Understanding IIM selection process

IIM admission criteria and selection process are same for all yet institute specific.Read here all about IIM admissions, including eligibility, process, selection parameters, weightage of CAT score and GD/PI.

Common Admission Test or CAT exam is the most popular entrance exam for MBA/PGDM admissions. CAT scores are accepted by the 20 IIMs and over 1200 MBA institutes across India.

CAT 2020 was conducted by IIM Indore. CAT 2020 result was announced on January 2, 2021 and the selection process is expected to begin soon for all IIMs. The admission are conducted by the institutes individually. Selection criteria and minimum cut off marks are also fixed individually by each institute.

Various MBA institutes including the IIMs release their admission criteria and selection process from August onwards. Many management institutes including FMS, SPJIMR, IMT start their registration process for admissions much before the CAT exam is conducted, however the IIMs begin their admission process after the declaration of CAT results. In this article, you will read all about IIM admission criteria and selection process.

Also Read: Procedure for Admission in Top MBA Colleges in India Through CAT

IIM Admission and Selection Process: Overview

IIM admission process

For admission to all the 20 IIMs, basic eligibility criteria is 50 per cent marks in graduation and valid CAT score. But that's not all. The candidate must score above the CAT cut off percentile fixed for that year, have a good academic record and clear the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI).

Also Read:

• CAT eligibility criteria and reservation policy
• IIM eligibility criteria

IIM admission is based on several parameters including, CAT score, WAT-GD-PI, academic record and work experience.

In the first phase, each test takers is shortlisted on the basis of his/her CAT score viz-a-viz CAT cutoffs fixed by each IIM individually for that year. Minimum cut-offs of the IIMs generally over 90 percentile for General candidates (much lower for reserved category candidates), which means, those who will score above 90 percentile in CAT 2020 will be eligible to apply. On the other hand, cut offs of newer IIMs range between 80-60 percentile.

The second phase of IIM admissions includes WAT-GD-PI. This stage is the decider for the selection panel finalise the candidate on the basis of performance in these rounds.

In the third phase, the candidates are scored on the basis of their academic performance, work experience, etc. Here’s a break up of parameters on which candidates are selected:

Parameters for IIM MBA Final Selection

Listed below are the parameters that are taken into consideration at time of preparation of final merit list. The weightage allotted to each parameter is also mentioned in the table.

*The above table contains parameters and weight of IIM Bangalore for CAT 2019. Weights of each parameter varies for each IIM year on year.

Also Read:

• IIM Fees for MBA - Check complete MBA fee structure for IIMs
• Courses offered by IIMs

The candidates must note that the top IIMs lay a lot of emphasis on academic record. It has been seen in the past that many candidates with 99 percentile were rejected as their academic performance did not match their CAT performance. Read more for detailed IIM admission and selection process

Institute-wise IIM selection criteria and admission process

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• Top Colleges Accepting CAT score apart from IIMs - course fees and cut offs
• Colleges accepting CAT scores range 60-70 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores range 70-80 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores range 80-90 percentile
• Colleges accepting CAT scores above 85 percentile