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Does a 99 percentile in CAT guarantee an IIM A/B/C call? No, a 99 percentile in the CAT exam does not guarantee an interview call from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, or IIM Calcutta. These IIMs use composite scores that heavily weight academics, work experience, and diversity. Therefore, candidates with 99.5+ percentiles may miss calls if their profile is weak.
IIM A, B, and C evaluate candidates using a composite score, which includes the CAT 2025 score, past academic performance, work experience, and diversity. Based on the past year’s RTI data, it has been clearly indicated that candidates are shortlisted not just based on their percentile but on minimum composite score cutoffs, such as 0.610503 for general candidates at IIM A and 48.8695 at IIM Bangalore. Meanwhile, IIM Calcutta sets a minimum CAT eligibility criterion at 80 percentile, but the final PI call will depend on a much higher composite score. Keep reading this article to find out why even a 99%ile does not guarantee an IIM A/B/C call.
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Scoring in the 99 percentile in the CAT 2025 exam roughly places you above 99% of candidates, but this does not guarantee an interview call because premier management institutes like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta do not consider only CAT 2025 scores as a result of limited seats, weightage to academic performance, and work experience. Additionally, weightage is given to academic diversity, and gender diversity scores make a difference in getting an interview call from IIM A/B/C.
Here are the minimum percentile requirements to be considered for the IIM A/B/C application form. The interview call is based on the candidate’s CAT 2025 exam and other parameters like academic performance and gender diversity.
IIM Ahmedabad Category List | CAT VARC Cutoff | CAT DILR Section Cutoff | CAT QA Cutoff | Overall CAT Cutoff |
IIM Ahmedabad CAT Cutoff for General | 85 | 85 | 85 | 95 |
IIM Ahmedabad CAT Cutoff EWS | 85 | 85 | 85 | 95 |
IIM CAT Cutoff for NC-OBC | 80 | 80 | 80 | 90 |
IIM CAT Cutoff SC | 75 | 75 | 75 | 85 |
IIM CAT Cutoff for ST | 65 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
PWD-General | 75 | 75 | 75 | 85 |
PWD-EWS | 75 | 75 | 75 | 85 |
PWD-NC-OBC | 70 | 70 | 70 | 80 |
PWD-SC | 65 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
PWD-ST | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
IIM Bangalore Category List | CAT VARC Cutoff | CAT DILR Cutoff | CAT QA Cutoff | Overall CAT Cutoff |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff General | 80 | 80 | 75 | 85 |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff for EWS | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff OBC | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff SC | 65 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff for ST | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
IIM Bangalore CAT Cutoff PWD | 45 | 45 | 45 | 55 |
IIM Calcutta Category List | CAT Cutoff VARC Section | CAT Cutoff DILR | CAT QA Cutoff | Overall CAT Cutoff |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff for General | 80 | 80 | 75 | 85 |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff for EWS | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff OBC | 70 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff SC | 65 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff for ST | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
IIM Calcutta CAT Cutoff for PWD | 45 | 45 | 45 | 55 |
The IIM A/B/C selection process involves several steps for selecting the brightest minds from all the candidates who appeared for the MBA admission 2026. The following table highlights the IIM selection criteria. Please refer.
IIM Selection Parameters | IIM Selection Weightage |
CAT Percentile | 25-65% |
Class 10 Marks | 5-20% |
Class 12 Marks | 5-20% |
Graduation Marks | 5-20% |
Academic Diversity | 5-10% |
Gender Diversity | 2-5% |
Work Experience | 5-20% |
IIM Ahmedabad gives 65% weightage to CAT 2025 scores.
35% weightage to the application rating based on the performance in class 10. 12, and graduation.
A 55% weightage has been assigned to CAT 2025 scores.
10% weightage to each class 10, class 12, and graduation, making a contribution of 30% in the IIM Bangalore selection criteria.
IIM Calcutta has allocated 56% weightage to the CAT 2025 score.
An additional 10% and 15% weightage to marks obtained in Class 10 and Class 12 for selection.
Many think scoring 99 percentile in the CAT exam will be sufficient for an interview call from top IIMs in India. There are many reasons for this, from IIMs' shortlisting criteria to the selection process and other parameters like academic and gender diversity. The following points will brief you about why a 99 percentile is not enough for an interview call.
Academic Profile: IIM A/B/C gives weightage to the academic performance of the candidates. Candidates who have excellent academic performance in class 10, class 12, and graduation are more likely to get an interview call relative to other candidates.
Direct Qualification: IIM Bangalore qualifies the top 10% candidates based on their CAT 2025 score, academic performance in their discipline, and qualification score (CA/CS/ICWA) directly for the personal interview.
Gender Diversity: To encourage more female candidates, IIMs give weightage to gender diversity, and this plays a major role in getting an interview call from IIM A/B/C.
Reservation Policy: Through the reservation policy, seats are reserved for the various categories, thereby leaving fewer seats for each category, and eventually tough to get interview calls at 99 percentile.
Work Experience: IIMs give a 5 to 20% weightage to the work experience of a candidate. For this reason, candidates with no experience get zero points and lag behind the candidates with 2-3 years of experience in reputable companies.
Sectional Cut Offs: The CAT sectional cutoff is one of the prominent deciding factors in getting an interview call from top IIMs. Candidates who failed to clear the sectional cutoff but have a good overall CAT percentile do not get an interview call from the IIM A/B/C.
Academic Stream Bias: Many IIMs give diversity points to non-engineering students, making it more difficult for candidates belonging to engineering to compete with other engineering students.
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