IIM Call Cutoff Vs IIM Eligibility Cutoff - Know the Difference

IIM Eligibility Cutoff refers to the minimum marks that are required for a candidate to be eligible for the IIM admission process, whereas the IIM Call Cutoff on the other hand refers to the minimum marks that a candidate requires to be called for the interview round at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs).

As per the past year's trends, the qualifying cutoff for IIM Ahmedabad is expected to be around 80 percentile whereas the final cutoff is expected to be around 99-100 percentile. For IIM Bengaluru and IIM Calcutta, the qualifying cutoff maybe around 90 percentile, and the final cutoff may reach around 99-100 percentile. The CAT exam is scheduled for 24th November 2024 and the result should be released in the first week of January 2025. Post the results are announced, the IIM Selection process will begin.

Difference Between IIM Eligibility Cutoff and IIM Call Cutoff

As per the official notification released on CAT website, we can expect CAT Result to be released in the first week of January 2025 and the participating IIMs will shortlist candidates based on the marks obtained by them in CAT 2024 after the declaration of CAT Result.

For all the candidates who aspire to take admission at an IIM, it is extremely crucial for the candidates to know the difference between the IIM Eligibility Cutoff and the IIM Call Cutoff. This difference will help them understand the key differences between the two, and will also help them in analysing the appropriate college that they can apply to based on their marks. IM Eligibility Cutoff refers to the minimum marks that are required for a candidate to be eligible for the IIM admission process, whereas the IIM Call Cutoff on the other hand refers to the minimum marks that a candidate requires to be called for the interview round at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The eligibility cutoffs are often lower than the call cutoff so that the aspirants can participate in the IIM admission process. Aspirants however, should keep the following things in mind.

Also See: CAT Cutoff

• Each participating institute that accepts CAT Score declares their own CAT Cutoffs required for admission.
• Candidates must be aware of the fact that there is no official call cutoff for the aspirants of CAT Exam.
• The institutes announce both sectional and overall cut offs that must be satisfied by candidates in order to be eligible for the second round of admission procedure.

IIM Eligibility Cutoff and IIM Call Cutoff

In all the IIMs the eligibility and call cutoffs are different. The eligibility cutoff is released by the institutions as per their discretion, while the IIM Call Cutoff  depends upon the number of applications released by an institution. Check the expected IIM Eligibility Cutoff and IIM call Cutoff for the upcoming exam below.

IIM Eligibility Cutoff - Category-Wise

The IIM Eligibility cutoff is the minimum score that a candidate must secure to be able to participate in the IIM Selection process. This cutoff is released before the CAT results are declared and is different for all institutes. Also, the cutoff is different for each category and for each section. Check this cutoff presented in the table below.

What leads to the difference between IIM Eligibility Cut off and IIM Call Cut off?

Candidates need to understand that there is a vast difference between the IIM Eligibility and IIM Call Cutoffs. We have described the difference in detail in the context above. However, aspirants also need to understand that why does this difference exist. The major reason behind this is the way the cutoffs are calculated. IIM Eligibility cutoff specifies the minimum score that the institute will accept for calling the candidates for the WAT/PI rounds. On the other hand, the IIM Call Cutoff is released by the IIMs when the institutes start shortlisting candidates from the top of the merit list.

IIMs receive thousands of applications for the admission, however, they cannot call everyone for the interview. IIMs shortlist only 3 times the number of seats available in the course. So if there are 500 seats, it will shortlist 1500 students for the WAT/PI. To shortlist the candidates, IIMs create a merit list, and only those who have applied through the CAT application form and cleared the IIM Eligibility cutoff are considered in this merit list.

Read About: CAT Eligibility

Factors Affecting the IIM Call Cutoff

There are certain factors that affect the IIM Call Cutoff. While the IIM eligibility cutoff is pre defined, the IIM call cutoff does not come into existence until the CAT results are announced. These factors are listed below.

• The number of candidates who applied for IIM
• Number of candidates that appeared for the CAT exam
• Number of sanctioned intakes in the PGP course of an IIM