I am sure this is one question that comes up in everyone's mind while they are preparing for the CAT exam and to be honest, it's a valid question. The short answer to this question is NO! but let's discuss this question in a little detail to understand why is it so?
There are a lot of factors that B-Schools consider while going through your entire profile and CAT score is just one of them. The weightage of CAT score varies from college to college and even stages to stages.
Some B-Schools might give just 20% weightage to CAT score in Stage 1 (Shortlisting for GD-PI) whereas this weightage might be 60-70% for some other college for the same round. The weightage might change for Stage 2 (final selection).
Let's look at some of the different parameters judged by the colleges:
- CAT Score
- Past-academic scores
- Work Experience
- Extra-Curricular Activities
- Certifications
- Gender/ Academic Diversity etc.
Again, the weightage of all these parameters vary from college to college based on what they expect from the students and because of such varied parameters, there is no set cut-off for most colleges in terms of CAT score (the colleges might release the cut-off in terms of the composite score, which includes all the parameters).
Having said this, CAT score does play a very major role in your entire admission process especially in Stage 1 (Shortlisting for GD-PI).
Once you are shortlisted for the GD-PI WAT round, the most important component is your interview. Simply, because of the fact that this is the only chance for the Admission Committee to meet you in person and get to know if you are the right fit for the college or not.
The importance of your CAT Score starts diminishing as you go higher up the hierarchy in terms of the college selection. Let me explain this.
Imagine, you are sitting for IIM A/B/C interview with a CAT score of 99.5+ %ile. You need to keep in mind that most of the other students are also there with a similar CAT score. So even if the weightage of the CAT score is 50%, the absolute difference will be very less.
This is where the other factors come into the picture, especially your interview. Of course, if your CAT score is towards the lower end, then it is even more important for you to do better in the interview and ace all the other parameters.
Now, let's consider a college where the average CAT score is less, for eg, IMT Ghaziabad or IMI Delhi. The average CAT score in these B-Schools is approximately 90-93%ile. Now, these B-Schools will shortlist everyone whose score is more than 93%ile (unless other parameters are extremely bad) but the thing to keep in mind is that the difference in the absolute score is much wider in such colleges because there are people with CAT score of 99%ile as well.
Think of a person who has got 96%ile. If he is not be shortlisted from any of the 6 main IIMs. His best calls would be MDI Gurgaon/NITIE/IIM Shillong and then directly colleges like IMT Ghaziabad/New IIMs etc. If this person has an average profile, he might not get selected for the top colleges in his list because of 2 simple reasons:
- Average Profile
- CAT score on the lower end
But, this student when interviews for IMT Ghaziabad/IMI Delhi etc., his chances improves marginally because his CAT score is much higher than the average score of that college. This puts people who have CAT score in the range of 90%ile in danger. The difference keeps on increasing as we go lower down the chain. If the same student applies for a B-School where the average CAT score is 70%ile, 99% chances are he will get the admission.
So, in conclusion, a good CAT score does not guarantee you a good B-School, especially if are aiming for the top-most colleges because a good CAT score is something that everyone, who is seriously aiming for that college, would have (it goes without saying) but might become a deal-breaker in B-Schools where the average CAT score is lower.
(Disclaimer: All these are just examples that I have quoted to provide better understanding and I am not saying that any B-School is better/worse than others. Every college has its own strengths and weaknesses)