here, the key is to prepare the way which suits you the best. Proper planning, time management, practice, improvising, and continuous learning is the key. Practicing online through mock tests also helps aspirants to keep a track of their progress and the areas of improvement.

To sum up, you can think of CAT cut-off as a variable parameter considered as a prerequisite by most management institutes including IIMs and non-IIMs for shortlisting the candidates.

Based on previous years’ cut-offs, here is a list of expected cut-offs for IIMs for CAT 2023:

Some tier-1 Non-IIM MBA institutions also have a high CAT cut-off requirement for a candidate to be eligible to apply. The CAT cut-off requirements for tier-2 and tier-3 B-schools comparatively lesser. Hence, it is advised to have a plan B, which can be considered as a list of alternative choices.

The most important tip is to be realistic and has clearly defined goals. One should monitor his/her progress duration CAT preparations. Mock tests are also considered helpful in order to determine improvement areas and to determine the accuracy and speed.