IIM Shortlist 2026 - PI & WAT Calls, Dates, Cut Offs & Final Admission Status of all IIMs

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.

Students have to meet the IIMK course eligibility to get admission. The eligibility requirements may change depending on the programme and specialisation. The common eligibility is as below:

• IIM Kozhikode UG eligibility – Class 12 with relevant subjects
• IIM Kozhikode PG eligibility – UG degree in relevant field
• IIM Kozhikode PhD eligibility – PG degree in relevant field

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)

Minimum qualifying cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 95 percentile whereas for IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, it is 85. However final cut offs for these three top IIMs are between 99 to 100 percentile.

Yes, IIM Kashipur admissions are open. The institute offers PG, PhD, and Certificate programmes. Admissions are open for the E-PhD and PhD programmes. Students can apply online at the official site of the institute.

Candidates willing to take admission in courses offered at IIM Amritsar must fulfil the required eligibity criteria for that particular course. IIM Amritsar courses admissions are completely entrance exam based. 

IIM Amritsar offers a two-year full-time MBA programme. Candidates aspiring to take admission in MBA programme at IIM Amritsar must possess a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate (45% for reserved categories). Also, candidates should have a valid CAT score based on which they will get shortlisted for the personal interview (PI) round.

Selected candidates will have to report to the admission cell at IIM Amritsar for document verification and fee payment for final seat allotment.

IIM Amritsar offers a two-year hybrid mode Executive MBA programme. Interested candidates must have a UG degree in any domain with a minimum of 50% aggregate (45% aggregate for reserved categories). Besides, having UG degree, candidates should also have a three-years of work experience. Also, candidates should have a valid score in CAT/ GRE/ GMAT/ GATE exam followed by a PI round. Candidates can also appear for IAAT conducted by IIM Amritsar EMBA. For other courses, admission is based on entrance-exam.