Key Takeaways
- In the CAT 2025 cycle, four IIMs (Raipur, Kashipur, Ranchi and Trichy) ran the Joint Admission Process (JAP), three (Bodh Gaya, Jammu and Sirmaur) ran the Common Admission Process (CAP), and the other IIMs ran their own processes
- JAP and CAP each use one common personal interview (PI) for the participating IIMs, and each IIM then applies its own weights to build its merit list
- The PI weight differs widely: 50% at IIM Ahmedabad, 48% at IIM Calcutta, 45% at IIM Indore, 40% at IIM Bangalore and IIM Lucknow, and 35% at IIM Kozhikode in the CAT 2025 cycle
- Notices for the CAT 2026 cycle come from the IIMs themselves after the results in January 2027, so treat the last cycle as a guide
- The CAT score earns the interview call, and the interview and profile factors decide the offer
After CAT, an IIM call can come through one of several routes. Some IIMs run their own shortlist and interview. Others share one interview with partner IIMs. This page explains the routes as they ran in the CAT 2025 cycle (the batch that joined in 2026), and how to prepare for each.
The Routes at a Glance
| Route | IIMs in the CAT 2025 cycle | Interview |
|---|---|---|
| Own process | Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Indore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Udaipur | Separate interview at each IIM |
| JAP | Raipur (coordinator), Kashipur, Ranchi, Tiruchirappalli | One common PI |
| CAP | Bodh Gaya (coordinator), Jammu, Sirmaur | One common offline PI |
| SAP | IIM Bodh Gaya's 2025-27 policy allowed a supplementary round | Set by the IIM |
Other IIMs, such as Rohtak, Shillong, Amritsar, Sambalpur, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati, publish their own notices. The CAT 2026 information bulletin lists 22 IIMs and says each IIM sets its own eligibility, academic cut-offs and weights.
JAP: One Interview for Four IIMs
JAP was new in the CAT 2025 cycle. As IIM Raipur's admission policy describes it, the process has two common steps for all four IIMs:
- Mandatory online registration after the CAT results, once you receive the invitation email
- Shortlisting for the personal interview
The PI is conducted jointly, and after it IIM Raipur prepares its own category-wise merit list. Its final score is out of 150 marks: CAT index score 50, PI score 40, class X score 15, class XII score 15, work experience 15, gender diversity 8, profile score 5 and academic diversity 2. To enter the merit list, IIM Raipur asks for at least 60% in graduation for General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates, 50% for SC and 45% for ST and PwD candidates. The other three IIMs publish their own weights.
CAP: One Interview for Three IIMs
In the CAT 2025 cycle, IIM Bodh Gaya's policy named three IIMs in CAP: Bodh Gaya, Jammu and Sirmaur, with a personal interview in offline mode coordinated by IIM Bodh Gaya. The policy gave reference cutoffs for General candidates of 75 in each section and 95 overall, to be finalised after the CAT result.
IIM Bodh Gaya's merit list gave 50% to the CAT score, 25% to what it calls Personal Appearance and 25% to profile. Personal Appearance is the policy's term for the interview stage, which the personal appearance explainer covers in detail.
CAP was larger in the cycle before. The 2025-27 policy listed eight IIMs: Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Kashipur, Nagpur, Ranchi, Sirmaur, Trichy and Udaipur. Three of them (Kashipur, Ranchi and Trichy) moved to JAP, and IIM Udaipur and IIM Nagpur moved to their own processes, so the group shrank to three.
Own Process: BLACKI and Others
BLACKI stands for Bangalore, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Kozhikode and Indore. Each of these IIMs shortlists on its own and runs its own interview. The final-selection weights they published for the CAT 2025 cycle (batch 2026-28) were:
| IIM | Personal interview | Written test | CAT | Other components |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | 50 | AWT 10 | 25 | Application rating 15 |
| Calcutta | 48 | WAT 8 | 30 | Work experience 8, academic diversity 6 |
| Bangalore | 40 | WAT 10 | 25 | Class X 5, class XII 5, bachelor's 5, work experience 10 |
| Lucknow | 40 | WAT 10 | 30 | Academics 10, diversity 5, work experience 5 |
| Indore | 45 | None listed | 40 | Class X 5, class XII 5, diversity 5 |
| Kozhikode | 35 | WAT 20 | 35 | Resume 10 |
IIM Ahmedabad changed its formula for the 2027-29 batch. Its policy says the final composite score is 50% PI, 10% AWT and 40% a composite of CAT (65%) and application rating (35%).
Sources for the table are the admission policies of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore and IIM Kozhikode.
Preparing Across Routes
Your story should stay the same across interviews: why an MBA, why now, and what you plan to do next. The emphasis can change with the route.
- JAP and CAP: One panel evaluates you for several IIMs. Keep your reasons tied to your goals and to what an MBA offers, and prepare a short answer on why you would join each IIM you selected.
- Own-process IIMs: Each interview is separate. Read that IIM's policy and prepare reasons specific to its programme, since generic answers say little about you.
Common Mistakes
Treating all IIM interviews the same. The route, the weights and the written test differ, so read each policy.
Relying on the CAT score. The CAT score earns the call. In the CAT 2025 cycle the PI outweighed CAT in the final score at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta and Lucknow.
Underestimating the written test. It carried 8% at IIM Calcutta, 10% at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Lucknow, and 20% at IIM Kozhikode.
Giving generic answers to why MBA. Panels hear the same lines many times.
Checking Notices for the CAT 2026 Cycle
CAT 2026 is on 29 November 2026 and results are likely in the first week of January 2027. IIM Ahmedabad published its 2027-29 policy on 11 September 2026, and IIM Bangalore published its 2027-29 process note in August 2026. Watch the IIM Raipur JAP page and the IIM Bodh Gaya admissions page for JAP and CAP notices, and read each policy fully before the interview. The interview timeline lists the dates published so far.
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