IIMs Admission and Selection Process: Key Stages, Admission Parameters, Generation of Final Merit List

IIMs Admission and Selection Process: All the IIMs will release the information related to admission just after the declaration of the CAT 2023 result. The list of shortlisted candidates for the next round of selection will be made available on the official website of the respective IIMs. Each IIM has its own criteria for shortlisting the candidates. In this article, we will discuss the admission and selection process of some top IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode.

CAT 2023 Results And Shortlisting

After the declaration of the CAT 2023 Result, each IIM will shortlist the candidates based on their performance in the CAT 2023 exam and directly send the call letters to them for the next selection rounds. The shortlisting criteria for the next rounds vary across IIMs. Please visit the admission websites of the respective IIMs for further information. However, performance in the CAT 2023 examination is an important component of the admission process.

IIMs Admission and Selection Process

All the IIMs shortlist candidates for the next round based on their own criteria, which may be independent of each other. The selection process may include the following assessments 

• Written Ability Test (WAT)
• Group Discussion (GD)
• Personal Interviews (PI)

IIMs additionally use other factors such as the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience, gender and academic diversity, and other similar inputs in the shortlisting and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes, academic cut-offs, and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs.

Stages to Get Admission to IIMs

All the aspirants who want to get admission into IIMs must go through the IIM admission process which is divided into three stages. These three stages are as follows:

Stage 1: Appearing for the CAT exam conducted by the IIMs is the first stage of the admission process. The candidates will be shortlisted for the next round based on their CAT 2023 score.

Stage 2: In the second stage, the candidates will be called for WAT/GD-PI rounds based on their CAT scores. 

Stage 3: In the last stage, the composite score of each candidate is calculated based on his/her performance in the two stages and various other parameters taken into consideration.

IIM Admission Parameter

Check out all the parameters that are taken into account while calculating the CAT composite score for final selection in IIMs.

• CAT Score
• Graduation Score
• Class 12th Score
• Class 10th Score
• WAT/GD-PI
• Academic Diversity (extra points for non-engineering background Candidates)
• Gender Diversity (extra points for female/transgender Candidates)
• Work Experience

Top IIM Admission Process Through CAT 2023

Check out all the details about the admission process of top IIMs in India.

IIM Ahmedabad

IIM Ahmedabad is one of the most prestigious IIM in India. Many students dream of doing management courses here. The selection of the candidates for admission to the 2024-26 Batch at IIM Ahmedabad is a two-step process.

Step 1: Candidates are short-listed for Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI) from among the candidates who have a valid CAT-2023 score, who have applied to the programme and who satisfy the eligibility criteria for the programme.

Step 2: In this step, the Application Rating (AR) score is calculated for an applicant. An applicant’s AR score is the sum of the rating scores of their percentage of marks obtained in the 10th standard, 12th standard (depending upon the stream), the bachelor’s degree programme (depending upon the discipline) and work experience.

IIM Bangalore

IIM Bangalore is ranked second in the NIRF ranking 2023. IIMB has internally developed an admission process that seeks to identify the most promising candidates for the PGP. IIMB adopts a two-phase selection process. 

Phase 1: All eligible candidates who appear for CAT 2023 are called for a Writing Ability Test (WAT) and personal interview (PI).

Phase 2: The scores of the CAT exam, WAT, PI, past academic performance, and prior work experience (with appropriate weightages) will be used cumulatively in the second and final phase to select the candidates for the programme.

IIM Kozhikode

IIM Kozhikode adopts a three-staged selection process for its admissions to the PGP. The details of the three stages are given below:

Stage 1: Registration of Candidates Meeting the Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Stage 2: Shortlisting the candidate for the Writing Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI). A shortlist of candidates in each category will be prepared based on an Aggregate Index Score (AIS). The AIS is computed based on the performance in CAT 2022, Class X, Class XII, gender/academic diversity criterion, and work experience.

Stage 3: The short-listed candidates will have to appear for a WAT followed a PI. After the conclusion of the WAT and PI process, the final scores will be computed.