Formula
section score = 3 × (correct MCQs + correct TITA) − 1 × wrong MCQsraw score = VARC + DILR + QA
- 68 questions in the 2025 pattern: VARC 24, DILR 22, QA 22
- TITA (type-in-the-answer) questions have no negative marking
- Maximum 3 × 68 = 204
Three marks for each right answer, one off for each wrong multiple-choice answer, and nothing lost on typed answers.
Worked example
A sample attempt
- VARC — correct MCQs
- 14
- VARC — wrong MCQs
- 3
- VARC — correct TITA
- 2
- DILR — correct MCQs
- 9
- DILR — wrong MCQs
- 2
- DILR — correct TITA
- 3
- QA — correct MCQs
- 10
- QA — wrong MCQs
- 3
- QA — correct TITA
- 4
Raw score
118 / 204
Percentage of 204: 57.84%
Questions attempted (MCQ + TITA): 50
Marks lost to wrong MCQs: 8
How it works
The CAT 2025 paper has 68 questions in three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (24 questions), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (22) and Quantitative Ability (22). Each correct answer is worth 3 marks, a wrong multiple-choice answer costs 1 mark, and wrong answers to type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions cost nothing. Unattempted questions score zero, so the paper is out of 204.
The mix of MCQ and TITA questions differs between slots, so this calculator asks for correct MCQs, wrong MCQs and correct TITA separately for each section and checks that the total for a section does not exceed the number of questions in it. The table shows each section's score so you can see where marks were won or lost.
This is the raw score only. The IIMs scale scores across slots so that they are comparable and then publish a percentile; neither step can be reproduced from one candidate's raw score. If you already know your rank among the candidates, the CAT Percentile Calculator applies the standard definition of a percentile. For schemes with different rules use Exam Score Calculator, or the Target Score Planner to work out how many correct answers a target needs.
Assumptions and limits
- Pattern of the CAT 2025 cycle: 24, 22 and 22 questions, +3 per correct, −1 per wrong MCQ, no penalty for TITA. Later cycles may change the pattern.
- Raw score only: slot-wise scaling and percentile are applied by the IIMs and are not reproduced here.
- Enter wrong TITA answers nowhere — they do not change the score.
Rules, sources and review date
- Applies to
- CAT 2025 pattern: 68 questions, +3 correct, −1 wrong MCQ, no negative marking for TITA, 204 marks — India (Indian Institutes of Management)
- Effective from
- 2025 cycle
- Last checked
- 13 Oct 2026
- Sources
- Note
- Pattern agrees across independent summaries; the official CAT notice for your year is the authority.