IIM Trichy Selection Criteria 2026 — CAT Cutoffs, the 52% Composite Score & a Work-Ex Curve That Peaks Twice

The IIM Trichy selection criteria run through a six-stage process, with CAT carrying just over half the final composite — leaving almost as much room for academics, the interview, work experience, and diversity combined. The work-experience curve here is also unusual: it climbs, peaks, dips, and climbs again before tapering off. Here’s the complete process, decoded.

IIM Trichy PGP 2026–28 at a glance: Clear the CAT sectional and overall cutoffs (General needs 75 in each of VARC, DILR, QA, and 95.25 overall) to enter the shortlisting pool — but meeting the cutoff alone does not guarantee a PI call. Final selection runs on a composite score: CAT 52% + Personal Interview 20% + Work Experience 10% + Graduation Marks 5% + Gender Diversity 6% + 12th Marks 3% + 10th Marks 2% + Academic Diversity 2%. Work experience peaks twice — once at 18–23 months and again, lower, at 24–29 months.

Contents

What Makes the IIM Trichy Selection Criteria Different
IIM Trichy Eligibility Criteria 2026
IIM Trichy CAT Cutoffs 2026
The Six-Stage IIM Trichy Admission Process
IIM Trichy Selection Criteria: The Final Composite Score
IIM Trichy Work Experience Weightage
IIM Trichy Diversity Weightage
IIM Trichy Selection Criteria vs the Other IIMs
What a Strong IIM Trichy Profile Looks Like in 2026

1. What Makes the IIM Trichy Selection Criteria Different

IIM Trichy’s process looks familiar on the surface — sectional cutoffs, a CAT-based shortlist, then a Personal Interview — but the final composite splits weight more evenly across components than most IIMs in this series. CAT carries 52%, which is meaningful but leaves 48% spread across the interview, three separate academic-marks line items, work experience, and two diversity factors. That’s a more fragmented final score than IIM Mumbai’s three-part formula or IIM Rohtak’s similarly tidy structure.

The other thing worth flagging upfront: IIM Trichy is explicit that clearing the cutoff is necessary but not sufficient for a PI call. Actual shortlisted candidates typically sit well above the published minimum, especially in the General category.

2. IIM Trichy Eligibility Criteria 2026

To apply for IIM Trichy’s MBA programme, you need:

A bachelor’s degree in any discipline, with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA.
A relaxed minimum of 45% marks for SC/ST/PwD candidates.
A valid CAT score — mandatory for admission.
Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

3. IIM Trichy CAT Cutoffs 2026

The CAT cutoff is the first screening gate. Candidates must meet both the sectional and overall percentile thresholds for their category to be considered for the PI shortlist.

Table 1 — IIM Trichy CAT Cutoff (2026–28 Batch)

Category	VARC	DILR	QA	Overall Percentile
General	75	75	75	95.25
EWS	60	60	60	89
NC-OBC	60	60	60	88.5
SC	45	45	45	75
ST	25	25	25	44
PwD	25	25	25	30

These cutoffs are qualifying in nature — actual shortlisted candidates often sit meaningfully above the published minimum due to competition for limited PI slots.

⚠ Clearing the Cutoff Is Not the Same as Getting Shortlisted

IIM Trichy is unusually direct about this: meeting the sectional and overall cutoff is necessary but not sufficient. PI shortlisting also depends on category-wise competition and overall candidate volume that year. Don’t treat 95.25 as your target — treat it as the floor below which you have no chance at all.

4. The Six-Stage IIM Trichy Admission Process

Table 2 — IIM Trichy Admission Process

Stage	Description
Stage 1	Appear for CAT
Stage 2	Meet sectional and overall cutoffs
Stage 3	Receive PI shortlist
Stage 4	Attend Personal Interview
Stage 5	Composite score calculation
Stage 6	Final admission offer

CAT performance is the primary basis for the PI shortlist, but the institute factors in category-wise evaluation and overall profile alongside the raw cutoff — meeting the minimum alone doesn’t guarantee Stage 3.

5. IIM Trichy Selection Criteria: The Final Composite Score

The final merit list blends eight components. CAT remains the single largest contributor, but just over half of the final score — 48% — comes from interview performance, academics, work experience, and diversity combined.

Table 3 — Final Selection Weightage

Component	Weightage
CAT Percentile	52%
Personal Interview	20%
Work Experience	10%
Graduation Marks	5%
Gender Diversity	6%
12th Marks	3%
10th Marks	2%
Academic Diversity	2%

Notice how academics are split into three separate, small line items (10th, 12th, graduation) rather than one combined bucket — together they add up to 10%, exactly matching the work-experience weight.

