The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) has officially released the CAT 2025 Answer Key along with the response sheets for all candidates who appeared for the exam. The release brings major relief to lakhs of management aspirants who were eagerly waiting to evaluate their performance and estimate their chances of securing a seat in top IIMs and other prestigious B-schools.
The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 was conducted across multiple sessions in computer-based mode, registering one of the highest participation counts in recent years. With the answer key now available, candidates can download the official PDF, compare answers, and calculate their expected scores using the official marking scheme.
How to Download CAT 2025 Answer Key?
IIM has made the answer key and response sheet available on the official CAT website. Candidates can follow these steps:
- Visit the official CAT portal.
- Log in using your registered ID and password.
- Click on ‘Candidate Response’ or ‘Answer Key Download’.
- Your response sheet and official answer key PDF will appear on the screen.
- Download and save it for score calculation.
The institute has also activated the objection window, allowing candidates to challenge any question they believe was incorrectly evaluated in the provisional answer key.
Marking Scheme for CAT 2025
To help candidates estimate their percentile, it is important to understand the marking pattern:
- +3 marks for every correct answer
- –1 mark for every incorrect MCQ
- No negative marking for TITA (Type-In-The-Answer) questions
The test consists of three sections:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
Candidates must remember that their final percentile depends not only on raw scores but also on sectional performance, which carries significant weight in IIM shortlisting.
Expected CAT 2025 Cut-Off
Based on early student reactions, expert analysis, and previous year trends, the overall difficulty level of CAT 2025 was moderate to slightly tough, especially in the DILR section. As a result, the cut-offs are expected to align closely with last year.
Expected Cut-Off for Top IIMs (General Category)
- 99+ percentile: 98–105 marks
- 98 percentile: 85–92 marks
- 95 percentile: 72–78 marks
- 90 percentile: 60–66 marks
These are tentative values and may vary depending on normalization and difficulty variation across shifts.
When Will the Final Answer Key and Result Be Released?
After evaluating the objections submitted by candidates, IIM will release the final answer key. Once released, no further challenges will be accepted.
The CAT 2025 result is expected to be declared in the first week of January, as per usual trends. The scorecard will mention:
- Section-wise scaled scores
- Overall scaled score
- Section-wise percentile
- Overall percentile
Once the results are out, the IIMs will begin sending Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT) calls to shortlisted candidates.
Student Reactions After the Release
Many students took to social media expressing relief that the answer key was released on time. Several candidates reported that VARC was more balanced this year, while DILR posed the biggest challenge. Aspirants are now actively using percentile predictor tools to analyze their chances of making it to top B-schools.
What Happens Next for CAT Aspirants?
With the answer key now available, aspirants should:
- Calculate their estimated scores
- Assess their chances using cut-off predictions
- Prepare necessary documents for upcoming interviews
- Begin practicing for WAT–PI rounds
Top B-schools apart from IIMs — such as MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR, FMS Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, IMI Delhi, and others — will soon begin their admission processes based on CAT 2025 scores.
Conclusion
The release of the CAT 2025 Answer Key marks a crucial step in the admission journey for management aspirants. Candidates should download the key, verify their responses, and utilize the objection window if necessary. With expected cut-offs now clearer, aspirants can better estimate their prospects and start preparing for the next phase of the admission cycle.
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