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Updated on 15th October, 2024 , 7 min read
IIM Cutoff is the minimum qualifying mark required for admission to the most prestigious MBA/PGP Institutes - the Indian Institute of Management, popularly referred to as the IIM. The IIM Cutoff for admission to MBA/PGP programs of top institutes usually ranges between 98 and 100. IIM Cutoff is the main criterion for admission to all IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bengaluru, IIM Calcutta, IIM Ranchi, IIM Kozhikode, and more. Admission to the MBA/PGP Programs in these institutes is granted based on the CAT Percentile score and the qualifying IIM Cutoff. It must be noted that the CAT Exam is the only criterion to be eligible for admission to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
Check: IIM Eligibility Criteria
The CAT Exam or the Common Admission Test will likely be held on 24th November 2024 by IIM Calcutta and the notification is expected to be released on 30th July 2024. Candidates must aim to score at least 98+ percent in the exam to be eligible for admission to a premier MBA Institute like IIM.
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MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Scores of 80 - 90 Percentile | MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Scores of 70 - 80 Percentile |
When talking about IIM Cutoff students must understand that there are 2 types of cutoff. One is the IIM Cutoff which is released before the second stage of the IIM Admission Process which is the WAT/PI Round. The second is the CAT Cutoff which is released by each institute separately to shortlist candidates for admission. CAT test takers are called for the WAT/PI Round only if they score as much or above the minimum IIM Cutoff set by the institute.
To understand the concept of IIM Cutoff and CAT Cutoff in detail, read the full article below. the article aims to provide information on the following aspects:
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CAT Total Marks | How to Calculate Scaled Score of CAT
IIM Cutoff refers to the minimum percent marks that an MBA aspirant must score to be eligible for the WAT/PI round of the institutes. The IIM Cutoff varies slightly every year and due to the institutes' premier status, it can go as high as 100%. The IIM Cutoff is different for different categories and varies with institutes. The cutoff for the General category is usually between 95 and 100 while for the Reserved category it ranges between 85 and 95. In case a student has an exceptional academic record, they may get an IIM with a CAT score lower than 95%.
For IIM Ahmedabad the cutoff for the General category has been 99-100 from CAT 2017 - 2023 while for IIM Calcutta the cutoff was around 92 - 99 percentile.
While the competition to get into the most prestigious MBA Institutes is high, certain factors determine or define the IIM Cutoff. These factors have been listed below:
CAT Exam Difficulty Level: The first determining factor is the difficulty level of the CAT exam. If the exam standard is difficult then the cutoff percentile will be comparatively lower due to the lower average scores in the examination.
Number of Test Takers: Another important factor in defining the IIM Cutoff is the number of test-takers in the CAT exam. If the number of students who took the exam is high, the CAT Cutoff for IIM will also be high and vice-versa.
Availability of Seats: The last factor to determine the IIM Cutoff is the availability of seats. The number of seats in IIM may vary annually. Any increase or decrease in the number of seats will have a direct impact on the cutoff for that particular academic year.
IIM aspirants must understand that the institute releases two types of cutoffs. First is the IIM Shortlist cutoff which is released as a part of the IIM Admission policy. This CAT Cutoff is meant to select and shortlist the most qualified candidates for the WAT/PI round. To be eligible for an interview at IIM, candidates must meet this IIM Cutoff criteria. However, it must be noted that clearing this does not guarantee an interview call at IIM. Getting an interview call depends on the fact whether the candidate clears the IIM Call Cutoff or not. the IIM Call Cutoff is released after the CAT results are announced. If the candidate meets this IIM cut-off criteria, only then they are called for the WAT/PI round.
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In simple words, anyone seeking admission to IIM must clear both the IIM Shortlist cutoff criteria and the IIM Call Cutoff criteria. The IIM call Cutoff is often higher than the shortlist cutoff to select only the most qualified candidates. So to say, if any aspirant clears the shortlist cut off but does not meet the call cutoff criteria, they will not be eligible for admission to IIM. For example, in the CAT 2021 session, IIM Ahmedabad's shortlist cutoff was 80, but the call cutoff was 99-100.
Related Article: CAT Score Vs Percentile
The IIM CAT Cutoff is never released publicly. The table below represents the expected CAT Cutoff for the upcoming academic session at different IIM Institutes. It must be noted that this is just an estimate and the actual cutoff maybe higher than what is represented. But the table will help the aspirants plan their MBA admissions accordingly.
While the competition to get into IIM is high, below listed are the 4 IIMs that have the lowest cutoff score in comparison to others.
IIM Raipur → 92+ percentile
IIM Ranchi → 90+ percentile
IIM Kashipur → 90+ percentile
IIM Udaipur → 90+ percentile
Know the Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Score
Given below is the expected IIM Cutoff for 2024. The table presents both qualifying and the final cutoffs that can be expected for the upcoming sessions and academic year.
Candidates can view the category-wise IIM CAP cutoff for the 2023 session in the table below.
The IIM Cutoff for the top IIMs including A, B, and C is always close to the 99 percentile. However, for the newer IIMs, it is typically above 90 percentile. Refer to the table below for an overview of the IIM Cutoff for 2023.
The IIM CAP Cutoff for 2022 for each IIM has been mentioned and tabulated below for reference.
Check the IIM Cutoff final list 2022 for all the IIMs in the table below.
From the 20 IIMs, Bodh Gaya was the only one that released the cutoffs publicly in 2019. Refer to the below table to check the complete IIM Cutoff list for IIM Bodh Gaya.
The Final Selection in IIM is based on the CAT Score. The table below presents the parameters for IIM Bengaluru along with the weight given to each parameter. Candidates can refer to the institute-wise weightage separately.
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Strategies for CAT Preparation
The IIM Selection Process and the IIM Admission Criteria is quiet exhaustive and challenging. The Selection Process rests on 3 basic pillars - CAT Score, WAT/PI Performance, and the overall Academic Record of the candidate. The 3 phases in order are mentioned below for reference.
Phase 1: Shortlisting of the candidates based on the CAT Percentile
Phase 2: Conduct of WAT and PI
Phase 3: Final selection based on the CAT Exam Score, WAT and PI Performance, and the Overall Academic Record
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By - Prachi Bhatia 2024-09-30 08:31:41 , 12 min readBest Books for CAT 2024 Preparation, Recommended By Toppers and Other Books
By - Chetna Verma 2024-09-16 09:24:07 , 7 min readNo. The IIM CAT Cutoff is different for different categories. For the General category, this ranges between 98 and 100, while for the Reserved category it is usually set between 80 and 95.
IIM Cutoff refers to the minimum CAT percentile required by the candidate to be eligible for further rounds of admission at IIM which are Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI).
A score of 90 above is usually considered a good score in the CAT exam. However, with the competition increasing by the day candidates must aim to get a score of 95 above in the exam to be eligible for the WAT/PI round at IIM. A score of 95 percentile does not ensure an interview since the IIM Call Cutoff is released separately by each IIM.
A candidate with 80 percentile can get into one of the new IIMs which are also included in the top MBA Colleges in India.
The usual cutoff percentile for IIM ranges between 98 and 100. However, with a 95 percentile, the student can get IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, and IIM Kashipur in addition to IIM Trichy.
The Top 5 IIMs - IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bengaluru, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and IIM Kozhikode have the highest IIM Cutoff percentile of 99+.
As per the statistics IIM Raipur, IIM Udaipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Kashipur have the lowest cutoff which is 90 - 92+ percentile.