IIMs revise admission process; more weightage to Class X, XII marks

After the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) changed its selection criteria for personal interviews by replacing its academic ratings system with a fixed minimum score of 70 per cent in both the board (10 th and 12 th standard) exams, other IIMs are following suit.

Sources at IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) say the institute has also replaced academic ratings with a constant 80 per cent cut-off in 12th board exams. However, the institute maintains that academic ratings will continue for now. At IIM-C, out of a total of 100 marks, 75 have been allotted to the CAT score, 10 each for class X and XII scores, and the remaining five marks for work experience. Moreover, marks on the Class X and XII scores are based on a slab system.

IIM Kozhikode (IIM-K) has decided to make a major change in its selection process with 40 per cent reduction in weightage to the CAT scores this year. "Last year, the weightage to CAT scores during selection process was 90 per cent which has been reduced to 50 per cent this year, with the cut-off being fixed at 90 percentile overall. Followed by that, the institute will 20 per cent weightage to Class X and XII academic performance each, apart from 10 per cent to work experience," said Anandakuttan Unnithan, chairperson - admissions, IIM-K.

IIM-Bangalore said it does not have any specific cut-offs on 10th and 12th examination marks. The institute is still processing results, which could be out by Friday or Saturday and looking at making around 1,500 calls for interviews. The institute is planning to increase its intake from 350 to 375 for its upcoming PGP batch. It is also planning to conduct a slightly different admission process this year by dropping Group Discussion (GD) and replacing it with a 'note' writing test where students would be asked to write a one page article on a topic given by IIM-B. The rationale behind the change is that the institute felt GD did not provide enough information to evaluate candidates.

Diptesh Ghosh, chairperson - admissions at IIM-A said: "The decision to replace point-based system for academic performances during Class X and XII with a straight 70 per cent cut-off was taken to simplify the whole selection process. The institute has always considered academic performance as a necessary criterion for admission at IIM-A."

IIM-Lucknow (IIM-L) has chosen to stay away from fixing a certain percentage cut-off for board exams as one of the eligibility criteria for admission into the institute. Instead, it has revised the weightage for Class X marks from 5 last year to 10 this year.

IIM Indore (IIM-I) has so far seems to have stayed away putting specific criteria for Std 10th and Std 12th marks as part of eligibility. The institute's website, rather, states as follows, "Candidates are shortlisted for Group Discussion and/or Personal Interview on the basis of their performance in CAT/GMAT, academic record, and relevant work experience. Final selection to the PGP would be based on criteria, such as the candidate's academic record, scholastic achievements, relevant work experience, and performance in CAT/GMAT, group discussion, and personal interview. However, IIM Indore reserves the right to change the criteria at its discretion."