Indian School of Business

What are the cutoffs for Indian School of Business in 2026?

The Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad admits students to its flagship one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) and the PGP Young Leaders Programme (PGP YL) on the basis of GMAT or GRE scores, not a rank-based entrance exam, so ISB has no JEE/NEET-style closing rank and no SC/ST/OBC reservation cutoffs. For the 2026 intake the practical benchmark is a GMAT Focus Edition score of roughly 655-669 (around 710-720 on the older Classic GMAT) or a GRE score near 327-330. ISB officially states there is no minimum qualifying score; admission is holistic and considers academics, a minimum of 24 months of full-time work experience, essays and the interview. The lowest GMAT score accepted in recent ISB cohorts has been around 600, while competitive applicants cluster at 710-740 (Classic) or 655-695 (Focus). Critically, ISB accepts only GMAT (10th Edition or Focus Edition) or GRE; it does not accept CAT or NMAT for the PGP or PGP YL.

Year-Wise Cutoff Trends (2024-2026)

Because ISB does not publish category-wise opening and closing ranks, the most meaningful "cutoff" trend for the Indian School of Business is the average and range of GMAT scores of its admitted PGP class year on year. The table below answers the question every applicant asks: what GMAT score has historically been enough to get into ISB? Read it as the class average (the typical admit) alongside the accepted range (the lowest and highest scores in that cohort). Note the scale change: cohorts up to the Class of 2024 are on the Classic GMAT (out of 800), while the latest cohorts report the GMAT Focus Edition (out of 805), where 720 Classic maps to roughly 665 Focus. There is no category column because ISB, a private standalone institution, applies the same holistic bar to every applicant.

The takeaway for an ISB aspirant is consistency: the class average has hovered between 707 and 720 on the Classic GMAT for five straight years, and the equivalent Focus average of about 665-669 keeps that bar steady rather than rising sharply. The wide accepted range (a floor near 600 against a ceiling near 765-780) confirms that ISB genuinely admits below-average scorers who carry strong work experience and essays. In practice, a Focus score in the high 600s or a Classic score around 710-720 puts you squarely at the ISB median rather than at its margins.

Course-Wise Cutoff at Indian School of Business

ISB runs more than one residential MBA-style programme, and the score expectations differ by the candidate profile each one targets. The table below breaks the cutoff down by programme so you can match your test score and work experience to the right ISB entry route. It answers a common confusion: the PGP and the PGP Young Leaders Programme (PGP YL) both use GMAT or GRE, but PGP YL is aimed at final-year students and early-career applicants who lock in a deferred seat. Read the "typical admit score" as the holistic benchmark, not a hard gate, and the work-experience column as the defining eligibility filter that often matters more than a few GMAT points.

The practical lesson is that the score benchmark across ISB programmes is broadly the same, so your choice should be driven by where you are in your career rather than by an easier cutoff. PGP is the route for those with two or more years of experience, while PGP YL lets students and fresh graduates secure a seat early and join after gaining 20-24 months of work. Neither programme has a relaxed category quota, so every applicant competes against the same GMAT/GRE and profile bar.

Cutoff Trend Analysis

The ISB cutoff is best described as flat-to-firm rather than rising or falling. Grounded in the year-wise table, the Classic GMAT average held at 707-710 from the 2021 cohort through the Class of 2024, and the shift to the GMAT Focus Edition simply re-expressed that same standard as roughly 665-669, so the underlying bar has not softened. ISB's growing applicant pool and a PGP class that has expanded to over 800 students (the Class of 2026 had 826 admits) keep competition intense, which is why the average refuses to drift below 700-equivalent. Realistically, a candidate should target a GMAT Focus score of 665 or above (about 710-720 Classic) or a GRE around 327-330 to sit at the ISB median, while a Focus score in the low 600s remains viable only with standout work experience, leadership and essays. Because the academic profile skews toward engineers (about 54% of a recent class) with commerce and finance backgrounds next, applicants from over-represented pools should aim a notch above the average to stand out. In short, do not bank on the cutoff falling; build a score at or above the ISB median and let your story carry the rest.