IIM CAP 2026 - Selection Criteria, PI Dates, Final Offer, Top Colleges & Cutoff
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
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4 Nov '26 - 29 Nov '26
IIM CAP or the Common Admission Process is a single-window selection process for MBA admission for new IIMs. The selection is based on CAT cut offs. One of the participating IIMs conduct the selection process for all campuses. Read more about IIM CAP 2026 for MBA admission on the basis of CAT score.
IIM CAP is a common admission process in which 3 campuses shortlist candidates for the PI round through a single window. For MBA admission 2026, IIM Bodhgaya conducted the IIM CAP for itself, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur. Earlier, IIM Trichy, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur and IIM Kashipur and IIM Udaipur were also a part of CAP, but over the years, they opted out of it.
IIM CAP process 2026 was conducted in January, after the release of CAT 2025 result. Candidates who qualified the CAT exam, could fill the IIM CAP 2026 application form at IIM Bodhgaya website to be eligible for the WAT-PI round of all three institutes. The WAT-PI round for IIM CAP 2026 campuses was held in March and final merit list was released by each of them in May. Selected candidates had to accept the offer of admission by a particular deadline. IIM waitlists were released for these campuses thereafter. Read this article to know all about IIM CAP 2026.
- IIM CAP 2026 Highlights
- IIM CAP Process 2026
- IM CAP 2026 Important Dates
- IIM CAP Registration Process 2026
- IIM CAP: Qualifying CAT Cut Offs
- IIM CAP Final Merit List: Parameters and Weightage
- IIM Admission Criteria of non-CAP institutes
IIM CAP 2026 Highlights
Check below some key highlights of IIM CAP:
- Until last year, the IIM CAP included IIM Nagpur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Kashipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Trichy and IIM Udaipur.
- In 2026, IIM Udaipur did not participate in the CAP and conducted WAT-PI round on its own
- IIM Trichy, Raipur, Kashipur and Ranchi conducted MBA admissions together under JAP 2026.
- Until 2024, IIM Sambalpur and IIM Raipur also participated in the IIM CAP. They opted out in 2025.
- All CAP participating IIMs have same qualifying CAT cut off, admission parameters and weightage.
- Shortlist for IIMs CAP is released at the convening institute website. Candidates have to fill an online application form to participate in IIM CAP 2026.
- If a candidate's one IIM CAP interview clashes with another one, they can send a mail to CAP help desk for rescheduling the dates.
- The CAP conducting IIM will release the final merit list of candidates by May, but admission offers will be made to selected students individually by the institutes.
IIM CAP Process 2026
The IIM CAP process in explained below in 8 steps.
Step 1: Candidates select IIM campuses in the CAT application form.
Step 2: CAP institutes shortlist candidates on the basis of CAT score and predefined criteria for WAT-PI.
Step 3: The CAP conducting IIM collates list of candidates selected by participating IIMs sends e-mails to the aspirants, mentioning the IIMs which have shortlisted them for WAT-PI.
Step 4: The shortlisted candidates have to fill an online form for participation in WAT-PI.
Step 5: CAP conducting IIM sends an email informing the WAT-PI date and venue to students who confirmed participation in the admission round.
Step 6: Candidates participate in the common WAT-PI process.
Step 7: The CAP conducting IIM sends WAT-PI score report to all participating institutes under CAP
Step 8: Based on the scores received, each IIM prepares final merit list and sends offer letters to selected candidate via email.
IM CAP 2026 Important Dates
The application window for IIM CAP 2026 was open for about a week in January. Check below key dates related to IIM CAP 2026.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Submission of EOI | Jan 21 to Jan 25, 2026 |
| PI round | Feb 23 to Mar 31, 2026 |
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IIM CAP Registration Process 2026
Candidates had to apply for the IIM CAP at the conducting institute website with the help of their CAT login ID. Check steps to follow:
- Log on to IIM CAP 2026 website
- Click on the link indicating CAP
- Enter CAT ID and password
- If you are a new user, you'll need to register as new user
- Fill the CAP form, upload relevant documents and click on submit
Also Read:
IIM CAP: Qualifying CAT Cut Offs
The table below indicates qualifying IIM CAT cut off percentiles for various categories for 2025 batch. Candidates were shortlisted for WAT-PI round on the basis of following percentiles.
