IIM A selection process for CAT 25- Cutoffs increased

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad or IIM-A) is one of India's premier business schools, renowned globally for its academic excellence, rigorous curriculum, and outstanding alumni network. Established in 1961 with the support of the Government of India, the Government of Gujarat, and the Harvard Business School, it has consistently ranked among the top management institutes in Asia. The institute is known for its unique case study-based teaching pedagogy, which emphasizes practical problem-solving and real-world decision-making. Its iconic red-brick campus, designed by the American architect Louis Kahn, has become a symbol of modern Indian architecture. IIM Ahmedabad offers a range of programs including the flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), executive education, doctoral programs, and various specialized courses, preparing leaders who excel in diverse sectors worldwide.

IIM Ahmedabad which is arguably one of the best B-schools in India has released its admission criteria for admission into their MBA 2026-2028 Batch. They have increased the minimum CAT percentile needed to be considered for the shortlisting process.

The following are this year's CAT percentile ( both sectional and overall) needed to be considered for further shortlisting process

	Non-PwD CAT Cutoff		PwD CAT Cutoff
Category	Overall percentile rank (PT)	Section Wise percentile rank (PVARC, PDILR, PQA)	Overall percentile rank (PT)	Section Wise percentile rank (PVARC, PDILR, PQA)
General/ EWS	95	85	85	75
NC-OBC	90	80	80	70
SC	85	75	75	65
ST	75	65	65	55

Legend: Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Non-creamy Other Backward Class (NC-OBC), Persons with disabilities (PwD).

The rest of the admission process is as mentioned below

At different stages of the selection process ‘Application Rating' (AR) score of an applicant will be used. An applicant's AR score is the sum of the rating scores ‘A', ‘B', ‘C', ‘D' and ‘E'. Rating scores A, B, C and D (see Tables 2-5) are based on their percentage of marks obtained in the 10th standard, the 12th standard (depending upon the stream, viz., ‘Science', ‘Commerce' and ‘Arts & Humanities'), the bachelor's degree programme (depending upon the discipline) and work experience (as on July 31, 2025) respectively. For details of academic disciplines, please refer to Table 8. Rating score E is the gender diversity score, which takes the value 0 for male candidates and 3 for all other candidates.

Table 2: Rating Scores for the 10th Std. Examination (Rating Score A)

Percent score in 10th Std. Exam	Rating Score A
<= 55	1
> 55 and <= 60	2
> 60 and <= 70	3
> 70 and <= 80	5
> 80 and <= 90	8
> 90	10

Table 3: Rating Scores for the 12th Std. Examination (Rating Score B)

Science Stream
Percent score in 12th Std. Exam	Rating Score B
<= 55	1
> 55 and <= 60	2
> 60 and <= 70	3
> 70 and <= 80	5
> 80 and <= 90	8
> 90	10

Commerce Stream
Percent score in 12th Std. Exam	Rating Score B
<= 50	1
> 50 and <= 55	2
> 55 and <= 65	3
> 65 and <= 75	5
> 75 and <= 90	8
> 90	10

Arts/Humanities Stream
Percent score in 12th Std. Exam	Rating Score B
<= 45	1
> 45 and <= 50	2
> 50 and <= 60	3
> 60 and <= 70	5
> 70 and <= 85	8
> 85	10

Table 4: Rating Scores for the Bachelor's Degree Examination (Rating Score C)

AC-1
Percent score in Bachelor's Degree	Rating Score C
<= 55	1
> 55 and <= 60	2
> 60 and <= 62	3
> 62 and <= 65	5
> 65 and <= 70	8
> 70	10

AC-2
Percent score in Professional courses	Rating Score C
<= 50	1
> 50 and <= 53	2
> 53 and <= 55	3
> 55 and <= 57	5
> 57 and <= 63	8
> 63	10

