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What is the detailed process to get admission into IIM Ahmedabad?
The entire admission process at IIM Ahmedabad for the PGP comprises 3 stages.
Stage 1:Preliminary Screening
The candidates that have cleared the CAT cutoff are shortlisted on the basis of a Composite Score or CS. The composite score is made up of academic rating score (AR) (includes 10th marks, 12th marks, and work experience) and normalized overall CAT score.
Or we can say,
Composite Score = Application Rating Score + Normalized CAT score
Application Rating score is based on class 10th, 12th, and bachelor exams, and work experience scores.
Shortlisting for Analytical Writing Test (AWT) & Personal Interview (PI):
The candidates with the best academic profiles and CAT scores will be further shortlisted for the next round. The shortlisted candidates will be called for AWT and a personal interview round.
Final Selection:
At this stage, candidates will be shortlisted across each category (General/ SC/ ST/ NC-OBC/ PwD) separately, based on their Final Composite Score (FCS).
The CAT cut-off is mentioned in the table below
|
Category |
Cutoff |
|
General, EWS |
80 |
|
NC-OBC, Transgender |
75 |
|
SC |
70 |
|
ST |
60 |
|
PwD (General, EWS NC-OBC, Transgender, SC) |
70 |
|
PwD ST |
60 |
How can a non-IITian make it to IIM Ahmedabad?
Focus on getting good percentile in CAT, in order to get admission in IIM Ahmedabad. Up until 2011, there used to be more than 95% of students from IIT in an IIM Ahmedabad batch. While in the past 7 years, the number of non-engineering students option for IIM has increased to 33%.
What was the lowest CAT percentile for an aspirant who got admission in IIM-Ahmedabad?
As there is no official record, it's difficult to know the lowest percentile accepted for admission at IIM Ahmedabad. But I know students who got admission with a percentile as low as 63 from engineering backgrounds.
But note that for 2022 IIM Ahmedabad cutoff is expected to be around the 99 percentile.
How was the interview of Aviral Bhatnagar in IIM-A?
I heard about Aviral Bhatnagar’s interview through some of my IIM Ahmedabad alumni friends. He appeared for the interview back in 2014. He scored 99.99 in CAT’13. He completed his B.Tech in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay. His 1oth and 12th percentage were 95.00 and 84.7, respectively.
The interview started with pleasantries. He was asked questions about his essay, his WAT, his life in IIT Bombay. They also questioned about his internship experience, the subjects he read during graduation. Other than these, the interviewers asked general questions regarding current affairs, tv shows.
What can be my prospects of joining IIM Ahmedabad for an MBA and later going to Harvard for some courses after becoming an IAS officer?
It has become a trend for IAS/PCS to pursue an MBA these days. But it’s important to note that there are no reserved seats for civil servants for the PGDM (MBA) program. You have to attempt CAT to join the Post Graduate program.
However, IIM-A offers a number of Professional Development programs suitable for senior government functionaries.
Personally, I will advise you to clarify your career goals. Determine what is more important in your career: Civil Services or an MBA. This is because people usually join the IIMs for careers in entrepreneurship or jobs in the corporate sector.
Why is IIM Ahmedabad not as good as Harvard, Stanford or Wharton?
Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton are way older than IIM Ahmedabad. These B-Schools offers better academic structure, faculty, alumni base, and infrastructure. Also, students need at least 3 years or more of work experience to attend Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton. IIM Ahmedabad doesn’t have any such prerequisites.
- These B-Schools offer more practical-oriented management education. An entrepreneurship class at HBS requires students to form a group, create a start-up model, pitch their ideas to guest investors, get funding and get it running before the semester ends. It helps students prepare better for the professional journey ahead.
- HBS and Stanford have Nobel laureates, heads of international institutes, authors of international bestsellers, and directors of top consulting firms as a part of their faculty pool.
- A typical bath profile of HBS will have people from every walks of life. You will share your lectures with investment bankers, military veterans, and professors. The peer learning scope is huge.
- Stanford and Harvard have huge alumni bases. As a student of these institutes, you will get to network with them and find good career opportunities.
These are a few of the many reasons that put Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton well ahead of IIM Ahmedabad.
Which is better, an IIM Ahmedabad degree or an MS in computer science in the US?
There is no clear winner in this comparison. We are talking about management degrees and computer science. These streams are fundamentally different and lead to different career paths.
If you want to settle in the US or other western countries then doing an MS in Computer Science is a better choice. The starting salary for computer science graduates is around $68,600 (INR 5,266,422). You will have access to better R&D facilities as well.
If you want a career in general management, finance, or consulting in India as well as abroad then choosing an IIM Ahmedabad degree is better. The median salary offered to IIM Ahmedabad graduates is INR 25 LPA.
What are the differences you noticed between IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Bombay?
There certainly are many differences between IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Bombay. IIT Bombay promotes freedom whereas IIM Ahmedabad teaches you accountability. IIT Bombay gives you the ability to dream whereas IIM Ahmedabad helps you change them. IITB is more generic in nature whereas IIMA focuses strictly on core concepts. Both carry equal importance in one’s life and one cannot be considered better than the other. They both are like two wheels of a vehicle indispensable to each other.
The table below states the primary differences through statistics.
|
Particulars |
IIT Bombay |
IIM Ahmedabad |
|
Highest CTC |
INR 4 CPA |
INR 1.16 CPA ($1,40,599) |
|
Average CTC |
INR 23.26 LPA |
INR 89.71 LPA ($1,08,405) |
|
Top Recruiters |
American Express, Honda Japan, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group |
Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, Bain & Company, Bain & Company, Goldman Sachs, TAS, and TCS |
|
Number of Recruiters |
400+ |
190 |
What CAT percentile do I require to get calls from IIM Blackis, FMS, SP Jain, JBIMS and MDI Gurgaon?
For GEM, the CAT percentiles required to get an interview call from IIM Blackis, FMS, SP Jain, JBIMS, and MDI Gurgaon are
- ABC and FMS: Both institutes required nothing less than 99.5. Those who get admission at a lesser percentile, usually don’t belong to the GEM category. There are many who don’t even get a call with 99.3. So to stay on the safer side, go for nothing less than 99.5.
- IIM Indore and Kozhikode: Both the institutes require percentiles around 97.5 for an interview call
- SPJIMR: This Institute has unique selection criteria under which CAT is given less value and calls are issued on the basis of the candidate's profile. The CAT percentile required in this case is less than the normal if you have a good academic profile along with work experience,
- MDI: This institute issues calls around the 96% mark.
It’s important to know that these figures are based on trends and not on actual data so you will find exceptions everywhere. Moreover, it’s better you don’t waste time analyzing the CAT cutoff and start preparing for the same.
Have any BBA/BMS grads made it to IIM Ahmedabad?
Yes, each IIM Ahmedabad batch profile includes many BBA and BMS graduates. In fact, you will find students from similar backgrounds in every IIM. But the majority of each branch comprises engineering students. Owing to their academic background, engineering students have an upper hand in the Quants section of CAT.
Although the majority are engineers, you will find students from diverse backgrounds with degrees in Arts, Commerce, Science, etc. If you are a student of BBA, you will enjoy the diversity factor which will give you an advantage during the IIM Ahmedabad selection process.
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