CAT 2025: IIM Lucknow assigns 30% weightage to exam for MBA admissions
Vagisha Kaushik | August 16, 2025 | 09:00 PM IST | 3 mins read
CAT 2025 will be held on November 30. IIM Lucknow announces MBA admission policy for 2026-28 batch.
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The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow has announced the admission policy for MBA programmes for the academic session 2026-28, based on the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025. The institute has given 30% weightage to exam scores.
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As per the IIM Lucknow PGP admission criteria 2025, Class 12 scores will carry a weightage of 5% while the weightage of graduation scores has been set at 5%.
Ranked 7th in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), the IIM follows a two-stage selection process for Post Graduate Programme (PGP) admissions including shortlisting for Writing Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) based on eligibility criteria and composite score, and final selection based on six factors including CAT scores.
CAT 2025 will be conducted on November 30. IIM Kozhikode will announce the list of candidates shortlisted for stage 2 in the last week of January 2026 and final merit list for admissions around the second week of May 2026.
IIM Lucknow MBA admissions 2026-28
IIM Lucknow selection criteria 2026 through CAT 2025 has been explained below.
Stage 1: Eligibility criteria for WAT-PI
The first stage has been divided into three sections – determining the eligibility of candidates based on CAT percentile, calculation of composite scores, scheduling of test and interview.
Stage 1a: Minimum CAT percentile cut-offs
Candidates will be shortlisted for WAT based on CAT 2025 score and other parameters like academic performance and gender diversity. The minimum sectional and total CAT cut-off 2025 percentiles required to be eligible for the test are as follows:
Category | VARC | DILR | QA | Total |
General | 85 | 85 | 85 | 90 |
EWS | 77 | 77 | 77 | 82 |
NC-OBC | 77 | 77 | 77 | 82 |
SC | 55 | 55 | 55 | 65 |
ST | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
PwD | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
Also read CAT 2025: Is paying Rs 30 lakh for MBA at IIM Ahmedabad worth it? 100% placements say yes
Stage 1b: Calculation of composite score
Only those candidates who secure the minimum sectional and total percentiles for the respective category in CAT 2025 will be considered for Stage 1b. The composite scores will be calculated as follows.
Component | Weight (MBA) | Method of Scoring |
Scaled CAT score (CS) | 60 | CS=(Candidate’s CAT scoreHighest CAT score of 2025)×60CS = \left( \frac{\text{Candidate's CAT score}}{\text{Highest CAT score of 2025}} \right) \times 60CS=(Highest CAT score of 2025Candidate’s CAT score)×60 |
HSC marks (12M) | 10 | 12M=(max(P,80)−8020)×1012M = \left( \frac{\max(P, 80) - 80}{20} \right) \times 1012M=(20max(P,80)−80)×10, where P = Candidate's Class 12 percentile (based on 5-year pooled CAT data by board/discipline) |
Graduation marks (GM) | 10 | Normalized by academic discipline using: GM=10×[12+12×(Candidate’s Grad Score−μσ)]GM = 10 \times \left[ \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{2} \times \left( \frac{\text{Candidate's Grad Score} - \mu}{\sigma} \right) \right]GM=10×[21+21×(σCandidate’s Grad Score−μ)] |
(GM values will be scaled between 0–10, where μ = mean and σ = standard deviation for the discipline) | ||
Work Experience (WE) | 10 | If x > 6, then WE=min((x−6)×0.5,10)WE = \min((x - 6) \times 0.5, 10)WE=min((x−6)×0.5,10) Where x = months of work experience as of July 31, 2025 |
Diversity Factor: Academic Discipline (DFa) | 5 | If Non-Engineering background, DFa = 5; otherwise, DFa = 0 |
Diversity Factor: Gender (DFb) | 5 | If Gender = Female, DFb = 5; otherwise, DFb = 0 |
Total Composite Score | 100 |
Stage 1c: Scheduling of WAT-PI
Shortlisted candidates will be required to fill in and submit the WAT-PI form online by the stipulated deadline. The candidates who fail to submit their WAT-PI form online by the prescribed time limit will not be allowed for the WAT-PI process.
Stage 2: Final selection of candidates
The final merit list of candidates will be prepared based on the candidate's performance in CAT 2025, academic performance, diversity factor, work experience, WAT, and PI. The minimum passing marks for PI are 12 out of 40. The weightage assigned to various factors is given below.
Component | Weightage |
Common Admission Test (CAT) | 30 |
Academic Performance (12M + GM) | 10 (5 + 5) |
Diversity Factor (DFa + DFb) | 5 |
Work Experience | 5 |
Writing Ability Test (WAT) | 10 |
Personal Interview (PI) | 40 |
Total Final Score | 100 |
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