IIM Shillong Cutoff: CAT 2026 Status and Historical Floors

IIM Shillong has not published the domestic PGP 2027-29 selection policy for CAT 2026. The current admissions listing retains the 2026-28 policy based on CAT 2025. The cutoffs and scoring rules below are from that previous cycle.

These were sectional percentile floors. The table did not prescribe an overall percentile cutoff. For example, 75 in the Others row meant 75 separately in VARC, DILR and QA; it did not mean that 75 overall guaranteed an interview.

The policy used the categories DA, ST, SC, EWS and Others. It did not list a separate NC-OBC cutoff row. Keep these institute-specific groupings distinct from the general CAT reservation categories.

Applicants also needed to have selected IIM Shillong PGP in the CAT form. After the initial filter, the institute ranked candidates using CAT performance, academic records and work experience. Minimum percentiles and an actual shortlist were different decisions.

Academic Ratings, Work Experience and the Shortlist Score

The shortlist combined 65% CAT total percentile and 35% Normalised Application Rating Score (NARS). Application Rating Score was A + B + C + D: Class 10, Class 12, graduation and eligible work experience respectively.

Boundary note: the source printed zero school points for below 74.99% and zero graduation points for below 69.99%. It did not clearly allocate the exact 74.99% school or 69.99% graduation boundary. Applicants at those boundaries need an institute clarification; rounding them into another band would change the rule.

The academic score applies separately to each qualification. At 82%, Class 10 or 12 received five points, while graduation received six. Using the same points for every qualification would therefore give an incorrect application rating.

For example, Class 10 at 92%, Class 12 at 86%, graduation at 78% and 20 months of eligible work gave A = 9, B = 8, C = 4 and D = 14, for an ARS of 35. This example calculates the published raw components only.

NARS divided an individual's ARS by the average of the top 50 ARS values among CAT 2025 applicants who had selected Shillong. That applicant-pool value is needed for normalisation; an individual profile alone cannot reveal the exact normalised score.

How Academic Discipline and Category Affected the Shortlist

The institute distributed interview opportunities across academic disciplines, social categories and genders, then ranked candidates within the relevant group by composite score. It was not one common list sorted only by overall CAT percentile.

A degree's subject mattered more than a broad BA or BSc label. Psychology fell in AC-5, while BA degrees in economics, geography, geology, mathematics, management or statistics followed their respective field classifications. The institute made the final discipline assignment.

For dual undergraduate degrees, the qualifications had to be entered separately. An integrated master's or dual programme directly after Class 12 followed its integrated discipline. A later higher degree was not automatically a replacement for the undergraduate route.

The historical shortlist distribution allocated 10% to EWS, 7.5% to ST, 15% to SC and 67.5% to Others, with the specified rounding rules. Five per cent of shortlisted candidates in the non-EWS category groups were to comprise DA candidates. These were interview-shortlist allocations, not a standalone seat-matrix table.

Within a category, the discipline allocation depended on that discipline's relative representation among applicants, with at least one place in the formula for a represented discipline. The groups were then split by the proportion of genders appearing in CAT 2025. This explains why a single overall-percentile number cannot reproduce every applicant's shortlist outcome.

Interview Cutoffs and Final Selection Weights

Candidates had to clear minimum standards in both communication proficiency and PI. Communication was a qualifying assessment, not an extra weighted component in the final score.

The CAT component changed between stages: shortlist calculations used total percentile, while final selection used CAT scaled score. The final score also included ARS, PI and gender; it was not a direct admission conversion from percentile.

For gender diversity, the policy awarded a score of ten to every candidate except those belonging to the gender with the largest proportion appearing in CAT 2025. That wording should not be replaced with an unsupported claim that the benefit applied to one named gender only.

Only candidates attending the process and meeting both minimum performance standards received the overall-score calculation. Offers followed the resulting rank and available seats. The institute did not promise admission at a fixed overall-score cutoff.

The CAT interview guide covers preparation for the later stage. A high CAT percentile did not remove Shillong's separate communication and interview gates.

Eligibility, Interview Form and Supporting Documents

The domestic PGP route required a recognised bachelor's degree with 50% marks, relaxed to 45% for SC, ST and DA applicants. Final-year students could apply subject to completion and final-document conditions. Use the institution's CGPA conversion; the ratio to maximum CGPA applies only when no institutional conversion scheme exists.

School marks included every subject on the marksheet. Letter grades required the appropriate conversion certificate. Applicants claiming work experience needed valid supporting records, including relevant experience or relieving documentation and EPF/NPS account evidence where applicable. Unverifiable work claims could not earn rating points.

Shortlisted applicants were informed through the institute website, email and SMS. They also had to complete the separate interview form correctly within the stated window. A shortlist notification alone did not complete this step; failure to submit the form ended consideration.

For the 2026-28 intake, final degree proof was due by 31 December 2026. This is a historical document deadline, not the completion date for students applying through CAT 2026. The CAT academic eligibility guide covers examination eligibility separately from institute admission.

Waiting-list movement depended on vacancies after earlier offers. Shillong provided overall scores to qualifying interviewed candidates; it did not disclose the relative shortlist composite/rank in the same way. At the end of admission, the lowest offered overall scores in the respective categories were communicated to unsuccessful waitlisted candidates.

This guide concerns the two-year domestic PGP. PGPEx, working-executive and overseas routes have their own tests, experience conditions and application schedules. Their dates cannot be used as the domestic CAT-based PGP schedule.

Cutoff and Profilesection floors, ratings and shortlist groups Interview and Admissionqualifying gates, final weights and documents

1. Previous-Year Sectional Cutoffs
2. Academic and Work Rating Reference
3. Shortlist Grouping

1. Interview Gates and Final Weights
2. Interview and Admission Records