IIM Jammu CAT Cutoff: CAP Reference

The 20 January 2026 CAP notice gave these CAT 2025 minimums for applying to the MBA admission process:

The sectional values applied to both groups in each row. ST and PwD candidates had different subject floors: 25 VARC, 30 DILR and 30 QA. A 30 overall percentile was not the CAP threshold for those categories in this notice.

These minimums allowed an application, not a guaranteed PI call. The notice stated that actual sectional or overall thresholds could be higher depending on how many candidates were called. It concerned MBA; specialised MBA programmes could have separate criteria.

The CAP notice differs from the indicative cutoff table on Jammu's main policy page. For the common CAP application stage, the dated notice gives General overall floors of 90 for male/gender-neutral and 85 for female/transgender candidates. These historical numbers are not announced CAT 2026 cutoffs.

The CAT cutoff guide distinguishes a registration minimum from a final admission score. Neither should be described as a guaranteed percentile for joining an IIM.

CAP Registration and Interview Process

CAP 2026 combined the interview process for IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur. Jammu coordinated the process, but each institute prepared its own final merit list.

1. Stage 1: expression of interest. Candidates meeting the relevant threshold submitted their programme choices. This mandatory step did not itself confirm an interview.
2. Stage 2: shortlisted candidates. Those notified after Stage 1 paid the application fee and selected an available PI slot. The slot-selection stage was not open to everyone who submitted interest.
3. After PI: each institute applied its own academic conditions and selection weights and issued its own offers.

A candidate shortlisted for multiple programmes attended one PI, with that interview score used for the subsequent processes. A common interview did not mean identical cutoffs or automatic offers from all three institutes.

Jammu's policy described a planned MBA 2026-28 batch of around 300. The figure was indicative for that intake, not a confirmed seat count for the next CAT cycle. The CAT admission process follows separate institute offer and acceptance timelines.

Final Merit Score and Academic Bands

Jammu's MBA 2026-28 final merit score added CAT, PI and profile marks:

CAT contribution = 0.42 x overall CAT percentile. At 95 percentile, this contributes 39.9 marks out of 42. It is not 42% of raw marks, and 39.9 is only one part of the final merit score.

The profile total of 28 consisted of academics ten, work ten and gender diversity eight. School and degree marks used separate bands:

For example, 92% in Class 10 earned two points, 88% in Class 12 earned two, and 82% in graduation earned two: six academic points out of ten. A high degree percentage did not replace lower school points, because the three qualifications had separate allocations.

The published ranges use two-decimal boundaries. The policy does not specify a rounding rule for finer percentages; a score just below a threshold should not be rounded into the next band without the institute's rule.

Female and transgender candidates received eight gender-diversity marks; male candidates received zero. The published final formula did not include a separate academic-diversity component. The IIM selection criteria vary, so non-engineering points from another institute should not be added here.

Work Experience and Required Proof

Work experience contributed up to ten points. Since only completed months counted, the published bands translate to:

Twelve completed months earned zero; thirteen earned four. The maximum applied at 25-36 months, then fell to seven at 37 months. More than 60 months earned zero work points, not an automatic rejection from the MBA.

Only full-time, paid work after graduation counted. Part-time work, projects, internships, training, apprenticeships, articleship and pre-graduation experience were excluded. Unpaid or cash-paid work did not qualify.

The proof depended on the employment situation:

A business claim required documents connecting the applicant to the firm and the relevant working period. Simply stating that the candidate helped in a family business did not establish the paid experience and documentary conditions.

Jammu's published page gives the completed-month scoring bands but does not state a work-duration cutoff date. A date used by Nagpur, JAP or another institute should not be substituted into Jammu's calculation.

Reservation and Category Conditions

Jammu applied Government of India reservation shares:

Category reservation and gender-diversity marks were different parts of the process. The former affected admission categories; the latter added points to the individual profile. Neither removed the need to meet the relevant admission conditions.

CAP also used different overall-percentile minimums for female/transgender candidates, as shown above. That reduced application threshold was separate from the eight gender-diversity marks in Jammu's final score.

A candidate's category, academics and work claims had to remain consistent with the supporting records. The CAT reservation rules cover the examination-level certificates; the institute's admission verification remained a separate requirement.

Acceptance Fee, Withdrawal and EOI Refund

The offer-acceptance amount was INR 50,000, payable by the offer deadline and adjusted against Term 1 fees. The previous intake's withdrawal deadline was 21 June 2026, 5:30 PM.

EOI and offer acceptance were not the same payment. An applicant who did not finally join could still fall under the EOI full-refund rule; that did not make a late Term 1 withdrawal refundable.

The institute scheduled refund initiation tentatively for the fourth week of August 2026, using online transaction reversals. That was a processing schedule, not evidence that every refund reached the account that week.

The listed admissions contact was mba.admissions@iimj.ac.in and 0191-2741414. Payment status, the relevant offer/withdrawal deadline and the transaction reference identify the case more precisely than a CAT percentile alone.

1. CAP Category and Gender Cutoffs
2. CAP Admission Sequence
3. Jammu Merit and Academic Reference

1. Work Bands and Proof
2. Reservation Reference
3. Offer and Refund Reference