IIM Lucknow MBA Admission Criteria 2026-2028: Check CAT Cut Off 2025 and WAT-PI Parameters
IIM Lucknow MBA admission criteria 2026-20287 has been released. The CAT 2025 cut off fixed for IIM Lucknow admission is 90 percentile for MBA and 85 percentile for MBA-ABM and MBA-SM. Check the IIM Lucknow admission criteria 2026-28 below.
IIM Lucknow admission criteria for 2026-2028 has been released by the institute and there is no major change in selection process from last year. However, IIM Lucknow has introduced 24 month work experience criteria for MBA-SM programme.
The qualifying score required in CAT 2025 to make it to IIM Lucknow’s Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) round of MBA course is 90 percentile for General category students. For NC-OBC candidates, it is 82 percentile whereas for SC candidates it is 65 percentile and for ST candidates, it is 60 percentile.
The CAT cut off percentiles mentioned in IIM Lucknow selection and admission criteria 2026-2028 are qualifying cut offs and do not ensure a WAT-PI call. The interview call will based on final CAT 2025 cut offs which will be released later and will be higher than the qualifying cutoffs. Candidates must treat the qualifying CAT cut offs as the minimum eligibility criteria for IIM Lucknow for the WAT-PI round.
- IIM Lucknow PI Shortlist 2026
- IIM Lucknow Selection and Admission Criteria 2026-2028
- IIM Lucknow Eligibility Criteria for MBA
- IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria 2026: CAT Cut Offs
- IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria 2026-28: WAT-PI Shortlisting
- IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria: Weights for Composite Score Calculation
- IIM Admission Criteria of Other Campuses
IIM Lucknow PI Shortlist 2026
The IIM Lucknow admission shortlist 2026 will be declared in the first week of January 2026. Candidates who shall have selected IIM Lucknow as an option in the CAT 2025 application form, and meet the qualifying cut off, will be eligible for shortlisting. Check below the process to check the shortlist status and apply for PI round of IIM Lucknow admission 2025.
- Visit the IIM Lucknow website
- Click on Admission Status: WAT-PI Shortlist for MBA 2026-28
- Enter CAT 2025 registration number, email ID, date of birth and CAPTCHA code
- Click on login to check your status and fill the PI form
IIM Lucknow Selection and Admission Criteria 2026-2028
Read below to understand IIM Lucknow selection and admission criteria for 2026-28 batch.
IIM Lucknow offers three MBA programmes.
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- MBA Agribusiness Management (ABM)
- MBA in Sustainable Management (SM)
IIM Lucknow Eligibility Criteria for MBA
- For MBA, the candidate must fulfill the basic eligibility criteria – Graduate in any stream with 50 per cent marks in aggregate or equivalent from a recognized university.
- For MBA-ABM the candidate must possess Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Science/ Agricultural Engineering/Engineering/Technology or allied subjects and MBAP-SM.
- Candidates not having these degrees will have to fill a special form at the time of personal interview, if selected. For MBA-SM, along with Graduation degree, minimum two years of work experience is mandatory.
The IIM Lucknow admission process 2026-28, includes three stages:
- Shortlisting of candidates on the basis of CAT 2025 score
- WAT-PI round
- Final Selection
IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria 2026: CAT Cut Offs
Below table indicates qualifying CAT 2025 cut off percentile required to be shortlisted for second stage of admission i.e. WAT and PI:
| Cut-off percentile for shortlisting candidates for WAT- PI stage for MBA |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Overall |
| General |
85 |
85 |
85 |
90 |
| EWS |
77 |
77 |
77 |
82 |
| NC-OBC |
77 |
77 |
77 |
82 |
| SC |
55 |
55 |
55 |
65 |
| ST |
50 |
50 |
50 |
60 |
| PWD |
50 |
50 |
50 |
60 |
| Cut-off percentile for shortlisting candidates for WAT- PI stage for MBA-ABM |
||||
| Category |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Overall |
| General |
80 |
80 |
80 |
85 |
| EWS |
72 |
72 |
72 |
77 |
| NC-OBC |
72 |
72 |
72 |
77 |
| SC |
55 |
55 |
55 |
65 |
| ST |
50 |
50 |
50 |
55 |
| PWD |
50 |
50 |
50 |
55 |
| Cut-off percentile for shortlisting candidates for WAT- PI stage for MBA-SM |
||||
| Category |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Overall |
| General |
80 |
80 |
80 |
85 |
| EWS |
72 |
72 |
72 |
77 |
| NC-OBC |
72 |
72 |
72 |
77 |
| SC |
55 |
55 |
55 |
60 |
| ST |
50 |
50 |
50 |
55 |
| PWD |
50 |
50 |
50 |
55 |
IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria 2026-28: WAT-PI Shortlisting
In the second stage of IIM Lucknow admissions, candidates will be evaluated on parameters listed in the below table and consequently shortlisted for WAT-PI round. WAT or the Written Ability Test will be a 30-minute essay writing test on current affairs topics. Maximum weightage is given to scaled CAT score for WAT-PI shortlisting which is 60 points. Check the table below for other parameters that will be taken into consideration:
| Component |
MBA Weight |
MBA-ABM Weight |
MBA-SM Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scaled CAT 2025 score |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| Class 12 marks |
10 |
10 |
10 |
| Graduation marks |
10 |
10 |
10 |
| Work Experience |
10 |
0 |
10 |
| Diversity Factor |
5 |
20* |
5 |
| Gender Diversity |
5 |
5* |
5 |
* The maximum marks for the diversity factors (including Gender) cannot exceed 20 for MBA-ABM program.
