2.68 lakh applications. 1,330 interview shortlists. 415 admissions. These are last year’s IIM Ahmedabad admission numbers, for the 2025-27 batch. Less than 0.5% of aspirants got IIM A calls and just 0.15% of applicants made it to the final class, while over 99.8% were left out. To put it simply, for every 1000 applicants, barely 1 or 2 made it to IIM Ahmedabad. Interestingly, over the last three years, the applications to IIM A have surged nearly 69%-from 1.59 lakh to a record 2.69 lakh, while the number of final offers has remained more or less the same, around 400. Here, we have analysed the last three admission cycles, which reveal how difficult it is to get into IIM Ahmedabad in 2026, how the competition intensified across categories, and what the actual chances of conversion at IIM Ahmedabad.
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Applications increased from 1.59 lakh to 2.69 lakh in three years.
Total Applicants (2025-27)- 2,68,594
Final admissions remained around 400 seats for the last three years, 415 for 2025-27.
In the last three years, the acceptance rate dropped from 0.256% to 0.154%.
Only 0.49% of applicants received a PI call in 2025-27.
General Category at a 0.10% success rate.
EWS applications recorded the fastest growth among major categories (+57.2%).
For the 2025-27 batch, a record 2,68,594 candidates applied for admission at IIM A, but only 1,330 were shortlisted for the Personal Interview (PI) round, and eventually, just 415 candidates secured a seat at the PGP program. This translates into a success rate of just 0.15%, meaning 99% of the candidates are not selected for admission at IIM A. The admission funnel also reveals that the biggest hurdle is securing a personal interview. In 2025-27, fewer than 0.5% of applicants received an interview call.
Components/ Year | 2025-27 | 2024-26 | 2023-25 |
Number of Applicants for IIM Ahmedabad | 2,68,594 | 2,64,467 | 1,58,958 |
Number of Shortlisted candidates for PI | 1330 | 1206 | 789 |
Candidates selected for the PGP program at IIM A | 415 | 404 | 408 |
% of selected candidates from applications | 0.154 | 0.152 | 0.256 |
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The IIM Ahmedabad applicant pool expanded by 66,015 candidates in the last two admission cycles. While the General category continues to dominate the applicant pool, accounting for nearly 67% of all applications in 2025-27. The overall application pool for IIM A grew from 2.03 lakh in 2023-25 to 2.69 lakh in 2025-27, reflecting the increasing popularity of MBA education at IIM Ahmedabad.
Category | Number of Applicants at IIM Ahmedabad via CAT & GMAT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
2025-27 | 2024-26 | 2023-25 | |
General | 179180 | 176614 | 137909 |
EWS | 14370 | 13975 | 9141 |
NC-OBC | 47052 | 46011 | 33799 |
SC | 21361 | 21163 | 16377 |
ST | 5497 | 5597 | 4480 |
PwD | 1100 | 1092 | 868 |
Overseas Indian Category (GMAT) | 15 | 3 | 1 |
Supernumerary Quota (GMAT) | 19 | 12 | 4 |
Total Candidates | 2,68,594 | 2,64,467 | 2,02,579 |
General category candidates face the toughest competition at IIM Ahmedabad with a success rate of only 0.10% in 2025-27. This means roughly one out of every 950 general candidates joins IIM A for PGP. In comparison, the reserved category candidates have a slightly higher admission percentage due to category-wise reservation and seat allocation.
Category | 2025-27 | 2024-26 | 2023-25 | ||||||
Applications | Joinees | % | Applications | Joinees | % | Applications | Joinees | % | |
General | 179180 | 189 | 0.10 | 176614 | 189 | 0.11 | 137909 | 187 | 0.14 |
EWS | 14370 | 20 | 0.13 | 13975 | 9 | 0.06 | 9141 | 9 | 0.10 |
NC-OBC | 47052 | 103 | 0.22 | 46011 | 101 | 0.22 | 33799 | 101 | 0.30 |
SC | 21361 | 57 | 0.27 | 21163 | 56 | 0.26 | 16377 | 59 | 0.36 |
ST | 5497 | 30 | 0.55 | 5597 | 29 | 0.52 | 4480 | 36 | 0.80 |
PwD | 1100 | 16 | 1.45 | 1092 | 20 | 1.83 | 868 | 16 | 1.84 |
Total | 268594 | 415 | 0.15 | 264467 | 404 | 0.15 | 202579 | 408 | 0.20 |
Although OIC and SNQ categories show very high percentage growth, the actual applicant numbers remain small. EWS applications recorded the highest growth among major categories at 57.2% over three years.
Category | 2023-25 Applicants | 2025-27 Applicants | Increase in Number of Applications in the last 3 years | Growth percentage of applications |
General | 137,909 | 179,180 | 41,271 | +29.9% |
EWS | 9,141 | 14,370 | 5,229 | +57.2% |
NC-OBC | 33,799 | 47,052 | 13,253 | +39.2% |
SC | 16,377 | 21,361 | 4,984 | +30.4% |
ST | 4,480 | 5,497 | 1017 | +22.7% |
PwD | 868 | 1,100 | 232 | +26.7% |
OIC | 1 | 15 | 14 | +1400% |
SNQ | 4 | 19 | 15 | +375% |
The numbers are saying it all. Getting into IIM Ahmedabad in 2026 is not going to be about just securing that 99+ percentile in CAT 2026, but more about standing out when thousands have similar CAT scores. If you are aiming for IIM A then ask yourself, are you preparing merely to get a high CAT 2026 score or to be among the few who get IIM A calls.
On Question asked by student community
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