CAT Counselling Process 2025: Dates, Steps, Eligibility & Colleges

CAT Counselling Process 2025: The admission process for IIMs and other top B-schools through CAT 2025 is expected to begin shortly after the CAT 2025 Results are announced in December 2025. Shortlisting for WAT and PI rounds will likely start in January 2026 and continue through February. Most interviews will take place between February and April 2026, with final admission offers expected by May. Once selected, candidates will be asked to confirm their seat by paying the required fee and submitting their documents. The final steps, such as document checks and joining formalities, will be completed by June 2026.

Unlike centralized counselling, the CAT 2025 admission process will be carried out separately by each IIM and participating B-school. Some IIMs, especially the newer ones, will take part in the Common Admission Process (CAP), while others like IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta will conduct their own selection rounds. Institutes will follow multiple stages, shortlisting, WAT, PI, composite score calculation, and final offer lists, before filling MBA and PGDM seats. Along with IIMs, top institutes like FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, IITs, and SPJIMR will also admit students through CAT scores.

CAT Counselling Process 2025 Important Dates

There is no single window for CAT counselling. Instead, each IIM and top B-school follows its own schedule for admissions after CAT results are declared. The overall admission timeline usually begins in January, right after results, and runs until May or June, depending on the institute.

CAT Counselling Process 2025 Eligibility Criteria

To take part in the CAT 2025 admission process, you need more than just a decent score. Each IIM and B-school has its own way of filtering candidates, but the basic rules remain the same across the board.

To get into top IIMs or B-schools through CAT 2025, you need to meet a few basic conditions. These include your academic background, CAT score, and any institute-specific rules like work experience or past grades. Everything else, like interviews or written tests, comes after these basic checks.

Note: Qualifying CAT doesn’t guarantee admission. Candidates still need to go through further shortlisting rounds and meet each college’s cut-off and criteria.

Read: CAT Eligibility Criteria 2025

CAT Counselling Process 2025: Step-by-Step Process

After the CAT 2025 result is out, there is no single central counselling. Instead, each IIM and other top colleges carry out their own admission process. However, most of them follow similar steps, starting from shortlisting to final selection.

Here’s a clear breakdown of how it generally works:

1. Shortlisting for WAT/PI

Based on the CAT score, academic background, work experience, and diversity, institutes prepare a list of shortlisted candidates. Some newer IIMs take part in the Common Admission Process (CAP), where WAT and PI are held together for all such IIMs. CAP 2025 was led by IIM Bodh Gaya.

2. Written Ability Test (WAT)

This is a short essay round. Candidates are asked to write on general or abstract topics. Some IIMs may skip this step and directly go for interviews.

3. Personal Interview (PI)

In this round, candidates speak with a panel. The interview tests confidence, goals, speaking ability, and clarity of thought. It plays a big role in the final selection.

4. Final Score Calculation

Every institute uses its own formula. They give different weight to CAT marks, WAT/PI scores, academics, and profile (like work experience or gender diversity). All of this adds up to a final score.

5. Offer Letter Announcement

After checking everyone’s final scores, institutes release their admission list. Selected candidates receive emails or can check the result on the official website.

6. Accepting a Seat

Those who get an offer must confirm it by paying a seat acceptance fee. If they got offers from CAP IIMs, they can use the CAP portal to pick one. Only one seat can be accepted.

7. Admission and Document Check

After accepting a seat, students need to submit their original documents and pay the course fee. Once everything is verified, the admission is confirmed. Some colleges allow refund or withdrawal under fixed deadlines.

Non-IIM Admission Process Through CAT 2025

CAT scores are used by many top colleges other than IIMs. These include well-known institutes like FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, IITs, IMT Ghaziabad, and several others that offer MBA or PGDM courses. While the overall process is somewhat like IIMs, there are a few key differences. Here's how admissions usually work at non-IIM B-schools.

1. Apply to Colleges

Students have to apply separately to each non-IIM institute. Applications usually open soon after the CAT exam and continue till Jan or Feb 2025.

2. Shortlisting Candidates

Once CAT results are out, colleges shortlist students based on their CAT score, past academics, work experience (if any), and profile.