On an average, about 10-15 CAT aspirants score 100 percentile. Given below is the data of CAT 100 percentilers of last 3 years:
Exam year | CAT 100 percentilers | State wise numbers |
|---|---|---|
CAT 2024 | 14 | 1- Andhra Pradesh |
CAT 2023 | 14 | 1 – Andhra Pradesh |
CAT 2022 | 11 | 2 - Delhi 1 - Gujarat 1 - Haryana 1 - Kerala 1 - Madhya Pradesh 2 - Maharashtra 2 - Telangana 1 - Uttar Pradesh |
14 candidates have scored 100 percentile in CAT 2024, out of a total of 2.93 Lacs candidates. Out of 14 toppers, 1 is a woman candidate. Check below CAT 2024 result data:
Check the below table for data and statistics of CAT 2024 test takers and toppers.
| CAT Toppers | Gender and Discipline | State |
|---|---|---|
| 100 percentiles 14 - Nos | Female - 1 Male - 13 Engg – 13 Non-Engg – 1 | Andhra Pradesh 1 Delhi 2 Haryana 1 Kerala 1 Maharashtra 5 Odisha 1 Rajasthan 1 Telangana 2 |
| 99.99 percentiles 29 -Nos. | Female - 2 Male - 27 Engg – 25 Non-Engg - 4 | Chandigarh 1 Delhi 4 Gujarat 2 Haryana 1 Karnataka 3 Kerala 1 Madhya Pradesh 1 Maharashtra 5 Odisha 1 Punjab 1 Rajasthan 3 Tamil Nadu 1 Telangana 1 Uttar Pradesh1 Uttarakhand 1 West Bengal 2 |
| 99.98 percentiles 30-Nos | Female - 1 Male - 29 Engg – 20 Non-Engg -10 | Bihar 1 Delhi 2 Gujarat 2 Haryana 4 Karnataka 4 Madhya Pradesh 3 Maharashtra 3 Tamil Nadu 2 Telangana 3 Uttar Pradesh 2 West Bengal 4 |
IIM Lucknow Admission Criteria: Weights for Composite Score Calculation
For the final score calculation more weightage has been allotted to WAT and PI than CAT score. While CAT score has weightage of 30-35; the WAT and PI together have weightage of 50. Candidates must score a minimum of 12 out of 40 in the PI round to be considered for final selection.
| Component |
Weight |
|
|---|---|---|
| MBA & MBA-SM |
MBA-ABM |
|
| CAT 2025 |
30 |
35 |
| Academic Performance |
5+5 |
5+5 |
| Diversity Factor |
5 |
5 |
| Work Experience |
5 |
NA |
| Writing Ability Test (WAT) |
10 |
10 |
| Personal Interview (PI) |
40 |
40 |
| Final Score |
100 |
100 |
PGP-ABM: Academic Disciplines
Candidates applying for PGP-ABM course must not the disciplines that will be considered during the selection process:
| Academic Disciplines (AD) for MBA-ABM Program |
|
|---|---|
| Agriculture |
Science |
| Agriculture, Agronomy, Soil Science, Agricultural Biochemistry, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Entomology, Plant Pathology |
Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Biotechnology Engineering, Botany, Home Science, Life Science, Zoology, Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Dairy Science, Agricultural Engineering, Dairy Technology, Food Technology, Food Technology & Management, Forestry, Horticulture, Rural Studies, Rural Sociology, Rural Cooperatives, Rural Banking |
IIM Admission Criteria of Other Campuses
To read IIM admission and selection criteria for each institute, refer to the table below:
| IIM Admission Criteria and Selection Process |
|
|---|---|
Also Read:
Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of Iims for Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI are listed below. Candidates who MET the qualifying CAT cut off, were eligible for What-PI round. These qualifying CAT cut offs are for General Category. The cut offs for Reserved category students are lower:
- IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
- IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile
- IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
- IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
- IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
- IIM Indore: 90 percentile
- IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
- IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
- IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
- IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
- 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
- IIM Jammu: 93 percentile
- IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
- IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
- IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
- IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
- IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile
- IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Amritsar: 90 percentile
For complete details of IIM selection and admission process read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-shortlist-selection-admission-criteria-blogId-18787.
