Which IIM Can You Get With Low Academics? Selection Criteria, Weightage & Admission Tips

Which IIM Can You Get With Low Academics? Selection Criteria, Weightage & Admission Tips

Team Careers360Updated on 20 Nov 2025, 01:03 PM IST

Candidates with lower academic scores can also get into the prestigious IIMs in India. The IIMs across the country have their IIM selection criteria, which also include academic performance. The role of academics in the selection process may vary from one IIM to another. However, the candidates must have enough academic scores that meet the eligibility criteria for different IIMs as well as the CAT 2025 exam. IIM with low academic eligibility requires a bachelor's degree in any field from a recognised university.

LiveCAT 2025 Result LIVE: IIM CAT result soon at iimcat.ac.in; cut off, seat matrix, MBA admission processDec 22, 2025 | 11:07 PM IST

IIM Raipur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli have jointly launched a JAP admission process. In this joint admission process (JAP 2026), IIM Raipur will shortlist candidates and conduct the interview rounds on behalf of the other three institutions.

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This Story also Contains

  1. How to Get into IIM with Low Academics
  2. Which IIM Can I Get with Low Academics?
  3. Which IIM Does Not Consider Past Academics?
Which IIM Can You Get With Low Academics? Selection Criteria, Weightage & Admission Tips
IIM With Low Academics

Candidates with low academic scores can make it up by scoring exceptionally well in the CAT exam. A great candidate profile is what an IIM demands. Candidates with low academic performance should focus on building a great individual profile. Read the article to get an answer to the question, Which IIM can I get with low academics?

How to Get into IIM with Low Academics

Candidates with low academics can use the tips given below to strengthen their overall profile and improve their chances of getting into an IIM.

  1. Get certificates for leadership, team building, and public speaking by participating in relevant activities at various levels.

  2. Submit a cover letter stating the purpose of joining along with the application form to the particular IIM.

  3. Try getting a decent amount of work experience in a relevant field.

  4. If possible, elaborate on the diversity factor that comes with your application.

  5. Try performing as well as possible in the CAT exam, that too in the first attempt only.

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Which IIM Can I Get with Low Academics?

Certain IIMs give a lesser weightage to the academic performance of the candidate. Some of the IIMs, like IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Indore, have low weightage for academics. Weightage for academics is listed in the table below.

IIM

Academics Weightage

IIM Calcutta

  • No weight to scores in Graduation.

  • Class 10th and 12th percentages are assigned a score of 10 and 15 points, respectively.

IIM Lucknow

  • No weight to scores in Graduation.

  • Class 10th percentage is not considered.

  • Class 12th percentage is assigned a score of 10 points.

IIM Kozhikode

  • No weight to scores in Graduation.

  • Class 10th and 12th percentages are assigned a score of 25 and 15 points, respectively, for shortlisting in the PI round only.

  • For the final selection, no weightage is given to the 10th and 12th percentages.

IIM Indore

  • No weight to scores in Graduation.

  • Class 12th percentage is not considered.

  • Class 10th percentage is assigned a score of 12.5 points.

Which IIM Does Not Consider Past Academics?

It is difficult to list any IIM that does not consider past academics. IIMs more or less do consider the past academic performance of a candidate at some stage of the selection process. But, if a candidate has an exceptional CAT percentile, then institutes like IIM Calcutta can consider the CAT score alone at least to shortlist the candidate for the Personal Interview round.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Which IIM has the lowest academic weightage?
A:

IIM Indore has the lowest academic weightage for its selection process. IIM Indore does not consider the graduation scores in the entire selection process. Class 12th percentage is not considered. Class 10th percentage is assigned a score of 12.5 points.

Q: Can I get into IIM with low 12th marks?
A:

It is possible to get into IIM with low 12th marks. Some IIMs do not give much weightage to the 12th marks, while some IIMs do not consider 12th marks in the final selection process.

Q: Can I get into IIM with poor academics?
A:

Getting into IIM with bad academics is possible. Candidates with low academic scores can make it up by scoring exceptionally well in the CAT exam. A great candidate profile is what an IIM demands. Candidates with low academic performance should focus on building a great individual profile.

Q: Does a gap year look bad for IIM?
A:

Gap year is not an issue for getting into IIM. As long as the candidate has all the requisites for the particular IIM, having a gap year is not a big deal.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.

The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.

After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.

Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.

So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.

If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.


Hello aspirant,

With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello aspirant ,

For MANAGE Hyderabad MBA , the OBC cutoff in CAT 2024 was generally around 85-90 percentile for shortlist consideration , tough exact figures vary by section and profile . For CAT 2025, if fewer candidates appeared , the cutoff might slightly adjust , but percentile based cutoffs dont change drastically year to year. A minor decrease is possible , but you should still aim for 90+ percentile to be competitive. Factors like VARC, QA-LRDI and overall profile influence the final shortlist.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutof f

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello,

For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this article you'll find more about the CAT result.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,
With a projected CAT percentile of 87% but not clearing sectional cutoffs, your chances at top IIMs are limited because they require both overall percentile and sectional minimums. However, you still have a good shot at other reputed management institutes and non-IIM B-schools. Consider colleges like NMIMS, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes, and other well-ranked private or state-level B-schools that accept CAT scores and weigh your profile holistically. Your academic record, BSc in Animation with 80%, and 5 years of work experience at Ubisoft India are strong points and may help in institutes that value work experience in their selection process. Also, explore institutes that accept XAT, MAT, or CMAT, where your profile can be competitive.
Hope this helps you.