CAT 2025: How Much You Need to Score to Crack IIM Lucknow in 2026?

CAT 2025: How Much You Need to Score to Crack IIM Lucknow in 2026?

Malvika ChawlaUpdated on 08 Oct 2025, 05:54 PM IST

The CAT 2025 percentile needed for admission to IIM Lucknow is 90 for the General category, while the minimum percentile for EWS and NC-OBC categories is 82. The lowest acceptable IIM Lucknow admission criteria for the PGP 2026-28 batch have no major change in the selection process. To get admission to IIM Lucknow, the candidate will need to clear multiple rounds, such as having a minimum of 60% CAT score + 10% academic performance (Class 12+GM) + Diversity factor + WAT+PI score to get shortlisted to IIM L.

This Story also Contains

  1. CAT 2025 Percentile Needed for IIM Lucknow Admission
  2. IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile 2026 For Final Selection
  3. IIM Lucknow Highest Composite Score 2026 For Final Admission
  4. IIM Lucknow Selection Criteria 2026
CAT 2025: How Much You Need to Score to Crack IIM Lucknow in 2026?
CAT 2025: How Much You Need to Score to Crack IIM Lucknow in 2026?

Furthermore, the IIM CAT Call percentile 2025 is expected to be 98+ GEM and 97+ for other categories. To find complete information on the CAT percentile needed for IIM MBA admission 2026.

CAT 2025 Percentile Needed for IIM Lucknow Admission

IIM Lucknow candidates will be shortlisted for WAT and PI, based on CAT score, prior academic performance, and work experience. The IIM Lucknow minimum sectional and total CAT Percentile for general candidates are 85 and 90, respectively. Check this table to find IIM Lucknow's shortlisting criteria for the WAT & PI Stage are given below in the table.

IIM Lucknow Category

VARC

DILR

QA

Total

General

85

85

85

90

EWS

77

77

77

82

NC-OBC

77

77

77

82

SC

55

55

55

65

ST

50

50

50

60

PwD

50

50

50

60

IIM Lucknow Composite score Calculation for WAT PI Shortlist

IIM Lucknow score for WAT-PI selection will be calculated for the candidates who have fulfilled the above-mentioned IIM Lucknow minimum sectional and total CAT percentile requirements. IIM Lucknow CAT score is given the highest weightage of 60. Weightage for each component considered for the IIM Lucknow score is given below.

Components

Weightage

IIM Lucknow Scaled CAT score

60

HSC (12th)

10

Graduation marks

10

Work experience

10

Diversity Factor (A)

5

Diversity factor (B)

5

IIM Lucknow Composite score

100

IIM Lucknow Composite score Cutoff for WAT PI Round

The minimum composite score cutoff required for the Interview and WAT shortlist at the IIM Lucknow 2026 admissions is given in the table below, based on previous year trends and data.

IIM Lucknow Category of Candidates

2026-28

2024-26

2023-25

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for General

48-49

48.80

48.96761

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for EWS

33-35

35.43

33.34357

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for NC- OBC

32-38

38.28

32.94748

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for SC

26-27

27.14

26.2287

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for ST

17-19

19.40

17.73247

IIM Lucknow Cut-Off for PwD

8-14

8.73

14.03112

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile 2026 For Final Selection

IIM Lucknow minimum CAT percentile is expected to be between 92 and 93 for general category candidates. Based on the previous year's data obtained from RTI IIM Lucknow Cutoff 2026 (expected) for final selection is given in the table below for all categories.

IIM Lucknow Category of Candidates

2026-28 (expected)

2024-26

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for General

92-93

92.48

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for EWS

88-89

88.18

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for NC-OBC

83-84

83.74

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for SC

67-68

67.36

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for ST

62-63

62.51

IIM Lucknow CAT Percentile for PWD

61-62

61.29

IIM Lucknow Highest Composite Score 2026 For Final Admission

IIM Lucknow's highest Composite Score for each Category is different. The composite score for the IIM Lucknow 2026 admission general candidate can range between 73 and 79. The lowest range of the highest composite score falls between 50 and 60, belonging to the ST category. See the table below for the highest score for the past few years for a better idea of the expected score for each category.

