IIM Shortlist 2026: If you are planning to pursue your MBA degree from one of the prestigious IIMs in India, you are required to ensure that to make the IIM shortlist 2026. The IIM Common Admission Process (CAP) 2026 involves mainly 3 stages: the CAT 2025 exam, the Written Ability Test (WAT), and the Personal Interviews. Based on your overall performance in all these rounds, all the IIMs release their separate shortlist featuring the names of the qualified students for admission to the respective institutes. For the 2026-28 session, the CAT 2026 exam will be held on November 30, 2026. The WAT is expected to be held in January. Based on your scores in the CAT exam and WAT, IIMs will call you for the PI round, which will be held from February to April 2026. Once all the rounds are completed, the IIM Shortlist 2026 will be released. In this article, we have provided the detailed information and the IIM admission process, including important dates.
The CAP 2026 selection process is based on CAT cutoff percentiles, work experience, and academic performance. For the Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT), the cutoff percentiles were maintained at 95 for General category candidates, 66 for SC, and 42 for ST/PwD. Eight IIMs took part in this year's CAP round to shortlist deserving candidates. Before the interviews, the CAP 2026 slot booking window was kept open until February 3, 2025. If you had completed your CAP 2025 registration you could choose your preferred interview slots online via the official portal, cap2025.iimbg.ac.in.
The IIM CAT 2025 cutoff marks can range from 90 to 100 percentile, depending on the IIM college you wish to take admission to. For admission to some of the top IIM colleges in India, like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Calcutta, through the CAT examination, students will require a qualifying CAT percentile of 80-85. The final IIM CAT Cutoff 2025 will usually lie in the range of 99 to 100 percentile. The IIM cutoff scores and percentiles differ from category to category. The overall and section-wise cutoff scores are released by the Indian Institute of Management separately.
List of Top IIMs in India 2025: First established in 1961, the Indian Institute of Management, or IIMs, are some of the best MBA colleges in India. At present, there are a total of 21 IIMs in India across all the states. As per the latest IIM rankings by NIRF, the list of top 10 IIM colleges in India 2025 includes IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, etc. Being top-tier B-schools in the country, IIMs in India have a reputation for having excellent faculties, rich academic facilities, and vibrant campus culture, making them the dream destination for most MBA aspirants. Admission to the top IIMs, however, is highly competitive as most of them accept CAT scores above the 99th percentile. If you are aiming to build a career in management and wish to pursue your postgraduate degree from one of the top IIMs in India, it is important to be familiar with the list of IIM colleges in India, their fee structure, and placement highlights. All these details have been covered for you in the article below.
Are you searching for CAT 2025 preparation tips for working professionals? If so, you're in luck! We understand the challenges of preparing for CAT, one of the most challenging MBA entrance exams, while working full-time. However, it's not impossible. To effectively prepare for the CAT exam as a working professional, strategic planning and time management are crucial. Create a balanced study schedule that doesn't conflict with your work hours. Early mornings or late nights can be optimal times for undistracted study. Use weekends for longer study sessions, focusing on weak areas and taking full-length mock tests. Choose study materials designed specifically for CAT preparation, and consider enrolling in a reputable online coaching program that offers flexibility. Regularly practising mock tests and analyzing performance is crucial to understanding your strengths and weaknesses. An effective preparation plan and exam strategy must be devised for working professionals who wish to appear for CAT 2025 exam. Here are some best CAT 2025 preparation tips for working professionals that can help them succeed in the exam.
Before we answer one of the most searched questions among MBA aspirants on Google, ‘IIM has the lowest fee?’, let us first understand the basic fee structure of IIMs across India. The program fees at all IIMs in India differ significantly. The fees are between INR 16.28 lakh and INR 36.20 lakh, depending on the campus. Among the list of top IIMs in India 2025, IIM Ahmedabad has the highest MBA fee, around INR 34.15 lakh, whereas IIM Amritsar has the lowest IIM fees for MBA 2025 of around INR 17.30 lakh, which is the most affordable option for you. For newer IIMs, commonly known as baby IIMs—like IIM Amritsar, IIM Ranchi, IIM Jammu, IIM Bodh Gaya, and IIM Sirmaur—the fee range is between INR 17 lakh to INR 21 lakh, which makes them among the lowest fee options for an IIM MBA in 2025. Let us know more about which IIM has the lowest fee for MBA admissions 2025.
Also Read: IIM Waitlist Movement 2025
MBA Admissions in Punjab 2025 was started by UBS Business School, Punjab University, on December 4, 2024. The last date for registration to UBS was February 3, 2025. Admission to UBS is conducted on the basis of percentage in the UG degree, CAT 2024 scores, Group Discussion, and Personal Interview. The university does not administer any entrance exam to provide MBA admission to prospective candidates. CMAT and MAT scores are widely accepted by numerous management colleges in Punjab. If you possess valid scores from these exams, you can gain admission to both government and private MBA colleges throughout the state. Admissions through CMAT began after the CMAT results 2025 were released on February 13, 2025. The programmes offered by MBA colleges in Punjab include Master of Business Administration, MBA in Entrepreneurship, MBA in International Business, and MBA in Human Resources.