Some of the top CAT 85 percentile colleges are mentioned below:
· IIM Amritsar
· IIM Bodh Gaya
· IIM Nagpur
· VGSoM IIT Kharagpur
· Department of Management Studies – IIT Madras
· Department of Management Studies-IIT Roorkee,
· Department of Management Studies-Delhi Technological University
· TAPMI Manipal
· IMT Nagpur
The top private B-schools with CAT cutoff of 85 percentile are listed below:
- Goa Institute of Management
- LIBA Chennai
- Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai
- TAPMI Manipal
- KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research Mumbai
- BITS Pilani Department of Management Studies
- IMI Delhi
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Contact Details
Address
Indian Institute of Management, Prabandh Nagar, IIM Road.
Lucknow ( Uttar Pradesh)
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 months ago
For IIM Lucknow PGP programme admission process, students must first visit the official website. Then click on the Apply Now tab. Then, select the required course. Then, pay the application fee. Then, fill out and submit the application form with required information.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 months ago
Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow offers a large diversity of courses to students in Management field. IIM Lucknow admissions are held on the basis of entrance test. Students seeking course admissions must clear their previous qualifying examination and appear for the prescribed entrance exam
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 months ago
IIM Lucknow MBA fee structure is cumulative of various components, such as tuition fee, admission fee, refundable deposits, etc. Once selection procedure is completed, the candidates have to pay the admission fee amount to lock their seats. IIM Lucknow MBA tuition fees is INR 12.6 lakh. This fee amo
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 5 months ago
The institute has had a strong 100% placement record for its PGP graduates. Check out the table for more clarity on IIM Lucknow placements:
Particulars | Placement Statistics (2023) | Placement Statistics (2024) |
|---|---|---|
the highest Package (domestic) | INR 100 LPA | INR 123 LPA |
the highest Package (international) | INR 65 LPA | INR 65 LPA |
Average Package | PGP & PGP ABM: INR 32.20 LPA - PGP SM: INR 30.44 LPA - IPMX: INR 26.47 LPA | PGP & PGP ABM: INR 30 LPA - PGP SM: INR 20.14 LPA - IPMX: INR 25.53 LPA |
Median Package | PGP & PGP ABM: INR 30 LPA - PGP SM: INR 28 LPA - IPMX: INR 26.62 LPA | - PGP & PGP ABM: INR 27 LPA - PGP SM: INR 18.05 LPA - IPMX: INR 24.47 LPA |
Total Offers | PGP & PGP ABM: 632 | - PGP & PGP ABM: 600+ |
Placement rate | - PGP & PGP ABM: 100% - PGP SM: 100% | - PGP & PGP ABM: 100% |
Note- The stats are subject to change as the final reports are yet to be released.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 months ago
The Executive MBA courses offered by IIM Lucknow are of one or two years long. Candidates who get selected for admission have to pay the admission fee amount. There are multiple components included in the fee structure. Check below the tuition fees for both the programmes:
- PGPM for Working Profession
V
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 months ago
IIM Lucknow International Programme in Management for Executives or IPMX is a one-year programme. It is offered at the Noida campus of the institute. The residential course is ideal for mid/ senior level professionals. IIM Lucknow IPMX selection is done based on GMAT/ GMAT Focus Edition/ GRE scores.
H
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 months ago
IIM Lucknow offer MBA/ PGP courses in different specialisations. The duration of these programmes is two years. Candidates are selected for admission based on CAT scores. Mentioned below are the available courses:
- PGP
- PGP in Agribusiness Management
- PGP in Sustainable Management
- Blended MBA (bMBA)
S
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 months ago
From the second year of IIM Lucknow PGP -ABM course, the candidates have to study compulsory subjects. There are nearly nine compulsory subjects in the course curriculum. Mentioned below are the IIM Lucknow PGP-ABM compulsory courses:
- Agribusiness Project Management
- Agricultural Input Marketing
- Strateg
P
Contributor-Level 9
The answer to this question of whether an average student can get into IIM can be both yes and no depending on the definition of an average student.
Based on the above factors, it can be considered that while getting into top Management institutes, such as IIM is extremely tough, the past performance, CAT performance, student category and a lot of factors can be the reasons for a student to receive that final call.