IIM Waitlist Movement 2026: Expected Dates, Category-Wise Trends & How It Works After CAT

IIM Waitlist Movement 2026: Expected Dates, Category-Wise Trends & How It Works After CAT

Alen Tom ShajiUpdated on 15 Dec 2025, 09:42 AM IST

IIM Waitlist Movement for 2026 will be released between May and July, tentatively. Students wanting admission to top IIMs in India should keep checking the official college websites to keep track of the waitlist movement. All those students who missed the initial chance of selection can expect to be part of the IIM waitlist for all categories. Furthermore, all candidates must note that the IIM waitlist will vary across categories and institutions all over India due to various factors. By analysing previous year trends, one wi get to gain valuable insights. Students must note that the IIM waitlist is a crucial element of the IIM selection process.

This Story also Contains

  1. IIM Waitlist Movement 2026: Key Highlights
  2. What is the IIM Waitlist Movement and How does it work?
  3. IIM Waitlist Movement 2026
  4. Category-wise IIM Waitlist Movement (Past year trends)
  5. IIM Waitlist Movement: Seats
IIM Waitlist Movement 2026: Expected Dates, Category-Wise Trends & How It Works After CAT
IIM Waitlist Movement

Read this article to know the waitlist movement status at IIMs and how the IIM Waitlist Movement is released for MBA admission 2026-28.

IIM Waitlist Movement 2026: Key Highlights

Check out the following key highlights about the IIM Waitlist movement.

  • The announcement of the IIM waitlist movement will take place in multiple rounds between May to July 2026.
  • All IIMs with higher ranks will experience slower waitlist movement due to higher acceptance rates by the students.
  • Whereas all lower-ranked IIMs will have to go through substantial waitlist movement as candidates opt for better alternatives.
  • Lastly, category-wise variations will impact the waitlist movement too.

What is the IIM Waitlist Movement and How does it work?

IIM Waitlist is the list of candidates have qualified for MBA admission criteria but were not selected for MBA/PGP/PGDM admission at IIMs in the initial round due to the limitation of seats. These candidates will be kept in the queue and considered once the IIM seats are available.

With the release of the IIM waitlist, students are offered a place if initially admitted students choose to decline their offer for other opportunities, creating a vacant seat.

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How is the IIM Waitlist Released?

See the steps below and understand how the IIM wasitlist movement process works and offer seats for the waitlisted candidates:

  • Qualify in the CAT exam: Applicants must attend the CAT 2025 exam and meet the CAT cut-off marks specified by IIMs.
  • Release of IIM Shortlist: Candidates who meet the CAT cut off marks will be shortlisted to attend the further IIM MBA admission process.
  • Initial IIM offers: Candidates who performed well in all the selection rounds will be assigned by rank, and seats will be allotted based on availability.
  • IIM waitlist: Candidates who qualified in the IIM selection process but didn’t get seats will be placed in the IIM waitlist.
  • IIM Waitlist Movement: Applicants who met all the IIM MBA eligibility criteria and are listed in the IIM waitlist will receive the seats as selected candidates deny their admission offer.
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IIM Waitlist Movement 2026

The status of the IIM waitlist movement will be announced on their respective official website after the IIM shortlist is out. The latest updates of the waitlist movement at IIM will be updated in the table below.

Top IIMs in India

IIM Waitlist Movement Status

IIM Ahmedabad

To be announced

IIM Calcutta

To be announced

IIM Bangalore

To be announced

IIM Lucknow

To be announced

IIM Indore

To be announced

IIM Kozhikode waitlist movement

To be announced

IIM Shillong

To be announced

IIM Jammu

To be announced

IIM Kashipur

To be announced

IIM Raipur

To be announced

IIM Ranchi

To be announced

IIM Rohtak

To be announced

IIM Trichy

To be announced

IIM Udaipur

To be announced

IIM Amritsar

To be announced

IIM Bodh Gaya

To be announced

IIM Nagpur

To be announced

IIM Sambalpur

To be announced

IIM Sirmaur

To be announced

IIM Visakhapatnam

To be announced

IIM Mumbai

To be announced

Also Read: How to Get Into IIM: Selection Criteria, Cutoff, Admission Process

Factors Affecting IIM Waitlist Movement

IIM waitlist movement is influenced by the following factors such as:

  • MBA aspirants prefer old IIMs over new IIMs: Candidates give more priority over the old IIMs than new ones, because of the MBA salary packages and the quality of the curriculum offered.
  • Multiple admission offers received by the candidates: If the applicants receive multiple admission offers from different IIMs. Candidates choose one of them and deny the rest offers which causes IIM waitlist movement.
  • Batch size and IIM seat intake: The availability of IIM seats and the reservation policy followed by the IIMs in the admission process will raise the IIM waitlist movement.
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Category-wise IIM Waitlist Movement (Past year trends)

Here we have listed category-wise IIM Waitlist Movement trends.

