Getting into an IIM through CAT 2026 happens in stages: clear the minimum cut-offs, make the shortlist on a composite score, then do well in the Written Ability Test and Personal Interview.
This page explains each stage, how much weight CAT, your profile and the interview carry at different IIMs, and which programmes accept CAT 2026.
CAT 2026 at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting IIM | IIM Indore |
| Exam date | Sunday, 29 November 2026, in three sessions at about 170 test cities (computer-based) |
| Notification / brochure | 25 July 2026 (a few sites say 26 July) |
| Registration window | 3 August (10:00 AM) to 15 September 2026 (5:00 PM). Closed. Correction window ran until about 6 October. |
| Application fee | ₹2,700 for General / EWS / NC-OBC (up from ₹2,600); ₹1,350 for SC / ST / PwD (up from ₹1,300) |
| Admit card | 4 November to 29 November 2026 (per Careers360) |
| Result | Careers360 reports first week of January 2027; some coaching sites say late December 2026. Confirm on iimcat.ac.in. |
| Score validity | Until 31 December 2027 |
| Eligibility | Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD) or equivalent CGPA. Final-year students can apply and must later submit a completion certificate. CA/CS/CMA holders are eligible. No age limit. Work experience is not mandatory. |
| Reservation | NC-OBC 27%, SC 15%, EWS up to 10%, ST 7.5%, PwD 5% |
| Participation | Registrations reported at about 2.84 lakh, roughly 3.7% below last year. About 2.58 lakh candidates took CAT 2025, of whom 12 scored 100 percentile. |
The selection process, step by step
- 1Take CAT 2026 and meet the target IIM’s minimum overall percentile and section-wise percentile cut-offs (IIM Calcutta also requires non-negative raw scores in every section).
- 2Stage 1, shortlisting: the IIM builds a composite score from CAT performance plus academics (Class 10, Class 12, graduation), work experience and diversity points, and calls the top candidates in each category for the next round.
- 3Stage 2, assessment: shortlisted candidates take the Written Ability Test (WAT, called AWT at IIM Ahmedabad) and the Personal Interview (PI). A few IIMs also use a group discussion.
- 4Final selection: a second composite combines CAT, PI, WAT and profile factors to create category-wise merit lists.
- 5Offers and acceptance: IIM Ahmedabad, for example, publishes results in the second week of April 2027 and expects acceptance formalities by the first week of May 2027.
What IIMs evaluate
- CAT percentile and section-wise performance (used for cut-offs and as a scoring component).
- Academic record: Class 10, Class 12 and graduation marks, which are weighted differently at each IIM.
- Work experience: usually scored on duration. Per Collegedunia, IIM Ahmedabad and newer IIMs ignore employer brand at the pre-PI stage, while IIM Bangalore uses duration for shortlisting but lets work quality influence the interview panel.
- Diversity: gender diversity points and academic diversity (non-engineering degrees, CA/CS/CMA, law and similar backgrounds).
- WAT/AWT and PI performance.
- Reservation norms under the Government of India policy, applied through category-wise shortlists.
Minimum CAT cut-offs for 2027–29 admissions (percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad (General/EWS, non-PwD): overall 95 and section-wise 85. Cut-offs are unchanged from last year.
| Category | IIMA overall | IIMA section-wise |
|---|---|---|
| General / EWS | 95 | 85 |
| NC-OBC | 90 | 80 |
| SC | 85 | 75 |
| ST | 75 | 65 |
IIM Bangalore: Minimum CAT cut-offs for 2027–29 admissions (percentile)
| IIM Bangalore | VARC | DILR | QA | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 80 | 75 | 75 | 85 |
| NC-OBC / EWS | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
| SC | 65 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
| ST | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
| PwD | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
IIM Calcutta: Minimum CAT cut-offs for 2027–29 admissions (percentile)
| IIM Calcutta | VARC | DILR | QA | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | ≥80 | ≥80 | ≥75 | ≥85 |
| EWS / NC-OBC | ≥70 | ≥65 | ≥65 | ≥75 |
| SC | ≥65 | ≥60 | ≥60 | ≥70 |
| ST | ≥55 | ≥55 | ≥55 | ≥65 |
| PwD | ≥45 | ≥45 | ≥45 | ≥55 |
These are minimums only. Actual interview-call cut-offs are usually much higher and depend on how many candidates each IIM invites per category.
