How Can I Get An Interview Call From IIM Calcutta? – CAT 2016 : PGP 2017 -19

IIM Calcutta has announced the admission criteria for the PGP-PGDM batch of 2017-19 and the big news is that weight given to CAT has dropped further. One of the last bastions for students with slightly bad acads who could get calls on the back of their CAT Percentile has also decided to give way to a more 'complete profile'. CAT weight has gone down steadily at IIM Calcutta from 77% in CAT 2014 to 67% in CAT 2015 to 56% now. CAT weight for final selection is as low as 30%. IIM Calcutta now gives a whopping 40% weight to Past acads - 10th and 12th while shortlisting.    The weight given to Gender Diversity for getting a call from IIM Calcutta has been increased from 3% to 4%. The admission process includes 2 steps, shortlisting of candidates based on CAT 2016 scores followed by WAT and PI rounds. The first step has two stages. The first stage of candidates scoring 80, 80, 80 in each section and overall 90 percentiles for general category remains the same as last year. The changes:

1. CAT weight is now 28 out of 50 in the shortlisting criteria. This means effectively CAT accounts only for 56% of your score. So
2. Weight to 10th and 12th scores is 10/50 each instead of 15/100 each last year for the shortlist. This means acad weight has gone up to 20% as compared to 15% last year. Hence, 40% is acads (10th + 12th score) as compared to 30% last year.
3. Gender diversity is encouraged – 2 points for being a woman - effectively means 4% as compared to 3% last year. (This will help only in the initial shortlisting stage and will not be a factor in the final selection).
4. Weightage for work-experience on a scale of 0-4 where 31-36 months of work ex gets 4 points, and from there on, up to 42 months, your work-ex score gets reduced to 3 points and anything more than 42 months, your work-ex points get reduced to 2.5. (Work-experience in terms of number of months, will be calculated as of January 2017).

The process remains the same more or less as compared to last year:

1. The first stage is composed of achieving minimum CAT percentile (both section wise cutoff and overall)
2. The score calculation for composite score will be done for those candidates who will clear the above cut-offs
3. There are points and weights assigned to the following factors for composite score- CAT score, past academic performance (excluding your graduation scores) and gender diversity ( 2 points for females) out of 50.
4. Final score will be calculated on the basis of WAT, PI, CAT score, Under graduation and work experience out of 50.
5. Many candidates will get a level play as same weightage has been given to marks more than 80 in classes 10th and 12^th.
6. Highest weightage is given to candidates with work-ex between 2.5 and 3 years. Candidates with less than 6 months work-ex will not be given any weightage.
7. Points will be awarded to candidates with Diverse Academic Background at Bachelor’s degree level. That is, 2 points for candidates with non-engineering background. (This will be a factor only in the final selection.

  The Criteria As Given on the Website Stage 1 short-listing comprises candidates achieving the minimum section-wise and overall percentile in CAT 2016 as per Table 1 below: Table 1: Minimum Cut-off Percentile for short-listing the candidates for Personal Interview (PI) stage

Category	Section – I Quantitative Ability (QA)	Section – II Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	Section – III Verbal Ability (VA)	Overall
OPEN	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 80	≥ 90
NC-OBC	≥ 75	≥ 75	≥ 75	≥ 85
SC	≥ 65	≥ 65	≥ 65	≥ 70
ST	≥ 60	≥ 60	≥ 60	≥ 70
DA	≥ 65	≥ 65	≥ 65	≥ 70

Stage II: Calculation of Composite Scores for Short-listing for PI stage The Composite Score is calculated on the basis of CAT 2016 score, Class X and Class XII aggregate percentages, and gender diversity factor. Table 2: Points for Class X and Class XII marks*

Class X Marks (in %)	Points	Class XII Marks (in %)	Points
≥80	10	≥80	10
≥ 75 and < 80	8	≥ 75 and < 80	8
≥ 70 and < 75	6	≥ 70 and < 75	6
≥ 65 and < 70	4	≥ 65 and < 70	4
≥ 60 and < 65	2	≥ 60 and < 65	2
< 60	0	< 60	0

*(For computing the percentage of marks obtained in Class X and Class XII, the aggregate marks of all subjects that appear in the mark sheet/grade sheet would be considered irrespective of whether the Board considers them for calculation of percentage). The composite score is calculated based on Table 3. The composite cut-off score is used for short-listing the candidates for the PI stage in each category. The number of candidates short-listed for the PI stage would be the discretion of the institute and would depend on the batch size of 2017-19. Table 3: Components and corresponding weights assigned for generating category-wise short-lists for the PI stage

Components	Weights	Method of Calculation
CAT 2016 Overall Score	28	(A/B) x 28
Class X marks	10	As per Table 2 above
Class XII marks	10	As per Table 2 above
Gender Diversity Factor	2	2 points will be awarded to promote gender diversity
Total	50

A = Candidate’s Total CAT 2016 score
B = Maximum CAT 2016 Score

Candidates based on their composite score will be called for the PI stage of the selection process that would comprise a Personal Interview (PI) and a Written Ability Test (WAT).   FINAL SELECTION A candidate’s final score for selection is calculated on the basis of Table 4. Table 4 indicates the criteria and their weights to be used for the final selection for PGP-PGDM for the 2017-19 batch. Table 4: Criteria and weights for final selection for PGP- PGDM

Criterion	Weights
CAT 2016 Score	15
Personal Interview (PI)	24
Written Ability Test (WAT)	5
Point awarded for Academic Diversity at Bachelor’s degree level (Academic Diversity Factor for Bachelor’s degree (ADFB)): Candidates with any of the following bachelor’s degree in the list X below are eligible for ADFB: List X: BA, BA(H), B.Sc, B.Sc.(H), BS, B.Com, B.Com(H), BCA, BBA, B.Pharma, LL.B, MBBS, BDS or any other Non-Engineering bachelor’s degree not mentioned above.	If (Bachelor’s degree is from the list X) ADFB=2; else ADFB=0
Work Experience	4
Total	50

For work experience, a maximum of Four points will be awarded depending on the length of service as on January 31, 2017 (Please refer Table 5). Only managerial work experience after graduation will be considered. Training/Project work/work done as an integral part of curricular requirement will not be considered. Table 5: Points for work experience in completed months

Months	Points
<6	0
6 to 12	1
13 to 18	2
19 to 24	3
25 to 30	3.5
31 to 36	4
37 to 42	3
>= 43	2.5

  Verdict: The points for gender diversity when shortlisting for interviews not only prevails but has increased by 1% and looks like it is here to stay for a few more years. Also, the points for non-engineering candidates in the interview stages stays. This is to increase diversity at IIM Calcutta. Getting more than 80% in 10^th and 12^th will put you in the top bracket so you needn’t worry about normalisation. Maximum weight is given to your CAT score as well as your Personal Interview followed by your percentages in 10^th and 12^th. As compared to most other old IIMs, IIM Calcutta no longer is the one that gives maximum weight to CAT Percentile. Both IIM A and IIM L (as of last year's criteria) give more weight. Hence, IIM Calcutta has also become an acad focussed IIM when shortlisting candidates for interviews. You get full marks if you’ve scored more than 80% putting you at par with candidates with stellar performances. Moreover, it doesn’t consider the graduation score but your graduation field. Candidates with 2.5-3 years given full 4 points whereas candidates with anything less than six months are given no points, encouraging working professionals to make that leap to advance in their careers.   To read IIM A's admission criteria for the Class of 2019, click here