IIMK - Indian Institute of Management Cutoff

IIM Kozhikode CAT cutoff: what the 2026-28 policy actually sets

IIM Kozhikode’s published domestic PGP policy for the 2026-28 batch uses CAT 2025 and lists minimum eligibility thresholds by category. The table is a screening floor, not an estimate of the score needed to receive an interview or an offer. It also is not a 2027-29 cutoff: the policy names the 2026-28 batch, so applicants for a later intake must use that intake’s policy when IIMK publishes it.

CAT and school-mark thresholds in the 2026-28 policy

TableCards

Category in the policy	CAT overall percentile	CAT sectional percentile	Class X minimum	Class XII minimum
General (GEN)	85	75	60%	60%
OBC-NCL / EWS	75	65	60%	60%
SC	65	55	55%	55%
ST / PwD	55	45	55%	55%

These are the minimum eligibility values printed for the 2026-28 PGP selection process. Overall percentile and sectional percentile are separate tests: meeting the overall threshold does not make up for a section below its own minimum. The policy also says a candidate must have a positive scaled score in every section of CAT 2025. Check your CAT scorecard against each requirement and use the category that the policy recognises for your application.

For Class X and XII, IIMK calculates the percentage using all subjects shown on the marksheet or gradesheet, whether or not a board includes each subject in its own aggregate. A grade is converted using the board’s conversion scheme; if no such scheme is provided, the policy describes using the candidate’s aggregate CGPA divided by the maximum possible CGPA, multiplied by 100. Applicants should read those calculation notes rather than assuming their board’s headline percentage is automatically the figure IIMK will use.

Degree and professional qualification rules also apply

A CAT percentile alone does not establish eligibility. The same policy requires a recognised bachelor’s degree with at least 60% aggregate marks and at least three years of education after 10+2 or equivalent. Candidates who have completed CA, CMA (ICWA) or CS can meet the stated qualification route with at least 50% aggregate in that examination. Candidates in the final year of a bachelor’s programme may apply provisionally, but must meet the policy’s completion and document-submission deadlines if selected.

The category table should therefore be read with the qualification and score rules together. A candidate who meets the General category CAT percentile but misses the degree requirement has not met the complete eligibility criteria. Likewise, the table does not replace IIMK’s reservation and document-verification instructions. The selection policy controls if a summary and the official notice appear different.

Eligibility threshold versus interview shortlist

IIMK’s policy separates minimum eligibility from the Stage 2 Aggregate Index Score (AIS) used to shortlist candidates for the next stage. For the 2026-28 batch, the AIS gives 50% weight to the CAT 2025 index score, 15% to the Class X percentage score, 20% to Class XII, 10% or 5% to gender or academic diversity, and 5% to work experience. The values in the eligibility table do not tell an applicant the AIS score or rank needed to receive an interview call.

This distinction explains why a minimum cutoff is not a promised shortlist outcome. The threshold says who clears the specified minimum screen; the later composite calculation uses several profile measures and can produce a different shortlist boundary by category. The policy material cited here does not state one universal final admission percentile. Do not relabel the minimum CAT numbers as the last-admitted score or a guaranteed interview cutoff.

How to check a CAT score against the table

1. Confirm that you are using the policy for the correct batch and exam session. The table here is CAT 2025 for domestic PGP 2026-28.
2. Select the category row that matches the documents and category under which you are applying.
3. Compare the overall CAT percentile and every sectional percentile separately. Also confirm a positive scaled score in each section where the policy requires it.
4. Check Class X, Class XII and degree marks using IIMK’s conversion instructions, then verify the degree duration or professional qualification route.
5. Read the next-stage shortlist and interview rules in the same batch’s policy. A minimum threshold is not a shortlist guarantee.

If your score clears every value in the 2026-28 table, it establishes only that you met those listed minimums for that specific policy. It does not predict a future batch’s filter or establish your chance of admission. If a later admission cycle uses a new CAT session or revised criteria, its official policy supersedes this historical table for that cycle. Keep the policy PDF, CAT scorecard, category documents and marksheets together when checking eligibility. If a later notice changes a threshold or calculation method, compare its batch, programme and CAT session before using it; do not carry one edition’s numbers into another application.