AC-3
Percent score in Bachelor's Degree	Rating Score C
<= 55	1
> 55 and <= 60	2
> 60 and <= 65	3
> 65 and <= 70	5
> 70 and <= 80	8
> 80	10

AC-4 & AC-6
Percent score in Bachelor's Degree	Rating Score C
<= 60	1
> 60 and <= 65	2
> 65 and <= 70	3
> 70 and <= 75	5
> 75 and <= 85	8
> 85	10

AC-5
Percent score in Bachelor's Degree	Rating Score C
<= 50	1
> 50 and <= 55	2
> 55 and <= 60	3
> 60 and <= 65	5
> 65 and <= 75	8
> 75	10

Table 5: Rating Scores for Work Experience (Rating Score D)

Work Experience in Month (as filled in the CAT Application Form)	Rating Score D
< 12 months	0
>= 12 and <= 36 months	MF * (number of months of work experience – 11)
> 36 months	5

Work-experience Multiplication Factor (MF) = 0.20

Application Rating Score: AR= (A+B+C+D+E)

Normalised AR score of an applicant is equal to their AR score divided by average of the top 50 AR scores from the applicants' pool, (the applicants' pool in this case being defined as the group of candidates who appear for CAT-2025 and apply to IIMA.)

Notes about the marks obtained:

• Percentages of marks of an applicant who is yet to complete the bachelor's degree will be computed based on their available marks. At any stage of the admission process, the candidates need to provide the latest available marksheets for all completed semesters/years. Typically, at least mark sheets till the previous academic year should be available. In case the marksheets for any particular semester(s)/year(s) are not submitted, IIMA may require proof from the institution/university to certify that the marksheets have not been issued. Withholding of available marksheets for any semester/year may lead to disqualification of the candidate.
• For a candidate who has indicated in the CAT form as having completed CA/ICWA/CMA/CS; (Inter Marks (%) + Final Marks (%))/2 as entered in the CAT form will be used to obtain Rating Score C while computing the AR score under the AC-2 category. For a candidate who has indicated in the CAT form as having completed Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) the aggregate marks (%) as entered in the CAT form will be used to obtain Rating Score C for computing the AR score under the AC-2 category.
• For computing the AR score of an applicant, scores in all subjects that appear in their marksheet of 10th and 12th Std. examinations will be considered irrespective of whether the board considers them for calculating the percentage.
• For the bachelor's degree, the percentage of marks awarded by the candidate's institution/university will be treated as final. If the institution/university does not award the percentage of marks, it will be calculated on the basis of the marks obtained in all the subjects listed in the marksheet.
• For the bachelor's degree, if the percentage of marks awarded by the candidate's institution/university does not take into account marks obtained in all the subjects as mentioned in the marksheet(s) for all the years, the candidates must produce a certificate from the principal/head of the department/registrar/director of the institution/university certifying details of the practice at the institution/university at the time of the interview, if shortlisted for the same.
• If any board/institution/university awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade-sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the board/institution/university specifying the equivalent marks which should be used for filling the online CAT application form. The original equivalence certificate needs to be submitted at the time of interview, if shortlisted for the same.
• For candidates undergoing/completed an integrated Master's degree or dual-degree directly after their 12th/HSC, the percentage of marks obtained as per their institute/university norms which is considered as equivalent to bachelor's degree will be considered. If the institute/university does not provide the Bachelor's degree percentage, then the aggregate percentage of the latest available marksheets for all completed semesters/years will be considered.

2. Shortlisting for Analytical Writing Test (AWT) & Personal Interview (PI)

Shortlisting will be carried out in two stages.

Stage 1: (From the Applicants' pool: Selection of exceptional performers across different disciplines)

IIMA endeavours to recognise exceptional performers in terms of their previous academic records as well as their performance in CAT across diverse academic backgrounds. Towards that, a certain number of top candidates from each of the academic disciplines will be shortlisted for AWT & PI on the basis of their composite score ‘CS' (see below) subject to their fulfilling certain criteria.

