IIM Cut Off 2023: Know Expected and Previous Years' CAT Cutoff Percentile

IIM cut off is the main criterion for selection of candidates for admission to India's premiere MBA institutes – the Indian Institute of Management or IIM. Seeking admission to the 20 IIMs is not a cake-walk as the admission process has many layers. First of all, MBA aspirants need to appear for the Common Admission Test or CAT. Then, they need to meet the minimum IIM CAT cut off. This cut off is released prior to the second stage of the IIM admission process i.e. Written Ability Test/Personal Interview (WAT/PI) round. The CAT cut off for IIM is released individually by each campus for the screening of candidates for admission. CAT test takers are invited for WAT/PI round only if they have scored as much or above the minimum IIM cut off percentile in CAT exam set by the admission cell of the institutes. The IIM cut off for MBA is always higher than other top MBA colleges. In this article, we will provide all the information related to the IIM cut off for MBA admission, such as:

1. What is IIM cut off?
2. IIM call cut off vs shortlist cut off - what is the difference?
3. IIM cut offs of previous years
4. Expected CAT cut off for IIM
5. IIM selection procedure and admission criteria
6. IIM parameters for final selection and their weightage
7. Campus wise IIM cut off, shortlist and admission criteria

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• CAT 2023 Student Reaction and Review
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• CAT exam analysis 2023 for sessions 1, 2 and 3
• CAT 2023 Slot 1 answer key and question paper analysis

CAT 2023 exam is being on November 26, 2023 and the CAT 2023 result will be announced most likely in December 2023. Selection rounds of IIMs and top B-schools will begin in January 2024. The institutes will select candidates on the basis of their CAT 2023 score and academic record. 

What is IIM Cut Off?

IIM cut off refers to the minimum CAT score percentile a candidate has to score in the CAT exam to be eligible for WAT/PI round of the institutes. The IIM cut offs are different for different categories of students. While the minimum CAT cut off for IIMs for General category is usually 95-100, the cut offs for reserved category students is 85-95. The CAT percentile for IIM admission vary campus wise. However, if your academic record is exceptional, CAT score lower than 95 may get you an IIM.

For IIM Ahmedabad, the cut off for General category was 99-100 percentile in CAT 2023, CAT 2022, CAT 2021, CAT 2020, CAT 2019, CAT 2018 and CAT 2017. For IIM Calcutta, it was around 92-99 percentile (category-wise). The CAT cut offs for IIMs vary slightly every year. Some of the determining factors that decide IIM CAT cut offs are:

• Difficulty Level of CAT exam – If the standard of the test is difficult then the cut off percentile for that year will be comparatively lower. This happens because of the lower average scores in the examination.
• Number of students who took CAT – The final CAT cut off percentile for IIMs would also depend on the number of students appearing in CAT. Higher the number, higher will be the qualifying CAT cut off, and vice versa.
• Number of seats available – The number of available seats in a particular IIM can vary annually. Any increase or decrease in the number of available seats will directly reflect on the cut-off percentile required for IIM.

Also read:

• Score vs Percentile: Know the difference
• Understanding IIM Eligibility Criteria
• What is IIM CAP? Know process, criteria and participating IIMs

IIM Call Cut Off vs Shortlist Cut Off – What is The Difference?

IIM aspirants must understand that the institutes release two cut offs for admission to a particular academic year. First IIM cut off is released as part of IIM admission policy. This CAT cut off is referred to as CAT qualifying cut off or shortlist cut off, as it is meant for shortlisting candidates for WAT and PI. In other words, a candidate must meet the shortlist cut off or the minimum CAT score fixed by an IIM in order to be eligible for WAT and PI rounds. Clearing the shortlist cut off doesn't mean that you will be called for WAT and PI. Your interview call will depend upon whether you meet the IIM call cut off which is always higher than the shortlist cut off and released after the declaration of CAT result. For example, for CAT 2021, IIM Ahmedabad's shortlist cut off was 80 percentile while its interview call cut off was 99-100 percentile. For CAT 2022, the IIM Ahmedabad qualifying cut off is 80 percentile and the final cut off is expected to be the 99-100 percentile.

IIM CAT Cut Offs

The final IIM cut offs are not released publically by the institutes. Given below are estimated CAT 2023 cut offs for IIM admission 2024-26. The actual cut offs may be higher. Nonetheless, candidates can use this table as a reference point to plan their MBA admission. 

