Securing a 95+ percentile score in the Common Admission Test or CAT exam is a dream come true for all MBA/CAT aspirants. A year’s hard work can now seem to be paying off.
Only the top 5% of the total appeared students secure a percentile above 95 and you are among them. Be it an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or NITIE, you can now apply to the college you have been thinking about since day 1 of your CAT preparation.
This article lists the top MBA colleges accepting 95+ percentile scores, mentions other selection criteria and the tentative deadlines for various top non-IIM institutions. Didn’t secure 95+ percentile? No worries. Before deciding to drop one more year in the hope of securing a better score, you can read about the other top MBA colleges accepting percentile above 85.
CAT 2019 Result Date(Tentative):IIM Kozhikode will declare the result of CAT 2019 in the second week of January 2020.
Tier 1: 98+ percentile
Congratulations if you have secured 98+ percentile in the CAT Exam. You are amongst the 1-2% candidates who have managed to do so. Now comes the extremely crucial task of registering for your dream Business School. The below-listed institutions are easily the best MBA colleges in India. You can now expect a call letter from any of the following colleges:
| Name of College/Business School | Expected Cut Off Percentile |
| IIM AHMEDABAD | 99+ |
| IIM BANGALORE | 99+ |
| IIM CALCUTTA | 99+ |
| IIM INDORE | 98+ |
| IIM LUCKNOW | 98+ |
| DMS, IIT DELHI | 98+ |
| MDI Gurgaon | 98+ |
| FMS DELHI | 98+ |
| SJMSOM, IIT BOMBAY | 98+ |
Tier 2: 95 to 98 percentile
The 95 to 98 percentile scorers, be proud of yourself already. You are the top 5% of the total candidates to secure such an amazing percentile. The most common notion of IIM A/B/C being the only colleges you should dream of is a myth bygone. The top MBA colleges that you can apply to includes:
| Name of College/Business School | Expected Cut Off Percentile |
| IIM KASHIPUR | 95+ |
| IIM KOZHIKODE | 95+ |
| IIM RANCHI | 95+ |
| IIM RAIPUR | 95+ |
| IIM ROHTAK | 95+ |
| IIM SHILLONG | 95+ |
| IIM TIRUCHIRAPPALLI | 95+ |
| NITIE MUMBAI | 97+ |
| VGSoM, IIT KHARAGPUR | 95+ |
| DoMS, IIT MADRAS | 95+ |
| IMT GHAZIABAD | 96+ |
Note:- Make sure to register for your prefered college/s before the deadline.
Wait for Stage 2 Call Letter
Now that you have secured a 95+ percentile and completed the registration, you can expect a call to attend the Stage 2 of the selection process from the above-listed institutes. The candidates shortlisted from the first round will receive a call to attend Group Discussion(GD) or Writing Ability Test(WAT) followed by a Personal Interview(PI). All institutions have different selection processes. Be sure to go through the details well before applying.
Final Score
Various components determine the final selection in a top-rated MBA college. Apart from the CAT Index Score, the top colleges take several criteria like GD, WAT, PI and Resume score into account to attain the final score. While many top MBA colleges conduct GDs, several institutions like IIM Kozhikode prefer to select candidates based on WAT and PI.
What if I don’t get 95+ percentile?
There is absolutely no need to be disheartened if you have missed the 95 percentile mark by a few marks. If you have secured 85+ percentile, then plenty of good colleges are waiting for you. You can check and apply to any of the following colleges before taking the crucial decision of dropping a year and going through the same journey again. These colleges accept 85+ percentile CAT Score and are also known for providing wonderful placement opportunities.
| Name of College/Business School | Expected Cut Off Percentile |
| IIM AMRITSAR | 90+ |
| IIM JAMMU | 85+ |
| IIM NAGPUR | 85+ |
| IIM SAMBALPUR | 94+ |
| IIM SIRMAUR | 92+ |
| IIM VISAKHAPATNAM | 90+ |
| XAVIER INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, BHUBANESHWAR | 93+ |
| DIME, IIT KANPUR | 92+ |
| DoMS, IIT ROORKEE | 90+ |
| GOA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, GOA | 85+ |
| GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT,CHENNAI | 85+ |
| BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI | 85+ |
If you are confident of securing 85+ percentile, then you can also appear for other entrance exams like XAT, CMAT, GMAT that allows you to apply for top MBA colleges like XLRI, Jamshedpur, Great Lakes Institute of Management, IMI, etc. This will increase your chances of getting into a good MBA college.
Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for CAT 2019 Result
Tentative Deadlines released by Colleges for Registration
Since the CAT application includes the preliminary application, you don’t have to apply to all the IIMs separately. However, you need to fill out separate applications for all the non-IIM institutes. Several non-IIM institutions have released the tentative deadlines for registration.
| Name of College/Business School | Tentative Deadlines |
| XAVIER INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, BHUBANESHWAR | 31st December 2019 |
| IIT KHARAGPUR | 31st January 2020, 11:59pm |
| FMS DELHI | 25th November 2019 |
| DMS, IIT DELHI | 31st January 2020 |
| NITIE MUMBAI | 03rd February 2020 |
| DIME, IIT KANPUR | 27th January 2020 |
| BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI | 23rd January 2020, 10:00 pm |
| GOA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, GOA | 3rd January 2020(With late fee) |
| GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT,CHENNAI |
Cycle 1- 10th January, 2020 Cycle 2- 25th February, 2020 |