Admissions guide, sections 3–4

How IIMs weigh you, and what each category needs

In the final selection, CAT carries only 25–30% of the weight at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow and Visakhapatnam, where the interview counts for 40–50%. At Ranchi, Rohtak, Mumbai and Udaipur, CAT carries 55–65%, so a high score does more of the work there.

Final-selection weightage by IIM, sorted by CAT weight

  • CAT
  • Interview (PI)
  • WAT/GD
  • Profile (academics, work-ex, diversity)
  1. Ranchi
  2. Rohtak
  3. Mumbai
  4. Udaipur
  5. Tiruchirappalli
  6. Bodh Gaya
  7. Nagpur
  8. Jammu
  9. Kashipur
  10. Indore
  11. Shillong
  12. Sambalpur
  13. Kozhikode
  14. Sirmaur
  15. Raipur
  16. Calcutta
  17. Lucknow
  18. Ahmedabad
  19. Bangalore
  20. Visakhapatnam
Amritsar uses separate pre-interview and post-interview composite scores. Source: Cracku, IIM admission criteria 2026, compiled from the IIMs’ admission policies.
Show as a table
IIMCATInterview (PI)WAT/GDProfile
Ranchi65%12.5%2.5%20%
Rohtak60%20%—20%
Mumbai60%20%—20%
Udaipur55%25%—20%
Tiruchirappalli52%20%—28%
Bodh Gaya50%25%—25%
Nagpur45%25%—30%
Jammu42%30%—28%
Kashipur41%25%—34%
Indore40%45%—15%
Shillong40%40%—20%
Sambalpur40%25%—35%
Kozhikode35%35%20%10%
Sirmaur35%20%—45%
Raipur33.3%26.7%—40%
Calcutta30%48%8%14%
Lucknow30%40%10%20%
Ahmedabad25%50%10%15%
Bangalore25%40%10%25%
Visakhapatnam25%48%—27%

The rules every IIM shares

  • Eligibility: a bachelor’s degree of at least three years with 50% marks (45% for SC, ST and PwD). Final-year students can apply.
  • Reservation: NC-OBC 27%, SC 15%, ST 7.5%, EWS 10% and PwD 5% of seats, under the central government policy.
  • Shortlisting formulas are separate from this table. Each IIM’s admission policy lists the points it gives for 10th, 12th and graduation marks, work experience and diversity before interviews.

How to use this

  • Average academics? Lean towards IIMs where CAT carries 50% or more: Ranchi, Rohtak, Mumbai, Udaipur, Trichy, Bodh Gaya.
  • Strong speaker? IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta and Visakhapatnam put 40–50% on the interview.
  • Profile-heavy schools (Sirmaur 45%, Raipur 40%, Sambalpur 35%) reward academics and work experience most.

Three different numbers all get called “the cutoff”

Plan with the practical call range in table A, not the official minimum in table B. The official minimum only makes you eligible; the general-category call range at the old IIMs is 99–100, and 92–98 at most newer ones.

  1. Practical call range (A)

    What shortlisted candidates usually score. Use this for planning.

  2. Official minimum (B and C)

    The eligibility floor each IIM publishes.

  3. Lowest percentile admitted (D)

    The single lowest admit per category, from RTI replies. Usually candidates with exceptional academics or diversity points, not typical admits.

A. Practical call range by category (CAT percentile, expected for CAT 2026)

Source: Cracku, CAT cutoff 2026 (estimates, not official figures).
IIMGeneralEWSNC-OBCSCSTPwD
Ahmedabad99–10099–99.598–99.385–9575–9070–85
Bangalore99–10098–99.597–9985–9775–9070–85
Calcutta99–10098–99.597–9980–9370–8865–85
Lucknow97–9993–9893–9775–9065–8560–80
Kozhikode97–9993–9790–9675–9065–8560–80
Indore97–9994–9890–9670–8855–8060–80
Mumbai97–9993–9790–9675–9065–8560–80
Rohtak97–9993–9785–9365–8055–7050–65
Shillong95–9890–9685–9470–8560–8055–75
Udaipur95–9888–9585–9465–8545–7045–70
Raipur95–9888–9585–9465–8545–7045–70
Tiruchirappalli95–9888–9585–9465–8545–7045–70
Kashipur94–9788–9485–9365–8045–6545–65
Ranchi94–9788–9485–9365–8045–6545–65
Nagpur94–9788–9485–9365–8045–6545–65
Guwahati94–9788–9485–9265–8050–7050–70
Sambalpur93–9785–9380–9060–7845–6545–65
Amritsar92–9688–9482–9060–7845–6545–65
Visakhapatnam92–9685–9280–9055–7545–6545–65
Bodh Gaya92–9685–9280–9060–7845–6545–65
Sirmaur92–9685–9280–9060–7845–6545–65
Jammu92–9685–9280–9060–7845–6545–65

