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What percentile do you need to get into FMS, MDI and SPJIMR in the CAT? What options can one consider other than IIM? What are their CAT cutoffs?
The placements at SPJIMR take place on the basis of the specialization taken by the students and the companies visit with the same intention. Broadly, the candidates are divided into 2 groups
Freshers: Apart from freshers, this category also includes those with up to 1.5 years of experience. They get offers from Marketing and Finance domains usually.
Experienced: This category comprises people with more than 1.5 years of experience. The roles most offered to them are Investment Banking and Operations.
Apart from work experience, there are many other major factors on which placements depend. For instance,
- Quality of Work Experience and understanding of it
- Academics
- What have you learned in MBA
- Extra Curricular
- Confidence
- Overall Personality
At SPJIMR, the roles are distributed quite equally despite the work experience gap. Like any other B School, there are toppers as well as lowest-level students. The rest receive an average income.
What is the sufficient score in the GMAT to get into MDI Gurgaon or SPJIMR Mumbai?
MDI Gurgaon and SPJIMR are considered among the best B Schools in India and therefore have a higher cutoff. The required GMAT score to reach these B Schools is around 680-700. Apart from this, you are required to have a minimum of 97 percentile in CAT/XAT for SPJIMR and 95 percentile in CAT for MDI Gurgaon.
Other requisites include
- Good academics
- Extracurricular activities
- Achievements
- Work experience
SPJIMR eligibility criteria include an 80 percentile overall on all sections. After this shortlisting, you have to move up for GDPI rounds.
Can I get into IIMs, XLRI, FMS, SIBM, SPJIMR, IIFT, MDI? I have 70/61/77 in 10th/12th/B.Com. What CAT percentile would be required to get a call and how to improve my profile?
Based on your past academic records, you are likely to get into top IIMs only with a very high CAT score. Honestly, your academic performance is average and IIMs especially give a lot of weightage to past academics. However, you can target IIM Shillong and elite Non-IIM b-schools such as FMS and MDI.
The best part of these Non-IIM B-Schools is their less weightage given to past academics during shortlisting. They focus the most on your CAT score. So anyone with an average profile can dream of getting into these schools by preparing for CAT sincerely and acing the exam.
Institutes like XLRI and IIFT focus a lot more on the entrance exam scores (around 60%) than your past academics. The other major parameters they give relative weightage to are work experience, GD/PI, and WAT performance. So choosing a B School like FMS, MDI, IIFT, XLRI, or JBIMS is a lot better for someone with your profile.
How to improve your profile:
Past Academics are not the only determining factor during admission. In fact, many B Schools give the least weightage to it. So the question is how can someone with an average profile up their scale and improve their profile? The 3 common ways are
- Gain some valid work experience (up to 3 years max)
- Pursue a hobby or passion in your leisure time
- Learn some professional skills
The CAT percentile required for some B schools you mentioned are
|
B School |
Percentile Required |
|
IIM Ahmedabad |
99.97+ |
|
IIM Calcutta |
99.99+ |
|
IIM Bangalore |
99.99+ |
|
IIM Lucknow |
99.8+ |
|
IIM Kozhikode |
99.9+ |
|
IIM Shillong |
96.80+ |
|
New IIMs |
94.00+ |
|
FMS |
99.40+ |
What is the minimum CAT score required to get into IIM A, B, C or FMS, DU or MDI, Gurgaon?
The entire admission process to any college is divided into 2 broad spectrums; the initial shortlisting and the Final Selection. While it is easy to get a rough estimate of the minimum CAT score required to fetch calls from institutes like IIM ABC, FMS Delhi, and MDI Gurgaon, one cannot predict the CAT score required to get selected in the final round. This is because the final selection is done on the basis of a number of factors like CAT, Interview, academic background and overall profile. Based on my research and experience, I have tried my best to give a general overview of the CAT cutoff of these institutes individually.
