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Vipra Shrivastava
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Updated on Sep 19, 2025 11:52 IST

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.

 What is IIM CAP

IIM CAP is a common admission process in which 8 newer IIMs participate. Under this Common Admission Process or CAP, selection process of the participating IIMs is common. The responsibility to conduct the CAP is given to one of the participating IIMs every year on rotation basis. For 2025 admission, IIM Bodhgaya conducted IIM CAP. However, in the recent development, 5 out of 8 CAP participants have opted out of the process for 2026 admission. IIM Udaipur, IIM Trichy, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur and IIM Kashipur have opted out of CAP 2026.

IIM CAP process includes shortlisting of candidates based on their CAT exam score, conduct of Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) and final selection based on various parameters including academic record and work experience.

Latest News:

IIM Udaipur exits CAP; to conduct admission independently

IIM Trichy, Raipur, Kashipur, Ranchi announce IIM JAP 2026

Table of content
  • IIM CAP 2026 Highlights
  • What is IIM CAP 2026?
  • IIM CAP Registration Process?
  • IIM CAP: Qualifying CAT Cut Offs
  • IIM CAP Final Merit List: Parameters and Weightage
  • IIM CAP Process 2026
  • IIM Admission Criteria of non-CAP institutes
View More

IIM CAP 2026 Highlights

Check below some key highlights of IIM CAP:

  • Some of the new IIMs participate in IIM CAP conducted for MBA/PGP admission.
  • Till last year, the IIM CAP colleges are IIM Nagpur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Kashipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Trichy and IIM Udaipur.
  • In 2026, IIM Udaipur will not participate in the CAP and concduct WAT-PI round on its own
  • IIM Trichy, Raipur, Kashipur and Ranchi will conduct MBA admissions together under JAP 2026.
  • Till 2024, IIM Sambalpur also participated in the IIM CAP. For 2025 admissions, it opted out and will conduct admission individually.
  • IIM Raipur, which was a part of IIM CAP till 2024, also opted out of the process for 2025 admission.
  • Every year, one of the participating IIM is given the responsibility to conduct the process.
  • In 2025, IIM CAP was conducted by IIM Bodh Gaya
  • IIM CAP cut off for interview calls is common for all participating IIMs.
  • IIM CAP is conducted for full time MBA courses only.
  • IIM CAP interview dates (PI scheduling dates will be announced online.
  • Shortlist for IIMs CAP is released in the third week January. Candidates have to fill an online application form to participate in IIM CAP.
  • 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 releases the final merit list of candidates by May, but admission offers are made to selected students individually by the institutes.
  • IIM CAP selection round is conducted in February-March.

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What is IIM CAP 2026?

IIM CAP or the Common Admission Process is a single-window selection process in which candidates eligible for admission to the nine new IIMs have to appear for a single WAT-PI round. For example, the candidate who has selected IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Nagpur and IIM Sirmaur for admission, does not have to appear for WAT-PI round of all the four institutes. He/she only has to appear for this round conducted by the CAT conducting institute.

Under the IIMs CAP, participating IIMs send the list of candidates shortlisted for WAT-PI process to the institute conducting CAP for that particular year. The IIM CAP conducting institute conducts the WAT-PI round. Qualifying CAT cut off, admission parameters and their weightage are common to all CAP participating colleges.

The scores obtained by candidates in CAP are shared with individual institutes. Based on the final score of candidates, the 10 IIMs declare their own merit list of candidates selected for admission. The final list of selected candidates is displayed on individual institute website. Only those candidates who have institute login can access the merit list.

IIM CAP Registration Process?

Candidates can apply for IIM CAP at the conducting institute website with the help of their CAT login ID. Check steps to follow:

  • Log on to IIM Bodh Gaya 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

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 2024 VARC

IIM CAP Cut Off 2024 DILR

IIM CAP Cut Off 2024 QA

IIM CAP Cut Off 2024 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

IIM CAP Final Merit List: Parameters and Weightage

The final merit list of IIM CAP 2025 was prepared on the basis of all participating candidates’ scores on the following parameters. The parameters and weightage mentioned below:

IIM CAP Parameter

Weightage

CAT Score

33

PI Score

25

Academic score

15

Profile (work exp., professional degree, diversity)

27

Total

100

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.

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Q:   Can an average student get into an IIM?
A:

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.

Q:   What is the average number of CAT 100 percentilers every year?
A:

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
2- Delhi
1- Haryana
1-Kerala
5- Maharashtra
1- Odisha
1- Rajasthan
2- Telangana

CAT 2023

14

1 – Andhra Pradesh
1 - Delhi
1 – Gujarat
1 – Jammu & Kashmir
1 - Karnataka
1 - Kerala
4 – Maharashtra
1 – Tamil Nadu
2 - Telangana
1 - Uttar Pradesh

CAT 2022

11

2 - Delhi

1 - Gujarat

1 - Haryana

1 - Kerala

1 - Madhya Pradesh

2 - Maharashtra

2 - Telangana

1 - Uttar Pradesh

 

Q:   What is the CAT exam cutoff required to get admission to IIM Bangalore?
A:

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)
Q:   How many candidates scored 100 percentile in CAT 2024?
A:

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 ToppersGender 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
Q:   Can I get direct admission in IIM Udaipur?
A:

IIM Udaipur MBA course admission is entirely based on CAT exam. Candidates needs to apply for the CAT exam if they desired to apply to IIM Udaipur. However, IIM Udaipur does offers courses which doesn't requires CAT exam for admission. IM Udaipur offers a regular Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (PGDBA) for Working Executives, designed for building a solid foundation and deep understanding of Business Management. The duration of the programme is 24 months, i.e. two years. 

Q:   Is it hard to get into IIM Raipur?
A:

Candidates seeking admission to the MBA programme at IIM Raipur must meet the overall and section-wise CAT percentile. According to cut-off details of IIM Raipur for the year 2023, candidates having overall and section-wise CAT percentile equal to or above 90 were eligible for admission to the MBA programme.

Hence, students are advised to give equal importance to all the sections, i.e. verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC), data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) and quantitative aptitude (QA) while preparing for the CAT exam to get eligible for admission to the MBA programme at IIM Raipur. 

CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT score by clicking the link below:

CAT Percentile Predictor
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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Vipra is a massive Breaking Bad fan. When not watching crime drama series, she spends time in updating the list of places she wants to visit and people she wants to meet, but she is happiest in the company of dogs. Read Full Bio
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