IIM Ahmedabad (PGP)
- PI shortlisting: raw composite = 0.35 × normalised application rating + 0.65 × (CAT 2026 total percentile ÷ 100), normalised within the applicant’s undergraduate field.
- New this year: IIMA now uses CAT percentile instead of the normalised CAT score for this step.
- Final composite = 50% PI + 10% AWT + 40% normalised composite score. Since that 40% is itself about 65% CAT and 35% application rating, CAT works out to roughly 26% and academics/profile to roughly 14% of the final score (commonly rounded to 25% and 15%).
IIM Bangalore (PGP): criteria unchanged from last year
| Stage | Components and weights |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 (pre-PI shortlist) | CAT 55 + Class 10: 10 + Class 12: 10 + Bachelor’s: 10 + Work experience/professional course: 10 + Gender diversity: 5 |
| Stage 2 (final) | PI 40 + WAT 10 + CAT 25 + Class 10: 5 + Class 12: 5 + Bachelor’s: 5 + Work experience: 10 |
Of IIMB’s 25 CAT points, VARC carries 8.75, DILR 10 and QA 6.25.
IIM Calcutta (MBA)
| Stage | Components and weights |
|---|---|
| Stage 2 shortlist for PI/WAT (out of 85) | CAT score 56 + Class 10: 10 + Class 12: 15 + Gender diversity: 4 (female and transgender candidates) |
| Final selection (out of 100) | CAT 30 + PI 48 + WAT 8 + Academic diversity 6 + Work experience 8 |
IIMC awards Class 10 and 12 points in bands: 80% or more earns full marks, then lower points for each 5-point band down to 60%. Academic diversity points range from 0 (engineering only) to 6 (for example CA/CS/ICWA with a bachelor’s degree).
Final-selection weightage across all 22 IIMs
Source: Cracku’s IIM-wise summary (17 August 2026). Treat the figures for IIMs other than Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta as indicative until each IIM’s 2027–29 policy is checked on its own site.
| IIM | CAT | PI | WAT / GD | Profile (academics, diversity, work-ex) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | 25% | 50% | 10% AWT | 15% |
| Bangalore | 25% | 40% | 10% | 25% |
| Calcutta | 30% | 48% | 8% | 14% |
| Lucknow | 30% | 40% | 10% | 20% |
| Kozhikode | 35% | 35% | 20% | 10% (resume score) |
| Indore | 40% | 45% | 0% | 15% |
| Mumbai | 60% | Not publicly specified | Not specified | Not specified |
| Shillong | 40% | 40% | 0% | 20% |
| Udaipur | 55% | 25% | 0% | 20% |
| Raipur | 33.3% | 26.7% | 0% | 40% |
| Tiruchirappalli | 52% | 20% | 0% | 28% |
| Ranchi | 65% | 15% | 0% | 20% (+5 gender bonus) |
| Rohtak | 60% | 20% | 0% | 20% |
| Kashipur | 41% | 25% | 0% | 34% |
| Nagpur | 45% | 25% | 0% | 30% |
| Visakhapatnam | 25% | 48% | 0% | 27% |
| Amritsar | 35% (effective) | 21% (effective) | 0% | 44% (effective) |
| Bodh Gaya | 50% | 25% | 0% | 25% |
| Jammu | 42% | 30% | 0% | 28% |
| Sambalpur | 40% | 25% | 0% | 35% |
| Sirmaur | 35% | 20% | 0% | 45% |
| Guwahati | 65% | No PI | 0% | 35% |
Pre-PI shortlisting weightage (IIMs with published splits)
| IIM | CAT | Academics | Diversity | Work experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | 65% | Part of 35% application rating | Part of 35% | Part of 35% |
| Bangalore | 55% | 30% (10th, 12th, graduation, 10% each) | 5% gender | 10% |
| Calcutta | ≈65.9% (56/85) | ≈29.4% (10th + 12th) | ≈4.7% gender | None |
| Lucknow | 60% | 20% (12th 10%, graduation 10%) | 10% (academic 5 + gender 5) | 10% |
| Kozhikode | 50% | 35% (10th 15%, 12th 20%) | 10% gender or 5% academic | 5% |
| Indore | 55% | 35% (10th 10%, 12th 25%) | 7% | Up to 3% |
| Visakhapatnam | 50% | 30% | 10% gender | 10% |
| Amritsar | 50% | 25% | 10% gender | 15% |
| Sambalpur | ≈53.3% (40/75) | ≈13.3% | ≈6.7% gender | ≈26.7% |
Most remaining IIMs shortlist on CAT/JAP-based criteria without a fixed published pre-PI split.