IIM Ahmedabad: The minimum CAT score required for admission in IIM Ahmedabad MBA (PGP) for 2023 Admission is the 80 percentile. However, the actual CAT Cutoff for IIM Ahmedabad usually ranges between 99-100. They shortlist the top 50/100 people from different academic fields provided they clear the basic cutoff.
IIM Bangalore: The minimum cutoff for MBA Admission at IIM Bangalore is 85 percentile. However, candidates having a CAT Score of 99 percentile or more can expect a call from IIM Bangalore. They weigh in things like academic records and work-ex for giving out interview calls. So you can receive a call at a score of 95 and you can also not receive a call even at 99.99 %ile.
IIM Calcutta: Candidates must have obtained at least 85 percentile in CAT overall. IIM Calcutta gives major weightage to the CAT score and gender diversity.
FMS Delhi: FMS gives calls solely on the basis of CAT score and does not give any weightage to past academics at all. So the FMS CAT cutoff is as high as the 98 percentile.
MDI Gurgaon: MDI Gurgaon CAT Cutoff range between 93 and 95 percentile for admission 2023.
What are the chances of getting into MDI Gurgaon with 95/92.6/84.2 percentages in X/XII/grad and 96.5 percentile in the CAT for an engineering male with 8 months of work experience
Generally, one gets a call from MDI at 95 percentile however for the final convert 96-97 percentile is observed as the score. Considering your profile, your CAT score is on the borderline, especially for a regular MBA. However, you are likely to get calls for MBA HR and MBA IB.
There are high chances of your getting calls from newer IIMs like Trichy, Ranchi, and Rohtak. Your exceptionally good academic background will fetch you a call.
Your work experience is too less to be considered and nevertheless, no top 2-year MBA program in India makes work ex essential. It comes into play only if you are applying to SPjain operations or IM specialization. You should consider other options like IIT KGP, Madras, and Kanpur. In addition, you should sit for some exams other than CAT like NMAT, IIFT, SNAP, and XAT.
How much salary do the last 50 MBA students get at final placements at B Schools like IIM Indore, IIFT Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SIBM Pune, etc.?
Colleges invite companies for placements on the basis of the preference list created by the students themselves. This means that the most preferred companies visit in the initial days while the least preferred companies visit towards the end. This eventually means that the last of the batch gets placed by mediocre companies.
Now here is a fact, sometimes the companies visiting at the end in order to get higher preference and attract maximum students, offer high packages that are at par with the preferred companies.
My uncle was a placement coordinator at IIFT a few years ago and gave me an insight into the placement scenario of such B Schools. Numerically speaking if the median salary of a particular B School is X, then the packages offered to the last 59 students would be around 0.6X-0.7X.
|
College Name |
Median Salary |
Salary expected by last 50 candidates |
|
IIM Indore |
INR 24.09 LPA |
INR 16.8 LPA |
|
IIFT Delhi |
INR 25.6 LPA |
INR 17.9 LPA |
|
MDI Gurgaon |
INR 24 LPA |
INR 16.8 LPA |
|
SIBM Pune |
INR 20.80 LPA |
INR 14.5 LPA |
The approximate salary offered to the last 50 candidates of the B Schools you mentioned is around 15-17 LPA.
Kindly note that these figures are based solely on guesses and anecdotes from my juniors, and are just meant to give an idea of the salary.
Does MDI Gurgaon reject people with CAT 99+ percentiles, after average GD-PIs?
First of all the candidates need to discard the misconception that a certain fixed type of profile will guarantee their admission to MDI Gurgaon. In reality, people get rejected even after excellent CAT scores and good profiles. The reasons pertaining to every individual's rejection or selection are subjective and cannot be generalized. Mostly the interview, which is the final step, determines if the candidate is fit for the PGDM program or not. It might be possible that the panelists don’t find you fit for their program and reject you. Or some people are rejected from a certain regular program for the sole reason that they are fitter for the Executive program. So I cannot answer your question objectively as there are no fixed criteria for the same.
It's my dream to pursue an M.B.A from MDI. Is there any chance of getting to MDI Gurgaon through the CAT with my academics?
