Everything you need to crack CAT

IIMs use CAT scores along with other criteria given below to shortlist candidates for the further rounds of the admission process.

• CAT Score: Your overall and sectional percentile is a primary filter, but not the only factor for admission at IIMs. Most IIMs also apply a minimum sectional cutoff in each of the three sections, not just an overall percentile.
• Academic Profile: Your marks in 10th, 12th & graduation are given certain weightage.
• Work Experience: Points are also awarded for the duration, relevance, and quality of your work experience.
• Diversity Score: Non-engineers and female candidates earn bonus points at most IIMs.
• Composite Score: Each IIM calculates its own Composite Score and invites candidates for the next round based on this score.

Older IIMs such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Indore conduct their Round 2 independently. Candidates are evaluated on:

• Personal Interview (PI) – mandatory
• Written Ability Test (WAT) / Essay Writing
• Group Discussion (GD) – retained by very few IIMs today; largely phased out in favour of WAT

Newer IIMs follow one of two centralized Round 2 processes instead of conducting interviews independently:

• Common Admission Process (CAP): Currently followed by IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, and IIM Sirmaur.
• Joint Admission Process (JAP): Followed by IIM Kashipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, and IIM Tiruchirappalli, coordinated by IIM Raipur.

In both processes, no Group Discussion is conducted — a centrally held Personal Interview (PI) is used instead, and the performance report is shared across all participating IIMs.