One Strong Section Will Not Save You: How IIMs Use Sectional Cutoffs to Filter Candidates

Consider a candidate who scores 98.5 percentile overall in CAT and checks the IIM dashboards expecting several interview calls. None come from the top IIMs. The reason is a 72 percentile in DILR, when IIM Ahmedabad required at least 85 in every section for General category candidates.

This happens every year, because a minimum in each section is checked before any person reads the application. Knowing the minimums for your target IIMs tells you where to spend your preparation time.

What Sectional Cutoffs Are

CAT has three sections:

• VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension)
• DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning)
• QA (Quantitative Ability)

Each IIM publishes minimum percentiles for each section and for the overall score. You must clear every one of them. IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kozhikode also need a positive raw or scaled score in each section, and IIM Calcutta needs a non-negative raw score in each. The section minimums keep out candidates who are very weak in one area, however high the overall percentile.

Minimums for General Category Candidates

These are the minimums published for the CAT 2025 cycle (batch 2026-28).

IIM Bangalore lists its minimums in an annexure to its admissions process note, and the note for the 2027-29 batch shows the previous cycle's figures, for example 50 in each section and 60 overall for PwD candidates. Read the current annexure on the IIM Bangalore site for your category.

IIM Ahmedabad Minimums by Category

PwD candidates have lower minimums. In the General and EWS categories they need 75 in each section and 85 overall. IIM Ahmedabad's policy for the 2027-29 batch lists the same minimums for CAT 2026, and the CAT 2025 cycle policy shows the same table.

IIM Calcutta Minimums by Category

IIM Calcutta's admission procedure adds that the actual cutoffs may be much higher than these minimums, since they depend on how many candidates are called in each category.

Other minimums come from the policies of IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Bodh Gaya.

Minimums Are Not Call Cutoffs

The minimums are the first filter. After that, IIMs rank candidates on a shortlisting score. IIM Ahmedabad's shortlisting note of 9 January 2026 shows the gap. It lists 8,838 candidates through CAT who cleared the minimums, including 6,106 in the General category, and a much smaller group was shortlisted for the AWT and PI.

Sections also carry different weights inside the score. IIM Bangalore's pre-interview score gives 19 of its 55 CAT points to VARC, 21 to DILR and 15 to QA, and IIM Indore's final score gives 20 marks to VARC and 10 each to DILR and QA.

Two Example Profiles

A strong QA score with weak verbal and DILR scores

• VARC: 70 percentile
• DILR: 75 percentile
• QA: 99.9 percentile
• Overall: 95 percentile

Using the CAT 2025 cycle minimums for General candidates, this profile falls short at IIM Ahmedabad (VARC and DILR below 85), IIM Calcutta (VARC and DILR below 80), IIM Lucknow (VARC and DILR below 85), IIM Indore (below 80 in VARC and DILR) and IIM Kozhikode (VARC below 75).

A balanced profile

• VARC: 86 percentile
• DILR: 88 percentile
• QA: 85 percentile
• Overall: 91 percentile

This profile clears the minimums at IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore and IIM Kozhikode. It falls short of IIM Ahmedabad's overall minimum of 95. Clearing a minimum still leaves the shortlisting score to decide the call.

If You Are Writing CAT 2026

CAT 2026 is on 29 November 2026. Look up the minimums of the IIMs you care about, and check that your mock scores in every section sit comfortably above them. A section that is close to a minimum needs more practice time than a section that is well above it.

If a Section Falls Short After the Result

Option 1: Target IIMs Where You Clear the Minimums

Minimums differ. A 76 percentile in DILR falls short at IIM Ahmedabad (85) and IIM Calcutta (80), and clears the 75 minimum at IIM Kozhikode. IIMs with lower General category sectional minimums in the CAT 2025 cycle included IIM Kozhikode (75), IIM Bodh Gaya in CAP (75) and IIM Calcutta in QA (75).

Option 2: Look at Schools With Different Rules

• XLRI Jamshedpur uses XAT, and XAT 2027 is on 3 January 2027
• SPJIMR shortlists on profile and requires at least 75 in each CAT section and 85 overall for CAT 2026, according to its admissions page
• Other schools that accept CAT publish their own minimums and weights

Option 3: Write CAT Again

If your target is a specific IIM and your weak section is well below its minimum, writing CAT again with a plan for that section may make sense. A CAT 2026 score is valid till 31 December 2027.

Interview Strategy If You Barely Cleared a Minimum

Panels can see your scorecard, so a weak section may come up.

Acknowledge Without Apologising

Answer factually and briefly.

Weaker approach: "I had a really bad day in DILR. The set was extremely difficult."

Stronger approach: "My DILR score was lower than my other sections. I found I lose time on long logical reasoning sets, and I have been practising them every week."

Show Competence in Your Weak Area

If you barely cleared the QA minimum, expect quantitative questions.

• Review basic quantitative concepts
• Practise mental math regularly
• Be ready to walk through your reasoning aloud

Show What You Did After CAT

"DILR was my weakest area after CAT. Since then I practise data interpretation daily, and I use data analysis more in my work."

Cleared your sectional cutoffs and preparing for interviews?

The next filter is the interview itself. Rehearsal helps you build the retrieval fluency and composure that converts interview calls into admits.

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