The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 is a key entrance exam for management courses in India. Each year, over 3 lakh students take this competitive test to get into top colleges. For students preparing, it is important to understand how the number of correct answers can lead to their final CAT percentile score. This article explains the expected percentile for students who answer around 35 questions correctly in CAT 2025.
The CAT 2025 exam has a total of 68 questions . These questions are divided into three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). Each correct answer gives 3 marks . For every wrong answer, 1 mark is deducted. This system is called negative marking, and it means that incorrect attempts reduce a candidate's total score.
Understanding Marks with Negative Marking
Your final raw score depends on how many questions you answer correctly and how many you answer incorrectly. Here are some examples:
- If you answer 35 questions correctly and make 0 wrong answers, your score will be 105 marks (35 x 3 = 105).
- If you answer 35 questions correctly but also answer 10 questions wrongly , your score will be 95 marks (35 x 3 = 105; 10 x 1 = 10; 105 - 10 = 95).
- If you answer 35 questions correctly but make 20 wrong answers , your score drops to 85 marks (35 x 3 = 105; 20 x 1 = 20; 105 - 20 = 85).
These examples show that maintaining high accuracy, meaning making fewer wrong answers, is crucial. Students aiming for a good score should target an accuracy of around 85% to 90% . This level of accuracy can lead to a raw score between 85 and 105 marks when attempting around 35 correct answers.
CAT 2025: Correct Attempts vs. Expected Percentile
Your CAT percentile tells you how many students scored less than you in the exam. For example, a 99 percentile means you scored better than 99% of all students who took the test. A higher percentile helps in getting admission to top management colleges like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
The table below provides an estimate of the expected percentile for different numbers of correct answers in CAT 2025. These numbers are based on past exam trends and detailed analysis. The 'Marks' column assumes 100% accuracy, meaning no wrong answers were made.
| Number of Correct Answers | Marks (with 100% accuracy) | Expected Percentile |
| 35 | 105 | 99.50-99.70+ |
| 36 | 108 | 99.70-99.80+ |
| 37 | 111 | 99.83-99.84+ |
| 38 | 114 | 99.85-99.90+ |
| 39 | 117 | 99.90-99.92+ |
| 40 | 120 | 99.92-99.95+ |
Important Note on Percentile Estimates
The expected percentiles in the table are estimates. They are based on previous years' exam patterns and student performance. The actual percentile can vary slightly. Factors like the difficulty level of the CAT 2025 exam, the overall performance of all students, and the normalization process can affect the final percentile. The normalization process adjusts scores to ensure fairness across different exam slots.
Students must focus on both attempting enough questions and maintaining high accuracy to achieve a good percentile in CAT 2025.
