BLACKI IIMs Admissions 2026: Right to Information (RTI) signifies the percentile scores of candidates who secured admission to the BLACKI (IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore) IIMs during 2025. As per the previous year data, the cutoff for the institutions was even as low as 91 percent for candidates belonging to the general category due to the multi-parameter approach to the selection process.
Official admission results obtained through RTI debunk the myth that candidates securing the 99+ percentile are the only to get into the top IIMs. Even though the thresholds for initial screening and shortlisting the candidates are provided, the data present a different picture, using factors like academic accomplishments of applicants, work experience, Personal Interview (PI), and Written Ability Test (WAT) score. The article analyses the admission options at top IIMs and RTI data from BLACKI IIMs to show the true cutoff statistics for different categories and the meaning of these numbers for the MBA applicants.
Check| Inside IIM Ahmedabad Admission Data 2026: Check CAT Cutoffs & RTI Insight
IIM Bangalore: Previous Year Admission Cutoff
The admission data at IIM Bangalore highlights the 99 percentile. As per the table the lowest ranked General candidate admitted at IIM Bangalore obtained admission with a CAT percentile of 92.39 and below even for the reserved categories. Therefore, confirming that performance in the interview stage can make up for a lower CAT percentile.
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|
Category
|
Shortlisted for WAT-PI
|
Min Pre-PI Cutoff
|
Min CAT %ile Called
|
Min Post-PI Final Score
|
Min Admitted CAT %ile
|
Total Offers (Prime + WL)
|
|
General
|
707
|
53.9553
|
94.06
|
59.6879
|
92.39
|
311 (250 + 61)
|
|
NC-OBC
|
471
|
44.5504
|
75.57
|
47.9868
|
81.70
|
198 (170 + 28)
|
|
EWS
|
155
|
43.9053
|
86.10
|
47.9417
|
91.03
|
66 (50 + 16)
|
|
SC
|
299
|
38.4980
|
73.04
|
45.7769
|
73.04
|
123 (85 + 38)
|
|
ST
|
148
|
32.2555
|
66.82
|
37.8951
|
76.33
|
67 (60 + 7)
|
|
PwD
|
80
|
16.9550
|
60.16
|
31.0400
|
60.16
|
36 (26 + 10)
|
|
Total Flagship
|
1,860
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
801 (525 Enrolled)
|
IIM Ahemdabad: Previous Year Admission Cutoff
Candidates joining the Postgraduate program (PGP) in 2026-28 batch, the minimum CAT percentile for the General (Merit) category was92.20th percentile. While the minimum CAT percentile for the EWS category was 97.82 higher than the General category. Check complete percentile analysis shared in the table below.
|
Minimum CAT Percentile of Shortlisted Candidates for Interview (PGP)
|
||||||
|
BATCH
|
GEN
|
EWS
|
NCOBC
|
SC
|
ST
|
PwD
|
|
2026-28
|
95.34
|
96.41
|
90.66
|
85.83
|
75.83
|
77.48
|
|
Minimum CAT Percentile of Joined Candidates (PGP)
|
||||||
|
BATCH
|
GEN
|
EWS
|
NCOBC
|
SC
|
ST
|
PwD
|
|
2026-28
|
92.20
|
97.82
|
91.03
|
89.38
|
75.83
|
81.63
|
IIM Lucknow: Previous Year Admission Cutoffs
The admission statistics of IIM Lucknow reveal that students belonging to the open category and general section have received final offers on the basis of CAT percentile as low as 91.02 for male candidates and 97.07 for female candidates. This indicates that scoring high in the entrance exams alone does not ensure acceptance to the institute. There is also a large gap between the WAT-PI minimum cut-off percentile and final offer percentile, which shows that the interview performance needs to be excellent to compensate for the gap.
|
Category
|
WAT-PI Min Cutoff
|
WAT-PI Avg Score
|
Final Offer Min Score
|
Final Offer Avg Score
|
Min CAT %ile (M / F)
|
Total Offers
|
|
Open (General)
|
53.2367
|
58.2375
|
61.2367
|
65.6302
|
91.02 / 97.07
|
579
|
|
EWS
|
40.3657
|
46.4616
|
48.2254
|
53.8236
|
90.85 / 90.13
|
119
|
|
NC-OBC
|
38.7191
|
45.0347
|
48.1469
|
54.1404
|
87.93 / 86.20
|
389
|
|
SC
|
31.1258
|
37.1423
|
44.7337
|
49.8525
|
75.44 / 67.80
|
209
|
|
ST
|
21.9151
|
29.7291
|
34.9411
|
42.1188
|
60.30 / 69.59
|
124
|
|
PwD Subcategories
|
12.0216
|
30.7015
|
26.3278 – 39.8430
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32.8954 – 47.5465
|
60.16 / 75.51
|
60
|
|
Total
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
1,480
|
IIM Calcutta: Previous Year Admission Cutoff
The admission statistics of IIM Calcutta show that in terms of admission results with a total of 479 out of 480 approved seats filled through a total of 1,040 offers along with 349 waiting list moves. This statistic shows that there is very tough criteria, along with slight increase in final offer cut-off for General category students, which is 56.768 out of 100.
|
Category
|
Stage 1 Cutoff (/85)
|
Shortlisted Candidates
|
Final Offer Cutoff (/100)
|
Offers Issued
|
Waitlist Movement
|
Enrolled Class
|
|
Open (General)
|
56.105
|
956
|
56.768
|
471
|
117
|
233
|
|
EWS
|
51.010
|
70
|
56.432
|
20
|
14
|
9
|
|
NC-OBC
|
48.753
|
437
|
43.329
|
280
|
92
|
130
|
|
SC
|
42.305
|
459
|
44.766
|
175
|
79
|
72
|
|
ST
|
36.508
|
248
|
36.166
|
94
|
47
|
35
|
|
Total Batch
|
—
|
2,170
|
—
|
1,040
|
349
|
479 (Intake: 480)
|
IIM Kozhikode: Previous Year Admission Cutoff
Check the previous year admission cutoff for IIM Kozhikode shared in the table below.
|
Category
|
WAT-PI Min Cutoff
|
Shortlisted Candidates
|
Final Score Cutoff
|
Min Admitted CAT %ile
|
Offers Issued
|
Enrolled Class
|
|
General
|
63.1406
|
1,850
|
47.3042
|
91.03
|
777
|
219
|
|
NC-OBC
|
54.5605
|
1,200
|
38.9071
|
75.20
|
461
|
129
|
|
EWS
|
55.4460
|
400
|
42.4449
|
82.26
|
107
|
30
|
|
SC
|
48.5268
|
750
|
34.7486
|
67.80
|
267
|
67
|
|
ST
|
41.0356
|
360
|
26.8434
|
55.17
|
140
|
41
|
|
PwD
|
44.7634
|
140
|
34.7886
|
56.52
|
49
|
9
|
|
Total
|
—
|
4,700
|
—
|
—
|
1,801
|
495 (Vacancies: Nil)
|
What Does This Analysis Explains?
The previous year RTI data suggests that getting into older IIMs requires a 99+ percentile in the CAT exam is a misconception. Previous trends suggest that students from the general category with a very good academic record, professional experience, and interview performance have managed to get in with a percentile as low as 91. It is because the marks scored in the entrance examination become less important in the selection process, making the Personal Interview the deciding factor that can carry up to 40% to 50% of your total score.
Since the top students always have options, the management college offers more admission than they actually have seats. The colleges like IIM Indore and Kozhikode issue offers to 3 to 4 times as many people as the seats available and have cleared the huge waitlists. However, IIM Indore has achieved to make women a majority (54.2%) of its batch.
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