The Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) was conducted on 28th January 2020 by the National Testing Agency across 104 cities in India. The NTA has now released the answer key and candidate response sheet which can help the candidates to determine their approx score.
The CMAT is a popular entrance exam for MBA aspirants hoping to get into some of the best management institutes in the country. As CMAT’s result day is approaching, candidates are busy in selecting the colleges they should apply for the MBA or equivalent program. Check the list of top MBA colleges accepting 80+ CMAT percentile.
Factors affecting CMAT Percentile
- The total number of candidates qualifying the exam.
- The total number of candidates appearing for the exam.
- The difficulty level of the CMAT paper.
Factors affecting CMAT Cut-off
Unlike the popular notion, the NTA doesn’t determine the CMAT cut-off. After the declaration of results, all colleges accepting CMAT score will release the minimum cut-off to shortlist candidates for the second stage.
- The availability of seats in a college.
- The number of applicants for the program of a college.
- The difficulty level of CMAT paper.
CMAT 2020 Score vs Percentile
NTA will compute the final raw score secured by the candidates to determine the percentile. Applicants securing the following overall scores can expect an 80+ percentile in CMAT if all the factors are favourable for them.
| Raw Score out of 400 | Approx Percentile |
| 230 to 235 | 80 to 81 |
| 236 to 246 | 82 to 84 |
| 247 to 253 | 85 to 87 |
| 254 to 263 | 88 to 89 |
Does CMAT have sectional cut-off?
It is up to the colleges if they want to select candidates based on the sectional percentile. Normally, most colleges do not consider the sectional percentile of CMAT while shortlisting candidates.
Tier 1: 85 to 90 Percentile
All the following colleges are counted amongst the best MBA colleges in India.
| Name of the Institute | Approx cut-off Percentile |
| Prin L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai | 85+ |
| BIMTECH, Greater Noida | 85+ |
| IMT, Nagpur | 85 |
| IFIM Bangalore | 85 |
| Prin L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Bangalore | 85 |
| Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi | 85 |
| IFMR Graduate School of Business, Chennai | 85 |
Tier 2: 80 to 84 Percentile
The top MBA colleges accepting a percentile in this range are as follows.
- KIIT School of Management (KSOM), Bhubaneswar
- International School of Business and Media (ISBM), Pune
- SIES College of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai
- AIMS Institutes, Bangalore
- Indus Business Academy (IBA), Bangalore
- Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida
- Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
- ITM Navi Mumbai
- Alliance University, Bangalore
- Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior
- Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS), Delhi
- Chetana’s Institute of Management and Research (CIMR), Mumbai
- NDIM – New Delhi Institute of Management, Delhi
Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for CMAT 2020 Exam
What after the shortlisting process?
Candidates selected for the second stage of the admission process will have to appear for the mandatory Group Discussion/Writing Ability Test and the Personal Interview rounds. The score of these rounds and the CMAT 2020 percentile will be combined to create the final shortlist. Like the cut-off, the process of creating the final merit list differs for each college.