116 Views

How CAT score is different from CAT percentile?


Atif Ali 5th Feb, 2021
Answers (2)
ADITYA KUMAR Student Expert 11th Feb, 2021

Hi

Actually, your CAT score and CAT percentile are completely two different things

-) your CAT percentile tells you your position among those who have appeared in CAT examination  while your cat score is the total marks obtained by you in the CAT examination

Your CAT Score is simply the sum  of the marks obtained by you in all 3 sections of CAT i. e
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension ,
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning ,
- Quantitative Ability

-)Your CAT percentile is the   total percentage of students who have scored less than or equal to your score.

MBA/PGDM Admissions OPEN

Apply to Great Lakes Institute of Management PGPM Admissions 2026

For example,
if you get 92 percentile,  it means that your performance was better than 92 per cent of the total candidates that appeared in  CAT examination .

Let us have an example, just to understand easily , let's say CAT exam is of 100 marks, 1000 students write the CAT examination, you get 80 marks out of 100 marks and you get 10th rank in CAT examination.

Then your percentile,

P = (N- r) / N   x 100 ,
where  P is your percentile , N is the number of student that appeared in CAT.

= (1000 - 10) / 1000   x 100
= 990/ 1000 x 100
= 0.99 x 100
= 99 percentile.

I hope that this clears all your doubts

You can also refer to our page to understand the difference between CAT percentile and score, the link for the same page is provided below

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-score-vs-percentile

Thank you

Ayush 5th Feb, 2021

Hello Candidate,

In the year 2020, the examination was head of total 300 marks comprising of a total of hundred questions. So, the CAT score refers to the marks which a candidate gets out of the total number of marks (here 300) in the examination.

The percentile in CAT exam refers, that the candidates for the highest number of mass is awarded 100 percentile and the percentile gradually decreases with marks decreasing. For example- if a candidate X gets highest marks in the country that is 280, then he gets hundred percentile.

Hope it helps!!

CAT 2025 College Predictor

Use CAT 2025 College Predictor to check your chances for IIM and top MBA calls based on CAT percentile, profile, work experience and cut-off trends.

Use Now

Know More About

Related Questions

Great Lakes Institute of Mana...
Apply
Globally Recognized by AACSB (US) & AMBA (UK) | 17.8 LPA Avg. CTC for PGPM 2025
K J Somaiya Institute of Mana...
Apply
Highest Package 27.25 LPA | Top 100 Average package 16.65 LPA | AACSB Accredited | Ranked 52 by QS International
IMI Kolkata PGDM Admissions 2026
Apply
Phase 02 Applications Window Closing on 23rd January 2026 | 100% Placement Record | Average CTC 12.75 LPA | Highest CTC 40.31 LPA | Median CTC 12.4...
IFMR Graduate School of Busin...
Apply
Application Deadline 15th Jan’26 | UGC Approved Programs | Near 100% Placement Record | Up to 100% Scholarships | Highest CTC 21.32 LPA
UPES MBA Admissions 2026
Apply
Ranked #36 amongst institutions in Management by NIRF | 100% Placement
IMI Bhubaneswar PGDM Admissio...
Apply
Phase 02 Applications Window Closing on 23rd January 2026 | 100% Placements Record | Highest CTC 40.31 LPA | Average CTC 12.74 LPA | Median CTC 12....
View All Application Forms

Download the Careers360 App on your Android phone

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

150M+ Students
30,000+ Colleges
500+ Exams
1500+ E-books