IIMs Sectional Cut Off 2025: Minimum Percentage Required for Admission

Raipur, Chattisgarh ESTD 2010

Securing admission in Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) requires more than a high overall CAT percentage because IIMs are one of the best institutes in India. One of the most critical components of the CAT-based admission process is the sectional cut-off

IIMs Sectional Cut Off 2025: Minimum Percentiles Required for Each Section

A minimum percentile that candidates must achieve in each section of the CAT exam:

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

These sectional cut-offs ensure that candidates possess a well-rounded proficiency across all domains of management aptitude, which is essential for success in rigorous MBA programs.

Sectional Cut Offs for Top IIMs (General Category)

Here are the minimum sectional cutoffs for some of the top IIMs in the general category. This is based on the data from previous years:

IIM	VARC	DILR	QA	Overall
IIM Ahmedabad	70	70	70	80
IIM Bangalore	80	80	80	85
IIM Calcutta	80	80	75	85
IIM Lucknow	85	85	85	90
IIM Indore	80	80	80	90
IIM Kozhikode	75	75	75	85

The above table only shows the minimum percentage to qualify for admission in the respective institutions. But for actual shortlisting, your score needs to be higher than this, because there are some programs with limited seats, so it requires that the candidates qualify, and every student gets a fair chance.

Sectional Cut Offs for Reserved Categories

IIMs follow the Government of India reservation norms and provide relaxation in cut offs for candidates from reserved categories such as EWS, NC-OBC, SC, ST, and PwD. They are:

Category	VARC	DILR	QA	Overall
EWS	65	65	65	75
NC-OBC	65	65	65	75
SC	60	60	60	70
ST	50	50	50	60
PwD	50	50	50	60

These cut-offs can vary slightly across IIMs based on the number of applicants in each category, historical trends, and seat availability.

Sectional Cut-Offs for New IIMs

The newer IIMs, often part of the Common Admission Process (CAP), have their own set of cut-offs:

IIM	VARC	DILR	AQ	Overall
IIM Shillong	75	75	75	90
IIM Nagpur	73	73	73	94
IIM Sambalpur	70	70	70	94
IIM Bodh Gaya	70	70	70	94
IIM Jammu	70	70	70	94

Factors Influencing Sectional Cut Offs

1. Exam Difficulty

If the CAT exam is really difficult in a given year, IIMs may lower the sectional and overall cut-offs to ensure a fair evaluation. And if the paper is easy, then the cutoffs will be higher.

2. Number of Applicants

An increase in the number of applicants can make the cutoffs go higher. Students with good academic scores and professional backgrounds are mainly the reason for an increase, because these factors also aid in the admission process.

3. Seat Availability

IIMs with fewer seats in their flagship programs are likely to have higher cut-offs. Programs that have a larger intake to students

4. Reservation Policies

IIMs allocate a certain percentage of seats to various categories. The number of seats reserved for each category and the number of applicants in those categories can influence the cut-offs.

5. Overall Candidate Pool Performance

If many students do well in a certain section, then IIMs raise the cutoff of that section to give a chance to qualified students.

Why Sectional Cut-Offs Matter

Sectional cut-offs serve several important purposes in the IIM admission process:

Ensuring Balanced Skill Set: The CAT exam isn't just for admission, it is to see if the future management students are doing well in those three sections which will be helpful in real-life applications too.
Reducing Over-Specialization: Students should do well in all sections and not rely on one section to score them the overall marks.
Promoting Fairness: Sectional cutoffs are used so that all the candidates get a fair chance.

Tips to Meet Sectional Cut-Offs

Meeting all three sectional cut-offs, along with the overall cut-off, requires a strategic and disciplined approach to CAT preparation. Here are some effective tips:

1. Balanced Preparation

Give a certain time for each section. Don't ignore any particular part because it seems uncomfortable or hard; doing so may result in the overall percentage being affected.

2. Practice Sectional Mocks

Mock tests help in identifying your strong and weak areas. Take the test that has time limits so you can practice your speed and efficiency too.

3. Time Management

We have heard about this from a very young age, but still, this advice is the best one so far. Time management is important, so try solving the easy questions first, then move on to the hard questions. That way, you can be sure about the number of questions you have attempted and got right.

4. Strengthen Fundamentals

In certain sections, like the DILR and QA, you need to practice more and understand the basic concepts. Never skip the basic concepts, as those help you solve questions faster.

5. Coaching and Mentorship

Let's be real, the CAT exam is hard, so if you are not able to do well on your own, then there is no shame in joining a coaching center, they can help you improve the weak parts.

Final Thoughts

Getting admission in IIM can be tough, but you need to have a balanced and strategic approach, practice properly so that you do well in all the sections of the exam, and timely guidance when things get hard on your own can help you clear all the required cutoffs. Getting that call from an IIM? It won't seem much difficult then.

Stay focused, practice smartly, and prepare with purpose!