SPJIMR Admission Policy 2021 - CAT 2021 Cut Off Set At 85th Percentile

CAT Study Planner

A Breakdown of SPJIMR's 2021 PGDM Admission Policy

Amongst India's top business schools, SPJIMR has one of the most rigorous selection processes for admission to their flagship MBA (PGDM) program. The institute insists that applicants possess a strong and consistent academic background. Performance in 10th grade, 12th grade and every year of graduation are considered in the selection process. In fact, the first phase of SPJIMR's admissions process is the profile-based shortlisting of candidates. This phase is followed by the shortlisting of remaining applicants on the basis of their profile + CAT/GMAT performance. Here is a breakdown of SPJIMR Mumbai's PGDM admissions process.

Applicants shortlisted in the first phase are called for an early interview. The shortlist is based on their profile considering the following factors:

Consistency of academic record
Relevance of work experience for the specialization chosen
Versatility and achievements

Meeting the minimum eligibility cutoff in the entrance exam is mandatory in case of a profile based shortlist to appear for the interview. Given below are the CAT 2021 and GMAT cut-offs set by SPJIMR.

CAT 2021 - Sectional And Overall Cut Offs
VARC	DILR	QA	Overall
75	75	75	85
GMAT [January 01, 2019 to December 31, 2021]
Verbal	Quantitative	Overall
75	75	85

The second phase of admissions is held after the availability of entrance test scores. Applicants in this phase are called for interviews on the basis of their profile + performance in CAT/GMAT.

On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the safety of participants, interviews for PGDM 2022 -2024 may be conducted online on platforms of the institute’s choice. Due to the prevailing scenario on COVID-19, SPJIMR may continue with selection process as stated above OR use an alternative selection procedure (if required). This may require additional information from the applicants for any other appropriate mechanism depending on the nature of the guidelines issued by the government or state authorities.

SPJIMR's interview process is quite distinct from that of the IIMs, with the only common element being the Writing Ability Test (WAT). SPJIMR's interview process comprises a WAT round, a psychometric test, and two group interviews with a panel. There is no personal interview or group discussion round in SPJIMR's admissions process.

1. The WAT round requires applicants to write a short essay on topics that are most commonly abstract in nature. For instance, a candidate applying for admission to the PGDM batch of 2022 was given the topic "Tell us about your bad habits or vices and how you have overcome them," with a 300 word limit. Candidates are given 30 minutes for the WAT + the psychometric test.

2. SPJIMR conducts two group interview rounds with a panel usually comprising SPJIMR professors. The first interview round usually lasts for 30-odd minutes, and from each group, only a select few candidates are chosen for round two of the group interviews. Here is what an SPJIMR Mumbai interview is like.

After the interview process, which usually carries on from mid-January to late-February, selected candidates are extended admission offers to SPJIMR's two-year PGDM program. The selection list is based on a composite score, which takes into account the applicant’s profile, academic record, entrance test scores (CAT/ GMAT), relevance of work experience (if any) and performance in the two rounds of group interviews.

Read SPJIMR's latest admission policy on the institute's official website.