From each of the academic categories (AC) for which the total number of applicants to IIMA who appear for CAT-2025 from SC/ST/NC-OBC/PwD categories is at least 100, the top 5% in the respective AC limited to the respective categories (General/SC/ST/NC-OBC/PwD) among the applicants to IIMA who appear for CAT, henceforth referred to as ACRC groups, (subject to upper limits on the numbers per ACRC group as specified in Table 6) will be shortlisted for AWT & PI on the basis of the composite score ‘CS' (see below) subject to their fulfilling criteria C1-C3.

CS (Composite Score) = ARF_CS * Normalised AR score + CATF_CS * Normalised overall score in CAT

Application Rating Multiplication Factor for Composite Score (ARF_CS) = 0.35;

CAT Multiplication Factor for Composite Score (CATF_CS) = 0.65

Table 6a: The upper limits (UL) on the number of candidates to be shortlisted per RC for AC-1, AC-2, AC-3, AC-5

Category	Upper Limit (UL) Per ACRC
General	100
NC-OBC	57
SC	32
ST	16
PwD	6

Table 6b: The upper limits (UL) on the number of candidates to be shortlisted per RC for AC-4

Category	Upper Limit (UL) Per ACRC
General	150
NC-OBC/Transgender	85
SC	48
ST	24
PwD	9

[1] IIM Ahmedabad reserves the right to make changes in the Shortlisting and Selection Criteria, if considered necessary at any point.

[2] 5% or the numbers given in Table 6a, whichever are smaller.

[3] 5% or the numbers given in Table 6b, whichever are smaller.

Criteria C1-C3:

C1. PVARC, PDILR, PQA and PT must not be lower than the minimum cut-offs as specified in Table 1.

C2. P ≥ Minimum cut-offs (specific to the category and the stream as shown in Table 7), where P is the average of the percentages of marks scored in 10th and 12th std. examinations.
Table 7. Minimum cut-off for P across different disciplines and different categories

Stream in 12th std.	General/EWS Category	NC-OBC / Transgender Category	SC Category	ST Category	PWD (in General/ EWS/ NC-OBC / Transgender/ SC)	PWD (in ST)
Science	80	75	70	65	70	65
Commerce	77	72	67	62	67	62
Arts & Humanities	75	70	64	59	64	59

C3. (Percentage of marks in the bachelor's examination)≥ Minimum cut-off percentage, to be set at the 80th percentile of the percentage of marks of the respective ACRC group of the applicants' pool, (the applicants' pool in this case being defined as the group of candidates who appear for CAT-2025, apply to IIM Ahmedabad and belong to the respective ACRC.)

Any AC, for which the total number of applicants to IIMA who appear for CAT from SC/ST/NC-OBC/PwD categories is less than 100, will not be subdivided into ACRCs as above. For such an AC, the top 100 or the top 5% in the respective AC among all the applicants to IIMA who appear for CAT, whichever is less, will be shortlisted for AWT & PI on the basis of the composite score ‘CS' (see above) subject to their fulfilling criteria C4-C6.

Criteria C4-C6:

C4. PT ≥ 80, PQA ≥ 70, PDILR ≥ 70 and PVARC ≥ 70.

C5. P ≥ 80 (Science), 77 (Commerce), 75 (Arts/Humanities), where P is the average of the percentages of marks scored in the 10th and 12th std. examinations.

C6. (Percentage of marks in the bachelor's examination) ≥ Minimum cut-off percentage, to be set at the 80th percentile of the percentage of marks of the respective AC group of the applicants' pool, (the applicants' pool in this case being defined as the group of candidates who appear for CAT, apply to IIM Ahmedabad and belong to the respective AC.)

Note: For AC 1, separate shortlists will be drawn, computing the Composite Score (CS) using a separate bachelor's degree 80th percentile cut off marks (C3 & C6 criteria) of Part I & Part II respectively.

