IIMs sharpen selection criteria

CAT results are out, and it’s time to prepare for the Group Discussion.

The results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) are out. Management seat aspirants across the country — nearly 2,46,546 who sat for this all-important examination on November 16 — found that the results this year were easy to access, and cut short their period of anxiety. Previously, candidates could only check their percentiles online, and had to wait for call letters from individual IIMs to be delivered by post. This time around, the IIMs seem to have pulled up their socks, beefed up the bandwidth and provided an integrated website; making the process simple, quick and easy, almost at the click of a mouse.

The website worked like clockwork, and candidates were saved the otherwise tedious, anxiety-ridden process of browsing through different IIM websites and going through multiple servers crashing through the day.

With nearly 4,500 (according to official sources at IIM) getting call letters, one significant part of this two-part battle is behind us. CAT-2008 is only the first stage of the admission process to the much-coveted Postgraduate Programme in Management on offer at the seven Indian Institutes of Managements (IIM) located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong.

The next step

For the few who made it, the path ahead is steep, long and arduous; with barely 2,000 seats on offer the competition will be tough. Ajay Arora of the Triumphant Institute of Management Education, Bangalore, said that the number of candidates called for the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI) has seen an increase. “This can be attributed to the fact that the next level of the quota for Other Backward Classes will kick in from this year. With this, the number of seats will naturally see an increase,” he said. For instance, the number of seats on offer at IIM-Bangalore has gone up from 250 in 2007 to 275 in 2008. Furthermore, IIM-Bangalore in November announced that it has decided to increase its intake for its Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) by 75, thereby increasing its total capacity to about 345.

Mr. Arora had a piece of advice for candidates who received calls for the GD and PI stage, scheduled to begin in the second week of February. “They should start preparing for the GD and PI in earnest. Though the CAT results are being announced around 10 days late this year, the IIMs are not going to change the GD and PI dates. GD and PI will be held during early February and this leaves students with only three weeks’ time to prepare.”

Last year IIM-Ahmedabad did not conduct a GD, but instead asked students to write an essay on a topic. IIM-Lucknow conducts a 20-minute duration Written Ability Test apart from conducting a GD and PI. IIM-Bangalore usually gives case studies to be discussed in the GD round. A student is also expected to write a summary of the discussion. Any of these above criteria are subject to changes, and the IIMs may make changes in selection strategies at the last minute. Given that the IIMs are well-known for springing surprises, as did CAT 2008, experts say candidates must be well prepared. Experts also predict that IIMs will be very particular about language skills and communication, as has been the trend in past years.

In CAT 2008, the number of questions had increased from 75 to 90, tipping the balance in favour of the section on Verbal Ability. Although the CAT has always witnessed changes in pattern or content, for the first time in 10 years, the question paper was divided asymmetrically in terms of the weightage given to each of its three sections. Both Quantitative Analysis (QA) and Logic and Data Interpretation (LDI) were moderately difficult.

“This may have tipped the balance in favour of those who are good with English. But it must be noted that each IIM has come up with its own weightage system for screening students in this stage itself,” he points out.

Differing criteria

Experts who analysed the question paper and the results point out that cut-offs were not common for all IIMs. Neither was the modus operandi used to short-list students for the second stage. For instance, 100-percentiler Lakshmisha S.K. was surprised that he did not receive a call from IIM Kozhikode. Same is the case with Ameya Mhatre, who shares the perfect score, but did not get a call from IIM-Shillong. How can this happen? What more can an institute want from a candidate who has scored a perfect 100? “Maybe it has to do with the fact that my engineering marks aren’t top-notch. I do not know,” says Mhatre.

Jaideep Singh Chowdhary of T.I.M.E., Hyderabad, explains: “IIMs have started using different criteria to select candidates, and trends are changing. Some give more weightage to work experience; others look for past academic record.” For instance, previously if 200 out of 1,000 students got calls from five IIMs, now barely 50 are getting multiple calls. “The criteria have evolved. Those who are interested can ascertain details on these criteria by logging on to the individual website,” he says. “It is getting quite complicated but the process is transparent.”

This year, the number of colleges using CAT scores for their admission process has nearly doubled. Out of the 118 colleges which are listed on the website, seven are located in Bangalore and one in Mysore. Indian Business Academy, IFIM Business School, SDM-Mysore are among the institutes which use the CAT percentile as a benchmark.

And with more institutes using these scores unofficially, the stakes just got a lot higher!