The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta declared the result of the much awaited Common Entrance Test (CAT) 2024 on December 19, 2024. CAT is one of the most prestigious management entrance exams in India, attracting lakhs of candidates every year who aim to secure admission. Postgraduate management programs at IIMs and other top business schools nationwide.
While students from different academic backgrounds compete in CAT, candidates from commerce backgrounds can be expected to dominate the top ranks or get a full 100 percent. However, this year, most of the top performers were engineers – a trend that has continued over the years. Although it may surprise some, engineers have consistently outperformed other subjects in CAT results.
Let’s dig into this year’s data and compare it with the 2023 results to analyze the trends and understand the dominance of engineers in one of the most competitive exams in the country.
CAT 2024 Results
CAT 2024 results show a significant dominance of engineers among the top scorers. Of the 14 candidates who secured full 100 percent, 13 were engineers. Similarly, out of 29 candidates, 28 out of 29 candidates scored 99.99 percentile and 22 out of 30 scored 99.98 percentile. In total, 63 of the 73 top scorers came from engineering backgrounds, leaving only 10 spots for non-engineers. This highlights the consistent trend of engineering students excelling in CAT year after year.
CAT 2023 Result
The CAT 2023 results highlight the significant dominance of engineers among the high achievers, though non-engineers have made a marginal impact on the top percentile. Among the 14 candidates who scored full 100% marks, 11 were engineers and 3 were non-engineers. There were 22 engineers and 7 non-engineers in the 99.99 percentile. However, engineers completely dominated the bracket with 99.98 percent, securing all 20 positions. This reflects a recurring pattern of engineers topping this competitive management entrance exam.
Comparison of CAT 2024 and CAT 2023 Results
A comparison of CAT 2024 and CAT 2023 results reveals the continued dominance of engineers among the top scorers, though the degree of disparity has increased this year. In CAT 2024, engineers scored 63 out of the top 73 scorers (86%) compared to 53 out of 73 (73%) in CAT 2023, a significant increase in their share.
For the full 100 percentile, the proportion of engineers increased from 11 (78.5%) in 2023 to 13 (92.8%) in 2024. Similarly, among the candidates who scored 99.99% marks, the number of Engineers increased from 22 (75.8%) in 2023 to 22 (75.8%) in 2024. (96.5%) in 2024 the gap was quite in the range of 99.98 percent, with non-engineers falling from 9 in 2023 to just 8 in 2024, while engineers grew marginally.
This growing imbalance suggests a broader systemic advantage for engineers in the CAT, raising concerns about inclusivity and the representation of diverse academic backgrounds in major management institutes.