IIM Admission Criteria 2025: Cut offs, Shortlist and Final Admission Criteria Components & Weightages
IIMs have made significant Changes in their admission criteria during past few years including changes in CAT exam score cut offs, components and weightages for shortlisting criteria, final admission criteria for 2025-27 batch.
MBAUniverse.com has researched each IIM admission criteria to help you guide about IIM admission 2025. So, read this article below to check the IIMs Admission criteria from application submission to final admission stage
Table of Contents
- IIM MBA Admission Criteria 2025-27 Batch: Overview
- IIM Admission Criteria 2025: Important Stages
- IIM Admission 2025 Shortlisting Criteria: CAT Cut Off
- IIMs Admission Criteria 2025 Shortlist: Weightage for CAT & Other Components
- IIM Admission 2025 Final Selection Criteria
- IIM Admission Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit
- IIM MBA Admission Criteria: Step by Step Process
- New IIMs MBA Admission Criteria: IIM-CAP
- Newest IIMs Admission Criteria 2025
- IIMs in India: Institutes of Excellence
1. IIM MBA Admission Criteria 2025-2027 batch: Overview
Each IIM releases its admission criteria individually for the 2 years full time MBA/PGP program after the CAT exam registration process starts in August. While Old IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore release their admission criteria early, other new and newest IIMs release their admission criteria a little late just before the release of CAT exam result. IIMs incorporate the changes as per their modified admission criteria in their admission policy. The key components of IIM Admission Criteria include:
- IIMs Admission Eligibility Criteria: It is same for all IIMs as CAT exam Eligibility Criteria
- IIM Admission Shortlisting Criteria for PI Round: It is different for each IIM and includes components and weightages based on which the IIM shortlists the candidates for PI Round. The key components are minimum required sectional and overall CAT exam score, weightage to academic profile and diversity, weightage to work experience and gender diversity among others
- IIMs Final Admission Criteria to Generate the Merit List: Each IIM has different parameters and weightages to generate final merit list for admission after the PI round. IIMs reduce weightage to CAT exam score and increase the weight to PI Round and Academics in their final admission criteria.
2. IIM Admission Criteria 2025: Important Stages
How to get admission in IIM for MBA after appearing in CAT exam 2024? IIM admission criteria 2025-27 will go through following stages based on CAT exam score and other key weightage parameters as below
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IIM Admission 2025 Criteria
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Key Components
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Process & Timelines
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Preliminary Screening with CAT Cut offs
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Based on Minimum CAT Overall and Sectional cut off score
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Announced in each IIM Admission Policy 2025
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Shortlist for PI round
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Based on CAT score, Profile, Work Ex and other components
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Released after CAT Result declaration by IIMs as per their admission policy from Jan to Feb
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Final Selection Round
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Comprises PI-WAT. A few IIMs may conduct GD also based on WAT
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Conducted from Feb to April, individually by 11 Old & New IIMs and as a Common Admission Process by 9 new and baby IIMs
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Generation of Final Merit List
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Based on weightages awarded to all the components in PI round. Apart from main merit list, waiting lists are also prepared
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Released in April/May. IIMs substantially reduce the CAT weightage in final selection
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Final Admission Offer
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Depending upon the Seats, candidates are given admission offer.
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IIMs send admission offers in April/May. Candidates need to pay admission fee in time.
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3. IIM Admission 2025 Shortlisting Criteria: CAT Cut Off
IIMs Admission criteria with CAT cut offs is shared below. All the 21 IIMs shortlist the candidates for final admission round on the basis of CAT scores and other parameters like Academics, Diversity, Work experience among others. Each IIM announces its distinct weightage to different parameter apart from announcing minimum qualifying sectional and overall percentile score in CAT exam.
Each IIM admission criteria is independent from one another. There is no role of another IIM in formulating the admission policy of one IIM unless it is a new IIM and is under the mentorship of another IIM. IIMs CAT cut off and their flagship MBA program fee is shared below:
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IIM Admission Criteria
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CAT Overall Cut Off percentile
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80
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85
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85
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90
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90
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93
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93
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85
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95
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93
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93
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90
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4. IIMs Admission Criteria 2025 Shortlist: Weightage for CAT & Other Components
IIMs release shortlists for final selection after CAT result is declared and candidates should check their score card as CAT score and percentile play an important role in shortlisting process. The shortlisting criteria for these IIMs have following components and weightages. It may be noted that while some of the IIMs like IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow are keeping the weightage for CAT score in admission process 2025 high, other IIMs may reduce it. However, other components are included with high weightage.
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Name of the IIM
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Percentage of Weight for CAT Score
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Weight %age for Other Components like Academics, Diversity, Work-Ex
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65%
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55%
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56%
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60%
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20%
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45%
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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60%
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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30%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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100%
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Through CAP 2025
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40%
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5. IIM Admission 2025 Final Selection Criteria: CAT Weightage goes down in Final Selection
In the final selection round of IIM Admission criteria, CAT score weightage is substantially reduced as is evident from the IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow admission criteria shared below:
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Top IIMs
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CAT weightage in Shortlisting
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CAT weightage in final selection
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IIM Bangalore admission criteria 2025
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55%
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25%
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IIM Calcutta Admission criteria 2025
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30%
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56%
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IIM Lucknow Admission criteria 2025
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30%
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60%
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5.1 All IIMs Admission Criteria: Components and Weightages for Final Selection
You need to score high on all the key components of final selection round including PI-WAT, Academics to get final admission offer from IIMs. While it may not be possible to improve on your academic profile, work experience and others, the performance in PI-WAT which command highest weightage, can be improved.
