Last Updated on September 14, 2025
MBAUniverse.com News Desk
Personal Interview round 2021 by most of the MBA colleges for MBA admission after the 1st stage shortlisting on the basis of written exam scores and applicants profile, is proposed to be conducted online. IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, SPJIMR Mumbai have clarified in their admission policy 2021 in this regard. Read this article to check the importance of PI round, key aspects of MBA online Interview and more
The Personal Interview round is conducted by all the MBA colleges for MBA admission after the 1st stage shortlisting on the basis of written exam scores and applicant’s profile. All the top MBA colleges including 20 IIMS, XLRI, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI among others conduct Personal Interview (PI) round for final selection. However, for admission 2021, there will be online interviews for IIMs as well other top B-schools will also conduct MBA online interview as announced in their admission policy
Importance of Personal Interview Round for IIMs & Top B-schools
Whether it is physical PI round or virtual MBA interviews for MBA admission, all the MBA colleges award high weightage to it. Top IIMs including IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Kozhikode, Indore and other top B-schools like FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai award high weightage to Personal Interview round in their final selection process before declaring the final merit list as per following details:
B-school | Weightage for PI-WAT Round |
IIM Ahmedabad | 60% |
IIM Bangalore | 40% |
IIM Lucknow | 50% |
FMS Delhi | 30% |
IIM Kozhikode | 44% |
IIM Indore | 60% |
MDI Gurgaon | 30% |
IIM Kozhikode has announced not to conduct WAT in its online MBA interview process and has instead added weightage to candidate’s Resume.
Online MBA Interviews for IIMs & Other Top B-schools for MBA Admissions
Given the COVID 19 restrictions, candidates may find it difficult to travel to attend face to face interviews. Understanding this concern, most leading MBA colleges have decided to conduct the Personal Assessment Round online. There will be online interview for IIMs and other B-schools depending upon the Covid-19 pandemic situation. While IIM online PI round may not consist of GD and WAT process, there will be online interviews for PGDM program at SPJIMR as clarified in its admission process. So, instead of face-to-face interviews, MBA Admissions 2021 will be done based on online Interviews.
Which B-schools are conducting Online Interviews for MBA Admissions 2021
IIM online PI round is expected to be conducted by almost all top IIMs including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore. Apart from the online interviews for IIMs, the online interviews for PGDM programmes will be conducted by SPJIMR Mumbai, XLRI Jamshedpur, MDI Gurgaon. IIFT, IIT B-schools are also expected to conduct MBA online interview for their MBA Admission 2021. Last year, many IIMs including IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Udaipur, MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi conducted their MBA online interviews. These top B-schools have already announced to conduct the online MBA interviews depending upon the Covid-19 pandemic situation
IIM Online PI Round
IIM Ahmedabad: Important Notice for the 2021-2023 Admission Process
Releasing its Admission Policy 2021-23, IIM Ahmedabad has clarified, “The 2021-2023 IIMA PGP Admission process is to be conducted taking into account the COVID-19 crisis. The information provided by the 2021-2023 Admission Policy is contingent upon the decisions and directions issued from time to time by the Central, State governments and IIMA.”
IIM Lucknow has advised the candidates to check its website regarding the changes in admission process. It may conduct WAT & PI round in person or may drop any component from final selection round for admission 2021 depending upon the Covid-19 situation at the material time.
IIM Indore has announced the possible Covid-19 disruptions in selection process and has shared, “The Admission process is to be conducted taking into account the COVID-19 crisis. The information provided by the 2021-2023 Admission Policy is contingent upon the decisions and directions issued from time to time by the Central, State governments and IIM Indore.”
Online Interviews for PGDM Program at SPJIMR
Informing students about the online interviews for PGDM program at SPJIMR, the institute said, “On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the safety of participants, interviews for PGDM 2021 -2023 may be conducted online on platforms of the institute’s choice.”
What are different Modes, Platforms for MBA Online Personal Interviews?
Commonly used platforms for Online MBA Admission Interviews are:
In addition to these popular modes, a few B-schools use customized technology platforms/softwares to conduct their MBA admission interviews online.
In-Person Vs Virtual MBA Personal Interviews: Key changes
While the in-person or virtual MBA interview process command equal weightage, there are some difference that MBA aspirants must keep in mind.
SPJIMR student Nihar Ranjan Panigrahi, who scored 99.63%ile in CAT 2019, recalls, “I appeared for two online interviews for IIM Lucknow and MDI Gurgaon. Duration for both these interviews was just 10 minutes.”
But don’t fret! MBAUniverse.com will help you prepare for your online interview process with ease and comfort.
Most Popular Questions for Personal Interview for MBA Admissions
Based on MBAUniverse.com survey of 50+ MBA aspirants who appeared for admission interviews last year, here is a list of most popular questions.
We will soon share resources on how to prepare for each of these top questions.
How to prepare for Online Personal Interview Round for MBA Admissions
Here are key MBA Interview tips by CAT Toppers & IIM Students who participated in Online Personal Assessment Rounds for IIMs and other top B-schools.
Do’s & Don’ts for Online Personal Interview Round for MBA Admissions
Here are some do’s & don’ts that you must remember…
Do’s
Don’t
With the above article, it is very much clear that the candidates who are likely to appear in online video interviews may not find the virtual PI round much different from physical PI process except that the online assessment requires you to gear up keeping in mind a few aspects as shared above. It is also possible that the online PI round may not have GD and WAT and the complete weightage is awarded to performance in online Personal Interview. We hope you found this article quite helpful. MBAUniverse.com will share more updates shortly on other aspects including how to prepare for Online PI process.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on Personal Interview Process
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