1. What is a cut-off?

Cut-off connotes the minimum score required in each area / section of the written test to qualify for the next stage of selection process. Each institute sets a cut-off based on it's requirements. Cut-offs can be section-wise or overall (cumulative score).

2. What is a sectional-cutoff?

A sectional cut-off is the minimum score required to qualify a particular section. This is important since B-schools expect their students to have aptitude for all the areas being tested. Hence it is believed that there is a benchmark assigned to each section & only students scoring more than this cut-off are shortlisted.

3. How are cut-offs calculated?

A few institutes like NMIMS have a predetermined cut-off.

However, most institutes do not explicitly announce cut offs. Institutes like the IIMs set the cut-offs based on the performance of the test taking population. Thus, cut-offs are a function of the performance of students and confirm the requirement of the top institutes to select only those whose performance is equally good across sections.

The cut-offs are always high enough to accommodate the number of students required to be profiled through the GD & PI process.