For admissions to Panjab University’s Institute of Advanced Management Sciences, the PU MET exam score is required for MBA courses in India. Certain deemed private universities in Punjab such as Chandigarh University and Lovely Professional University are also popular for their management courses. If you are a Punjab University MBA aspirant, you can check all the details on MBA admissions in Punjab/ Punjab MBA admissions here.
The list of courses in IIMs includes a flagship PGP (Post Graduate Programme in Management), PGP in Food and Agribusiness Management, PGP in Human Resource Management, PGP in Public Policy and Management, PGP in Enterprise Management, PGP in Business Management, Executive MBA, and more. The PGP or full-time MBA is the most sought-after program at IIMs. Admission to postgraduate courses is offered based on CAT (Common Admission Test) scores. IIM Indore, IIM Rohtak, IIM Ranchi, IIM Jammu, and IIM Bodh Gaya offer a 5-year Integrated Programme in Management and conduct their own entrance exam, known as IPMAT for admission. If It's your dream to pursue management education from these prestigious institutes, then have a look at the IIM courses provided below.
Also Read: List of Top IIMs in India 2025
Understanding the IIM Eligibility Cut Off vs IIM Call Cut Off is crucial for every candidate appearing for the CAT exam and dreaming of getting into the IIMs. IIM eligibility cutoff is the minimum score required for a candidate to be eligible to apply for the IIM admission process. On the other hand, the IIM call cutoff is the minimum score required for candidates to receive a call for an interview. The qualifying cutoff for IIMs is lower than the final cutoff, so it allows candidates to at least participate in the admission process.
As per the past year's trends, the qualifying cutoff for IIM Ahmedabad is expected to be in the 80 percentile, while the final call cutoff will be around the 99-100 percentile. For IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, the qualifying cutoff may be around the 90 percentile, and the final call cutoff is expected to be in the 99-100 percentile. The CAT 2024 exam will be conducted on November 24, 2024, by IIM Calcutta. The result is expected in the second week of February 2025, after which the IIM selection process will begin. If you are appearing for the exam, check the IIM eligibility cutoff vs IIM call cutoff discussed below.
Also Read: IIM Shortlist 2024
If you are planning to pursue a career in MBA, you must be possibly thinking 'which is best, Symbiosis or NMIMS?' After all, both the institutes - Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune and NMIMS Mumbai - are among the top private business schools in India with strong academics, brand presence, and industry connections, and aspirants often get confused about which institute they choose to pursue an MBA. In terms of the latest NIRF rankings of 2025 for the Management category, SIBM Pune grabbed the 11th position while NMIMS stands at the 24th position. In this article, we have compared every aspect of these institutes, like placements, fees, hostels and amenities, so that you can choose the best for yourself.
Also Check - How many seats are in NMIMS Mumbai for MBA?
Students who are preparing for the CAT exam will notice that the DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) section often includes complex graphs and charts. DILR section because of graphs, charts in different forms often look confusing to the students in the first go but they can make it look easy with the right approach. You can easily decode and solve complex graphs and charts in the DILR section if you have practiced a lot and understand the basic concepts. In this article, you can learn how to analyze any complex visual data efficiently and increase your chances of scoring high marks in this section. Some of the common tips to analyse graphs and charts are mentioned below:
Also Read:
Sectional analysis is important for improving your overall scores in the CAT VARC section. It helps in determining individual strengths and weaknesses, creating a personalized study plan, improving speed and accuracy, and identifying the mistakes. By analysing your CAT VARC sectional scores, you can get a clear picture of why you answered certain questions incorrectly or why it's taking longer to solve long, complex passages. This can help you avoid similar mistakes in the future, leading to a better overall performance. Check out this guide ahead to understand how to use sectional test analysis to improve VARC scores in CAT 2025 exam.
Also Check - Strategies to Crack Difficult DILR Puzzle Sets in CAT 2025 Exam
CAT 2025 Registration: The Indian Institute of Management will close CAT 2025 registration on September 13, 2025, at 5 PM. Candidates who are interested and eligible but have not yet registered must do so at iimcat.ac.in before the deadline to appear for the CAT 2025 examination scheduled on November 30, 2025. To successfully register, candidates must accurately enter their personal and educational details, upload required documents in accordance with specified guidelines, and pay the registration fee to confirm form submission. The registration process requires careful attention to detail to avoid errors that could lead to rejection.
Data Interpretation and Logic Reasoning puzzles are not easy to solve when there's a time limit, and unless you have prepared well, you might end up losing marks. It takes clever choice, precision and speed to solve the puzzles in the DILR section of CAT. We have given tips on cracking the hard sets of DILR puzzles in the CAT exam in this article.
Also Check - How to Avoid Common Mistakes and Traps in CAT DILR Problems
Quick Links:
Mohali (Punjab)
Jalandhar (Punjab)
Mohali (Punjab)
Mohali (Punjab)