IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2026: Eligibility, CAT Weightage & Admission Process

16 June, 2026

Radhika Joshi

IIM Bangalore has announced its selection criteria for the upcoming PGP MBA Batch of 2026-2028. The institute continues to follow a holistic admission process, with the CAT 2025 score carrying the highest weightage of 55% in the Pre-Personal Interview (Pre-PI) evaluation. Along with CAT performance, candidates are assessed based on their academic profile, work experience or professional qualifications, and diversity factors.

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore is widely recognised as one of India’s premier business schools and is consistently featured among the leading institutions globally for Business and Management Studies.

Additionally, since 2010, IIMB has been internationally accredited by the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). Known for its rigorous selection process, IIM Bangalore is often viewed as one of the most challenging IIMs to gain admission to, as it seeks out high-quality candidates.

Keep reading to get detailed information on the IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2026.

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2026: Application process: Stage I

The admission process for the PGP program at IIMB begins with filling out the online application form.

A first shortlist is created consisting of applicants who have achieved the minimum required score across all sections of CAT 2025. Only those candidates who obtain a positive raw score in every section of CAT 2025 will be considered. For reference, the admission percentile cut-off scores used for preparing the first shortlist in the previous admission cycle are outlined in Table 1 of Annexure I. All further processing, standardization, and selection will focus solely on candidates included in this initial shortlist.

Read More: CAT GDPI Preparation

A Pre-Personal Interview (PI) score is calculated for those on the first shortlist. The weight assigned to each component at the pre-PI stage is as follows:

Parameter	Weightage
CAT	55
10th score	10
12th score	10
Graduation	10
Work Experience/Professional Course (whichever weight is higher)	10
Gender Diversity	5
Total	100

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2025- Note: The 55 points for the CAT exam are calculated based on performance in its three sections: 19 points for Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC), 21 points for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and 15 points for Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The gender diversity aspect is considered solely when determining the pre-PI score and does not factor into subsequent stages.

The scores from both the 10th and 12th board examinations will be normalized. For candidates who do not have scores for either the 10th or 12th board exams (due to COVID-19), those components will not contribute to their overall assessment. Instead, the weights for the remaining components will be adjusted accordingly.
Bachelor’s degree scores are normalized. Incomplete or intermediate graduate scores will only be considered if the candidate’s final score is pending. For candidates who do not have a bachelor’s degree score due to COVID-19, no weightage will be assigned to this component, and the weightage for the other components will be readjusted accordingly.
Candidates holding certifications in Chartered Accountancy (CA), Cost Accounting (ICWA), or Company Secretary (CS) are eligible for additional weightage under the professional course category. The scores obtained in these professional courses (only for those who have completed their final year) are normalized to calculate the weightage.

The pre-PI score for work experience

= 10x/36 if 0 < x < 36

= 10 if x >= 36

In this context, “x” refers to the number of months of work experience accumulated up to July 2025. Please note that any time spent as an intern—whether during or after a degree program—will not be considered. Additionally, periods of apprenticeship, such as articleship required for certain professional courses, as well as any unpaid work performed in any organization or institution, will also not be taken into account.

Candidates who have completed the aforementioned professional course and also possess work experience will be considered if their work experience score is higher than their professional course score.

For all components mentioned above, the standardized score is calculated from the raw score, truncated between 0 and weight (wt), as follows: Max [0, min {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}]. Candidates who are on the first shortlist automatically qualify for the Personal Interview (PI) stage if they are among the top ten in any of the following categories: total score in the CAT exam, adjusted bachelor’s degree score (for commerce, arts, and science disciplines), and professional qualifications (CA, ICWA, or CS). After the PI stage, all these candidates will be evaluated similarly to all other applicants.

It is important to note that any false claims regarding employment will be taken very seriously. A candidate found to have provided incorrect information about their work experience will not be considered for admission.

Additionally, the candidate will be prohibited from applying to any program at IIMB for the next three years.

Based on the pre-interview scores, a specific number of candidates from each category will be selected to advance to the next stage of the admissions process.

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2026: Application process: Stage II

The second stage of the admissions process at IIM Bangalore consists of a Personal Interview (PI) and a Written Ability Test (WAT), during which candidates will be required to write a note.

– The PI and WAT will take place on the same day and at the same location. The duration of the WAT is approximately 30 minutes, and it will be evaluated based on both the content and style of the note.

– The weight assigned to work experience while calculating the Pre-PI score is reduced from 10 to 5 during the post-PI process in order to arrive at the composite score. This work experience score will be multiplied by the quality of the experience score. The quality of experience will be evaluated on a 5-point scale (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2) by each member of the interview panel. The average quality of work experience score will then be multiplied by the pre-PI work experience score to determine a revised weighted work experience score.

– For all candidates called for interviews, the weights for the parameters at the post-PI stage are as follows:

Parameter	Weightage
CAT	25
10th score	5
12th score	5
Graduation	5
Work Experience/Professional Course (whichever weight is higher)	10
WAT	10
PI	40
Total	100

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria Note: The 25 points for the CAT exam are allocated based on performance in three sections: Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC) – 8.75 points, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) – 10 points, and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) – 6.25 points.

Final admission offers to candidates in each category will be made strictly based on the post-interview (PI) scores.

IIM Bangalore 2026 Selection Criteria: ANNEXURE I

Cut-off scores used for preparing the first shortlist for the 2025-27 batch, based on CAT 2024.

Minimum Percentile requirements for the 1st shortlist*
Category	Section 1 (VARC)	Section 2 (DILR)	Section 3 (QA)	Aggregate
General	80	80	80	85
NC-OBC	70	70	70	75
EWS	70	70	70	75
SC	60	60	60	70
ST	55	55	55	65
PWD	50	50	50	60

*These cut-offs are provided for reference only and were used to prepare the first shortlist. The actual scores of candidates invited for interviews were significantly higher.