I often interact with CAT aspirants who are putting in serious effort to ace the exam, which is great. But I’m often surprised by how many are unaware of a crucial aspect: 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗜𝗠. Each IIM follows its own selection criteria, which includes 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝘁𝗵 & 𝟭𝟮𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 & 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲.
These factors 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁. Understanding this can help you 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 and focus on IIMs that match your profile.
I know it can be exhausting to dig through the selection criteria of all 21 IIMs, each buried in different parts of their websites. That’s why I’ve created an 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁 that brings together the 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱–𝟮𝟳 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲) 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟭 𝗜𝗜𝗠𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.
The sheet includes: updated selection criteria, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝘅 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀, 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀, and notes for easy understanding.
If you’re planning to take CAT 2025 or any future attempt, this sheet can help you plan your B-school journey more smartly.
PS: The sheet is based on latest available data (2025-27 cohort) and can change for upcoming batches.
You can download the sheet or access it through the link (will help in case of any changes, if required).