What the numbers mean
- CAT’s share of the final score ranges from about 25% (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam) to 60–65% (Ranchi, Rohtak, Mumbai, Guwahati).
- PI is the biggest single lever at the older, top-tier IIMs: 50% at Ahmedabad, 48% at Calcutta and Visakhapatnam, 40% at Bangalore and Lucknow.
- Newer IIMs lean on CAT and on profile points, and several give heavy credit to work experience (Sambalpur 20 points, Sirmaur 20, Amritsar 15).
- CAT is nearly always the gatekeeper: a high percentile gets the interview call, but PI and profile decide the final offer at most older IIMs.
- Freshers need a higher percentile than candidates with strong academics plus 2–3 years of work experience, who can reach some newer IIMs at lower percentiles (Collegedunia).
IIM Admission Routes via CAT 2026
| Route | How it works | Where / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship 2-year MBA/PGP | CAT → cut-offs → composite shortlist → WAT/PI → final merit list | All 22 IIMs, e.g. PGP at IIMA/IIMB/IIM Indore, MBA at Calcutta/Mumbai. IIM Guwahati’s MBA has no PI stage. |
| Specialised 2-year programmes | Same CAT-based process with programme-specific criteria | FABM (Ahmedabad), HRM (Indore, Ranchi, Amritsar, Tiruchirappalli), Business Analytics (Ranchi, Sambalpur, Kashipur), Sustainability (Lucknow, Mumbai) and others. |
| Executive / working-professional / blended programmes | Open to people with work experience; admission may use CAT, GMAT/GRE or an institute test | Examples: PGPEx and PGP(WE) at Shillong, PGPWE and Blended MBA at Lucknow, Executive MBA at Amritsar, Jammu and Bodh Gaya, PGPMX at Indore. IIMA’s PGPX uses GMAT/GRE, and its blended BPGP uses IAT/CAT/GMAT/GRE. |
| Domicile-restricted seats | Eligibility tied to state residence | IIM Raipur’s MBA in Public Policy and Governance is only for Chhattisgarh domicile. |
| Reserved-category and PwD routes | Category-wise cut-offs and merit lists under the Government of India policy | Relaxed cut-offs for NC-OBC, SC, ST, EWS and PwD; 5% PwD reservation (e.g. IIMC). |
| Final-year students | Apply with provisional status; submit degree proof later | IIMA and IIMC require certificates by 30 June 2027 (IIMA’s outer deadline for submission is 31 December 2027). |
| Doctoral (FPM/PhD/DPM) | CAT is accepted, followed by institute-specific rounds | Offered at many IIMs, including Executive PhD and PhD for working professionals at some. |
| Non-IIM institutes | Use CAT scores but run their own selection | The official list is published on the CAT website; IIMs are not involved in their selection. |
IIM Courses via CAT 2026
CAT 2026 scores are accepted by 22 IIMs. The table lists programmes shown in the CAT 2026 information bulletin as reported by Careers360 and PW.
