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If you are on the waitlist for an admission offer from an Indian Institute of Management (IIM), then, knowing the waitlist movement is crucial. A lot of candidates who are called in the first list refuse the offer. However, when that happens, IIMs start calling the candidates on their waitlist to fill those empty chairs. How many people from the waitlist receive offers depends on multiple factors, including the number of applications each year, the number of students accepting their first offer, and the total number of seats to fill.
What is the IIM Waitlist Movement?
This is because not all candidates who get admission to IIMs confirm their seats when IIMs declare admission results. The options may include foreign B-schools, ISB, or other B-schools in the likeliness of top institutes such as FMS, XLRI, or SPJIMR.
Then, to replenish these vacant seats, IIMs commence contacting candidates from the waitlist. Waitlist movement refers to the process of admitting students from the waitlist.
Updates on the Waitlist Movement for IIMs 2025
Here are some need-to-know facts about the 2025 waitlist process:
There will be several rounds of waitlist results from May through July 2025. Top IIMs, such as those of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta, typically have little waitlist movement. That’s due to most of the students choosing to accept their offers.
Further, for the newer IIMs, including Sirmaur, Bodh Gaya,, and Jammu, the waitlist movement is heavier. Because everyone has better-ranked colleges to go to, a greater number of people get a chance from the waitlist. There is usually more waitlist movement among reserved categories (SC, ST, OBC). Seats under these categories often do not fill up in the first round.
Factors Influencing Waitlist Movement for IIMs 2025
- Acceptance Rate: The waitlist moves slowly if many top candidates take their seats at the IIMs. The waitlist moves quickly if a lot of students reject the offer.
- Number of Seats: More seats available typically means more waitlist movement at colleges. So, IIM Indore and IIM Lucknow have more seats than IIM Ahmedabad.
- Other College Admissions: Quite a few students also receive calls from ISB, MS, XLRI, SR, JIMR, or even foreign business schools. If they select those, subsequently, more seats become available in the IIMs.
- Reservation Quotas: For each category (General, EWS, OBC, SC, ST, PwD), the waitlist movement is different.
- This leads to more churn in the reserved categories since many fewer candidates will qualify to accept offers straight away.
Expected IIM Waitlist Conversion Rates 2025
Here are expected IIM Waitlist Conversion Rates 2025; many of the waitlisted candidates can possibly get admitted:
Trends in Waitlist Movement (2019–2024)
Candidates can check trends in Waitlist Movement (2019-24), for a better idea. h
Here are previous waitlist movements:
IIM Ahmedabad
IIM Bangalore
IIM Calcutta
IIM Lucknow
IIM Kozhikode
IIM Indore
IIM Kashipur
IIM Trichy
IIM Rohtak
IIM Udaipur
IIM Nagpur
IIM Raipur
IIM Sambalpur
IIM Amritsar
IIM Jammu
IIM Visakhapatnam
IIM Sirmaur
IIM Bodh Gaya
Conclusion
The top IIMs, for example, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, experience hardly any waitlist movement because the majority of the selected students accept the offer. But the newer IIMs have rounder movements. If you are from a reserved category, you might have better chances as these lists are more fluid. Keep a tab on waitlist movements of your preferred IIMs and do not lose hope — a lot of candidates make it through the waitlist!
