The results for the highly competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 were officially declared on Wednesday, December 25, 2025. The announcement has brought excellent news for the Tricity region of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, with numerous students achieving remarkable scores above the 99 percentile mark.
Tricity Toppers Share Their Success Mantras
Leading the pack from the region is Raahil Rai, a final-year BTech (Mechanical) student at PEC Chandigarh, who secured an outstanding 99.95 percentile. A former student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, Rai credited his achievement to a disciplined strategy centered on rigorous mock test practice.
"My entire preparation revolved around attempting as many mock tests as possible. This helped me maximise my attempts during the actual exam," Rai explained. He emphasized that consistency and dedicated daily effort of one to two hours over a year were key. Beyond academics, his interests include graphic design, chess, and music.
Rai aspires to secure high leadership roles in consulting and eventually start his own social sector venture. His advice to future aspirants is to begin preparations early, maintain consistent effort, and set weekly targets to stay on course.
Diverse Academic Backgrounds Shine in Results
The success stories from this year's CAT highlight a welcome diversity among top performers. Kkanika Sharma, a student at the Army Institute of Law (AIL), scored an impressive 99 percentile. She focused her preparation on strengthening weak areas and consistent practice, particularly in the quantitative section, to minimize errors.
From the commerce stream, Ankit Kumar, a BCom student at GGDSD College, secured 98.6 percentile in his very first attempt. His mantra is self-belief and continuous performance analysis for improvement.
Another first-time achiever, Smridhi Aggarwal from CCET, Sector 26, scored 98.55 percentile. Aggarwal, who enjoys Mandala art, also swears by the power of taking numerous mock tests. She aims to attain leadership positions in the corporate world.
Commenting on this trend, Hirdesh Madan, co-founder of Hitbullseye, noted, "This year city toppers are from diverse backgrounds, including engineers, lawyers, doctors, humanities and commerce background. This is a welcome change."
Next Steps in the MBA Admission Process
The CAT exam, a national-level gateway for admission to MBA programs, was conducted on November 30, 2025, in three sessions. Approximately 6,500 candidates from the Chandigarh Tricity region appeared for the test.
The high scores pave the way for the next crucial stages of admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other premier business schools. The process now moves to the Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds, typically held between January and March.
Successful candidates can look forward to calls from IIMs across the country, including IIM Amritsar and IIM Sirmaur in this region. Locally, Chandigarh's leading University Business School (Panjab University) also admits students based on CAT scores. The final admission results from most IIMs are expected to be announced in April.