💡 CAT Plus PI Is Only 72% Here — Lower Than It Looks

At many IIMs, CAT and PI together account for 80–90% of the final score. At IIM Trichy, they sum to 72%, with the remaining 28% spread thin across five smaller components. That makes the IIM Trichy selection criteria genuinely more forgiving toward a candidate with a slightly lower CAT score but a well-rounded academic and diversity profile — there’s simply more surface area in the formula for a non-CAT, non-PI advantage to matter.

6. IIM Trichy Work Experience Weightage

Work experience contributes 10% to the final score. The curve here is the most unusual of any IIM covered in this series so far — it doesn’t rise smoothly to one peak; it rises, peaks, dips, rises again to a second, lower peak, and then falls to zero.

Table 4 — Work Experience Score Bands

Work Experience (Months)	Weightage Points
0–5	0
6–11	2
12–17	4
18–23	7
24–29	10 (maximum)
30–35	7
36–41	4
42–47	2
48+	0

The single highest score (10 points) goes to candidates with 24–29 months of experience; 18–23 and 30–35 months both score 7, forming a near-symmetric curve around the 24–29 month peak.

💡 The Sweet Spot Is Narrower and More Symmetric Than It Looks Elsewhere

Compare this to IIM Shillong’s 18–24 month peak or IIM Raipur’s 36–42 month peak — both single, asymmetric peaks. IIM Trichy’s curve is genuinely symmetric: scores rise in matched steps to a peak at 24–29 months, then fall in mirrored steps on the way back down, hitting zero at the same distance (24 months) on either side of the peak. If you’re timing an application around work-ex scoring, 24–29 months is the one band worth planning for specifically.

7. IIM Trichy Diversity Weightage

IIM Trichy builds in two diversity components aimed at a more balanced classroom:

Table 5 — Diversity Factors

Diversity Factor	Weightage
Gender Diversity (Female candidates)	6%
Academic Diversity (Non-engineers with First Class in UG)	2%

The academic diversity criterion is more specific than at several other IIMs — it isn’t enough to simply hold a non-engineering degree; it must come with a First Class result in undergraduate studies.

8. IIM Trichy Selection Criteria vs the Other IIMs

Set against Mumbai, Rohtak, Ranchi, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, and Shillong, IIM Trichy sits closer to the CAT-heavy end of the spectrum, but with a noticeably more fragmented “everything else” bucket.

Table 6 — IIM Trichy vs the Other IIMs

IIM	Shortlist Basis	Final — CAT	Final — PI
Trichy	CAT cutoff + category-wise evaluation	52%	20%
Ranchi	CAT (sectional + overall, via JAP 2026)	65%	12.5%
Raipur	CAT score (shared JAP shortlist)	33.3%	26.7%
Rohtak	Overall CAT percentile + diversity (no sectional cutoffs)	60%	20%
Mumbai	CAT score only (sectional cutoff + rank)	60%	20%
Ahmedabad	CAT + Application Rating	25%	50%
Bangalore	CAT 55% + academics 30% + work-ex + gender	25%	40%
Calcutta	CAT 56/85 + Class 10 + Class 12 + gender	30%	48%
Shillong	CAT 65% + NARS 35% (discipline-wise)	40%	40%

💡 Trichy Is the Most “Spread Out” Formula in the Series

Most of the other IIMs here concentrate non-CAT weight into one or two big buckets — a single work-experience score, a single academics score, a single PI score. IIM Trichy instead spreads its non-CAT 48% across six separate line items, none larger than 20%. That structurally rewards candidates who are solidly above-average on several fronts rather than exceptional on just one — there’s no single “profile” line item heavy enough to fully compensate for one major weakness elsewhere.

9. What a Strong IIM Trichy Profile Looks Like in 2026

Treat 95.25 as a floor, not a target. Aim meaningfully above it — IIM Trichy itself states the cutoff doesn’t guarantee a PI call.
If you can plan your application timing, 24–29 months of work experience earns the maximum 10 points on this formula’s symmetric curve.
Don’t neglect your 10th and 12th marks just because they’re individually small (2% and 3%). Combined with graduation marks, academics make up 10% of the final score — equal to work experience.
Non-engineers, keep your UG result at First Class if you can — the academic diversity bonus here specifically requires it, not just a non-engineering degree.
Prepare seriously for the PI. At 20%, it’s the second-largest single component after CAT.
Build a genuinely well-rounded profile. With weight spread across eight components, there’s no single shortcut to a strong final score here — consistency across the board pays off more than at most other IIMs in this series.

Because IIM Trichy’s formula rewards a broad, consistent profile rather than one standout factor, it’s worth building strength across CAT, academics, and interview readiness together. Start with free CAT study material, build a daily habit with the Daily Targets on the Quantifiers homepage, and benchmark your sectional and overall percentile on the TruCAT free mock series well before results day.