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    CAT 2025 Selection Process: IIM Admission Criteria, GD-PI Rounds & Final Selection Explained

    CAT 2025 Selection Process: IIM Admission Criteria, GD-PI Rounds & Final Selection Explained

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    Alen Tom ShajiUpdated on 22 Jan 2026, 09:17 AM IST
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    The CAT 2025 admission process has begun, now that the CAT exam result 2025 is out on December 24, 2025. The CAT 2025 exam was conducted on November 30, 2025. A few IIMs in India released the selection criteria for PGDM/ MBA admission on their official website, and other IIMs will release the admission criteria soon after the IIM CAT result. The CAT selection process 2025 will include a Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. Candidates will be shortlisted based on their score in CAT 2025 for further rounds, such as GD and PI. Shortlisted candidates are advised to perform well in the WAT, group discussion, and personal interview to get selected for MBA admission.

    This Story also Contains

    1. CAT Selection Process 2026
    2. IIM Admission Criteria for MBA
    3. What are the Documents to be Taken at WAT/GD and PI Time?
    4. CAT 2025 Admission Process: Parameters for Final Selection Process
    5. Common Admission Process (CAP): CAT Admission Process for New IIMs
    6. Key Points of IIM CAP 2026
    7. IIM Shortlist Status 2026-28 Based On CAT 2025 Score
    8. MBA Admission through CAT 2025 in Non-IIMs
    CAT 2025 Selection Process: IIM Admission Criteria, GD-PI Rounds & Final Selection Explained
    CAT Selection Procedure 2024

    CAT Selection Process 2026

    The IIM admission process will be based on the composite scores of candidates in all rounds. Additionally, academic performance will be taken into consideration during the CAT admission process. The criteria for shortlisting candidates will vary across IIMs, with each IIM having its own separate admission policy. For details of the CAT selection process, candidates can visit the official website of the respective IIM.

    Most of the IIMs will release their admission criteria on their websites. Non-IIMs will also release the admission criteria. Candidates interested in taking admission at B-schools other than IIMs will have to check the admission criteria on their website.

    Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) shortlists candidates for the interview round based on their admission criteria. However, the CAT score is a common and most important component in the CAT selection process for MBA at IIMs as well as CAT score-accepting institutes. Other selection factors include candidates' past academic records, gender, diversity of qualifications, etc.

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    IIM Admission Criteria for MBA

    In this complete Careers360 article, we discuss the weightage given to various aspects, the CAT selection process, the different selection processes of IIMs, non-IIMs, and other B-schools accepting CAT scores. The CAT admission process for IIMs consists of three rounds:

    • Round 1: CAT 2025 Result and IIM Shortlist
    • Round 2: Personal Interview
    • Round 3: Final Selection and Eligibility Verification
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    IIM-Shortlist-2021

    Round 1: CAT 2025 Result and IIM Shortlist

    The first step is the announcement of the CAT 2025 results by the exam conducting body. The test conducting body for the CAT exam, has declared the CAT 2025 result. IIM Kozhikode announced the CAT result 2025 on December 24, 2025, in online mode. Candidates can check their CAT results by visiting the official website- iimcat.ac.in and by using the required CAT login credentials, such as CAT ID and password.

    Consequently, IIMs will start releasing shortlist dates and then begin their shortlisting process. IIMs will release their individual CAT cutoff for different categories. The list of shortlisted candidates for the next stages of selection will be made available on the respective websites of the concerned IIMs. IIMs will send interview letters directly to all shortlisted candidates.

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    IIM Admission Process After CAT - IIM Interview Call Letter

    Candidates selected for the first round of the IIM admission process after CAT will receive invitation letters in their registered email ID. The invitation letter will contain the following information:

    • Registration link
    • Last date to complete the CAP registration (for 8 IIMs)
    • Date, time, and venue of WAT/GD and PI

    Round 2: WAT, PI, and GD Rounds

    All candidates who meet the CAT cutoff can move on to the next stage of the IIM selection process 2026-28 for MBA i.e. Written Ability Tests (WAT), Personal Interviews (PI), and Group discussions (GD). Candidates are evaluated based on general knowledge, communication ability, performance in previous rounds, and presence of mind.

    Round 3: Final Selection and Eligibility Verification

    Any candidate listed for a personal interview at IIMs must comply with the eligibility and verification for the CAT final selection process.

