IIM Bangalore's 2021 admission policy for admission to the PGP batch of 2022-2024 has now been released. IIM Bangalore's latest selection criteria remain unchanged as compared to last year, with the institute continuing to give CAT scores less weightage than candidates' profiles. The CAT 2021 cut-offs also remain unchanged, with IIM Bangalore setting the overall CAT 2021 cut-off at the 85th percentile. For shortlisting candidates for the WAT-PI round, IIM Bangalore will evaluate a candidate's 10th, 12th, and graduation marks, along with significant weight for work experience as well as diversity. These will account for 60% of the total weight. Here is a detailed breakdown of IIM Bangalore's 2021 admission policy.
IIM Bangalore 2021 Admission Policy - Five Important Points To Remember
- IIM Bangalore has set the overall CAT 2021 cut-off at the 85th percentile. The sectional cut-off for the VARC section has been set at the 80th percentile, while the sectional cut-offs for the DILR and QA section have been set at the 75th percentile. This cut-off will be used to shortlist candidates for the WAT-PI round. Note that simply meeting the cut-off is not a guarantee of being shortlisted for the interview round.
- While shortlisting candidates for the WAT-PI round, IIM Bangalore will give 60% weight to a candidate's profile, including their 10th, 12th and graduation marks along with their work experience and gender (diversity).
- Candidates' CAT 2021 scores will account for 40% of the total weighted composite score. The 40 points for CAT are derived from the performance in each of the three sections as follows VARC (14 points), DILR (16 points), QA (10 points).
- While creating the final shortlist for admissions, IIM Bangalore has assigned a 30% weight to a candidate's PI performance, 25% weight to a candidate's CAT 2021 score, 10% weight each for 10th marks, graduation marks, work experience, and WAT performance. There will also be a 5% weight for 12th marks.
- In the above, The 25 points for CAT are derived from the performance in each of the three sections as follows - VARC (8.75 points), DILR (10 points), QA (6.25 points).
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A Simple Breakdown of IIM Bangalore's 2021 Admission Policy
The selection process arrived at by IIM Bangalore "is based on the relationship between the academic performance of students of the PGP in IIM B and their past academic performance, their CAT score, performance in the admission interview and prior work experience."
(see http://g.co/ng/security#xss)IIM Bangalore's process of eliminating and selecting candidates can be broken down into three simple steps -
- Filtering out candidates based on minimum CAT 2021 percentile cut-offs.
- Shortlisting candidates based on weighted composite score that takes into account a candidate's profile as well as their CAT 2021 performance. IIM Bangalore also assigns extra points for gender diversity.
- Shortlisting candidates for admission based on their performance in the Writing Ability Test + Personal Interview round + Academic Profile + CAT 2021 scores + Work Experience.
Step 1 - Eliminating Candidates Based On Minimum Overall And Sectional CAT Percentile Cut-Offs
The table below captures the minimum overall and sectional CAT percentile cut-offs set by IIM Bangalore in 2021. Candidates must meet both the overall and sectional cut-offs to stand a chance of being shortlisted for further rounds of selection. Please note that simply meeting the minimum cut-offs set by any IIM is not a guarantee of a shortlist from said IIM.
| 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. | ||||
Step 2 - Shortlisting Candidates For The WAT-PI Round, Based On Weighted Composite Score
Only those candidates who meet the criteria in Step-1 will be eligible for Step-2 of the selection process. In this step, IIM Bangalore will calculate a weighted composite score for each eligible candidate based on their academic performance as well as their CAT 2021 scores. Please note that:
- For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Step 1, the candidates percentage scores in the 10th and 12th board exams are initially adjusted by dividing each such score by the 90th percentile score obtained in that board. The database of 10th and 12th scores of all CAT applicants of the past two years is used for identifying the 90th percentile score for each 10th and 12th board for this purpose.
- For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Step 1, an adjusted score is calculated for each of the candidates based on the final scores obtained by the candidate in his/her bachelors’ degree and/or professional degrees, as the case may be.
