CAT Topper Marks out of 198: How the Highest Scorers Performed?

This year, the CAT exam had a total of 204 marks with 68 questions. In CAT 2025, analysis suggests that the candidates typically need around 120 marks out of 204 to get 99.99+ percentile, though this can vary by slot difficulty and normalisation effects.

Looking back across recent years reveals notable fluctuations in the marks required for top percentiles.

• In the 2023 CAT exam, a score of about 140 out of 198 was required to reach the 100 percentile, reflecting the exam's difficulty. Candidates with around 100 marks ended up in 99.9 percentile.
• The CAT 2022 paper was of moderate difficulty, and the 99.9th percentile required a score of about 109 out of 198.
• In CAT 2021, securing 99.9 percentile with a score above 120 out of 198 marks, scoring 98 marks was enough to get 99 percentile.

Also Read:

• Check Section-Wise CAT Score Vs Percentile
• Check the latest CAT results, scorecard details and expected cutoffs

“According to the past year trend analysis, 123 marks are required to get 99.9 percentile, 104 marks to get 99.5 percentile,” says an expert from iQuanta.

Key Summary

• In CAT 2023, a score of 140 out of 198 was needed for 100 percentile.
• CAT 2022 toppers scored about 110 out of 198 to achieve the 100 percentile mark.
• In CAT 2021, 100 percentile was achieved near 124 marks, while 99 percentile was near 98.
• The number of 100th percentile scorers remained limited, highlighting intense competition among top performers nationwide.

Expected Scores for Toppers in CAT 2025

• CAT toppers typically require near-perfect scores, with past trends and 2025 slot predictions, pointing to 120 marks for 100 percentile, scores around 115 marks for the 99.95th percentile.
• Slot 1 estimates suggest that 115+ for the top AIR 1 rank, slot 2 around 112+, and slot 3 slightly lower at 110+ because of normalisation.

Note: Even a 5-7 mark difference can shift a candidate from the 99.9 to 100 percentile

Due to extreme competition at the top.

Also Check out:

• Is it possible to get into IIM Ahmedabad with 99 percentile in CAT?
• How raw scores convert to scaled scores and percentiles across slots

Ques. What is the expected score for 100 percentile in CAT 2025?

Past Trends: CAT Toppers and Highest Marks

Looking at previous CAT exams helps predict the CAT 2025 topper marks. The number of 100th percentile scorers changes every year based on difficulty, and so do the marks required to become a topper.

Also Read:

• What is the Minimum vs actual CAT cutoff for the general category?
• CAT Marks vs percentiles trends of last 4 years

Topper List of CAT 2023 (Out of 198 Marks)

There were around 66 questions in CAT 2023 with a total mark of 198. A total of 14 candidates achieved 100 percentile in CAT 2023.

Here is the list of toppers and marks they scored in CAT 2023.

Also Read:

How academic profile affects IIM calls

Topper List of CAT 2022 (Out of 198 Marks)

In CAT 2022, 11 candidates scored 100 percentile; out of these toppers, 10 were from an engineering background

Also Read:

• What are the CAT scores of the toppers of previous years?
• How to calculate the CAT raw score for 99 percentile?

Topper list of CAT 2021 (Out of 198 Marks)

9 candidates achieved the 100 percentile in 2021. In 2021, the exam was conducted for 66 questions with a total of 198 marks.

Also Check out:

99.9 percentile in CAT? Check Slot-wise marks for 2025

Toppers typically score between 100-120 out of 204 by attempting 40-45 questions with high accuracy, though the marks required to score high percentile vary every year due to the difficulty level of the exam.