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    At this point, candidates get marks based on their academic performance. Here is a breakdown of the tentative parameters on which candidates are selected.

    CAT ParametersWeightage
    CAT 202525
    PI30
    WAT10
    Class 1010
    Class 125
    Graduation10
    Weighted Work Experience10
    Total100

    NOTE: The table above contains the parameters and weightage of the respective IIMs for the CAT exam. The weightage of each parameter will vary from year to year for each IIM.

    Also Check: MBA Colleges Accepting 60 Percentile in CAT

    Candidates are listed for WAT/ GD-PI processes based on the CAT percentile. The aggregate score calculation process for the shortlist for WAT/ GD-PI provided by IIM Lucknow is as follows:

    cat-normalization

    What are the Documents to be Taken at WAT/GD and PI Time?

    Check out the list of documents required while appearing for WAT/ GD and PI.

    Degree Certificates & Mark Sheet Verification:

    Candidates are required to produce original and attested copies of certificates and mark sheets during the IIM selection round i.e. personal interview. If selected, the original degree mark sheets for all semesters and attested copies must be submitted at the time of joining.

    Required Documents at the Time of WAT/GD and PI:

    • IIM Interview call letter
    • CAT 2025 scorecard
    • Class 10 mark sheet and certificate
    • Class 12 mark sheet and certificate
    • The graduation mark sheet and certificate
    • Reservation category proof of certificate (if applicable)
    • Work experience certificate (if any)

    Reserved Category

    Candidates are required to produce an attested copy as well as the original ST/SC/NC-OBC/DA certificates during the personal interview. If selected, original certificates and attested copies of the reservation category must be submitted upon joining.

    Final Year Undergraduate Students

    The selected candidates are required to submit an original as well as an attested copy of the certificate that the student has obtained with 50% marks (45% for reserved categories) from the Registrar/ Principal/ Director of the institute or university.

    Their admission will be temporary until the original mark sheet and the qualifying degree at the undergraduate level are submitted before December 31, 2026. If a candidate fails to submit the requisite documents on or before the stipulated time, his / her admission will be automatically cancelled.

    Final CAT Selection Process

    Other additional factors considered by most IIMs for CAT counselling are:

    • The previous academic performance of the candidates
    • Relevant work experience
    • Gender and academic diversity

    CAT 2025 Admission Process: Parameters for Final Selection Process

    Parameters

    Details

    CAT 2025

    Overall percentile score obtained in the CAT 2025 exam.

    Class 10

    The aggregate percentage marks in class 10

    Class 12

    The aggregate percentage marks in class 12

    Graduation

    The aggregate percentage in a 3 or 4-year degree course

    WAT/ GD-PI

    In WAT / GD-PI, the performance of each candidate is evaluated, and marks are allotted accordingly.

    Academic Diversity

    Candidates with a non-engineering background are awarded extra points to ensure a fair representation of students from other streams. Points for academic diversity vary for each campus.

    Gender Diversity

    IIMs give extra points to women/ transgender people to promote fair representation of each gender. Points for gender diversity vary for each campus.

    Work Experience

    Additional points are awarded to candidates with work experience. For this, a limit of experience is defined as the lowest to the highest. Points for work experience vary for each campus.

    NOTE: It should be noted that these parameters vary from institute to institute each year.

    Common Admission Process (CAP): CAT Admission Process for New IIMs

    The newer IIMs, such as Ranchi, Raipur, Trichy, Udaipur, Kashipur, etc, will conduct a common counselling process called Common Admission Process (CAP). A shortlist of candidates will be made, and they will be required to appear for the common written ability test and personal interview rounds. Each of these IIMs will publish a candidate’s performance based on a separate merit list.

    The Following New IIMs will follow the CAP-Based CAT result 2025

    Key Points of IIM CAP 2026

    • All the participating Indian Institutes of Management will send the shortlisted candidates for WAT-PI to the IIM conducting CAP.

    • That IIM will conduct the WAT-PI round for all CAP participating IIMs.

    • After the CAP, the participating IIMs will evaluate the performance of the candidates in WAT, PI, CAT score, profile, etc., and create their individual merit list to offer admission.

    • The final list of selected candidates will be displayed on the respective IIM website. This is only available to candidates with an institute login/ CAT ID.

    NOTE: The weightage of the eligible CAT cut-off and admission parameters will be common to all CAP participating institutes.

