Updated on 4th June 2025 | 10:44 AM | #IIMAdmissionProcess
IIM Admission & Selection Process 2025: For all the first-time CAT takers, it is extremely important to have a know-how of the IIM admission process. This will give them a clear picture of what is expected of them and provide a perspective for their preparation journey. To make your work easier, we have provided enough information required to take you through the detailed IIM selection criteria.
Securing a spot at your dream IIM may involve several steps — CAT scores, GD-PI, followed by receiving the offer letter. A final call is made based on the candidate's performance in all the stages, as well as other criteria, including academics, diversity, experience, and more. The WAT-GD-PI rounds play a significant role in the IIM shortlisting process. While many individuals wish to know how to gain admission to an IIM, they often struggle to understand the IIM selection process clearly.
This article can be your ultimate guide to learn about – “How to get into an IIM?”, providing insight into several stages that are involved in the IIM admission process, along with the required prep guidance.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) share important details about how they choose candidates for admission. This includes information on the cut-off scores for the CAT exam, as well as the evaluation criteria used to assess candidates based on several factors. Besides the CAT scores, the selection process also considers performance in Written Ability Tests (WAT), Group Discussions (GD), and Personal Interviews (PI). Additional factors include the candidate's academic background, gender diversity, and work experience.
For an MBA aspirant, the path to gain admission to their dream college is a long journey involving various stages. It requires a great deal of dedication and hard work to successfully secure a place at these prestigious IIMs. While it is the dream of many CAT aspirants, it is fulfilled by those fortunate individuals who have devoted all their energy and effort to their preparation.
Below are the different stages involved in the IIM admission process for MBA/PGP courses. Gain an in-depth understanding of each stage and give your MBA journey a head start.
If you are a candidate searching for how to get into an IIM, the CAT exam is the first step on this journey. Common Aptitude Test, commonly called CAT is an entrance exam conducted by IIMs for admission into their management programs. CAT is a highly competitive exam written by around 2 lakh candidates competing for approximately 5000 seats in the IIMs. Candidates should focus on getting a good overall and sectional score to meet the IIM cutoffs.
Check all the latest updates on CAT 2024 (Live on Nov 24) with our top CAT experts with a detailed CAT Exam Analysis 2024.
Candidates who meet the cutoffs get a call for further GD/PI/WAT rounds. Personal Interviews (PI) at IIMs are usually taken by the IIM faculty, sometimes ex-faculty or even alumni in some cases. This round checks your various soft skills and interpersonal skills. Questions may vary from personal details to work and academics. Along with PIs, the IIMs also conduct a Written Ability Test (WAT) to check your writing ability and comprehension of the topic given. Group Discussions (GDs) have become obsolete amongst IIMs except for IIM Shillong, which conducts GD in its 2nd stage of the selection process.
The final selections are based on certain parameters that may be different for each IIM. Different marks are assigned based on your composite CAT score, past academic performance, work experience, and WAT/GD and PI performance. Based on these final scores, final selections are made.
It is now easy for you to know which IIM is likely to shortlist your WAT/GD and PI round and at what CAT percentile. Visit IIM Profilizer and get your own IIM shortlist ready.
The eligibility for IIMs MBA/PGP courses is the same as the CAT eligibility requirements. However, here are a few added points to be kept in mind.
Also Check: CAT Exam Eligibility
IIMs hold their individual interviews and admission processes after the CAT results are released. Thus, the details of the admission process can change from one IIM to another. However, the IIM admission process is not limited to the CAT scores and WAT/GD and PI rounds.
IIM selection process are based on a Composite Score for selections to the WAT/PI stage and a Final Composite Score that a candidate secures during the final admission process. The weightage of parameters for these scores varies as the process is not centralised. Thus, each IIM offers weightage to parameters such as work experience, 10th marks, 12th marks, WAT/PI score, CAT score, etc.