Stage 2: After removing the candidates selected in Stage 1 from each category (General, NC-OBC, SC, ST and PWD) the additional number of candidates to be shortlisted for AWT & PI will be selected on the basis of the composite score ‘CS' (see above) subject to their fulfilling criteria C1-C2.

3. Final Selection

Selection at this stage will strictly be based on the shortlisting of the candidates done separately for each category (General/SC/ST/NC-OBC/PwD) on the basis of their ‘Final Composite Score's (FCS). The numbers selected in different reservation categories will be in proportions mandated by law.

The FCS of a candidate who appears in AWT & PI will be computed as follows:

FCS = PIF * Normalised PI Score + AWTF * Normalised AWT Score + CATF_FCS * Normalised CAT Score + ARF_FCS *Normalised AR Score

Personal Interview Multiplication Factor (PIF) = 0.50

AWT Multiplication Factor (AWTF) = 0.10

CAT Score Multiplication Factor for Final Composite Score (CATF_FCS) = 0.25

Application Rating Multiplication Factor for Final Composite Score (ARF_FCS) = 0.15

The normalised AWT and PI scores of a candidate are their scores in the respective field divided by the average of the top 1% scores in the same field respectively.

The following information is about the admission process followed by IIMA for its PGP subsequent to CAT. It is therefore important for the candidates to read them carefully.

1. Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well in each section of the test. In addition to the performance in CAT, IIMA uses academic performance of the candidates throughout their academic career up to the bachelor's level for shortlisting for AWT & PI.

2.Please note that IIMA shortlists candidates for AWT & PI independent of the other IIMs. Hence it is possible to observe variations in the lists of the candidates shortlisted by different IIMs.

3.Details of the candidates shortlisted will be made available on the IIMA website (www.iima.ac.in) tentatively by the second week of January 2026 after the CAT results are published. Shortlisted candidates would also be sent AWT & PI call letters by IIMA. No communication would be sent to applicants who are not shortlisted for AWT & PI.

4.After the AWT & PI round, admission offers are made by IIMA to successful candidates. The final selection is based on a diverse set of attributes which includes performance in CAT, performance in AWT & PI, academic, co-curricular and extracurricular achievements, work experience etc. All selected candidates for the IIMA two-year PGP programme must be 19 years of age as on June 30, 2026 (i.e. must be born on or before June 30, 2007).

5.Disclosure of information about the admission process is driven by concerns which at times conflict with each other. IIMA would like the admission process to be transparent. At the same time, IIMA would wish to protect the privacy of the individual candidates and confidentiality of the process to prevent abuse. Based on these considerations, the details of the performance of an individual are not made available to any other person. Similarly, the details of the performance of a candidate in AWT & PI, including assessment of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above, is not disclosed to anyone to prevent exercise of undue pressure on the panelists participating in the admission/selection process. IIMA exercises its own discretion in disclosing weights assigned to diverse sets of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above. To ensure that the perceived lack of transparency does not in any way affect the candidates negatively, adequate care is taken in formation of the interview panels, development of objective criteria for assessment, random allocation of candidates to interview panels and other such measures.

6.Candidates, who appear in AWT & PI will be able to view whether they have been offered admission by IIMA tentatively during the second week of April, 2026 by visiting the IIMA website. Admission offer letter would be sent to all successful candidates. Candidates who are offered admission, need to confirm their acceptance by completing all the required formalities by the first/second week of May, 2026. Some candidates may also be placed on the waiting list initially during the second week of April, 2026. Offers to candidates on the waiting list would depend upon the number of successful candidates accepting the offer made by IIMA.

Note: In the event of specific guidelines being issued by the Government of India, IIMA reserves the right to, depending on the nature of the guidelines, continue with its AWT & PI as stated above OR use an alternative selection procedure which may include calling for additional information from the shortlisted candidates, a supplementary test or any other suitable process/mechanism. Care will be taken to ensure that candidates are not put to undue inconvenience.