    List of Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT Scores in India

    IIM Shortlist Status 2026-28 Based On CAT 2025 Score

    After the CAT 2025 results, IIMs will release the list of shortlisted candidates to join their 2026-28 batches. Candidates can check the table below for the previous year shortlist details. This will help them have an idea about tentative shortlist dates of IIMs and the number of seats for MBA and PGP programmes.

    IIMs

    Shortlist Release Date

    Number of Seats in MBA/PGP (Tentative)

    IIM Ahmedabad

    January 08, 2026

    395

    IIM Kozhikode

    January 08, 2026

    375

    IIM Jammu

    To be announced

    240

    IIM Visakhapatnam

    January 08, 2026 (application)

    120

    IIM Rohtak

    January 08, 2026 (application)

    240

    IIM Calcutta

    January 08, 2026

    460

    IIM Lucknow

    January 10, 2026

    500

    IIM Sambalpur

    January 08, 2026

    120

    IIM Bangalore

    January 13, 2026

    400

    IIM Amritsar

    January 07, 2026 (application)

    160

    IIM Raipur

    Last week of January 2025

    260

    IIM Ranchi

    Last week of January 2025

    185

    IIM Kashipur

    First week of March, 2025

    240

    IIM Udaipur

    Last week of January 2025

    260

    IIM Trichy

    Last week of January 2025

    240

    IIM Shillong

    Last week of January 2025

    180

    IIM Indore

    January 14, 2026

    450

    IIM Sirmaur

    January 08, 2026 (application)

    120

    IIM Nagpur

    First week of March, 2025

    130

    IIM Bodhgaya

    First week of March, 2025

    120
    IIM MumbaiJanuary 20, 2026-

    MBA Admission through CAT 2025 in Non-IIMs

    88 institutes do not fall under the IIM category but are registered with CAT 2025. These institutes conduct their own CAT exam procedure for MBA. The CAT 2025 counselling includes the same set of rounds as WAT and GD/ PI. However, not all of these rounds are mandatory for final admission. Some institutes like IMT Ghaziabad conduct group activities or group training instead of group discussions.

    Also Read: Top MBA Colleges in India accepting CAT score

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: When will IIM shortlist be out?
    A:

    The IIM shortlist is expected to be released by the respective IIMs on their official websites starting from the first week of January 2025 onwards.

    Q: What is IIM selection process? or What is the process of CAT selection?
    A:

    Based on the candidate’s performance in the CAT exam 2025, participating institutes of CAT 2025 will shortlist candidates for further rounds such as Group Discussion (GD)/ Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI).

    Q: Do Non-IIM institutes also follow the same CAT selection process as other IIMs?
    A:

    The CAT selection process remains the same for everyone. However, MBA colleges in India are independent in using their MBA selection process for admission into the MBA program. 

    Q: What is the qualifying cutoff of IIM Ahmedabad?
    A:

    This year IIM Ahmedabad qualifying CAT cutoff was 80 percentile. The final cut-off is expected to be around 99 percentile or above.

    Q: What are the documents to be carried at the time of the WAT, GD/PI round?
    A:

    The documents which will be carried to the WAT, GD/ PI are the IIM interview call letter, CAT scorecard, Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheet and certificates, the graduation mark sheet and certificate, reservation category proof of certificate (if applicable), and work experience certificate (if any).

    Q: Does IIM CAP include non-IIMs?
    A:

    No, IIM CAP only contains IIMs. Other MBA colleges that accept the CAT score conduct admissions separately.

    Q: What happens after clearing CAT exam?
    A:

    After clearing the CAT exam, candidates wait for the CAT cut-off for individual IIMs to go for further rounds of selection. Shortlisted candidates will be called for a group discussion and a personal interview. 

    Q: What is the CAT exam process for MBA?
    A:

    The CAT exam for MBA involves a computer-based test assessing quantitative aptitude, verbal ability, data interpretation, and logical reasoning. Successful candidates are shortlisted by various MBA institutes for subsequent rounds, which may include interviews, group discussions, and written ability tests.

    Q: Is there any interview after CAT exam?
    A:

    Yes, many MBA institutes shortlist candidates based on their CAT scores for the next selection rounds, which typically include interviews, group discussions, and written ability tests to assess candidates' suitability for their programs.

    Q: How many IIMs are part of JAP 2026?
    A:

    IIM Trichy, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, and IIM Kashipur are part of the IIM JAP 2026.

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    Questions related to CAT

    On Question asked by student community

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