There is no official age limit for CAT or IIM interviews, but practically the sweet spot for most IIMs is 22-28 years at admission with 12-36 months of relevant work experience. The CAT exam only requires a bachelor's degree with 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD), so an 18-year-old BBA final year student and a 35-year-old professional can both write it. During interviews at IIM Ahmedabad (Rs 27.
5L fees, Rs 35.22 LPA avg) and IIM Bangalore (Rs 26.2L fees, Rs 34.
88 LPA avg), panels do subtly factor in your ability to cope with batch dynamics, where 85-90% of students are in the 23-26 age range. One commenter in the thread mentioned having a 36-year-old batchmate in mind and asked about their chances; the honest answer is that older candidates face placement disadvantage because recruiters prefer 2-5 years workex, not 10+. Beyond age 30, your options narrow to ISB (Rs 43L fees, Rs 34 LPA avg, 710+ GMAT cutoff) one-year PGP or executive MBA programs.
For the 19-28 range, age is a non-issue as long as the rest of your profile (academics, CAT percentile, workex) is strong. If you are 28+ and targeting a 2-year MBA, seriously evaluate whether ISB one-year or IIM PGPX (5+ years workex) makes more sense given the opportunity cost. Check your eligibility at collvera.