The exact cut-offs mentioned above are computed based on the previous years' CAT data. It depends on various factors like the applicants' pool, the distribution of CAT scores etc. which may change year to year. In view of this fact the Admissions Committee of IIMA reserves the right of changing the cut-offs if deemed desirable in the light of CAT-2025 data.

Table 8. Categories for bachelor's degree/integrated master's degree (as per CAT Application)

AC-1 (Medicine and Surgery based subjects):

Part I: MBBS, MD (USA)
Part II: BAMS, BDS, BHMS

AC-2 (Selected Professional Degrees): Chartered Accountancy (CA), Cost and Works Accountancy (ICWA), Cost and Management Accounting (CMA), Company Secretaryship (CS), Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)

AC-3 (All Commerce, Economics, Finance and Management Related Degrees): Including BA(in related disciplines), BAF, BBA, BBE, BBI, BBM, BBS, BCAF, BCCA, BCOM, BFIA, BFM, BHM, BHMCT, BIBF, BMS (Bachelor of Management studies) and BSBA degrees.

In particular, including

1.Economics/ Economic Development and Planning

2.Any degree in Hospitality/Hospitality Studies, Catering/Catering Technology, Hotel, Travel and Tourism Management, Tourism Studies and any other related discipline.

3.Commerce (Accountancy, Auditing, Banking, Business Mathematics, Business Organisation, Finance, Insurance, Investment Analysis, Public Finance, Secretarial Practices etc.)

4.Management (Advertising, Agriculture and Food Business, Agribusiness Management, Agriculture Marketing and Cooperation, Agriculture and Rural and Tribal Development, Business Administration, Business Management, Business Studies, Commercial Agriculture and Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Management Studies, Sports Management, Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure, Renewable Energy Management, Oil and Gas Management, Production and Industrial Management)

5.Any other vocational degree in commerce and management.

AC-4

I. (All Engineering, Technology and Architecture related Areas): Including BARCH, BE, BIT, BINFTECH, BS (ENG)/ BSC (ENG), BTECH and integrated MTECH degrees (Excluding all degrees in Accessories Design/Apparel Production/Design/Fashion Communication/Fashion Design/Fashion Technology/Interior Design/Knit Wear Design/Leather Design/Jewelry Design/Footwear Design, and BS/BSC degrees in Information Technology).

In particular, including

1.Agricultural Engineering/ Dairy Technology/ Food Technology

2.Architecture

3.BE/BS (ENG)/BSC (ENG)/BTECH/integrated MTECH degrees in Biosciences, Geological Sciences, Information Technology, Mathematical Sciences and Natural Sciences

4.BE/BS (ENG)/BSC (ENG)/BTECH/integrated MTECH in all Engineering/Technology and related areas, including subjects like Chemical Technology, Electronics, Engineering Physics etc.

5.Textile Engineering/Technology

6.Others: All other fields where BE/BS (ENG)/BSC (ENG)/BTECH/integrated MTECH degrees are awarded, not explicitly included or excluded elsewhere in the list.

II. (Science and Agriculture related Areas, other than Medicine and Surgery): Including all BS/BSC and integrated MS/MSC (Excluding degrees in Apparel Design, Economics, Fashion Design, Journalism, and Leather Design). Also including degrees in paramedical, veterinary degrees.

In particular, including

1.Actuarial Science

2.Agriculture (Agronomy, Soil Science, Agricultural Biochemistry, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant Pathology etc.)

3.Biosciences (Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Botany, Life Science, Zoology etc.)

4.Computer Applications (BCA, MCA)

5.Fisheries

6.Forestry

7.Geological Sciences (Geography, Geology and Geophysics.)

8.Horticulture

9.Information Technology

10.All bachelor's/integrated master's degrees in Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics etc.)

11.Natural Sciences (Chemistry, Physics etc.)

