IIM-A to admit more non-engineers, freshers in 2014-16 batch

In a bid to bring academic diversity on campus, IIM Ahmedabad has revised its selection criteria easing entry for non-engineers and freshers from academic session 2014-16.

According to the revised selection criteria, India’s top management institute will now allow direct entry for toppers from different academic background including Arts, Commerce, Science/Medicine, Engineering & others, into its Written Analysis and Personal Interviews (WA-PI) round. The new selection criteria also brings in a level playing field for freshers at WA-PI stage as working experience of candidates will not be evaluated while calculating Application Rating, which is the basis along with CAT scores for WA-PI short-listing.

According to the data available, 96% of students in the 2012-14 batch in IIM A come from an engineering background. The changes proposed in the admission criteria seeks to bring in diversity among the incoming students with respect to their academic background.

“To recognise 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 within each category-- whichever is lower -- will be directly shortlisted for the WA-PI provided they clear a minimum CAT Cut-off,” says the revised selection criteria of IIM-A.

IIM-A Selection Criteria: NOW & THEN

	New Selection Criteria	Old Selection Criteria
Diversity	From each of the five categories of academic disciplines, top 50 candidates or top 1% of the number of applicants within each category-- whichever is lower -- will be directly shortlisted for the WA-PI provided they clear a minimum CAT Cut-off (for general Category 90 percentile)	No separate short-listing for candidates with different academic background
Academic Performance	Marks of 10th, 12th and Graduation to be considered for Application Rating which is a criterion for WA-PI short-listing	Marks of 10th, 12th, Graduation & Masters Degree marks were considered for Application Rating which is a criterion for WA-PI short-listing. In addition work Experience also was considered.
Work Experience & Masters Degree marks	Work Experience & Masters Degree marks to carry weight age at final selection stage	Work Experience & Masters Degree marks carried weightage for WA-PI short-listing
Final Selection	70% weightage is given to WA-PI score and 30% weightage is given to the Composite Score including CAT score & academic performance	70% weightage given to WA-PI and 30% weightage to CAT score

Currently, freshers constitute around 27% of the batch.  As the new system does not give any points for work experience or for Master’s degree, the number of freshers who will be shortlisted for the WA-PI round is expected to increase.  Work Experience and postgraduate education will however be used as a criteria while evaluating candidates for final selection.

Minimum CAT-2013 Percentile

Category	PGP
	Sec.1 (QA+ DI) (%)	Sec2. (VA +LR) (%)	Total (%)
General	85	85	90
NC-OBC	75	75	80
SC	55	55	75
ST	50	50	70
DA	55	55	75

  

QA=Quantitative Ability; DI=Data Interpretation; VA=Verbal Ability; LR=Logical Reasoning

Selection Process at IIM-A

The selection of candidates for admission to the 2014-16 batch of the PGP at IIM Ahmedabad is a two-step process.
  

In the first step, candidates will be short-listed for written analysis and personal interviews from among candidates who have a valid CAT/GMAT score. Besides the toppers from diverse academic background, other candidates will be shortlisted through composite scores based on candidates’ 10+2+3 academic performance & CAT scores.

In the second step, after the completion of written analysis and personal interviews (WA-PIs) of all candidates short-listed in the first step, candidates for admission to the 2014-16 batch of the PGP at IIM Ahmedabad will be selected from among the candidates who have attended the WA-PI.

70% weightage is given to WA-PI score and 30% weightage is given to the Composite Score at the final stage of selection to arrive at the Aggregate Score. Selection at this stage will strictly be based on ranks on the Aggregate Score (based on CAT/GMAT*, Academic Rating (AR) and WA-PI Scores).

The WA-PI Score is based on different component including performance in the written analysis, personal interview, verifiable awards and recognitions, academic performance, exceptional achievements, extra-curricular activities, post-degree work experience, post-graduation education etc.

Stay tuned with MBAUniverse.com for more news and updates on IIM selection criteria.