| IIM | Programmes through CAT 2026 |
|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | PGP, PGP-FABM, MBA-BPGP (Business Analytics & AI) |
| Amritsar | MBA, MBA Business Analytics, MBA HRM, Executive MBA, M.Sc. in Data Science and Management |
| Bangalore | PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA, PGPPM |
| Bodh Gaya | MBA, MBA (Digital Business & AI), MBA (Hospital & Healthcare Management), Executive MBA |
| Calcutta | MBA |
| Guwahati | MBA (first cohort of 52 students has started) |
| Indore | PGP, PGP-HRM, M.Sc. in Data Science and Management, PGPMX |
| Jammu | MBA, MBA Healthcare, MBA AI & Business Analytics, Executive MBA |
| Kashipur | MBA, MBA Analytics, Executive MBA, Executive MBA Analytics |
| Kozhikode | PGP, PGP-BL, PGP Finance, PGP-LSM, EPGP-IL, EPGP Kochi |
| Lucknow | MBA, MBA-ABM, MBA-SM, PGPWE, Blended MBA, Tech MBA |
| Mumbai | MBA, MBA Operations & Supply Chain Management, MBA Sustainability Management |
| Nagpur | MBA, Executive MBA, Blended MBA for Working Professionals, Executive MBA in Energy Management |
| Raipur | MBA, Executive MBA, MBA in Public Policy & Governance (Chhattisgarh domicile only) |
| Ranchi | MBA, MBA-HRM, MBA Business Analytics |
| Rohtak | PGP, EPGDSM, PGPx |
| Sambalpur | MBA, MBA Business Analytics, MBA for Working Professionals |
| Shillong | PGP, PGPEX, PGP (Working Executives) |
| Sirmaur | MBA, MBA Tourism Management, MBA Travel Tourism & Hospitality Management, PGPEX-LSM, Executive MBA (AI) |
| Tiruchirappalli | PGPM (MBA), PGPM-HR, PGPBM (MBA for working executives, Chennai) |
| Udaipur | MBA, MBA Digital Enterprise Management, MBA Global Supply Chain Management, Executive MBA (Online) |
| Visakhapatnam | MBA, Executive MBA, PGPMCI, PGDMEx, MBA AI & Innovation |
Doctoral programmes (FPM/PhD/DPM and variants) are also available through CAT at several IIMs, including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and others. Programme lists change between cycles, so check each IIM’s brochure.
Sources consulted
- Careers360 – CAT 2026 changes, fees, eligibility, PGP courses (26 Jul 2026): news.careers360.com
- Careers360 – IIM Ahmedabad MBA admission 2027 policy (6 Oct 2026)
- Careers360 – IIM Bangalore MBA admission 2027 (7 Oct 2026)
- Careers360 – IIM Calcutta MBA 2027–29 admission (9 Oct 2026)
- Cracku – CAT score weightage in IIMs 2026 (17 Aug 2026): cracku.in/cat-score-weightage-in-iims-2026
- Cracku – IIM final selection criteria 2026 and CAT 2026 notification pages
- PW (Physics Wallah) – Full list of IIMs and programmes accepting CAT 2026 scores (27 Jul 2026)
- CareerPower – IIM CAT 2026 notification; Shiksha – CAT exam notification; Collegedunia – profile and work-experience weightage
- LPTedtech – IIM Ahmedabad MBA courses (for PGPX/BPGP admission routes)
CAT 2026 Selection Process FAQs
How do IIMs select candidates through CAT?+
IIMs first apply minimum overall and sectional percentile cut-offs, then shortlist on a composite score of CAT, academics, work experience and diversity. Shortlisted candidates take WAT and PI, and the final merit list combines all of these.
Does CAT score alone decide IIM admission?+
No. CAT is one part of the composite score. Academics, work experience, the written test and the interview also carry weight, and the mix differs by IIM.
How many IIMs accept CAT 2026 scores?+
All 22 IIMs accept CAT 2026 for their MBA/PGP and several other programmes.
Source & Disclaimer
Official source: iimcat.ac.in
Information on this page is compiled from the official CAT notification at iimcat.ac.in and trends from earlier cycles. Dates marked Expected are estimates, not official announcements. Please confirm all details on the official website.