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Name of the IIM
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Weight %age for CAT Score
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Weight %age for PI-WAT & Diversity, Work Ex & Other Components
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25
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25
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30
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30
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20
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44
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33
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35
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40
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50
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60
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60
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40
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40
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40
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15
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30
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30
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25
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6. IIM Admission Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit
There is no officially announced IIM Eligibility Age Limit either by CAT exam center or any individual IIM for IIM Admission 2025. However, the IIM Eligibility Age limit is automatically applied in each IIM admission process as all the IIMs require bachelor’s degree with minimum 3 years.
IIM admission criteria 2025 is slightly changed to improve the batch profile and diversity. Admission in IIMs is based on each IIM Admission Policy 2025. One important common mandatory requirement in all the IIMs’ Admission Policy is that the candidate must have appeared in CAT exam and must have scored non-zero positive marks with required minimum overall and sectional percentile cut off in CAT exam
7. IIM MBA Admission Criteria: Step by Step Process
IIM Criteria explain the key requirements, process and weightage parameters how to get admission in IIM right from taking the mandatory entrance-Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs till getting the final admission offer. The key components in IIMs Admission Criteria are more or less same but they are used at different stages. The most important criterion is the IIM Eligibility for admission, cut off and weightage for CAT exam score and applicability of age limit.
All the 21 IIMs open and close their admission process simultaneously with the opening and closing of CAT registration dates. Two out of the four step Admission criteria and process at IIMs synchronizes with conduct of CAT exam and rest two steps are conducted by the IIMs individually or by making a group as done by new IIMs every year.
Step-1: Register & Apply for CAT exam
The admission opens in August first week and closes in September last week with close of Registration for CAT exam. Candidates desirous of getting into IIMs should register and apply for CAT exam within the specified registration window. Usually the CAT registration process remains open for 45 to 50 days.
Step-2: Appear in CAT Exam
Those who want to pursue management course PGP/MBA program from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta or other IIMs must have appeared in Common Admission Test (CAT).
Step-3: Shortlisting Process
After declaration of CAT result, IIMs shortlist the suitable candidates for final admission round on the basis of CAT exam scores, academics, diversity, work experience among other parameters as per the their admission policy and weightages. The process is completed by each IIM individually. While the newer IIMs declare the 1st stage shortlists on the basis of CAT scores, older IIMs take into account the other parameters also at the 1st stage shortlist. Read More
Step-4: PI-WAT Round
All the shortlisted candidates shall have to appear in the Written Ability Test (WAT) followed by Personal Interview (PI). Some of the IIMs like IIM Shillong, also conduct GD round based on the WAT. On the basis of their performance in final selection round, weightage awarded to CAT scores, academic profile & diversity, work experience and gender diversity, final merit list will be generated by the respective IIMs. Read More
8. New IIMs MBA Admission Criteria: IIM-CAP
New IIMs Admission Criteria for five New IIMs which started operation in 2010, and five baby IIMs which started operation in 2015-16 will be through Common Admission Process (CAP). The IIM CAP will be conducted after declaration of CAT result. New IIMs will shortlist the candidates purely based on CAT performance and announce the shortlist around mid-January. The candidates in the shortlist would be eligible for CAP process comprising WAT and PI round Read all about the IIM CAP Process
9. Newest IIMs Admission Criteria 2025
Seven IIMs are the newest IIMs and are mentored by top rated older IIMs. These IIMs started operation in 2015 and 2016. The shortlisting criteria in these IIMs is based on CAT scores and some of these IIMs will also consider the academics, diversity, work experience and other factors at the time of shortlisting. Most of the baby IIMs announce their admission policy in January every year. Out of the 7 IIMs, 5 of them namely, IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Nagpur, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur participate in new IIM Common Admission Process (CAP) round comprising PI-WAT, while other 2 namely IIM Amritsar and IIM Visakhapatnam conduct their own final selection process. The cut offs and weightage on CAT score and other parameters for other IIMs vary in each year admission criteria for the shortlisting stage
10. IIMs in India: Institutes of Excellence Check IIM Admission 2024 Latest Selection Criteria, Cut Offs, Rankings, Placements
IIMs in India came into being in 1960's and are now declared as the Institutes of Excellence. The first IIM at Calcutta followed by IIM at Ahmedabad was established in 1961. After that IIMs were established at Bangalore and Lucknow. The number of IIMs in India remained four for a long time. Later on, more IIMs were added to this family gradually. At present there are 21 IIMs in India. The MBA admission to IIM is through a Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs - IIM CAT. No IIM offers admission to the candidates of Indian Resident category without clearing and qualifying the IIM CAT exam with prescribed minimum score
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Also Read
| IIM Selection Process | ||
| IIM MBA Fee Structure |
