IIM Ahmedabad Selection Criteria Changed for 2026–28 Batch: New CAT Cutoffs, Shortlisting Rules and What They Mean

The IIM Ahmedabad selection criteria changed for the 2026–28 batch in a way that substantially raised the bar at the first stage of admission. For candidates applying through CAT 2025, IIM Ahmedabad increased the minimum overall and sectional CAT percentiles across categories.

For a General or EWS non-PwD candidate, the minimum moved to 95 percentile overall and 85 percentile in each CAT section. In the previous 2025–27 admission cycle, the corresponding minimums were 80 overall and 70 in each section.

That does not mean a 95 percentile automatically produced an IIM Ahmedabad interview call. These were preliminary screening thresholds. Candidates who cleared them still competed through IIMA's composite-score shortlisting process, which considered CAT performance along with the candidate's academic and application profile.

Reviewed by Kaushik Kapoor

Co-founder and Director of Erudite, a premium MBA entrance coaching institute headquartered in Kolkata. An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, with over 25 years of experience in mentoring students, MBA entrance preparation, test-prep strategy, and academic training.

What Changed in the IIM Ahmedabad Selection Criteria for 2026–28?

The most significant change was the minimum CAT threshold used for preliminary screening. For the main non-PwD categories, both the overall percentile requirement and the sectional requirement increased by 15 percentile points.

The earlier figures come from IIMA's official CAT 2024 shortlisting document for the 2025–27 batch, while the revised figures appear in its CAT 2025 criteria for the 2026–28 batch.

Students should therefore distinguish between a minimum qualifying CAT cutoff and the score ultimately required to receive an AWT–PI shortlist. Clearing the figures in the table only made a candidate eligible to remain in the process.

Read IIM Ahmedabad’s official PGP 2026–28 shortlisting criteria

IIM Ahmedabad CAT 2025 Cutoffs for the 2026–28 Batch

IIMA published separate minimums for non-PwD and PwD applicants.

The sectional figure applies individually to VARC, DILR and QA. IIMA also specified that transgender candidates in the General category would be subject to the same cutoffs as NC-OBC candidates.

This creates an important situation that CAT aspirants sometimes overlook. Suppose a General-category candidate scores 97 percentile overall but gets 82 percentile in DILR. Despite a very strong overall result, that candidate would not satisfy IIMA's 85-percentile sectional requirement for the 2026–28 process.

The institute's January 2026 shortlisting document recorded 8,838 CAT candidates at the preliminary screening stage, compared with 33,630 in the previous cycle's published shortlisting document. That difference should not be attributed entirely to the higher cutoff because the applicant pool and CAT score distribution also change between years.

Clearing the CAT Cutoff Did Not Guarantee an AWT–PI Call

This is arguably the most important part of the IIM Ahmedabad selection criteria.

IIMA's Application Rating, or AR, incorporated Class 10 performance, Class 12 performance, bachelor’s-level performance, full-time work experience and gender diversity. The normalized application rating then contributed 35% to the pre-interview Composite Score, while the normalized overall CAT score contributed 65%. (Testweb OCI)

The formula was:

Composite Score = 0.35 × Normalized Application Rating + 0.65 × Normalized Overall CAT Score

Therefore, two candidates with comparable CAT performance could still have different composite scores because their academic records, work experience or other AR components differed.

IIMA also used stream- and category-specific school-performance conditions in its discipline-based Stage 1 process. For General/EWS applicants, the required average of Class 10 and Class 12 percentages was at least 80 for Science, 77 for Commerce and 75 for Arts & Humanities. Different thresholds applied to other categories.

Graduation performance could matter separately as well. In the relevant academic-category route, IIMA used a bachelor's-performance threshold tied to the 80th percentile of marks in the applicable academic-category applicant group, rather than applying one universal graduation percentage to every candidate.

This is why statements such as "95 percentile is enough for IIM Ahmedabad" are misleading. For General/EWS applicants, 95/85 was the minimum CAT gate, not an interview guarantee.

The Sectional Cutoff Change Matters as Much as the Overall Cutoff

For preparation purposes, the move from 80/70 to 95/85 for General/EWS candidates changes how an IIMA aspirant should think about CAT mocks.

A student cannot simply maximise the strongest section and hope a high overall percentile compensates for one weak area. Each section effectively becomes an independent eligibility condition.

That makes sectional analysis essential. After every CAT mock, an IIMA-focused candidate should pay attention not only to the overall score but also to VARC, DILR and QA individually. If one section repeatedly trails the others, that is a selection risk even when the total score appears competitive.

This is particularly relevant to the preparation structure offered by MBA PrepLab, powered by Erudite. Its official CAT programmes list 400+ hours of live classes and 650+ mocks, together with topic-based tests, concept-building tests, sectional tests, simulated mocks, assignments and doubt-clearing support. (MBA PrepLab)

Rather than using that testing volume simply to accumulate mock attempts, an IIMA aspirant should use it diagnostically. If DILR is the bottleneck, for example, timed DILR sectionals and post-test set-selection analysis may be more valuable for several weeks than repeatedly taking full-length mocks without correcting the underlying weakness.

Explore MBA PrepLab CAT preparation programmes

What Happened at the Final Selection Stage?

CAT remained important after the interview shortlist, but it did not dominate IIMA's final selection formula for the 2026–28 batch.

