Students’ Speak: 6 assessment criteria to ace Group Discussion round
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 12 Nov '25
By: Aayushi Pandey
The way of expressing your thoughts plays an important role in defining your overall personality.
In every Group Discussion (GD), the criteria for assessment may be different but overall the GD is evaluated on the following criteria:
- Knowledge of the topic: The knowledge of the topic is a must for the discussion and even if you are not confident, for the first few minutes just observe what others are discussing and then accordingly form your arguments. One should be well prepared with the topics in advance and should have also gone through the previous year’s GD questions.
- Presentation of ideas & arguments: It is important that you present your arguments in a systematic way. The arguments that you present should not seem like they are in a totally different direction with what point is already going on in the discussion. Even if you are interrupting any candidate in discussion try do it politely. If you do not agree with someone’s arguments, then you can begin with, “I understand what you are trying to say however I think,”. This way, you are not demeaning anyone and you have politely put in your point forward.
- Thought process (optional criteria): This criterion is however not essential but it plays a very important role. If for any given topic it is more obvious that everyone is going to say similar kind of things or can be a possibility that everyone is in its favor, then you can present a different side of it or may go against the topic. This will help you earn brownie points.
- Confidence level: It is necessary that whatever you say, you say it firmly and confidently. Loose argument or a half-hearted attempt at presenting your argument do not leave a good impression & lead you to lose your own point. Maintaining a positive attitude and proper body language during the whole discussion process is very necessary. So, be confident in what you are saying and try to keep your point during GD.
- Voice modulation, vocabulary: However, not very significant but it is important that your diction, grammar and choice of words should be proper. The way of expressing your thoughts plays an important role in defining your overall personality. You should practice and make your vocabulary up to the mark beforehand.
- Leading the discussion: Many times group divert from the topic so if you are able to take the lead and bring the discussion to the point, it will help you to gain positive points.
About the Author:
Aayushi Pandey is a BCom graduate from DAV PG College, Dehradun. She is currently pursuing PGDM from IMI, Bhubaneswar. Her hobbies include reading fictional stories & writing while her areas of interest are Research, Strategy & Human Resource.
Explore colleges based on CAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
17 Oct '25 - 18 Nov '25
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25
30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25
30 Sep '25 - 10 Dec '25
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25
21 Dec '25
17 Dec '25
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 Exam registration |
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25 | XAT 2026 mock test 3 |
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25 | SNAP 2025 Registration Process |
28 Nov '25 - 6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 admit card session 1... |
28 Oct '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Admit Card Issuance |
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Rescheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25 | MAT PBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
23 Oct '25 - 15 Dec '25 | MAT CBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Registration |
5 Nov '25 - 27 Dec '25 | IBSAT Slot Booking 2025 |
17 Oct '25 - 18 Nov '25 | CMAT 2026 registration and app... |
Dec '25 | MAH MBA CET 2026 registration ... |
2 Sep '25 - 4 Sep '25 | MAH MBA CAP 2025: Reporting to... |
Jan '26 | Publication of TANCET notifica... |
Jan '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '25 | IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno... |
Feb '25 | IRMASAT Personal Interviews |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
GIBS Business School considers the overall CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT scores for the admission of candidates in the PGDM and MBA programs. Rather than using solely high cut-offs, the entrance test scores are used to judge the aptitude of a candidate in terms of analysis, quant, and verbal f
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered an hour ago
The online application for GIBS Business School is very well-organized and student-friendly for its MBA, PGDM, and BBA programs.
Application Procedure Step 1: Access the Admissions Portal
Go to the official website of GIBS Business School, and click on "Apply Online", which can be found under the sect
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
GIBS Business School, Bangalore accepts various national-level examinations for admission to the PGDM and MBA programs. The scores of CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT are accepted by the institute. Besides these, GIBS also accepts all the state-level management entrance examinations if their scor
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
GIBS Business School, Bangalore, has a strong and dynamic Placement Cell that helps in securing excellent career opportunities for the students. Every year, more than 260 reputed companies have visited the campus for recruitment, offering versatile jobs in sectors like BFSI, IT, consulting, manufact
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Getting into the MBA programme of NIT Trichy with a 300 SC CAT rank is somewhat uncertain. As the recent data sets suggest, NIT Trichy's CAT cutoff for SC category admission stands around 65th percentile. A 300 SC rank could be borderline depending on how many SC candidates apply and the quality of
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
The present faculty-to-student ratio of GIBS Business School, Bangalore, is about 1:15, with one faculty member for every fifteen students. This balanced ratio enables personalized attention, close mentorship, and interactive classroom learning to ensure that each student gets proper academic guidan
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 weeks ago
Candidates who did not appear for the CAT entrance exam can apply St. Xavier's College, Kolkata admissions as it is not a mandatory entrance exam. The candidates who wish to gain admissions into the MBA course of the institute have to appear for the Kolkata University entrance test for St. Xavier's
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
PGCET and CAT serve distinct purposes. The PGCET is primarily conducted for MBA admissions in colleges in the state of Karnataka, specifically for government colleges and private universities with lower fees. CAT is a national level exam for top-ranking B-schools and colleges such as the IIMs that h
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
That's a wonderful goal to push your son toward right at the start. To obtain previous CAT model papers, you can check many available popular exam preparation books in any bookstore or online store. Coaching interest such as TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, etc., usually have mock tests and sample papers
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, you can get admission to Jaypee Business School (JBS), Noida for MBA even if you don't have CAT. JBS accepts scores from several other exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, GMAT, ATMA, and also CUET-PG. Just make sure you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks, then apply with any of those va
Contributor-Level 9
How does GIBS evaluate CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, and other scores for admission?