IIM Sambalpur Selection Criteria 2026 (OUT): CAT Cutoff 90, Gender Diversity Weightage Reduced

IIM Sambalpur 2026 Admission Criteria

We have put together the IIM Sambalpur admission criteria for the 2026-28 batch, which will help you understand the minimum cutoffs that a student must get to be able to apply for the IIM Sambalpur MBA program.

IIM Sambalpur Selection Criteria 2026: Stage 1 (CAT 2025 Cut Off)

In Stage 1, all eligible candidates who have appeared for the CAT 2025 and have selected IIM Sambalpur as one of their college preferences in the CAT 2025 registration form will be considered for further rounds. The institute will shortlist candidates who have scored a minimum percentile in both the sectional and overall in the CAT 2025 exam. Candidates obtaining a positive (greater than zero) raw score in all sections of the CAT exam will be considered.

IIM Sambalpur CAT 2025 Cutoff: Minimum percentiles which candidates must score in the CAT 2025 for the IIM Sambalpur MBA 2026-28 batch. (This table is subject to revision)

*For male candidates who have at least one year of relevant work experience, and for all female candidates, the minimum overall percentile in the General Category will be reduced to 85.

All candidates shortlisted in Stage 1 will be sent an email in January containing a link to an online application form available on the admission portal of IIM Sambalpur. The online form will be pre-filled with the details that were entered by the candidate in the CAT 2025 registration form. The candidate will need to update the information, except for the category, to ensure that the data entered is factually correct.

IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026: Stage 2 (Pre-Personal Interview Shortlisting)

All those candidates who will further move on to the second stage, a Pre-PI Score will be calculated out of 80, and the following weightage will be given to the students:

IIM Sambalpur 20256 Selection Criteria: How will Pre- PI Score be Calculated?

CAT Score

All candidates must note that the scaled CAT score of each candidate will be used in calculating the Pre-PI score and not the CAT percentile. The formula for calculating the same is:

IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026: Academic Performance

The following table mentions the marks that will be awarded for prior academic performance.

IIM Sambalpur Selection Criteria 2026: Work Experience

The score for the Work Experience will be calculated based on the total months of complete work experience of the candidates as of December 31, 2025. The table provides details of the marks allotted for work experience components.

All candidates must note that only relevant work experience counts under this category, i.e. work experience gained after completion of graduation. One must ensure that the work experience is authentic and professionally significant enough to deserve credit. No credit will be given for the following:

• Time spent being an intern or work done during the course of study in a programme

• Any periods of apprenticeship, such as an articleship

• Any unpaid work undertaken in any organisation or institution

• Salary received in cash or through UPI.

In case the candidate is a proprietor or partner in the form, they must provide proof of the same.

IIM Sambalpur 2026 Admission Criteria: Gender Diversity

IIM Sambalpur believes in gender diversity and will award 5 marks to all female and transgender candidates.

IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026: Finalisation of Interview Slots

After the Pre-PI scores have been calculated, all selected candidates in each category will be invited to participate in the Personal Interview (PI) round, which will be conducted in online/hybrid mode. All candidates will be given a deadline to finalise their interview date and slots among the various options given to them.

IIM Sambalpur Selection Criteria 2026: Stage 3 (Personal Interview & Final Merit List)

Based on Stage 2, all eligible candidates will need to appear for the PI round; failure to do so will lead to the candidate being disqualified from the admission process at IIM Sambalpur for the MBA 2026-28 batch.

As per IIM Sambalpur 2026 admission criteria, the PI score obtained by the candidate, after being normalised, will account for 25% of the final merit score. The PI score (out of a maximum of 25 marks) will be added to the adjusted Pre-PI score (adjusted to 75 marks instead of the earlier 80 marks) to obtain the final meri score. Candidates who do not obtain a certain minimum score in the PI process will not be considered for the merit list. The minimum score would be decided by IIM Sambalpur at its discretion.

IIM Sambalpur admission criteria 2026: The following table shows the components of the final merit score.

The final ranking list of candidates for admission to the MBA 2026-28 program will be based on the final merit score mentioned above.

IIM Sambalpur Offer Acceptance Policy

Once the candidates have received the final admission offer from IIM Sambalpur, they must accept it within the stipulated time frame and pay an Offer Acceptance Amount of Rs. 50,000 along with the Offer Acceptance Form on IIM Sambalpur’s admission portal. Failing to do so could lead to the offer lapsing.

IIM Sambalpur Admission 2026: How many students get Interview Call for IIM Sambalpur?

Below mentioned is the RTI data of the 2023-2025 batch showing the number of candidates who applied for IIM Sambalpur, and out of them, how many got a PI call (category-wise). Through this data, all CAT 2025 aspirants will get an idea of the level of competition they can expect for the 2026-28 batch.

*Source: RTI Data

IIM Sambalpur Admission Criteria 2026: Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the 2026-28 MBA program at IIM Sambalpur, all candidates must go through the following eligibility criteria to see if they can apply for the MBA program.

• Candidates need to have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD categories)

• A valid CAT 2025 score with a positive raw score in all sections.

• The final part of the eligibility criteria and selection process includes work experience and gender diversity, which are typically released with the official admission policy.

IIM Sambalpur MBA Fee Structure 2026-28

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur will soon release the fee structure for the MBA program for the 2026-28 academic year. All candidates considering admission to IIM Sambalpur can expect the program fee to be around Rs. 10,58,000 for Term 1 and Rs. 10,43,000 for Term 2. Selected candidates for the final admission will be able to pay the fee via Demand Draft and Online Transfer.

Note: The offer acceptance fee of Rs. 5000 will be adjusted against the Term 1 course fee.

*The Mess Deposit amount is subject to vary depending on the service provider’s charge.

IIM Sambapur 2026 Admission: Reservation Criteria

All candidates must note that the selection process and criteria will be similar for all categories. As per the reservation policy of the Government of India, MBA candidates will be shortlisted for each stage in each category to meet the reservation requirements. Take a look at the following table, where we have mentioned the reservation percentage.