How to Get into an IIM?

How to get into an IIM? It is a vexing question for those who want to pursue a lucrative career after their studies at the IIMs in the country. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) has 20 institutes under it's wings in India. The selection process for all of them is almost similar in all the IIMs - CAT entrance exam scores, WAT, GD and PI.

The candidates need to qualify for the CAT exam to qualify for any IIMs. Each year more than lakhs of candidates emerge for the CAT examination to apply for IIMs, and the CAT syllabus is elaborate. Therefore, the competitive level is quite high for admissions into IIMs.

How to Get into an IIM?

To crack the CAT exam and apply for admission into an IIM through the CAT scores is the only probable way for admissions. The elaborate process to get into an IIM is mentioned below:

IIM Eligibility Criteria 2023

The basic eligibility benchmarks for entry into IIMs are as listed below:

• The candidates must carry 50% aggregate in their bachelor or equal CGPA.
• The candidates in their last year of graduation can also apply. However, they need to have 50% marks.
• Furthermore, candidates need to sit for the CAT examination for admission into IIMs.

IIM Admission Process 2023

The admission procedure to get into an IIM follows a pre-defined protocol. First, aspiring candidates need to apply for the CAT exam for admission to IIMs. Nevertheless, the steps are mentioned below:

• Shortlisting Candidates based on CAT scores: Once the candidates have successfully cracked the CAT exam and have a valid CAT score, they are called for admission by the IIMs. Each IIM will cast their admission standards and cutoff through official notification published on its website.

Candidates who meet the eligibility can proceed to the further rounds of admissions.

• Candidates are called for GD-PI Based on WAT: The candidate’s CAT scores are thoroughly evaluated in this stage. Only those candidates who qualified for the cutoff of the applied IIM are further called for group discussion and personal interviews.
• Final selection and calculation of composite score: In this last step, the composite scores are calculated based on specific parameters such as marks scored in classes 10 and 12, graduation marks, performance in Personal Interviews, academic & gender diversity, and work experience.

The final admission list is published after evaluating the overhead parameters.

Documents to be Carried for WAT/GD-PI

The list of documents needed for the WAT/GD-PI round are listed below:

• Marksheet of classes 10 and 12.
• Scorecard/ mark sheet of graduation.
• In their final year of graduation, candidates must present a valid scorecard or mark sheet of the latest semester forwarded by the principal.
• Furthermore, candidates from the reserved category need to produce their respective category certificates.

Key Points to Get into an IIM 2023

Once the candidates have qualified for all the selection procedure stages, they will be sent the confirmation letter through the mail. First, the confirmation letter needs to be filled out by the candidates. Afterwards, candidates are required to fill in the admission form by filling up the offer acceptance form and paying the requisite acceptance fee.

However, suppose the candidate fails to fill out the acceptance letter and pay the fees within the specified time. In that case, their seats will be automatically passed to the next best candidate in the queue.

Nevertheless, here are some of the abiding points that candidates should follow:

• The candidates will be informed about the second stage of admissions, i.e. WAT/GD-PI, through an email from the applied IIM.
• Further, the candidates are shortlisted through the method of interview calls. If the candidates qualify for the round, they will receive an email.
• Additionally, all the candidates must appear in the WAT/GD-PI to be qualified for the final phase of admission, i.e. calculation of the composite score for final selection.

IIMs Qualifying Cutoffs 2023

The qualifying cutoffs for all the IIMs vary. The table below represents the qualifying cutoffs vs expected cutoffs:

Common Admission Process for IIMs

Older IIMs have their process of admission following the CAT exam. On the other hand, new IIMs follow a Common Admission Process (CAP) that makes the selection process common. Listed below are a few pointers to be kept in mind while applying for admission to IIMs:

• The 9 new IIMs participating in CAP are IIM Udaipur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Trichy, IIM Raipur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sambalpur and IIM Sirmaur.
• IIM Rohtak was a part of the CAP group till 2023 but then opted out.
• IIM Trichy was given the responsibility to conduct CAP for 2023.
• The Writing Ability Test (WAT) will not be conducted for CAP 2023. So CAP 2023 will only have a Personal Interview (PI).
• Admission offers are made separately by the IIMs after the final processes of CAP have ended.

Read More: IIM Admission Criteria 2023

CAT Preparation Tips for IIM Admission

Once candidates are aware of the exam procedure and pattern, they should be ready to ace the CAT exam with the right guidance and strategy. Some of the CAT exam preparation tips are shown below:

• Revise Class 8 to Class 10 English and Mathematics concepts and practice exercises that involve the application of these concepts.
• Invest in good study material from a reputed institute or even consider taking classes at an institute.
• Opt for offline or online classes depending on your schedule and time constraints.
• Shortlist topics that are asked frequently and practice them right from the beginning. Some of the topics that hold high weightage in the CAT exam are Arithmetic, Algebra, Numbers for Quant and Reading Comprehension for VARC.
• Write a sectional test every week to solidify your preparation for each section as there are sectional cut-offs as well.
• Give mock exams to test your preparation and understanding of the CAT paper from the first day. Invest in good quality mock/test series. Write a mock test every 10-12 days and analyse these mocks qualitatively for at least 5-6 hours.

Read More: How to Start Preparing for CAT?