IIM campus	Expected CAT Cut Off 2023 (in percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad | IIM Bangalore | IIM Calcutta	99-100
IIM Lucknow | IIM Indore | IIM Kozhikode	97-98
IIM Amritsar | IIM Nagpur | IIM Sambalpur	95-96
IIM Trichi | IIM Raipur | IIM Ranchi | IIM Kashipur	94-95
IIM Vizag | IIM Udaipur | IIM Bodhgaya	92-94
IIM Shillong | IIM Sirmaur	90

IIMs with Lowest Cut Offs

• IIM Ranchi - 92+ percentile
• IIM Raipur - 90 + percentile
• IIM Kashipur - 90+ percentile
• IIM Udaipur - 90+ percenitle

IIM Cut Offs of Previous Years

Those who shall have an idea of their performance in the CAT exam and know the expected score, they can guess which IIMs will take them in. The knowledge of CAT cut off for IIM is of great help in this process. It allows students to make an informed decision when the application window for WAT and PI rounds opens. In case you want to calculate your expected CAT score, use this CAT Percentile Predictor by Shiksha. Download Institute and category-wise CAT cut off PDF

IIM Cut Off 2022

Given below are the qualifying CAT cut offs and final cutoffs (estimated) of all 20 IIMs, for last year:

IIM	Qualifying CAT Cut Off for IIM	Final CAT Cut Off for IIM (Estimated)
IIM Ahmedabad	80	99-100
IIM Bangalore	85	99-100
IIM Calcutta	85	98-99
IIM Lucknow	90	97-99
IIM Indore	90	97-98
IIM Kozhikode	85	97-98
IIM Shillong	75	90
IIM Udaipur	92	92-94
IIM Rohtak	95	96-97
IIM Visakhapatnam	80	94-95
IIM Trichy	93	94-95
IIM Bodh Gaya	92	94-95
IIM Nagpur	85	94-95
IIM Jammu	90	94-95
IIM Kashipur	92	94-95
IIM Sambalpur	92	95-96
IIM Sirmaur	92	94-95
IIM Amritsar	85	95-96
IIM Ranchi	92	94-95
IIM Raipur	92	94-95

IIM Cut Off 2019 (Bodh Gaya)

Of the 20 IIMs, IIM Bodh Gaya released official CAT 2019 cut offs publicly. Check the tables below for section-wise cut offs for male and female candidates. 

IIM Bodh Gaya cut off for male candidates
Category	Overall	QA	DILR	VARC
General	91	80	80	80
EWS	70	60	60	60
NC-OBC	73	60	60	60
SC	50	45	45	45
ST	38	30	30	30
PWD	35	30	30	30
IIM Bodh Gaya cut off for female candidates
Category	Overall	QA	DILR	VARC
General	88	75	75	75
EWS	70	55	55	55
NC-OBC	70	60	60	60
SC	50	43	43	43
ST	35	30	30	30

IIM Cut Offs 2018

IIMs	CAT cut off 2018 (in percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad	98
IIM Bangalore	99
IIM Calcutta	98
IIM Lucknow	97
IIM Indore	92
IIM Kozhikode	95.5
IIM Rohtak	94
IIM Kashipur	93
IIM Shillong	92
IIM Trichy	93
IIM Udaipur	94

IIM Cut Offs 2017 and 2016

IIM	CAT cut off 2017 (in percentile)	CAT cut off 2016 (in percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad	100	100
IIM Bangalore	90.72	92.48
IIM Kozhikode	95.16	94.82
IIM Indore	90.05	90.01
IIM Trichy	95	96
IIM Raipur	95	96
IIM Rohtak	95	96
IIM Udaipur	95	96
IIM Sirmaur	95	81.23
IIM Nagpur	90.09	90.08
IIM Visakhapatnam	90.09	90.02
IIM Amritsar	94.76	94.9
IIM Sambalpur	95	NA

*These cut-off scores have been obtained by Shiksha through Right To Information Act.

Click here for category wise CAT cut offs

IIM Selection Procedure and Admission Criteria

The three main criteria for selection are CAT score, WAT/GD-PI, academic record. IIM admission process includes selection in three phaes. Check below:

• First phase: Shortlisting of candidates on the basis of CAT percentile
• Second phase: Conduct of WAT and PI  
• Third phase: Final selection on the basis of performance in CAT exam, WAT-PI, academics, etc.

Also Read:

• Colleges Accepting CAT Score Range 50 to 60 percentile
• Colleges Accepting CAT Score Range 60 to 70 percentile
• Colleges Accepting CAT Score Range 70 to 80 percentile
• Colleges Accepting CAT Score Range 80 to 90 percentile