Name of the B-school |
Qualifying CAT Cutoffs 2025 |
CAT Cutoffs 2025 |
80%ile |
99.5%ile |
|
85%ile |
99.5%ile |
|
80%ile |
99.5%ile |
|
85%ile |
98.5%ile |
|
90%ile |
98%ile |
|
90%ile |
99%ile |
|
>=85%ile |
97%ile |
|
Indian Institute of Management, Raipur |
>=92%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Trichy |
>=92%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur |
92%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi |
94%ile |
97%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Shillong |
85%ile |
97%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak |
95%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur |
92%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Nagpur |
85%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur |
92%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar |
85%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Sirmaur |
94%ile |
96%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Bodhgaya |
92%ile |
93%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Jammu |
93%ile |
93%ile |
Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam |
80%ile |
96%ile |
It is very important to note that candidates who are selected for admission receive an email notification. Actually, one of the most important steps of the IIM admission process is called "confirmation of admission." The short-listed candidates must confirm their seats by filling out the offer acceptance form and paying the mandatory admission acceptance fee, which will be adjusted in the first installment of their tuition fees. The seat, therefore, will be offered to the next best candidate in case a candidate does not submit the offer acceptance form along with the payment within the respective time frame.
IIMs also allow a candidate to defer their admissions. So the candidates who want to pick up some work experience before doing an MBA can now delay their entry by as much as two years. The new policy was announced in 2015, and about 10% of seats are reserved for such candidates.
Candidates appearing for an IIM interview process must carry the following documents with them:
The deadline to submit the mark sheets and passing certificates is December 31 of the following year. If these documents are not submitted by the deadline, the admission will be canceled automatically.
All the older IIMs have separate admission processes that are followed after the CAT results are announced. However, nine new IIMs, popularly known as the baby IIMs, have a Common Admission Process (CAP) that standardizes the selection process.
While the interview process is the same for all the newer IIMs, the results for each IIM are released separately on their official websites. This process makes the application process easy and smooth for candidates by offering them the use of a single application form to apply to several IIMs.
The final selection or offer letter is based on several factors, including CAT scores, Written Ability Test (WAT), Personal Interview (PI), as well as the candidates' academic background, work experience, and diversity factors.
Here are some key points to keep in mind-
It is very important to crack the CAT first in order to proceed with the IIM admission process for MBA/PGP courses. Only if you score the eligible percentile in CAT 2024 will you be eligible to receive a call from the respective IIMs. Therefore, take your CAT preparation seriously and follow the tips given below to enhance your chances of getting into your dream B-schools.
Getting admitted to IIMs is a challenging process that starts with the CAT exam.
In most top IIMs, the weightage given to GD-PI-WAT is higher than that of the CAT scores. However, in newer or baby IIMs, it can be the other way around for final admission selection. This is because the GD-PI round assesses a candidate's personality, including their business accumen, problem-solving skills, experience, and other important qualities needed to be a business leader.
The IIM selection process takes several factors into account for admission, including:
No, the academic requirements for the IIM MBA program are the same as those for the CAT. Candidates need to have at least 50% overall in their graduation in any field (or 45% for SC/ST/PwD candidates). Those with a professional degree equivalent to a graduation degree must also meet the score requirements.
Yes, Class 10 and Class 12 marks are important when we talk about the IIM selection process, as there are certain IIMs that give extremely high weightage to academics, like IIM Indore. So, in case your dream is to get into that IIM, you need to have a strong academic background. However, other IIMs do take academic scores into consideration, but their percentage towards selection could be comparatively less.
The CAT cut-off for General category (GEM) candidates at top IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and IIM Kozhikode is usually above 99 percentile. For students in reserved categories, the cut-off is lower, around 93-95 percentile.
You can get selected in an IIM by appearing for CAT, securing the required percentile, along with meeting the following criteria:
Securing admission to an IIM is just as challenging as gaining admission to an IIT. Clearing the set cut-offs in CAT, which is considered one of the toughest management entrance exams, is crucial. With around 2,50,000 candidates registering for just 20,000 seats in IIMs, competition for admission is intense.