Program

General

EWS

NC-OBC

SC

ST

PwD

Batch

IIM Ahmedabad
Waitlist Movement (MBA)

10

0

21

30

0

3

2022-2024

1

3

5

11

0

6

2023-2025

27

2

14

19

9

7

2024-2026


33418111692025-27

IIM Ahmedabad
Waitlist Movement
(MBA-FABM)

24

0

6

5

2

0

2022-2024

9

0

7

4

1

0

2023-2025

11

0

3

3

2

0

2024-2026

IIM Jammu

Waitlist Movement (MBA)

1941

212

1014

616

133

24

2022-2024

1434

5

861

374

151

-

2023-2025

169

60

128

80

45

-

2024-2026

IIM Nagpur

Waitlist Movement (MBA)

281

10

212

53

50

14

2022-2024

389

37

65

63

28

3

2024-2026

IIM Rohtak

Waitlist Movement (PGP)

484

32

185

108

87

2

2022-2024

283

12

71

63

39

0

2023-2025


33741183906402025-27

IIM Shillong
Waitlist Movement (PGP)

144

83

-

135

25

-

2023-2025

646

79

-

91

0

5

2024-2026

IIM Sirmaur – MBA

978

228

530

143

100

-

2022-2024

1181

200

405

359

163

46

2023-2025

IIM Sirmaur – MBA Tourism

39

2

25

17

5

-

2022-2024

IIM Udaipur – MBA

790

150

328

334

50

15

2022-2024

545

18

300

148

0

0

2023-2025

268

0

0

0

0

0

2024-2026


3325817623630232025-27

IIM Visakhapatnam – PGP

311

76

205

130

57

37

2022-2024

220

70

187

100

70

68

2023-2025

219

54

158

120

80

80

2024-2026

What should I do if I am on the IIM Waitlist?

Some of the things to be kept in mind for the candidates who are in the IIM Waitlist:

  • Stay patient and monitor the latest updates from the respective IIMs: Candidates who are listed on the IIM waitlist do not need to become discouraged and lose hope in getting MBA admission in IIMs. There will be a last chance to get an IIM seat at the respective institute. Also, frequently check out the latest announcements and updates from the IIM by visiting the IIM official website and checking your mail daily.
  • Ensure all documents are ready for verification: Once the CAT results are out and candidates who meet the IIM CAT cut off marks must be ready with all the important documents related to academic, personal, work experience, category and others to be submitted for document verification.
  • Keep in touch with the IIM Admission cell: Maintain a connection with the IIM admission committee to let them know you are still interested in getting IIM admission at the respective institute by sending an email or visiting the campus directly.
  • Always have a plan B: A significant movement can happen closer to the academic session starts. If a candidate doesn’t get a seat at IIM, apply to the top MBA colleges accepting CAT scores in India.

IIM Waitlist Movement: Seats

Check out the below table to know how the seats are distributed for the candidates from various categories at 21 IIMs based on the reservation policy of the Government of India.

Category

Distribution of IIM Seats

General

40.5%

OBC

27%

SC

15%

ST

7.5%

PwD and EWS

10%



Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the waitlist movement for IIM?
A:

IIM waitlist movement refers to the process in which IIM MBA admission is offered to applicants as seats become available. It happens only when the shortlisted candidates decline their offer. 

Q: Which IIM has the highest waitlist movement?
A:

IIM waitlist movement varies by category. The highest number of IIM waitlist movements is happening in new IIMs like IIM Shillong, IIM Udaipur, and IIM Trichy compared to older IIMs like IIM Ahmedbad, IIM Bangalore or IIM Calcutta.

Q: How long does it take for the IIM Waitlist to move?
A:

IIM waitlist movement starts once the shortlist is out. Waitlist movement can continue from several weeks to months. Waitlist movement at IIMs depends on the IIM admission cycle.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

A CAT percentile of 99.64 is an excellent score and definitely places you in a strong position for top IIM calls, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta. However, admission to these institutes is not based on CAT score alone. Each of these IIMs follows a holistic selection process

HELLO,

With a 74 percentile in CAT ,EWS category and 8/8/7 academics , you are in good spot for many non IIM colleges like :-

1.BIMTECH

2.AIM DELHI

3.AMITY GROUP

4.IMT

5.IMT NAGPUR

6.SDM IMD

7.Great Lakes (GLIM) Institute of Management

8.Alliance University

9.IBS Business School

10. Institute of Management,

Hello there,

Yes, you should surely give a try. Your score and being Non-Engineer gives you an edge. The previous trends shows that cutoff typically hovers around 75-84 for EWS category. Therefore you must give a try.

NIBM  gives proper weightage to academics as well, therefore your 8\8\8 would work

HELLO,

With an overall 98.54 percentile ( QA/DILR 97.55, VARC 94.89) and strong academics 9/9/0, you have a good profile. As a B.Tech candidate you can expect calls from :-

  • IIM Shillong
  • IIM Udaipur
  • IIM Trichy
  • IIM Ranchi
  • IIM Raipur
  • IIM Kashipur
  • IIM Nagpur
  • IIM Indore is Boderline

Hope this

Hello there,

The IIMs you should expect are listed below:

  • A 90-100% chance: IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, IIM Mumbai, and all CAP IIMs( Udaipur, Trichy, Ranchi, etc.).
  • A 50-70% CHANCE: IIM Calcutta and SPJIMR.
  • A very competitive chance, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore

Your biotech background