- The gender diversity component is applicable only for the computing the pre-PI score for deciding on interview calls, and will not be applicable for phase 2 of the admissions process leading up to the final offers of admission.
The table below captures the various components evaluated by IIM Bangalore and their respective weights while creating the WAT-PI shortlist:
| Component | Weight |
| CAT 2021 Score | 40% |
| 10th Marks | 20% |
| 12th Marks | 10% |
| Graduation Marks | 20% |
| Work Experience | 8% |
| Gender Diversity | 2% |
| Total | 100% |
• The 40 points for CAT are derived from the performance in each of the three sections as follows: Verbal & Reading Comprehension (VARC) - 14 points, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) - 16 points, and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) - 10 points.
• Pre-PI Score for work experience is equal to:
- 8x/36 if 0<x<36
- 8 if x >= 36.
Where x is the months of work experience up to July 2021, as captured in CAT application form (and substantiated in the application to IIM B). This implies that the score will peak at 36 months work experience and will remain at that level for candidates with work experience exceeding 36 months.
• For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Step 1, the top 10 candidates in each of the following : total score in CAT, adjusted Bachelors’ score (Commerce, Arts, & Science disciplines), and Professional (CA/ICWA/CS), from the first shortlist, as created using the criteria in Step 1 automatically qualify for PI. These candidates are given a chance to appear for PI due to their exceptional performance in these categories. However, at the end of Step 3, all such candidates must merit selection based on the composite aggregate score, like any other candidate.
Step 3 - Shortlisting Candidates Based On Writing Ability Test + Personal Interview Performance
After candidates have been shortlisted in Step 2 of the selection process, IIM Bangalore will conduct the WAT-PI round. The institute will then create a weighted composite score based on a candidate's WAT-PI performance, their CAT 2020 scores, their academic profile, as well as their work experience. Each component will be assigned a different weight, as illustrated in the table below. This is the final stage of the selection process before admission offers are extended to selected candidates.
| Component | Weight |
| Personal Interview | 30% |
| Writing Ability Test | 10% |
| CAT 2020 Score | 25% |
| 10th Marks | 10% |
| 12th Marks | 5% |
| Graduation Marks | 10% |
| Weighted Work Experience | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
• The performance of each candidate on the Written Ability Test (WAT) will be scored in terms of the content and style of the note. Each interviewer will use the Personal Interview to comprehensively evaluate the candidate's motivation and ability to fit in to and benefit from the PGP. The average of the scores given by the interviewers in the personal interview will be used in calculating the multi factor score based on which offers of admission will be finally made, while for the WAT, the scores given by an independent evaluator will be considered.
• The work experience score will be multiplied by the quality of experience score, as evaluated by the interviewing panel as an assessment of the relevance of the work experience to the programme. The quality of work experience score will be evaluated on a 5 point scale (0.25 - 0.5 - 1 - 1.5 - 2) by each member of the panel during the interviews. The average quality of work experience score will be multiplied by the pre-PI work experience score and accordingly the work/professional experience component score used in Step 2 will be revised to arrive at a weighted work experience score.
Read IIM Bangalore's 2021 admission policy on the institute's official website.
What Does IIM Bangalore's Admission Policy Mean For You?
IIM Bangalore is one of the more difficult IIMs to get into, simply because the institute is one of the few IIMs that gives a significantly higher weightage to a candidate's overall profile than his/her CAT 2021 score. This means that in the WAT-PI shortlisting stage, only 40% of the weighted composite score is in your hands. Add to this the fact that IIM Bangalore considers all components of your academic profile (10th + 12th + Graduation), which makes IIM Bangalore difficult to get into for those with inconsistent academic scores.
IIM Bangalore will give a distinct preference to candidates with substantial work experience, especially those with experience equal to or upward of 3 years, though this is also dependent of the quality of work experience (as will be evaluated by the PI panel).
Female applicants will get a slight advantage in the WAT-PI shortlisting process. Unlike most other IIMs, IIM Bangalore's admissions process will be a level playing field for Engineering and non-Engineering applicants, and the latter will not get any advantage at any stage of the selection process.
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