How to Calculate Percentage in CAT exam 2026: All about Percentage in CAT Exam

Summary: How to calculate percentage in CAT exam?  The CAT exam result will be declared in December 2026 in online mode. Continue reading here to get the formula to calculate your score and percentile in the CAT exam!

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• You can use the formula in the blog to calculate the CAT exam score and percentile yourself.
• Knowing your estimated CAT score or percentile helps you analyse your performance and the estimated cut-off by the IIMs.

Thus, using the easy formula, read the blog to get complete insights about How is CAT score calculated and "How to calculate percentages in the CAT exam"!

CAT Exam Marking Scheme 2026

Before knowing how to calculate percentages in the CAT exam, let's understand the marking scheme of the CAT exam. 

• A total of +3 CAT total marks will be given for each accurate response.
• There will be a negative marking of -1 mark for every wrong answer.
• No points will be given for unanswered questions.
• There is no negative marking for the TITA question.

Download Free PDF of CAT QA Section Daily Study Plan

The CAT Marking Scheme 2026 is listed in the following table:

Type of Questions	CAT Marking Scheme	CAT Negative Marking Scheme
MCQ	+ 3 marks will be awarded for the correct answer	-1 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer
Non-MCQ	+ 3 marks will be awarded for the correct answer	No negative marking
Unattempted	0 marks	No negative marking

Also Read: Negative Marking in CAT Exam

How To Calculate Percentage In CAT Exam 2026?

The steps below are followed to calculate a candidate's CAT 2026 overall and sectional percentile scores.

While illustrating the percentile score calculation process, the QA section is chosen as an example.

A similar process is followed for the overall percentile score calculation and the other two sections, i.e. DILR and VARC in CAT 2026.

Check | CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

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.

Check | CAT Exam Day Guidelines 2026

Download CAT Preparation Tips for QA [PDF Download]

Step 3

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

 𝑃 = (R/N) x 100

Step 4

Round off a candidate's calculated percentile score (P) up 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.

Check | CAT Cut Off Expected

CAT Score vs Percentile: Year-Wise Data (2020–2024)

Here is the year-wise data for CAT score vs Percentile:

Percentile	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
99.9	123	101	109	124	130
99.5	104	84	92	110	115
99	96	76	84	98	101
97	79	61	72	82	85
95	70	54	62	73	76
90	58	44	49	60	63
80	44	35	36	45	48

Factors Affecting CAT 2026 Percentile

Here are the key factors that can affect your CAT percentile 2026:

1. Difficulty of the Exam

An easier exam means most people will score higher, so you'll need a higher raw score to get a good percentile. Conversely, a harder exam means a lower raw score can still get you a high percentile.

2. Number of Test-Takers

The more people who take the exam, the bigger the competition. This means it can be harder to stand out, and your percentile might be lower for a given raw score.

3. Performance of Other Candidates

Your percentile is a ranking. If many other candidates score higher than you, your percentile will drop. If you score high and others score low, your percentile will be high.

4. Normalization

The CAT exam is given in different sessions with different question papers. To make sure no one has an unfair advantage, the scores are normalized. This process adjusts for differences in difficulty between the sessions. So, a raw score of 120 in a very difficult session might be "normalized" to a higher scaled score than a raw score of 125 in an easier session.

Conclusion

How to calculate the Percentage in the CAT exam? Calculating percentages in the CAT exam can be done using simple mathematics. Knowing the rules and formulas to calculate percentages is essential for success in the CAT exam.

The steps outlined in this article provide a basic understanding of how to calculate percentages in the CAT exam. With practice and dedication, you can master the skills required to calculate percentages in the CAT exam.

Check | CAT Score vs Percentile 2026