Amongst business schools, and even amongst the IIMs, IIM Bangalore is one of the most merit-focused in its selection process. With the IIM Bangalore's 2022 selection criteria released, it appears that that's changed. In 2022, IIM Bangalore will assign majority weight to CAT scores and not a candidate's overall profile, as was the case last year. And to the joy of many aspirants, this increase in the weight for CAT scores comes from the removal of graduation marks from the admission criteria. Here are more details.
IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2022: Important Points to Remember
There have been some notable changes to the IIM Bangalore selection criteria in 2022. Here's what you need to remember:
- The minimum overall CAT cut-off stays at 85 percentile. The minimum cut-off for VARC remains at 80 percentile, and the cut-off for the other two sections remain at 75 percentile.
- In the WAT-PI shortlisting process, IIM Bangalore has removed graduation marks as a component and increased the weight for CAT scores from 40% to 55%.
- Candidates with equal to or more than three years of work experience (as of July 2022) will be given maximum points for work experience. But this is only valid during shortlisting for the WAT-PI round. In later rounds, panellists will also evaluate the quality of work experience for every candidate.
- IIM Bangalore has assigned 5% weight for gender diversity in the initial stages of the process. No explicit weight has been assigned for academic diversity, though the institute has attempted to level the playing field for non-engineers by reducing the QA cut-off and its weight in the admissions process.
- In the final shortlisting stage, IIM Bangalore has increased the weight for 12th marks and PI score, after eliminating graduation marks as a selection criterion.
Must Read → IIM Lucknow Selection Criteria 2022: CAT Score the Leading Selection Parameter
Understanding IIM Bangalore's 2022 Selection Criteria
Here's a quick breakdown of IIM Bangalore's admission criteria and selection process in 2022.
Phase 1: Screening candidates on the basis of CAT 2022 minimum cut-offs
In this phase, IIM Bangalore screens candidates based on the institute's minimum overall and sectional CAT 2022 cut-offs. About 85% of all test takers are filtered out at this stage. The table below captures IIM Bangalore's CAT 2022 minimum cut-offs.
| Section |
| Category |
VA-RC* |
DI-LR* |
QA* |
Overall* |
| General |
80 |
75 |
75 |
85 |
| NC-OBC |
70 |
65 |
65 |
75 |
| EWS |
70 |
65 |
65 |
75 |
| SC |
65 |
60 |
60 |
70 |
| ST |
55 |
55 |
55 |
65 |
| PwD |
50 |
50 |
50 |
60 |
| *Figures indicate percentile. |
Please note that just because you have met all minimum cut-offs, you're not guaranteed a WAT-PI shortlist. That will depend on your CAT performance as well as other selection criteria that will become relevant in the next phase.
Phase 2: Shortlisting candidates for the WAT-PI process, based on weighted score
Here, candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their CAT 2022 score, 10th and 12th marks, and work experience. The table below shows the IIM Bangalore's admission criteria and their weights.
| IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2022 | WAT-PI Shortlisting |
| Component |
Weight |
| CAT 2022 score |
55 |
| 10th marks |
15 |
| 12th marks |
15 |
| Work experience |
10 |
| Gender diversity |
5 |
| CAT 2022 Sectional Weights |
| Component |
Weight |
| VARC |
19 |
| DILR |
21 |
| QA |
15 |
| Work Experience* Score Calculation |
| Component |
Score |
| Experience between 0 to 36 months (X) |
10X/36 |
| Experience greater than and equal to 36 months |
10 |
| *For work experience in months upto July 2022. |
Beyond this, candidates with the top 10 highest scores in CAT 2022, and those amongst the top 10 in the CA/ICWA/CS category automatically quality for the WAT-PI round.
Phase 3: Shortlisting candidates for final admission, based on weighted score
Once the WAT-PI process has finished, candidates will once again be evaluated based on a set of selection criteria. The table below shows the IIM Bangalore's admission criteria for final shortlisting, and their weights.
| IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria 2022 | WAT-PI Shortlisting |
| Component |
Weight |
| CAT 2022 score |
25 |
| 10th marks |
10 |
| 12th marks |
10 |
| Weighted work experience |
10 |
| WAT |
10 |
| PI |
35 |
At this stage, panellists will also evaluate the quality of work experience. To compute this, your work experience score from Phase 1 will be scaled down to a maximum score of 5, and then multiplied with a 'quality score' to arrive at the weighted score. For more details, explore the
official admission policy document.
What Does IIM Bangalore's 2022 Selection Criteria Mean for You?
1. With 55% weight in the first phase and 25% weight in the second phase, your CAT score will be a huge factor in your admission to IIM Bangalore.
2. Within CAT, IIM Bangalore has also defined that DILR performance > VARC performance > QA performance, which may be of some relief to non-engineers.
3. If you have three years or more of work experience, IIM Bangalore will reward you with maximum possible marks in the WAT-PI shortlisting phase. But your quality of work will become more important in the final shortlisting phase.
4. Have terrible graduation marks? You won't be punished. IIM Bangalore will only consider your 10th and 12th performance to judge you.
5. Women will have a slight edge in the admissions process, but limited only to the WAT-PI shortlisting phase. There continues to be no weight for academic diversity.
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