| Category |
IIM CAP Cut Off 2025 VARC |
IIM CAP Cut Off 2025 DILR |
IIM CAP Cut Off 2025 QA |
IIM CAP Cut Off 2025 Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN |
75 |
75 |
75 |
95 |
| EWS |
55 |
55 |
55 |
81 |
| NC-OBC |
52 |
52 |
52 |
81 |
| SC |
45 |
45 |
45 |
66 |
| ST |
25 |
25 |
30 |
42 |
| DAP |
25 |
25 |
30 |
42 |
Also Read:
IIM CAP Final Merit List: Parameters and Weightage
The final merit list of IIM CAP 2026 was prepared on the basis of all participating candidates’ scores on the following parameters. Academic profile includes 4 points for more than 70% in class 10 and 5 points for more than 70% in class 12. For work experience, 10 points was awarded for 2 to 4 years of work experience, 5 for more than four years or less than 2 years of work experience. The parameters and weightage are mentioned below:
| Parameters |
Points |
|---|---|
| CAT Score |
50 |
| Personal Appearance |
25 |
| Academic Profile |
15 |
| Work Experience |
10 |
| Total |
100 |
Commonly asked questions
CAT cut off is prepared by all accepting colleges individually. There is no one authorized body to do so. Even the IIMs determine their admission cut offs separately.
On an average, about 10-15 CAT aspirants score 100 percentile. Given below is the data of CAT 100 percentilers of last 4 years:
Exam year | CAT 100 percentilers | State wise numbers |
|---|---|---|
CAT 2025 | 12 | 1- Uttar Pradesh 1- Karnataka 1- Maharashtra 3- Delhi 2- Haryana 2- Gujarat 1- Jharkhand 1- Odisha |
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 |
Read More:
Commonly asked questions
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.
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Commonly asked questions
The general category CAT percentile cutoff at IIM Raipur normally lies between 92 and 95%, though it could differ somewhat depending on the category (OBC, SC, ST) and applicant pool. At somewhat lower percentiles, candidates with a solid academic background and pertinent professional experience may be given consideration. A comprehensive review that takes into account the candidate's performance on the Written Ability Test (WAT), academic background, and personal interview (PI) is required for the ultimate selection. The likelihood of being shortlisted for the following round of the selection process increases with higher scores.
CAT cutoffs are usually not announced with the CAT result. The CAT cutoffs are also not released to the public.
They are published after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs opens their shortlisting window based on the CAT cut-offs two to three days after the result announcement. The CAT percentile of candidates shortlisted for the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI) can be considered the cut-off for that IIM. For example, if a candidate with a CAT percentile of 99 belonging to the General category is selected for the WAT/GD-PI of IIM Calcutta, then the CAT cut-off for IIM Calcutta is 99 percentile. Only those candidates who make it to the WAT/GD-PI round of IIMs will get to know the cut-offs.
Yes, the CAT accepting MBA colleges conduct either GD/PI or WAT/PI. Since MBA is a professional course about business and team management, personality assessment round is essential to ensure that the aspirant has the flair for management which can be polished during the programme. Communication skills, problem solving ability, management and leadership are essential qualities for MBA thus, every B-School conducts GD/PI or WAT/PI.
In CAT 2025, the number of 100 percentilers was 12. Check state wise data:
Overall Percentile | Total | Gender and Discipline | State wise distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
100 | 12 | Female - 2 Male - 10 Engineering - 3 Non-Engineering - 9 | Uttar Pradesh 1 Karnataka 1 Maharashtra 1 Delhi 3 Haryana 2 Gujarat 2 Jharkhand 1 Odisha 1 |
IIM Admission Criteria of non-CAP institutes
Listed below are the shortlist & admission criteria of IIMs that do not participate in CAP.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 12 hours ago
CAT coaching institutes in Udaipur that offer weekend batches are IMS Udaipur and Career Launcher Udaipur.
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Answered 12 hours ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Udaipur, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy.
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The average fee in Udaipur ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹25,000 to ₹35,000 for online courses.
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Answered 2 days ago
CAT coaching institutes in Vadodara that offer weekend batches IMS Vadodara, Career Launcher (CL) Baroda and Endeavor Vadodara.
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Answered 2 days ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Vadodara, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The average fee in Vadodara ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹25,000 to ₹35,000 for online courses.
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Answered 3 days ago
CAT coaching institute in Cuttack that offers weekend batches is Career Launcher Cuttack. TIME and Samantaray Academy also offer weekend batches, but candidates need to contact them for more information.
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Answered 3 days ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Cuttack, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy
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Answered 3 days ago
The average fee ranges in Cuttack from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹25,000 to ₹45,000 for online courses.
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Answered 5 days ago
CAT sectional cutoff is the minimum percentile score required in each individual section (VARC, DILR, and QA) to qualify for an institute's selection process. All IIMs have a distinct admission policy, including the sectional cutoffs and overall cutoff scores.
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