IIM-A the top rated B school in India has excelled in the field of management education since its inception in 1961. In last decade or so, IIM-A has evolved from being India's premier management institute to a notable international school of management in just four decades. Many Business Leaders like Kiran Karnik (Innovative and Strategic Thinker), Chandrika Krishna Murthy Tondon (Singer from Soul Chants Music), Shikha Sharma( CEO and Managing Director of Axis Bank) among others figure in the list of leaders as proud alumni of IIMA.
Admission to flagship Post-graduate Programme (PGP)
The two-year Post-graduate Programme in Management (PGP) at IIMA is a full-time residential course for graduates from all disciplines wishing to choose a career in management.
CAT 2014 is the gateway of getting shortlisted for admission to PGP 2015-17 batch at IIM Ahemedabad. While the role of CAT 2014 is very important to explore admission opportunities, the weightage of Academics, work experience, Written Ability and Personal Interview after this computer based written CAT 2014 in final admission round has increased tremendously.
The shortlisting criteria of IIMA for admission 2015-16 also emphasises how important is the role of academics along with the written test.
CAT 2014: High overall percentile is not enough to get into IIMA
According to the admission 2015-16 guidelines issued by IIM Ahmedabad “Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well in each section of the test.”
CAT 2014 aspirants are aware that the CAT in 2014 is going to be presented with a changed face. Instead of having 60 questions, CAT 2014 will have 100 questions to be solved in 170 minutes. There will be 2 sections in CAT 2014. The first section will contain 50 questions on Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and the second section will have 50 questions on Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. CAT 2014 aspirants, if they really wish to seek admission possibility in IIM Ahmedabad, will have to score a high and balanced sectional percentile alongwith a high overall percentile.
Individual sectional cut offs based on CAT 2014 scores will be considered for short-listing the candidates for final admission round at IIMA.
Shortlisting Criteria: How important are the sectional & OA CAT 2014 percentiles
IIMA states “IIMA short-lists candidates for AWT&PI independent of other IIMs. Hence it is possible to observe variations in the lists of candidates short-listed by different IIMs” In view of this statement, it’s very much clear that CAT 2014 should not get misled that the short listing criteria and weightage to different components of IIMA would be similar to that of other IIMs.
IIMA will have 2 stage admission processes after CAT 2014 results are declared to select the candidates for the 2015-17 batch of PGP.
In the first step, candidates are short-listed for Academic Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI) from among the candidates who have a valid CAT 2014 score, who have applied for the programme and who satisfy the eligibility criteria for the programme.
Candidates fulfilling the following minimum cut offs in CAT 2014 percentile ranks and Application Rating (AR) scores given below and obtaining a positive (greater than zero) raw score in both Verbal and Quant Sections will only be considered for all subsequent stages.
Minimum CAT-2014 Percentile Rank & AR score
| Category |
Verbal percentile rank |
Quant percentile rank |
Total percentile rank |
AR score |
|
General |
85 |
85 |
90 |
15.5 |
|
NC-OBC-cum-transgender |
80 |
80 |
85 |
11 |
|
SC |
75 |
75 |
80 |
8.5 |
|
ST |
75 |
75 |
80 |
8.5 |
|
DA |
75 |
75 |
80 |
8.5 |
Source: IIM Ahmedabad site
Academic profile: very important after CAT 2014 scores
It’s not the CAT 2014 scores only that can take an IIMA aspirant through the process of shortlisting. Candidates with excellent academic profile will get an edge during the shortlisting process. According to IIMA admission guidelines “In addition to the performance in CAT, IIMA uses academic background for short-listing for AWT & PI.”
For example 90+ marks in 10th standard will earn you Application rating score of 5; 90+ in 12th will earn 15 and 80+ in bachelor’s degree will earn 25. Total application rating score will come to a maximum of 45 which can turn the tables in the aspirants’ favour even if he/she scores a little less in CAT 2014.
However please remember for computing AR score of an applicant, scores in all subjects that appear in the marks- sheet of 10th and 12th Std. examinations will be considered irrespective of whether the board/university considers them for calculating the percentage. For bachelor’s degree, the percentage of marks awarded by the institute/university will be treated as final.
Final Admission round after CAT 2014: Academic Writing Test (AWT) & Personal Interview (PI)
To recognize exceptional performers across diverse academic backgrounds, from each of the five categories of academic disciplines, top 50 candidates or top 1% of the number of applicants to IIM Ahmedabad - whichever is less - will be shortlisted for AWT & PI on the basis of their CAT percentiles.
Based on the CAT 2014 percentile, from the remaining candidates of the pool meeting the minimum cut offs, and minimum AR scores prescribed, a merit list will be drawn and shortlisted for AWT & PI for General category and for the reserved categories separately.
The CAT 2014 takers applying to IIMA’s post-graduate programmes can also check out if they have been short-listed for AWT & PI by visiting the IIMA website tentatively in the last week of December 2014.
Final Admission offer to CAT 2014 takers from IIMA
Final admission offer after PI round at IIMA will strictly be based on the ranks of the candidates computed separately for each category. The Composite Score(CS) of a candidate who appears in AWT & PI will be computed using the following rule:
First, CAT 2014, AWT and PI scores of a candidate are normalized by dividing it with the corresponding maximum possible score that could be obtained.
The CS of a candidate is then obtained as:
CS = 0.50 (Normalized PI Score) + 0.10 (Normalized AWT Score) + 0.40 (Normalized CAT Total Score).
IIM Ahmedabad will conduct its Academic Writing Tests and Personal Interviews (AWT & PIs) in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and New Delhi/NCR. Candidates short-listed for AWT & PI after CAT 2014 results will be intimated by registered post tentatively in the last week of December 2014.
IIM-A has consistently been ranked the No 1 B-school in India. Only CAT 2014 scores of Indian applicants will be accepted for admission 2015 in IIMA. The B school excelled in virtually every important parameter of management education.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on IIM A admission after CAT 2014.