Yes, even with your profile, you can certainly pursue an MBA from MDI and fulfill your dream provided that you score excellently in your CAT. There are 2 major reasons why people prefer MDI Gurgaon even with low past academics
The criteria of the preliminary round does not include any weightage to past academics.
The final round gives very little weightage to past academics
This relaxation makes it possible for those who are geniuses yet because of a certain issue could not achieve great marks in the past. An interview call can be expected around the 98+ percentile and the 99 percentile is required to guarantee your entry into the college.
However, MDI Gurgaon lays great emphasis on interviews so the best way to compensate for your low marks is to perform excellently during your interview and justify your low marks confidently. So 2 things will help you get into MDI,
- A good CAT score
- An excellent interview
What has been the actual CAT cutoff for MDI in Gurgaon over the years?
Management Development Institute, Gurgaon does not declare the admission cutoff scores admission in MDI Gurgaon is directed through CAT cutoff only. Candidates seeking admission to MDI Gurgaon admission will be shortlisted through the combined process in CAT and the final selection process will be held in March 2023 at one of the centers in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai.
MDI Gurgaon announces CAT cutoff through a composite score. The overall performance of the candidate in the proceeding rounds defines the final merit list. Going by past trends MDI Gurgaon cut-off 2023 may be between 93 and 95 percentile in CAT 2022 for admission 2023.
MDI Gurgaon CAT Cut off 2023 (Expected)
|
Component |
Cutoff |
|
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
85 |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
75 |
|
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
79 |
|
Overall |
94.93 |
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for admission in MDI Gurgaon consists of two stages. These are:
Stage 1- Shortlisting
The candidates are shortlisted for the WAT–GD–PI round on the basis of CAT percentiles and their overall academic details. The minimum CAT percentile requirement is decided based on the number of candidates to be shortlisted.
Stage 2- WAT–GD–PI
The shortlisted candidates go through the following process:
Written Analysis Test (WAT): Candidates must submit a written test on the topic provided. The evaluation of WAT is on the basis of content and language.
Group Discussion (GD): The candidates are asked to discuss the same topic in a group discussion. The evaluation of GD will be on group behavior, speech deliverance, and content.
Personal Interview (PI): Lastly the candidates must appear for a personal interview. The evaluation will be on communication, analytical ability, general aptitude, and business awareness.
The final merit list is prepared on the basis of the following parameters
|
Parameter |
Weightage |
|
CAT |
60 |
|
Academic profile |
20 |
|
WAT, GD- PI |
20 |
Only NRI candidates can take up GMAT instead of CAT.
Indian Institute of Management: Which one should I choose between IIFT, Delhi and MDI, Gurgaon?
I know a friend who was in a similar dilemma but she chose IIFT for the following reasons
- Finance: IIFT is among only a few Finance campuses in the country. Almost 50% of the batch are Finance majors. The campus is visited by big names in the sector including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Axis Bank which recruit in large numbers.
- Batch size: The small batch size at IIFT Delhi makes it a more probable choice than MDI Gurgaon. Comparing the placement reports one may infer that the statistics are almost similar except for IIFT having a slight advantage due to its stronger alumni base. This is because for the same role, you will be competing with lesser people in IIFT whereas more people in MDI Gurgaon.
- Degree certification: MDI Gurgaon grants you a PGDM degree whereas IIFT grants you an MBA degree. While the similarity and equivalence is well known within the country, it might be a challenge to establish the same outside India.
- Alumni base: IIFT Delhi has been established for 59 years and consequently boasts of a richer stronger alumni network than MDI Gurgaon.
- Accreditation: IIFT is under the Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India which also audits its placement reports.
- Entrepreneurship: IIFT encourages entrepreneurship through imparting knowledge on trade apart from the regular finance, marketing, and strategy courses like other B schools.
Many people I know chose IIFT over MDI Gurgaon after doing healthy research and a comparison of the two. You can do the same but remember not to focus solely on placement reports as IIFT placement reports are of the Delhi and Kolkata campuses combined and Delhi alone is much better.
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