All that you need to know about the admission process of IIMs 

MBA is one of the most sought after courses in India, with over 2 lakh students appearing for it every year. IIMs, the premier Government institutes in India with around 5000 seats in their MBA/PGP program, conduct an admission process that involves multiple stages. It also has certain eligibility criteria for the students along with different weightage allotted to different factors. Personal profile, performance in Group Discussions, Personal Interview and the Written Ability Test hold importance along with the CAT result. To clear out all your doubts regarding the process, it’s imperative to look at the admission process of IIMs for the upcoming session of 2021-23.

The admission process of IIMs

There are four stages of the admission process of the IIMs.

1. Taking the CAT exam followed by the results

CAT has certain eligibility criteria to be fulfilled before you can appear for it. To be able to apply for IIMs, the candidate has to choose the specific B-Schools while filling the form for CAT. Once the CAT results are out, the IIMs consider the CAT percentile matching it with their respective cutoffs along with a look at your profile. 

2. IIM shortlisting process

IIMs can shortlist the candidates for GD/WAT/PI round based on their CAT score along with other criteria. Generally, the CAT score for shortlisting spans from 80-100 percentile depending on the category. 

IIM Call eligibility criteria

• Minimum 50% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA (45% for SC/ST/PwD)
• Candidates in their final year of graduation/equivalent qualification are also eligible to apply
• According to different IIMs, different minimum cutoffs have to be met by the candidate to receive the call

Other factors to be considered:

• Class 10th aggregate marks/%
• Class 12th aggregate marks/%
• Graduation score
• Academic diversity: Academic diversity refers to variety in the no. of students from different streams. For example, usually, a non-engineer from a commerce background is given points for it while an engineer isn’t. The points given vary from IIM to IIM.
• Gender diversity - To ensure diversity in the gender of students that apply, women/transgender candidates are given extra points.
• Work experience - IF a candidate has prior work experience, then he/she is awarded extra points. A range is defined according to the no. of months on the job. 

3. Final round: GD/PI/WAT

• GD or Group Discussion

Group discussion basically refers to the exchange of opinions and ideas between a group of candidates, on a topic usually given by these colleges themselves. The aim is to know your knowledge, awareness, and communication skills within a group. Most IIMs that used to conduct a GD have resorted to WAT or extempore this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

• WAT or Written Ability Test

The Written Ability Test is aimed at testing your capability to express in stipulated time. The WAT topics are usually around the current scenario: political, economic, social issues recently in the news. The topic can also be related to your experiences, likes, dislikes etc.

• Personal Interview

A personal interview refers to a face-to-face interview between the candidate and the interviewers that usually belong to the same college in which the candidate is applying. The questions can be specifically related to skills/hobbies/interests/work experience of the candidate or generic i.e. related to current affairs.  

GD/WAT by IIMs for 2021

All IIMs are conducting the Personal Interview this year.

4. Generation of merit list

After considering all the scores/points received by the candidate in the previous rounds, a final selection is made. The weightage of each score can be different in different IIMs. CAT score can be given the weightage up to 40-50%, PI can be given weightage up to 30-40&% while GD’s weightage could be up to 20%. The weightage to CAT score has reduced over the years, and candidates with low CAT score also have a chance at getting good colleges. This is true especially for individuals who have worked in the social sector or excel in co-curricular at the national and international levels.

After the candidates are selected they receive an offer of admission through email, which has to be confirmed by him/her along with payment of an acceptance fee. This has to be done within a deadline or his selection is revoked.

Individual admission criteria for IIMs for 2021-2023

To get answers for more of your queries regarding MBA, check out these articles:

1. Non-IIM MBA colleges to look out for | Cut-offs, Fees, Placements, Exams Accepted
2. IIM MBA fees: Check the latest fee structure of top IIMs
3. Tips to ace your MBA admission interview
4. Which undergraduate course makes you fit to pursue an MBA?
5. How to prepare for top MBA exams other than CAT - IIFT, NMAT SNAP, CET