No, a 99 percentile in CAT does not guarantee a seat in IIM A B or C. One of my friends had an amazing profile with
Despite having such a high profile he failed to get a single interview call from any IIM. The reservation policy combined with favour towards female candidates minimises the opportunities for even top CAT percentilers.
Firstly, GRE scores are not accepted for the PGP MBA program. Only CAT/GMAT scores are accepted. To apply through the GMAT route you need sufficient work experience in a foreign country.
For the FPM program, like any other doctoral program, the quality of the application matters the most and there is no cut-off for the GRE scores. Other factors that are actually considered are
Profile
Past research
Publications
There is no specific GRE score that would guarantee a call-up from IIM Ahmedabad.
IIM Ahmedabad has set the CAT papers 2 times till now, 2009 and 2015. So I will show you the pattern of the paper both the years.
CAT 2009
Time: 150 mins
Number of Questions: 60
Sections:3(VARC,DILR and QA)
VARC Section(20 questions): Moderate-Difficult
The section included RCs and VA(all the basic topics that students practice while preparing).
DILR Section(20 questions): Moderate
DI(10 questions): DI sets were lengthy and involved tedious calculations. More speed was required and speed maths was a challenging part.
LR(10 questions): Pure logical, had little or no calculations.
QA Sections(20 questions): Easy-Moderate
This section tested all basic concepts and formulas. Solving previous years papers will help you in this section.
If the exam is of 2 hours this pattern might be repeated
CAT 2015
Time: 180 mins
Number of questions: 100
Sections: 3 (VARC,DILR and QA)
VARC (34 questions): 20 questions were easy
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR:32 questions): 17–18 correct was good attempt) This section was the most challenging part of CAT 2015
Quantitative Ability(34 QUESTIONS)
The relative easiness of the Quant section was overshadowed by the tougher section, which preceded QA (ie DILR) and contributed to the fatigue factor. There was huge emphasis on Arithmetics and Geometry and even a non engineer could easily solve it.
If the exam is of 3 hours then this pattern could be repeated.
No, it’s not necessary that all 100 percentiles get into IIM Ahmedabad. Either they don’t get selected or they have some other college at the top of their preference list.
The CAT 100 percentilers opt for either of the following options:
Many 100 percentilers with work experience tend to apply for GMAT if they want to pursue their career abroad.
Some with even 100 percentile don’t get into B-Schools at all. They either pursue teaching in that field. Nowadays MBA preparation websites and CAT coaching Institutes are common.
Not all 100 percentilers are lucky enough to make it into IIMA. They get rejected in the interview round.
It’s not necessary that every 100 percentiler has IIMA at the top of their preference list. Some might prefer IIMB because of location or FMS because of the fee structure.
We can say that the chances of 100 percentilers getting into IIMA are high but not assured.
IIM Ahmedabad Alumni are well established all across the world. Here is a list of some of them.