CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff: How Much Should You Attempt in Each Section for 99+ Percentile
- Cut Off for IITs
- IIM Kashipur Cut Off
- IIM Amritsar Cut Off
- IIM Nagpur Cut Off
- IIM Indore Cut Off
- IIM Udaipur Cut Off
- IIM Ranchi Cut Off
- IIM Raipur Cut Off
- IIM Jammu Cut Off
- IIM Bodh Gaya Cut Off
- IIM Kozhikode Cut Off
- IIM Sambalpur Cut Off
- IIM Bangalore Cut Off
- IIM Sirmaur Cut Off
- IIM Trichy Cut Off
- IIM Visakhapatnam Cut Off
- IIM Lucknow Cut Off
- IIM Shillong Cut Off
- IIM Calcutta Cut Off
- IIM Ahmedabad Cut Off
- IIM Rohtak Cut Off
Content Curator | Updated On - Sep 14, 2026
CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff is an important factor in IIM shortlisting, and many students do miss out on interview calls if they fail to clear the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff.
- You should attempt 14 questions correctly to clear the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff in VARC.
- A minimum of 10 questions need to be answered correctly to clear the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff in DILR.
- You should attempt 9 questions correctly to clear the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff in QA.
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Key Summary
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CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff: Overall Analysis
To score in the 99th percentile in CAT 2026, you will have to keep your accuracy to about 29 questions.
- To score 99+ percentile in CAT 2026, your raw score must be around 86 marks.
- 93+ marks will correspond to 99.5+ percentile, and 100 marks will lead to 99.9 percentile in CAT 2026.
| Percentile | Score |
|---|---|
| 99.9 | 100 |
| 99.5 | 93 |
| 99 | 86 |
| 97 | 71 |
| 95 | 64 |
| 90 | 51 |
| 80 | 38 |
| 70 | 30 |
| 60 | 23 |
| 50 | 19 |
Source: YouTube
Ques. How many questions overall are needed for the 99th percentile in CAT 2026?
Ans. The 99th percentile in CAT 2026 will translate to 86 marks in the total exam. To score in the 99th percentile in CAT 2026, you will have to keep your accuracy at about 29 questions. 99th percentile in CAT 2026 will require only 14 correct answers in the VARC section, 10 answers in LRDI, and 9 correct answers in the QA section. 99.5 percentile will correspond to 93+ marks, and the 99.9 percentile will lead to 100 marks.
CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff for 99+ Percentile
Below is the section-wise analysis of the correct number of questions for the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff.
Number of Questions in VARC Required for 99+ Percentile
99th percentile in the CAT 2026 VARC Section will require only 14 correct answers. This will calculate to a total of 42 marks in VARC.
- CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff to get a 99+ percentile will correspond to 42 marks in the VARC section.
- 99.5+ percentile will need 15 correct answers, and a 99.9 percentile in CAT 2026 will need 18 correct answers in the CAT VARC section.
| Percentile | No. of Correct |
|---|---|
| 99.9 | 18 |
| 99.5 | 15 |
| 99 | 14 |
| 97 | 12 |
| 95 | 11 |
| 90 | 9 |
| 85 | 7 |
| 80 | 6 |
Source: YouTube
Number of Questions in DILR Required for 99+ Percentile
99th percentile in CAT 2026 will require only 10 correct answers in the LRDI section. This will calculate to a total of 30 marks in VARC.
- 99th percentile in CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff will correspond to 30 marks in the LRDI section.
- 99.5+ percentile will need 11 correct answers, and 99.9 percentile in CAT 2026 will need 13 correct answers.
| Percentile | No. of Correct |
|---|---|
| 99.9 | 13 |
| 99.5 | 11 |
| 99 | 10 |
| 97 | 9 |
| 95 | 8 |
| 90 | 6 |
| 85 | 5 |
| 80 | 4 |
Source: YouTube
Number of Questions in QA Required for 99+ Percentile
99th percentile in CAT 2026 will require only 9 correct answers in the QA section.
- 99th percentile in the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff will correspond to 27 marks in the QA section.
- 99.5+ percentile will need 11 correct answers, and the 99.9 percentile in CAT 2026 will need 13 correct answers.
| Percentile | No. of Correct |
|---|---|
| 99.9 | 13 |
| 99.5 | 11 |
| 99 | 9 |
| 97 | 8 |
| 95 | 7 |
| 90 | 5 |
| 85 | 4 |
| 80 | 3 |
Source: YouTube
CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff FAQs
Ques. What is the pattern for VARC over the last few years?
Ans. The pattern for VARC is to practise reading passages with a time limit: 45 seconds per question. Complete one reading passage every alternate day. Practise 10-15 question everyday for parts of Speech, subject-Verb agreement, modifiers, and parallelism. After you feel confident, make sure to give sectional mocks and then full mocks for real-time experience.
Ques. What is the expected CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff for top IIMs?
Ans. The CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff for the UR category is expected to be around the 80- 85 percentile for VRC, DILR, and QA for top and older IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, and IIM Indore. The CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff for new IIMs will be in the 70-75 percentile range, corresponding to marks of 25-30 in all sections.
Ques. How many questions should you attempt to clear the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff?
Ans. To achieve a 99+ percentile while meeting the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff, aim for 14-15 questions in VARC, 10 in DILR, and 9 in QA with 85% accuracy. Clearing the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff will require 40-45 marks in VARC, 30-35 marks in DILR, and 30-35 marks in QA. Overall, you will aim to attempt 85+ questions to get a 99+ percentile.
Ques. Does the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff differ for reserved categories?
Ans. Yes, the CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff for reserved categories like OBC, SC, ST, EWS, and PwD is mostly different. The CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff will differ by 5- 10 percentiles. They will be lower than the UR CAT 2026 Sectional Cutoff, depending on the IIMs.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.