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The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) reserves seats for candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, PwD, and EwS categories. The IIM reservation policy is made for those talented candidates who lack the resources to complete their education. As per IIM Reservation Policy 2025, OBC is 27%, SC is 15%, ST is 7.5%, PwD is 5%, and EwS is 10%. Continue reading this article to know the number of seats reserved for candidates belonging to the reservation category and their cutoffs for IIM admission.
Candidates who qualify for the CAT 2025 will have to appear in three stages of the selection process, including a written ability test (WAT), a personal interview (PI) round, and a group discussion (GD).
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For IIM Reservation Cut Off Check Out: IIM Admission
Candidates can check out the percentage of IIM reservation seats for MBA admission given below:
A “person with benchmark disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where the specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms. Whereas a person with disabilities is where a specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority.
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IIMs accept CAT exam for admission to its MBA programmes. The CAT cut off set by IIMs for MBA/PGDM admission varies from college to college. Candidates belonging to the reserved category can have a look at the range of IIM reservation cut off given below:
Category | CAT cut off (Percentile) |
OBC | 70 - 80 |
SC | 45 - 70 |
ST | 35 - 65 |
PwD | 30 - 60 |
EWS | 70 - 85 |
Candidates belonging to the IIM reservation quota category must upload their certificates as proof while filling out the CAT registration form.
The IIM admission policy does not revolve around a single exam or metric. Instead, it involves around multiple stages, and the reservation policy applied at each step, which are mentioned below:
These are the first cut offs that are released after CAT results and is roughly similar for all the IIMs. Each IIM will release their own shortlist based on minimum CAT percentile cutoffs. However, one must note that the cutoff is lower for reserve categories as compared to the General category.
Take a look at the following cutoff which we have listed for all the categories:
Category | Cutoff (Approx.) |
General | 98+ percentile |
NC-OBC | 90-92 percentile |
SC | 80-85 percentile |
ST | 70-72 percentile |
PwD (depends on the horizontal category) | 60-70 percentile |
Post the completion of the WAT-PI rounds, all IIMs will calculate the composite score for each category. It will include CAT percentile, academic scores, work experience, performance in WAT-Pi and diversity factors.
Each category will have its own merit list, meaning that candidates are only competing with others in their own reservation group.
Post the release of the final offers, all candidates will need to either accept or reject the offer. Additionally, seats that remain empty due to rejections will then be offered to the next candidates on the category-wise waitlists. This will be done to maintain the reservation percentages.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The minimum qualifying CAT cut off for reserved categories falls between 30 to 85 percentile.
As compared to general category and other few categories, IIM cut off for SC is between 40 to 70 percentile. So, it is easier for SCs to clear the minimum CAT cut off and get into IIMs.
The IIM reservation quota cut off for SC is 40-70 and ST is 35-65 percentile. The IIM Cut offs cary depends on the college.
No, IIMs do not provide any home state quota.
All IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) follow the government's reservation policy quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backwards Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD). Specifically, 15% of seats are reserved for SC candidates, 7.5% for ST candidates and 27% of OBC candidates.
Yes, IIMs provide IIM reservation quota for SC ST, OBC, PwD and EWS categories.
On Question asked by student community
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.
Good Morning,
NIT Rourkela CAT cutoff range is between 70-85 percentiles for the general category. 70 is the minimum percentile needed to apply, and 85 is the highest percentile. However, the maximum percentile depends on the particular year competition. It can be changed.
Thank You.
If you filled the UGC NET form under EWS but you don’t have a valid EWS certificate, then forget using the EWS category. They won’t accept it. You’ll automatically be treated as General category during document verification.
And no, this won’t make your form “invalid” or “illegal.” It just means you won’t get the EWS benefit.
So yes — you can still go for General category posts and Professor recruitment. Just don’t try to submit a fake/invalid certificate; that will get you disqualified.
Hello,
If your CAT admit card shows your surname first followed by your first name as entered in the form, it is correct. You do not need to worry about this format as long as it matches the details you provided. Ensure all other information on the admit card is accurate and carry it to the exam along with the required identification documents.
Hope this helps you.
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