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CAT Score vs Percentile 2024: Know the Formula & Calculator

Author : Lalita Vishwakarma

September 13, 2024

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Overview: CAT score vs Percentile 2024 is method to find out the CAT raw score against the CAT percentile. This can be calculated once the CAT answer key is released. In this blog, we will look into the steps to compute the CAT score vs percentile.

  • The individual sectional scores are calculated from the number of questions answered correctly and the difficulty level of the CAT exam. The overall score is derived from your performance in all sections.
  • The CAT exam score is then converted into a percentile, which compares one candidate's performance with other candidates who appeared for the exam. This is why candidates search for CAT score vs percentile 2024.

The percentile is calculated based on the number of candidates who appeared for the exam and the number of candidates who secured the same or higher score than others. Let's understand the distinction between CAT score vs Percentile 2024!

CAT Score vs Percentile 2024

How to calculate CAT score?

The CAT exam score is converted into a percentile to determine a candidate's relative performance compared to other candidates who appeared for the exam.

The percentile helps the IIMs and other top B-schools compare candidates' performance with that of other candidates.

This helps the institutions to determine the candidate’s ranking within the group of candidates who appeared for the exam.

  • The percentile score is calculated based on the number of candidates who appeared for the exam and the number of candidates who secured the same or higher score than the candidate.
  • The percentile score is then used to determine the overall rank of the candidate.

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Note: Candidates can also use the CAT percentile calculator or CAT score calculator available online to get an instant overall idea of their CAT exam performance. Calculation of the scaled score of a candidate for CAT score vs percentile 2024: The following steps are followed to calculate the scaled score of a candidate in each of the three sections for CAT score vs percentile, i.e.,

Learn More | How To Calculate Percentage In CAT Exam?

The overall scaled score is obtained by adding the scaled scores of these three sections. The QA section is chosen as an example to illustrate the scaling process. A similar process is valid for the other two sections, DILR and VARC.

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Steps to Compute CAT Score vs Percentile 2024

Here are the steps to calculate the CAT score and percentile:

Step 1: Calculate the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the raw scores in the QA section for all candidates appearing in the morning session.

Let's consider Mean = M1 and SD = S1 and G1 = M1 + S1.

Step 2: Calculate the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the raw scores in the QA section for all candidates appearing in the afternoon session.

Let's consider Mean = M2 and SD = S2 and G2 = M2 + S2.

Step 3: Calculate the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the raw scores in the QA section for all candidates appearing in the evening session.

Let's consider Mean = M3 and SD = S3 and G3 = M3 + S3.

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Step 4:  Calculate the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the raw scores in the QA section for all candidates appearing in CAT (i.e. including all three sessions).

Let's consider Mean = M, SD = S, and G = M + S.

Step 5: Calculate the mean raw score in the QA section of the top 0.1% of candidates in the morning session and denote it by 𝑀1 0.1

Step 6: Calculate the mean raw score in QA of the top 0.1% of candidates in the afternoon session and denote it by 𝑀2 0.1

Step 7: Calculate the mean raw score in QA of the top 0.1% of candidates in the evening session and denote it by 𝑀3 0.1

Step 8: Calculate the mean raw score in QA of the top 0.1% of candidates appearing in CAT (i.e. considering all three sessions) and denote it by 𝑀0.1

Know More | How to Get Good Score in CAT Exam?

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CAT Score vs Percentile 2024: Section-wise Scaled Score Calculation

CAT Score vs Percentile 2024 Slot 1

CAT Percentile CAT VARC Score CAT DILR Score CAT QA Score Overall CAT Score
100 42-44 29-30 30-32 100-102
99+ 40 25-27 25-28 80
95+ 28-30 18-20 20-22 55
90+ 22-24 15-17 15-17 45-48
85+ 20-22 13-14 45640 39-41
80+ 18-20 45608 45577 35-37

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CAT Score vs Percentile 2024 Slot 2

CAT Percentile CAT VARC Score CAT DILR Score CAT QA Score Overall CAT Score
100 43-44 25-27 29-30 98-100
99+ 40-42 22-23 27-28 82-83
95+ 30-33 18-20 20-22 57-58
90+ 24-26 14-15 15-17 46-48
85+ 20-22 45639 45640 40-43
80+ 18-20 45576 45577 36-39

CAT Score vs Percentile 2024 Slot 3

CAT Percentile CAT VARC Score CAT DILR Score CAT QA Score Overall CAT Score
100 42-23 27-28 32-34 98-100
99+ 38-40 23-24 27-28 78-80
95+ 28-30 18-20 18-20 57-58
90+ 24-25 15-17 15-17 46-48
85+ 20-22 45640 45640 40-41
80+ 18-20 45576 45576 36-37

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How to calculate percentile in CAT?

CAT score vs percentile - Section-wise

Suppose now XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the morning session, and her raw score in the QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say 𝑅̂, given by:

𝑅̂ = (𝑅 − 𝐺1) 𝑀0.1 − 𝐺/ 𝑀10.1 − 𝐺1 + 𝐺

In case XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the afternoon session and her raw score in the QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say 𝑅̂, given by: 

𝑅̂ = (𝑅 − 𝐺2) * 𝑀0.1 − 𝐺/ 𝑀2 0.1 − 𝐺2 + G

In case XYZ is a candidate who appeared in the evening session and her raw score in the QA section is R. Then the scaled score of XYZ in QA, say 𝑅̂, given by:

𝑅̂ = (𝑅 − 𝐺3) 𝑀0.1 − 𝐺/ 𝑀30.1 − 𝐺3 + 𝐺

A similar Methodology is applied to compute scaled scores for other sections. If this formula yields any scaled score of more than 100, it will be rounded to 100.

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Check |CAT Exam Marking Scheme

CAT Score vs Percentile 2024: Percentile Score Calculation

Calculation of the percentile score of a candidate:

The steps described below are followed to calculate the CAT 2024 overall and sectional percentile scores obtained by a candidate. The QA section is chosen as an example to illustrate the percentile score calculation process. A similar process is followed for the overall percentile score calculation and the other two sections, DILR and VARC, in CAT 2024.

Step 1: Calculate the total number of candidates (N) who appeared for CAT (i.e., morning, afternoon, and evening sessions).

Step 2: Assign a rank (r) to all candidates who appeared for CAT based on the scaled scores obtained in the QA section. If two or more candidates obtain identical scaled scores in the QA section, assign identical ranks to all those candidates. As an illustration, suppose exactly two candidates obtain the highest scaled score in the QA section, and then both candidates are assigned a rank of 1. Moreover, the candidate(s) obtaining the second highest scaled score in the QA section are assigned a rank of 3.

Step 3: Calculate the percentile score (P) of a candidate with rank (r) in the QA section as:

CAT score vs percentile - 

𝑃 = (𝑁 − 𝑟)/ 𝑁 x 100

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Step 4: Round off a candidate's calculated percentile score (P) to two decimal points. For example, all percentile scores greater than or equal to 99.995 are rounded off to 100; all scores greater than or equal to 99.985 but strictly less than 99.995 are rounded off to 99.99.

To compute the overall CAT percentile scores and the percentile scores of other sections, a methodology similar to the one described above is used.

Learn More| Minimum Marks Required to Qualify CAT

Conclusion 

The CAT score vs. percentile 2024 is used to determine the candidate's relative performance compared to other candidates who appeared for the exam.

The percentile helps the IIMs and other top B-schools compare the candidate's performance with that of other candidates. This helps the institutions determine the candidate’s ranking within the group of candidates who appeared for the exam.

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