IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028 for MBA: PI Shortlist Out; Check CAT 2025 Cut Off
IIM Sambalpur admission criteria 2026-2028 includes high CAT score of 90 percentile, academic record and PI performance. This year, the insitute will not consider sectional CAT cut offs. Read all about IIM Sambalpur admission criteria for PGP and know PI shortlist 2026.
IIM Sambalpur MBA admission is based on CAT score and PI performance. According to the IIM Sambalpur admission criteria 2026, the minimum CAT score required for PI shortlisting is 90 percentile (General category). CAT cut offf 2025 for male candidates having at least one year of relevant work experience, and for all the female candidates, the minimum overall percentile in the General Category will be reduced to 85. There is no sectional cut off criteria this year. Candidates who will meet the overall qualifying CAT 2025 cut off will be eligible for Personal Interview (PI) round. Read below for all the information regarding the IIM Sambalpur admission process.
- IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028
- IIM Sambalpur PI Shortlist 2026: How to Apply?
- IIM Sambalpur Admission 2026-2026: CAT 2025 Cut Off for WAT/PI
- IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-287: PI Shortlist
- IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028: Work Experience
- IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028: Final Merit List
- IIM Admission Criteria 2026: All campuses
IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028
- Shortlisting of candidates for PI on the basis of CA exam score
- Conduct of PI round
- Release of final merit list for admission
Commonly asked questions
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 Academics (Class 10/ Class 12/ Graduation): While a student with average scores in Class 10, Class 12 and graduation with a good CAT score certainly has good chances of getting a call from IIM-A, chances are less for someone with an average CAT score.
- Based on student category (General or Reserved): While it is tough for a General category average student to grab a seat at IIM due to high score requirements, a reserved category student can get admission being at average scores as well.
- Based on past work experience, diversity and other factors: Gender and academic diversity is also a factor on which students are shortlisted at IIM. IIMs judge the past academic category based on the degree obtained by the students before MBA and then a weightage is allotted based on that. For Engineers, the percentage for scoring the highest marks is higher as compared with other streams
- Performance in selection rounds: Once you make it to the final selection rounds, i.e., AWT/PI process, it can be considered a fresh start. At this stage, students can forget their past average-ness but definitely require good grasp over the past subjects as academics-related questions are asked in the interview.
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.
The CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore hovers between 97-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off required for being eligible for IIM Bangalore's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 85 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST candidates, it is 65 percentile and for PwD candidates it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore.
- General category: 80 VARC 75 DILR 75 Quantitative Aptitude 85 (Overall)
- NC-OBC category: 75 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
- EWS category: 70 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
- SC category: 65 VARC 60 DILR 60 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall)
- ST category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 65 (Overall)
- PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall)
IIM Sambalpur PI Shortlist 2026: How to Apply?
IIM Sambalpur has released the PI shortlist via emails. Candidates shortlisted for the personal interview round have received email from the insitute. Those who have beem shortlisted, will have to fill the PI shortlist form at the institute website. Check below the process to fill the IIM Sambalpur PI shortlist form.
- Go to IIM Sambalpur website
- Click on 'MBA admission' tab
- Enter email ID and password
- Check status and fill the form
The PI shortlist form will be prefilled with basic data. Candidates can review it and make changes. They will also have to upload necessary documents such as academic certificates and transcripts, work experience certificates (if applicable), certificate of disability (if applicable), SC / ST / EWS /NC-OBC certificate (if applicable), etc.
IIM Sambalpur Admission 2026-2026: CAT 2025 Cut Off for WAT/PI
Given below are the sectional and overall CAT 2025 cut off percentiles (qualifying) for WAT-PI selection. These are qualifying cut offs, and final selection would have been made at higher percentile.
| Category |
Overall CAT cut off percentile |
|---|---|
| GEN |
90 |
| EWS |
80 |
| NC-OBC |
75 |
| SC |
55 |
| ST |
40 |
| DAP |
40 |
Commonly asked questions
Yes, candidates can get into IIM Sambalpur without taking an entrance exam but they are required to appear for the personal interview round conducted by IIM Sambalpur for admission to the MBA for working professionals and Executive MBA courses. For candidates seeking admission to IIM Sambalpur MBA, it is mandatory to appear for CAT. The candidates are required to meet the minimum eligibility criteria as stated below, along with the selection criteria:
| Course | Eligibility | Selection Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| MBA | Graduation in any stream with a minimum 50% (45% for reserved candidates) aggregate from a recognised University | CAT |
| E-MBA | Graduation in any stream with a minimum 50% aggregate from a recognised University and a minimum of 3 years of managerial or entrepreneurial or professional work experience after graduation | Personal Interview+ SOP+ Profile |
| MBA- WP | Graduation in any stream with a minimum 50% aggregate from a recognised University and a minimum of 3 years of managerial or entrepreneurial or professional work experience after graduation | Personal Interview+ SOP+ Profile |
CAT cut offs do not flutuate much. For the past few years, the CAT exam cut offs for IIMs or other top colleges have not seen much change. If there is any change at all, it is in decimals. However, that decimal point too can make or mar admission chances. CAT cut offs for 2026 admission will largely remain the same as the CAT 2025 exam difficulty level was same as last year and number of takers dipped from last year.
IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-287: PI Shortlist
The pre-PI score will be calculated out of 75. Candidates will be shortlisted for PI round on the basis of following parameters and scores:
| Component |
weightage |
|---|---|
| CAT score |
40 |
| Class 10 score |
3 |
| Class 12 score |
3 |
| Graduation score |
4 |
| Work experience |
20 |
| Gender diversity |
5 |
NOTE: IIM Sambalpur uses the scaled CAT score of each candidate for calculating the Pre-PI score, and not the CAT percentile. The scaled CAT score is calculated as – the CAT score of the candidate divided by the maximum CAT score among all the candidates who have applied to IIM Sambalpur and are a part of the PI shortlist
Calculation of CAT score for PI shortlising will be done by rating overall and sectional scores.
- Overall percentile: 0.31
- VARC percentile: 0.03
- DILR percentile: 0.03
- QA percentile: 0.03
IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028: Work Experience
Work exprience carries 20 points in PI selection. Work experience will be calculated till January 31, 2025. Given below is the table indicating points for work experience duration wise.
| Experience in months |
Score |
|---|---|
| Less than 12 months |
0 |
| 12 months |
5 |
| 18 months |
10 |
| 24 months |
15 |
| 30 months |
20 |
| 36 months |
15 |
| 42 months |
10 |
| 48 months |
5 |
| More than 48 months |
0 |
IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026-2028: Final Merit List
Final merit will be prepared on the basis of adjusted pre-PI score and performance in PI round. Check the weightage below:
| Component |
Score |
|---|---|
| Adjusted Pre-PI score |
75 |
| Personal Interview |
25 |
| Total |
100 |
Selected candidates will be informed via email, after which they will have to submit offer acceptance letter and offer acceptance fees to confirm admission. The offer acceptance fees will be adjusted in term fee. In case of admission withdrawal, acceptance fee will be returned after deduction.
IIM Admission Criteria 2026: All campuses
Check the table below for campus wise admission and selection criteria for IIM MBA/PGP admission 2026.
| IIM Admission and Selection Criteria 2026-28 |
|
|---|---|
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Sambalpur ( Orissa)
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Student Forum
Answered a year ago
Candidates with a good score in CAT and excellent performance in the interview rounds can get admission in an institute like IIM Sambalpur. The level of difficulty entirely lies in the number of efforts taken to prepare for the exam and interviews. Interested candidates can apply by visting the off
Answered a year ago
IIM Sambalpur MBA admission is entirely entrance-based. Students seeking to apply for the programme must appear for the accepted entrance exam. Aspirants need to appear and secure a valid score in CAT. Students who qualify the CAT cutoff for IIM Sambalpur need to participate in the further selectio
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a year ago
IIM Sambalpur is an integral part of the prestigious IIMs. According to student reviews on Shiksha, "Great opportunities are available at IIM, Sambalpur. The faculty and infrastructure are great." The institute is emerging as top Management institutes of the country. Students have remarked that the
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 years ago
Yes, IIM sambalpur is good for placements. It has achieved 100% placements for the batch 2023.
The average package was increased from 13.20 LPA to 16.64 LPA.
The highest package was 64.61 LPA.
The highest international package was 64.15 LPA.
Many big companies are the major recruiters like microsoft, ve
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 years ago
Yes, candidates can get admission to the IIM Sambalpur MBA for working professionals and executive MBA courses without appearing for CAT. The candidates are required to meet the minimum eligibility criteria as stated below along with the selection criteria:
| Course | Eligibility | Selection Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| E-MBA | Graduation in any stream with a minimum 50% aggregate from a recognised University and a minimum of 3 years of managerial or entrepreneurial or professional work experience after graduation | profile, SOP and interview |
| MBA- WP | Graduation in any stream with a minimum 50% aggregate from a recognised University and a minimum of 3 years of managerial or entrepreneurial or professional work experience after graduation | profile, SOP and interview |







Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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