SIBM Bangalore News & Updates 2026: Notifications, Notice, Result

What to Expect from CMAT 2026? Aspirants can anticipate the exam to be of a moderate difficulty level, with the overall pattern largely remaining consistent from the previous year. 

CMAT 2026 will include five sections: Language Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, General Awareness, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The exam will be conducted in online mode, carrying overall 400 marks, with each correct answer awarded 4 marks and a penalty of 1 mark for every incorrect response. 

CMAT 2026 is scheduled to be held on January 25, 2026, across 120 cities in India. Check this article to understand what to expect from CMAT 2026, along with insights on CMAT exam pattern, marking scheme, and section-wise structure to help aspirants prepare with clarity.

Also Read: CMAT 2026 Exam Day Guidelines

IIM Bangalore & FPSB India: IIM Bangalore, in collaboration with FPSB India, has launched a new Certificate Programme in Personal Finance & Wealth Advisory (PFWA) to strengthen financial planning education in India. This executive programme has been developed by IIMB’s Centre for Capital Markets and Risk Management (CCMRM) and is aimed at professionals who want to build or advance their careers in personal finance and wealth management.

With a CAT 2025 score in the 70-80 percentile range, you can explore admission opportunities in reputable MBA colleges such as BIMTECH Noida, Welingkar Mumbai, IMT Nagpur, and XIME Bengaluru. Each of these institutions sets its admission cutoffs based on factors like program specialisation, location, and current applicant competition. For instance, BIMTECH expects CAT 2025 cutoffs around 70-75 percentile, Welingkar generally requires 70-80 percentile, IMT Nagpur's cutoff is higher, near 85 percentile, and XIME Bangalore usually sets it between 75-80 percentile. Because these thresholds can change yearly, it is essential to verify the specific eligibility criteria and cutoff details of your targeted colleges before applying to ensure your CAT 2025 score meets their requirements.

While IIMs take the lead in the list of colleges for 97 percentile in CAT 2025, non-IIMs like XLRI Jamshedpur, TISS Mumbai and MDI Gurgaon also feature prominently. These colleges offer the traditional MBA course and PGP, PGDM, and PGPM, among others. Although a 97th percentile in CAT can open doors to these prominent B-schools, students will still have to undergo a holistic evaluation and participate in the subsequent rounds of GD/PI/WAT. Make sure to have a clear understanding of the selection process of their target college before applying. Students eager to know more about the expected colleges for 97 Percentile in CAT 2025 can go through the list of IIMs. List of Non-IIMs- IIMs, etc.

The list of colleges accepting 91 percentile in CAT 2025 exam includes some of the top MBA colleges in India, namely, IIM Sirmaur, XIM University, IMI, and DoMs, IIM Vishakhapatnam, and more. Students who score in the range of 91 percentile in the CAT 2025 exam can consider applying to these colleges. The IIM cutoffs for MBA admissions are most likely to fall within the range of 95 and 100 percentile, so getting admission to the top IIMs in India will be quite difficult.