CAT 2026 Notification: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) is expected to release the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 notification soon, marking the start of the year's admission cycle for management programmes across the country. Last year, the CAT advertisement was published in July. The exam remains the primary gateway to Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses at IIMs and is used by several other business schools for admission.
The CAT score is an important criteria for IIM admission. However, aspirants must note that the list of candidates shortlisted for the next level of selection will be made available on the website of the respective IIMs. Each IIM will send interview letters to the shortlisted candidates directly, as per official information. It is also important to note that the criteria for shortlisting vary across IIMs.
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IIM Admission Process Explained
As per official information, the IIMs shortlist candidates for the interview stage based on their own criteria, which may be independent of each other. The process may include Writing Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI).
The performance of candidates in the CAT 2026 examination will be an important component in the admission process. IIMs may additionally use other factors such as the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience, gender and academic diversity and other similar inputs in shortlisting and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process.
The processes, academic cut-offs and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs.
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Most IIMs conduct a combination of interviews and written assessments; some also include group exercises or additional tests. In recent cycles many IIMs have continued with in-person interviews while some supplemented these with hybrid options.