IIMA's published admission procedure assigned 50% to the Personal Interview, 10% to AWT, 25% to CAT and 15% to Application Rating. (Testweb OCI)

The implication is important. The increased CAT cutoff made getting through the initial funnel harder, but once shortlisted, the interview became the largest component of final selection.

The correct conclusion is therefore not that "CAT became everything." A better interpretation is that IIMA required a much stronger CAT floor before academics, profile factors, AWT and PI could influence the eventual admission outcome.

How Should an IIM Ahmedabad Aspirant Prepare Differently?

The first priority should be building a sectional safety margin rather than merely touching the published minimum.

A mock percentile can fluctuate because of paper difficulty, slot dynamics and small changes in accuracy. Preparing to sit exactly at 85 in a section leaves little margin. A student targeting IIM Ahmedabad should instead work toward consistent strength across all three sections while continuing to raise the overall CAT score.

The second priority is identifying whether a weak section is suffering from conceptual gaps or test strategy. A candidate struggling with QA because algebra fundamentals are incomplete requires a different intervention from someone who knows the concepts but attempts the wrong questions under time pressure.

MBA PrepLab's official platform includes sectional tests, CAT-aligned mocks, topic tests, a Basic Building Module and a 99%ile practice component within its listed full-course structure. These formats allow candidates to move between concept correction, sectional execution and complete exam simulation rather than treating preparation as one continuous series of full mocks. (MBA PrepLab)

Students can also begin with the free resources currently listed by MBA PrepLab, including a demo class, one free mock, a concept test and one sectional test from each CAT section. That gives an aspirant a way to assess the platform and identify initial weaknesses before choosing a longer programme. (MBA PrepLab)

For topic-level planning, aspirants can also use PrepLab's current CAT preparation guides, which cover section-wise priorities across VARC, DILR and QA. (MBA PrepLab)

See MBA PrepLab’s CAT important-topics guide

Why Your Academic Profile Still Matters

A higher CAT cutoff does not erase the impact of past academics.

Suppose two candidates achieve almost identical CAT results but one has consistently stronger Class 10, Class 12 and graduation performance. Their Application Ratings may differ, which can influence the pre-interview Composite Score. IIMA's procedure also awards application-rating points for eligible work experience and gender diversity. (Testweb OCI)

Aspirants cannot change Class 10 or Class 12 marks, so spending preparation time worrying about an unchangeable profile is rarely productive. The useful approach is to understand the profile accurately and then maximise the controllable variables: CAT score, current graduation performance where applicable, work-experience documentation, and AWT–PI preparation after receiving a call.

This is another reason a preparation system should be profile-aware rather than based on a single universal percentile target. Erudite and MBA PrepLab provide CAT preparation across classroom and online formats, along with mocks and post-CAT GD-PI-WAT preparation listed on Erudite's official website. (CAT Coaching Kolkata)

Two Examples That Make the New Criteria Clear

Consider a General-category non-PwD candidate with 97.2 overall percentile, 98 in VARC, 96 in QA and 83 in DILR. The candidate would fail the preliminary IIMA requirement because DILR is below 85, irrespective of the 97.2 overall percentile.

Now consider an NC-OBC non-PwD candidate with 92 overall and 82, 81 and 84 across the three sections. This candidate clears the published 90 overall and 80 sectional minimums. However, clearing them does not itself guarantee AWT–PI shortlisting because the subsequent composite-score and academic-profile rules still apply.

These examples illustrate three separate concepts: minimum CAT cutoff, AWT–PI shortlisting score and final admission score. They should never be treated as interchangeable.

Does the 2026–28 Policy Apply to CAT 2026 Aspirants?

No. The 2026–28 batch was selected through CAT 2025. Candidates taking CAT 2026 are applying to IIMA's PGP 2027–29 batch and should use the admission policy for that cycle.

Interestingly, IIMA's current 2027–29 policy retains the same published non-PwD CAT minimums—95/85 for General/EWS, 90/80 for NC-OBC, 85/75 for SC and 75/65 for ST—but changes other elements of the composite-score and final-selection framework.

Therefore, candidates should always consult the admission policy applicable to their exact CAT year rather than relying on an older article or cutoff table.

Check IIM Ahmedabad’s current PGP admission policy

FAQs on IIM Ahmedabad Selection Criteria Changed for 2026–28

Final Takeaway

The IIM Ahmedabad selection criteria changed for the 2026–28 batch most visibly through a steep increase in CAT qualifying percentiles. For General/EWS non-PwD candidates, the move from 80 overall and 70 sectional to 95 overall and 85 sectional made carrying a weak CAT section significantly more consequential. Similar 15-point increases applied to NC-OBC, SC and ST non-PwD candidates.

But the cutoff was only the first gate. IIMA continued to use CAT performance together with the Application Rating for interview shortlisting, followed by an AWT–PI-driven final selection in which the Personal Interview carried the highest weight.

For aspirants, that calls for a two-part strategy: build a CAT score with no vulnerable section, and understand how your profile affects the stages that follow the exam.

Students looking for a structured preparation system can explore MBA PrepLab powered by Erudite, begin with its free CAT resources, and use its topic tests, sectionals and full mocks to determine whether the biggest constraint is conceptual clarity, speed, accuracy or question selection. (MBA PrepLab)