12.Paramedical/Physiotherapy

13.Pharmacology/Pharmacy

14.Planning

15.Veterinary Science/ Animal Husbandry

16.Media Science, Media Science and Technology

17.Physiology

18.Any vocational degree in science (BS/BSC)

19.Science (Others): Forensic, Home Science, Nursing and all other branches of Science not explicitly included or excluded elsewhere in this list

AC-5 (All Arts/Humanities Related Degrees, Design, Education, Fashion Design/Technology, Law and Rural Studies): Including any BA (Excluding Economics, Geography and Geological Sciences, Mathematics, Management and Statistics), BAA, BAJM, BCJ, BDES, BED, BFTECH, BJ, BJMC, BL, BM (Bachelor of Music), BMC, BMM, BMus, BSW and LLB.

In particular, including

1.Accessories Design/Apparel Design & Production/Design/Fashion Communication/Fashion Design/Fashion Technology/Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management, Interior Design/Knit Wear Design/Leather Design/Footwear Design/Jewelry Design (all degrees)

2.Arts/Humanities (Archaeology, Education, Fine Arts (Dance, Drama, Film, Music, Painting etc.), History, Languages, Library Science, Literature, Mass Communication, Media Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Public Administration, Social Work/Welfare, Sociology, etc.)

3.Education (including Physical Education and Sports)

4.Journalism/Mass Communication/Media Studies (all degrees)

5.Law (BL LLB/B.Com. LLB/BBA LLB)

6.Psychology (all degrees)

7.Rural Studies/Rural Sociology/Rural Cooperatives/Rural Banking

8.Any vocational degree in arts/education/humanities (BA)

AC-6: Any other discipline not mentioned in AC-1 to AC-5

Note:

1.Dual bachelor's degree holders will be classified in one of the categories AC-1 to AC-6 based on their field(s) and subjects.

Applicants are requested to mention both the degrees of specialization separately in Bachelor Degree 1 and Bachelor Degree 2.

2.Final discretion on the academic category that an academic programme will be classified into rests with the Admissions Committee of IIMA.

3.For candidates undergoing/completed an integrated master's degree directly after their HSC, their classification into an academic category will be based on their academic discipline in the integrated master's degree programme.

4.For a candidate who has obtained further higher degrees after their bachelor's degree or their integrated Master's degree, other than those degrees listed in Table 8, the discipline(s) of the subsequent degrees will not be taken into consideration in deciding their classification in an academic category.

Important information

Please note that IIMA will conduct its Analytical Writing Tests and Personal Interviews (AWT & PIs) in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. Candidates need to opt two cities for AWT & PI in the CAT application form. Candidates shortlisted for AWT and PI will be intimated by email tentatively by the second week of January, 2026.

The CAT takers applying to IIMA's Post Graduate Programme can also check out if they have been shortlisted for AWT & PI by visiting the IIMA website (www.iima.ac.in) tentatively in the second week of January, 2026. No individual regret letters shall be sent to candidates not shortlisted for AWT & PI.

Reservation

As per Government of India requirement, 27% of the seats are reserved for NC-OBC, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST candidates, 5% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD), and up to 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Candidates also need to mark carefully the category to which they belong in the CAT application form.

As defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), “person with benchmark disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority.

“specified disability” means the disabilities as specified in the Schedule of the RPwD Act 2016.

The categories of disability are:

a) blindness and low vision,
b) deaf and hard of hearing,
c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy,
d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness,
e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d), and
f) other ‘specified disabilities' mentioned in 'The Schedule' of the RPwD Act 2016.
For the purpose of being considered for reservations, the applicable Central Government list as on the last date of CAT registration shall be binding. No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT-2025 and any subsequent selection process of IIMA.
The candidates belonging to categories for which seats are reserved need to note and read carefully the eligibility requirements before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavour of IIMA that the candidates belonging to NC-OBC/SC/ST/PwD/EWS categories join the programme in proportions mandated by the law, they have to meet the eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance in CAT and AWT & PI.

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