Coronavirus Forces IIMs To Change Selection Process, IIM Indore Latest To Eliminate Weightage For WAT

As you are aware that COVID-19 impacted our admissions process in March 2020 and we decided to shift to the online mode for conducting interviews of the remaining candidates. Since conducting online Written Ability Test (WAT) was not possible for such candidates who appeared for the online interviews, the Admissions Committee after due deliberations and considerations, has decided to drop the WAT component and its weightage for all the candidates for the PGP and PGP-HRM admissions process of IIM Indore for 2020. This change will be applicable to all candidates - those who appeared in-person as well as those who appeared online for the interviews.

This decision has been taken by the admissions committee of IIM Indore to ensure consistency and fairness for all the candidates. Please note that IIM Indore reserves the right to amend the Admission Policy at any point if it deems necessary and the current situation warrants this decision in order to maintain process transparency, fairness, and consistency."

Earlier this year in April, IIM Lucknow became the first IIM to announce that the Writing Ability (WAT) component would be removed from evaluation for the selection of CAT 2019 test-takers. The following is the official statement put out by IIM Lucknow on the institute's official website.

"Owing to gathering restrictions imposed by the Government of India to contain the spread of COVID-19, IIM Lucknow has decided to exclude the Writing Ability Test (WAT, 10 marks) from the evaluation components for admission to PGP/ PGP-ABM/ PGP-SM. This change in the evaluation components is applicable for this year only (i.e., Batch 2020-22)."

Other Top IIMs Release Final Shortlists For Admission To The MBA Batch of 2020-2022

In May 2020, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Shillong released the final shortlists for admission to their MBA program. The MBA programs at the IIMs are due to commence in the month of August, delayed from the usual date of commencement due to the Coronavirus global crisis. It is likely that the incoming MBA batch at the IIMs may have to temporarily join the program in its online mode, subject to the status of the Coronavirus lockdown in the country.

Take a look at this video for 5 latest updates from the world of MBA.

Meanwhile, FMS Delhi Is Yet To Begin The GD-PI Selection Process For Admission To The MBA Program

While the IIMs and other top management institutes have India have begun (and completed) their admission process for the batch of 2020-2022, FMS Delhi, one of India's premier management institutes, has not yet begun its GD-PI selection process. Usually the last among top business schools to conduct the admissions process, FMS Delhi has not yet begun the Group Discussion and Personal Interview process and appears to have made no communication with students regarding updates. As a result, forums are rife with speculation.

"Maybe FMS is waiting to get final confirmation from the DU chancellor or something to directly give admission and not conduct GD-PI, as it literally doesn't make sense that a college like FMS would be in a confused state regarding which parameters to include and the weightage allotment thing," says one user on a popular admissions forum.

As IIMs release shortlists, FMS aspirants are becoming increasingly anxious. "I think the worst part is that FMS is not letting us move on. Guys who scored really high and converted ABC are all sorted. Guys who scored less and have started preparing for CAT 2020 have moved on. But we are still stuck here. And now just imagine if they decide to conduct online interviews, approximately 1 more month of this anxiety," said one user on the same forum.

"Now it's really frustrating. No notification for almost two months. Other b-schools have even started releasing their admits and FMS isn't sure what it wants to do. That's highly unprofessional from an institution of such high reputation," said another concerned aspirant looking to begin their management education journey with FMS Delhi. Recently, many applicants were also unable to open FMS Delhi's official website, leading to further speculation and exacerbating anxiety among them.