IIM Shortlist 2026: Check Cut Offs, Shortlist and Final Admission Status of all IIMs

On an average, about 10-15 CAT aspirants score 100 percentile. Given below is the data of CAT 100 percentilers of last 3 years:

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.

There is a good chance of receiving an interview call from IIM Ahmedabad, however, admission isn’t guaranteed even at 100 percentile. The overall criteria includes academic profile, that is your Class 12, Class 10 and graduation marks. The college also gives a score for work experience, hence, candidates must have 2-3 years of experience to get maximum points. Additional focus is also given to gender and academic diversity. Considering all these factors and candidates’ CAT score, IIM Ahmedabad prepares a composite score through which decides whether to finalise a student or not. IIM Ahmedabad or any other IIM, for that matter, doesn’t give direct admission only on the basis of CAT percentile, the first phase of admission process is giving the CAT exam. Students must clear the sectional and the minimum final cut-off to be eligible and considered for the call. After that, they must get shortlisted for the interviews and group discussion process. After all these rounds, a final list of shortlisted candidates is prepared. 

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:

The IIM Trichy MBA/ PGPM selection criteria is done based on various parameters. Hence, the candidates selection is done just based on CAT score. Mentioned below are the considered parameters along with the weightage:

• CAT percentile: 50%
• PI performance: 25%
• Academic performance: 10%
• Work experience: 5%
• Female candidates: 5%
• Verbal composition: 3%
• Professional qualification: 2%