IIM Ahmedabad Removes Bachelor's Degree From MBA Admissions Criteria

IIM Ahmedabad recently announced a revised formula for calculating academic rating (AR) for admission into Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM). As per the revised policy of IIM Ahmedabad, no weightage will be given to the bachelor’s degree component for the upcoming batches. The institute has decided to consider Class 10th and 12th marks along with the work experience of the candidate.

What’s new in IIM Admissions

Because of Covid 19, many colleges couldn’t conduct normal exams in the last 2 years and had to come up with alternative criteria for promoting candidates. As a result, students were allowed to appear for the 2021 CAT examination without requiring a minimum percentage of marks at the undergraduate level.

The details of the changes were notified in a statement released by the institute on the official website of IIM Ahmedabad. You can read the statement by clicking on this link. IIM Ahmedabad also shared the revised formula to be used for the calculation of the Composite Score (CS).

Revised formula for CS calculation at IIM Ahmedabad

The statement released by the institute spoke at length about the conditions under which they were compelled to make this revision. As mentioned before, the lack of uniformity across colleges regarding the promotion criteria was the major reason behind making the changes.

“On account of this”, the institute said, “the Admissions Committee of IIM Ahmedabad decided to do away with the bachelor’s degree component from the shortlisting criteria and to apply it uniformly to all the candidates. The AR now will be computed on a scale of 25 (considering class 10th marks, class 12th marks, and candidate's work experience) and the points will be pro-rated to 35.”

While calculating the Composite Score (CS) for admission into the IIMs, two factors are taken into account. We have listed them below for quick reference-

Academic Rating (also called AR)
Normalized overall CAT score

The AR is calculated on the basis of the past academic performance of the candidate. Previously, the marks in Bachelor’s were taken into account for AR calculation. But now, a pro-rated AR score will be calculated on the basis of marks obtained in classes 10 and 12, and the work experience of the candidates.

Here is the revised formula for CS calculation -

Composite Score = 0.35* (Pro-rated AR Score/35) + 0.65* (Normalized overall CAT Score)
Pro-rated AR Score= [(AR score computed by taking 0 points for Bachelor’s degree)/25] * 35

What it means for IIM aspirants

Since there’s a focus on the marks obtained in high school, candidates with a higher percentage of marks will get priority. But being a professional course, the importance of having a solid base of work experience cannot be understated.

If you’re strong on both ends, then you’ll be all set for an exciting journey at IIM Ahmedabad!

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Shivangi Vatsal

Sr. Associate Content Strategist @Unstop

I am a storyteller by nature. At Unstop, I tell stories ripe with promise and inspiration, and in life, I voice out the stories of our four-legged furry friends. Providing a prospect of a good life filled with equal opportunities to students and our pawsome buddies helps me sleep better at night. And for those rainy evenings, I turn to my colors.