3. GD/WAT/PI Rounds

Shortlisted students are called for selection rounds. These may include Group Discussions (GD), a short essay (WAT), or a Personal Interview (PI). Some colleges may skip GD or WAT.

4. Final List of Selected Students

Colleges prepare a final list by giving weightage to CAT score, interview round performance, and academic background. Some also consider work experience or gender diversity.

5. Admission & Fee Payment

Selected students get admission offers through email or the college portal. To book the seat, students must pay the fee within the deadline.

Documents Required for CAT Counselling Process 2025

Once you receive an admission offer from an IIM or another institute through CAT 2025, you’ll need to verify your documents. Make sure to carry both originals and photocopies at the time of reporting.

• CAT Admit Card 2025
• CAT Scorecard
• 10th Marksheet & Certificate
• 12th Marksheet & Certificate
• Graduation All Semesters Marksheets
• Degree Certificate / Provisional Certificate
• Category Certificate
• PwD Certificate
• Work Experience Certificate
• Photo ID Proof
• Passport-size Photographs

CAT Counselling Process 2025 Seat Matrix

The number of seats available through CAT depends on each college. Every IIM has a different intake, and in some cases, the seat count may go up slightly each year if new courses are added or existing programs expand.

Below is a rough idea of the expected seat intake at some IIMs and top non-IIM B-schools that are accepting CAT 2025 scores.

CAT Counselling Cutoffs 2025: IIMs and Non-IIMs

To get into top IIMs or other B-schools through CAT 2025, candidates must clear the minimum cutoff scores set by each institute. These cutoffs change annually based on the difficulty of the exam, the number of applicants, and the number of available seats.

There are usually two types of cutoffs. The first is the qualifying cutoff, which is the minimum score needed to be considered for the WAT-PI round. The second is the final cutoff, which is the actual score required to receive an admission offer after all selection rounds are done. The table below gives a general idea of past trends.

Read: CAT Cutoff 2025

Tips to Improve Chances in the CAT Admission Process 2025

While your CAT score is important, it’s not the only thing that matters in the admission process. There are many small steps that can improve your overall chances of getting selected by an IIM or other top B-school. Some of the tips might help.

• Balanced Scores Have Been Preferred: IIMs have not just considered total percentile, section-wise cutoffs also needed to be cleared. Even strong overall scores have been rejected if one section was too weak. So during mocks, balance across VARC, DILR, and QA has been practiced.
• Academic Profile Has Been Considered: Class 10th, 12th, and graduation marks have carried weight during the admission process. Though past scores couldn’t be changed, students have improved their profiles by doing internships, online courses, or volunteering. Some colleges have given extra points for work experience or gender diversity.
• WAT and PI Have Played a Big Role: A good CAT score has helped in shortlisting, but WAT and PI rounds have decided who got the final seat. Many students have practiced writing short essays and joined mock interviews to get comfortable speaking about their background, goals, and reasons for doing an MBA.
• Documents Have Been Kept Ready: Issues during document submission have caused stress for some. To avoid delays, marksheets, ID proofs, and certificates have been arranged early. Final-year students have also collected their provisional degrees in advance.
• Other Colleges Have Been Considered Too: Not getting into an IIM hasn’t been the end. Many top non-IIM institutes have offered excellent MBA programs. Students have kept backup options ready and applied widely to improve their chances.

CAT Counselling Process 2025 Reservation Policy

Every IIM keeps aside a certain number of seats for students from reserved categories, as per the rules made by the Government of India. This applies during the shortlisting as well as the final admission stage. Even with reservation, students still need to meet the basic CAT percentile and academic marks that each IIM asks for.

CAT Counselling Process 2025: Top Colleges Accepting CAT Scores 2025

CAT scores are accepted by many top colleges, not just the IIMs. While IIMs are the most popular choices, several well-known non-IIM B-schools also use CAT scores to shortlist students for MBA and PGDM courses.

On one side are the IIMs, including the older, well-established ones and the newer institutes that are growing quickly. On the other side, many non-IIM colleges offer strong MBA programs, good placements, and active alumni networks.

CAT Counselling Process 2025 FAQs