B. Official minimum percentile, general category (CAT 2025 cycle)

IIMVARCDILRQAOverall
Ahmedabad85858595
Bangalore80757585
Calcutta80807585
Lucknow85858590
Kozhikode75757585
Indore80808090
Mumbai80807585
Shillong757575No overall minimum
RohtakNoneNoneNone97
Udaipur75757594
Raipur75757595.25
Ranchi75757595.25
Tiruchirappalli75757595.25
Kashipur75757595.25
Nagpur70707095
Bodh Gaya75757595
Jammu72727291
Amritsar80758090
SambalpurNoneNoneNone90
Sirmaur65656590
Guwahati75757585
Visakhapatnam70707082

Source: Cracku, compiled from the IIMs’ policies. At Rohtak, Raipur, Ranchi, Tiruchirappalli, Kashipur, Nagpur and Bodh Gaya, the published overall minimum sits at or above the low end of the call range in table A, so there the minimum itself is the real bar.

C. Official minimums for every category at IIM A, B and C (2026–28 policies)

Overall minimum, with the VARC–DILR–QA minimums in brackets where published.
IIMGeneralEWSNC-OBCSCSTPwD
Ahmedabad95 (85–85–85)9590857585
Bangalore85 (80–75–75)75 (70–65–65)75 (70–65–65)70 (65–60–60)65 (55–55–55)60 (50–50–50)
Calcutta85 (80–80–75)75 (70–65–65)75 (70–65–65)70 (65–60–60)65 (55–55–55)55 (45–45–45)

Source: Cracku, Top 10 MBA colleges 2026, citing the official policies. For every other IIM and category, read that IIM’s admission policy for the 2027–29 batch; reserved-category minimums are always lower than the general ones.

D. Lowest percentile admitted, 2025 admissions (RTI data)

Source: Cracku, CAT cutoff 2026, RTI section. IIMs not listed had no 2025 RTI data there.
IIMGeneralEWSNC-OBCSCSTPwD
Ahmedabad90.9897.377.5385.3973.1473.25
Bangalore95.4591.0381.773.0476.33—
Lucknow91.0290.1386.267.860.360.16
Kozhikode91.0382.2675.267.855.1756.52
Indore92.4392.1481.2664.7149.2563.68
Mumbai96.7990.0292.0280.1365.8992.04
Rohtak9793.0483.1963.615011
Udaipur95.2686.4381.270.7643.0970.63
Tiruchirappalli95.0181.6381.0466.1651.0472.68
Kashipur95.0981.4881.0466.4342.5943.29
Sirmaur9581.0281.0266.0642.1543.29
Nagpur9477.017760.0240.1840.01
Sambalpur85.018075.0155.0842.4841.1
Visakhapatnam82.0373.2272.9950.4240.0941.34

Women and non-engineers. IIMs do not publish separate cutoffs for them. They add diversity points inside the shortlist composite, which is a big reason the lowest general admits in table D sit far below the general call ranges in table A.

E. Non-IIMs with category-wise call ranges

InstituteGeneralEWSNC-OBCSCSTPwD
FMS Delhi98–99.597.5–9997–9985–9570–8560–80
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM)97–9995–9890–9274–8274–7971–80
IIT Delhi (DMS)96–9988–9588–9570–8570–8070–80

Source: Cracku, CAT cutoff 2026. Cracku lists SPJIMR (85–98), MDI (95–98), IMT Ghaziabad (90–96) and XIMB (91–96) with the same range for every category.