Colleges Accepting Cat Score 80-90 Percentile 2026: Fees, Ranking, Admission, Placement

Ans. Yes, for six IIMs. IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Mumbai have a General category cutoff of 85 percentile, while IIM Lucknow and IIM Indore need 90. Five newer IIMs are also in this range. The older IIMs also need a minimum score in each section, so a balanced score in VARC, DILR and QA matters as much as the overall percentile.

Ans. Four IIT management schools have a cutoff in this range. DoMS IIT Madras and DoMS IIT Kanpur close at 85 percentile, while SJMSOM IIT Bombay and VGSoM IIT Kharagpur close at 90. All four charge much less than private colleges, which is why three of them are in the top four for ROI. DoMS IIT Kanpur is the cheapest IIT option at 7.64 Lakh.

Ans. DoMS IIT Kanpur, with an ROI of 215.97%. Its total fee is 7.64 Lakh and its median salary is 16.50 LPA, so it is the only college in this range that returns more than twice its cost. VGSoM IIT Kharagpur comes next at 158.36%, followed by SJMSOM IIT Bombay at 154.51%. Among the older IIMs, IIM Lucknow is best at 144.58%, because its fee of 20.75 Lakh is the lowest of the six.

Ans. IIM Mumbai has the highest median salary at 34.00 LPA, followed by IIM Bangalore at 32.61 LPA and SPJIMR Mumbai at 31.50 LPA. For the single highest offer, IIM Lucknow is at the top with 100.00 LPA, followed by SPJIMR at 89.00 LPA and IIM Kozhikode at 81.00 LPA.

Ans. Both have the same 85 percentile cutoff and both are in Mumbai, so the choice depends on cost and brand. IIM Mumbai is a government institute with a higher median salary and a slightly higher fee. SPJIMR has a better CD Score, a much better IIRF rank and higher top offers.

Verdict: Choose IIM Mumbai for the higher median salary and the IIM brand. Choose SPJIMR for consulting and finance jobs, where its placement record and alumni network count for more.

Ans. Four colleges have a General category cutoff below 85. MICA Ahmedabad and LIBA Chennai close at 80, IIM Visakhapatnam at 82 and K J Somaiya Mumbai at 84. MICA needs extra care: 80 percentile only allows a student to apply for MICAT, and the CAT score counts for just 35% of the final selection.

Ans. No college in this range makes work experience compulsory, and all of them admit fresh graduates every year. But work experience does add marks at some colleges, especially SPJIMR Mumbai, IMI Delhi and IMT Ghaziabad. At the IIMs, academic diversity and gender diversity usually matter more than months of work experience.

Ans. Every college in this range first shortlists students based on their CAT percentile and then holds its own second round. The steps are mostly the same everywhere.

Ans. No. These percentiles only make a student eligible for the next round. They are not the scores at which interview calls are actually sent. IIM Bangalore clearly states that students called for interviews scored higher than its published cutoff, and IIM Mumbai warns that real cutoffs may be much higher than the minimum. So treat 85 as the minimum for an older IIM, not the target.

Ans. Many specialisations are available because this range includes both the general management IIMs and some specialist colleges. MICA Ahmedabad is the best choice for marketing and brand communication. IMI Delhi and IMT Ghaziabad are strong in banking and finance, SJMSOM IIT Bombay and DoMS IIT Madras in analytics and operations, GIM Goa in healthcare and big data, and IIM Amritsar in business analytics.

Ans. The difference is big. The 70-80 percentile range includes IIM Shillong and some strong private colleges, with median salaries from about 9.55 LPA to 26.44 LPA. The 80-90 range opens up six older IIMs, five newer IIMs and four IIT management schools, and the top median salary rises to 34.00 LPA. Colleges with a cutoff of exactly 80 appear in both lists.

Ans. Most colleges in this range accept more than one exam. This helps students whose CAT percentile is just below their target college's cutoff.