IIM Lucknow Category of Candidates

2026-28

2024-26

2023-25

2022-24

IIM Lucknow Score for General

73-79

77.1353

79.08416

73.66913

IIM Lucknow Score for EWS

61-63

63.65722

61.43109

62.07509

IIM Lucknow Score for NC-OBC

58-63

62.19331

63.25

58.69285

IIM Lucknow Score for SC

57-62

60.9233

62.63

57.56753

IIM Lucknow Score for ST

50-60

52.95453

60.84

50.3556734

IIM Lucknow Score for PwD

55-64

55.38699

59.9546

64.8024421

IIM Lucknow Selection Criteria 2026

The admission score for IIM Lucknow will be released after the successful completion of the Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT) rounds. The final score required for IIM Lucknow 2026 admission is calculated by assigning marks based on the weightage each component holds, as mentioned in the IIM Lucknow selection criteria 2026.

IIM Lucknow Selection Components

IIM Lucknow Maximum Marks

Personal Interview score

40

CAT 2025

30

Academics

10

WAT

10

Diversity

5

Work Experience

5

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What's the meaning of the final composite score at IIM Lucknow?
A:

For the IIM Lucknow MBA, the final composite score refers to the combined score of different components, such as CAT percentile, academics, work experience, diversity, WAT, and PI rounds.

Q: Is there a minimum sectional cutoff at IIM Lucknow?
A:

Yes, IIM Lucknow sets minimum sectional percentiles for each section of the CAT EXAM: VARC, DILR, and QA.

Q: What is the weightage for work experience in IIM Lucknow?
A:

Work experience is awarded up to 10 marks during the pre-PI (Personal Interview) stage, and up to 5 marks are considered when calculating the final composite score.

Q: What is the minimum score needed for IIM Lucknow admission?
A:

For general category candidates, a minimum CAT percentile of 90 is required to be considered for admission at IIM Lucknow.

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Questions related to CMAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CMAT ?

With a 70 percent in CAT Examination, you can go for various B-Schools or private collages. The S. K. Patel Institute of Management in Gandhinagar is an option for those who score 70-80 percent in their CAT examination or The Gujarat Institute of Management (GIM) in Goa with a cutoff of 60-80 percentage. These are the collages you can look for in Gujarat or nearby.

Collage in other regions: BA Colleges Accepting 70-80 Percentile in CAT 2025

Thank You.

Hello,

Here are some top MBA colleges in India with fees under Rs. 2 lakh and their exam/cutoff details:

  • SIMSREE, Mumbai – Fee around Rs. 1.3–1.4 lakh for 2 years. Accepts CAT, CMAT, MAH-CET, MAT, ATMA. Cutoff is very high, usually 99+ percentile in CAT/CMAT.

  • PUMBA (Dept. of Management Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University) – Fee around Rs. 1.2–1.3 lakh. Accepts CAT, CMAT, MAH-CET, ATMA. Cutoff approx. 75+ percentile in CAT, 90–95+ percentile in CMAT, high scores in MAH-CET.

  • TISS, Mumbai (MA HRM & other management-related programmes) – Fee around Rs. 1.7–1.9 lakh. Accepts CAT for some courses. Qualifying cutoff is around 60–70 percentile, but final selection cutoffs are higher.

These are the main government institutes where the full MBA/PG programme fee is within Rs. 2 lakh. Cutoffs vary slightly each year and by category, but SIMSREE and PUMBA generally need high scores, while TISS has its own process along with CAT shortlisting.

Hope it helps !

You can download CMAT question papers and their solutions for the years 2021 to 2025 from trusted education websites. The 2021 papers are available in PDF format and include both shift 1 and shift 2 with solutions. These papers also have the optional section Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

For the year 2025, you will find complete question papers for both shifts along with correct answers. These papers cover all the sections like Quantitative Techniques, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

You can use these question papers to practice and understand the pattern of the exam. They are helpful for time management and identifying important topics.

DMI Patna interviews for CMAT-qualified PGDM candidates usually start after CMAT results are out. For 2025, results were announced in March, so interviews likely began then. Exact dates aren’t public, but shortlisted candidates are notified via email/SMS.

Keep checking your email (including spam) and contact the admissions office for updates. The process includes a writing test, group activity, and personal interview.

Hello,

Here is the basic eligibility for CMAT admission process:

  1. Qualification : You must have a Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognised university.

  2. Final Year Students : If you are in the final year of your graduation, you can also apply, but you must complete your degree before the admission process ends.

  3. Nationality : You must be an Indian citizen .

  4. Age Limit : There is no age limit to apply for CMAT.

These rules are the same for all categories, but some colleges may have extra conditions, so you may need to check college-wise eligibility too.

Hope it helps !