IIM Bangalore (IIMB) Selection Criteria Admission PGP 2019-21

IIM Bangalore has announced the details of selection criteria and shortlisting process for PGP admission 2019-2021. The process arrived at, is based on the relationship of academic performance in IIMB to past academic performance, CAT score, performance in the interview and prior work experience. The detailed outline of IIMB admission and selection criteria 2019 is given here.

IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria and Admission PGP 2019-2021

IIM Selection Criteria 2019 is published by each IIM individually. The admission in IIMs is done in two levels. The first is to appear in CAT and qualify the test. IIM Selection Criteria 2019-2021 enlists the minimum percentile required in CAT 2018 exam which is required to be eligible for IIM Admissions. On basis of the IIM CAT cut offs, candidates are shortlisted for the next stage.IIM Admission Criteria 2019 includes shortlisting of candidates and then appearing for PI and WAT, dates for PI/WAT is given below.

PGP 2019 PI/WAT Important Dates

Interview City	Interview Dates
Bangalore	11 to 16 Feb 2019 & 25 Feb to 02 Mar 2019
Mumbai	25 Feb to 02 Mar 2019
New Delhi	08 to 16 Mar 2019
Kolkata	04 to 07 Mar 2019
Hyderabad	04 to 07 Mar 2019

Note:

• These dates are tentative and are subject to change if required.
• An email (with schedule) will be sent to only those candidates who have been shortlisted for PI/WAT and successfully submit the application.

IIMB adopts a two-phase selection process and accordingly these selection criteria are applied in two phases.

• The first phase process is applied to all eligible candidates who appear for CAT 2018 to determine those qualifying candidates who will be called for personal interview (PI).
• During the PI process, the candidates selected for interviewing during a particular half-day (morning or afternoon) session will have to take a Written Ability Test (WAT) on a topic provided by IIMB. The topics chosen will typically reflect current socio-political, economic and business affairs, though other topics such as sports and those that require more creative thinking may also be included. The time provided for the WAT will typically be about 30 minutes.
• During the interview, the panel will evaluate each candidate’s performance on academic background, quality of work experience and other personal traits. The WAT submission will be evaluated separately.
• Scores of both, written note and interview, in combination with pre-PI selection parameters will be used cumulatively in the second and final phase of selection to identify the candidates who will merit selection from among those candidates who appear for the PI.

The selection process, parameters and weights used are uniform for all categories of applicants. Sufficient candidates are shortlisted at each stage in each category to meet the reservation requirement for each group, as applicable at that time.

Phase 1

The first shortlist of candidates is based on candidates securing minimum section-wise and aggregate percentile scores in the CAT. Candidates obtaining a positive (greater than zero) raw score in all sections of the CAT-2018 will only be considered. The percentile cut-off scores used for CAT 2017 are shown in Table 1. All the subsequent processing, standardization and selection was limited to candidates belonging to this first short list alone. This means that the CAT score alone was used as the basis for arriving at the first short list.

The below table indicates CAT cut offs for IIM B.

Table 1: First Shortlist -For the batch of 2018-20 based on CAT 2017

Category	Section 1 (VARC)	Section 2 (DILR)	Section 3 (QA)	Aggregate
General	85	80	80	90
NC-OBC	75	70	70	80
SC	70	65	65	75
ST	60	60	60	70
PWD	50	50	50	60

* These cut-offs are not for those called for interview whose scores would be much higher.

For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table (1) –

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.
2. Final scores obtained bythe candidate are used for the bachelors’ degree and professional degrees (if any). Incomplete or intermediate scores are considered only if the candidate’sfinal score is pending. Thus, forfinal year bachelor’s degree candidates, their incomplete graduation score would be takenin lieu of final graduation score. Graduation scores are adjustedwithin their respective disciplines. This gives the adjusted score for the bachelor’s degree for all candidates in the first shortlist.
3. Candidates with Chartered Accountancy, Cost Accounting, and Company Secretary certifications are eligible for weight under professional course. No other professional course is eligible for weight under professional course. The professional course score is also standardized for all candidates in the first shortlist.

For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in (1), the score/weight for work experience is calculated as:

Pre PI score for Work Experience = 8x/36 if 0 < x < 36 OR = 8 if x >= 36.

Where x is the months of work experience up to July 2017, as captured in CAT application form (and substantiated in the application to IIMB). 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. The work experience score (maximum 8 in the pre-PI stage) will be multiplied by the quality of work experience score on a 5 point scale (0.25 – 0.5 – 1 – 1.5 – 2) as given by interviewers in the PI process in Phase 2 to then arrive at a weighted work experience score

For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table (1) –

• The maximum of the work experience score and the professional course score is considered for selection under a common weight of 10 for work experience or professional course – since both provide professional work experience relevant to a management programme.
• the weights for the parameters are fixed as: CAT = 40, 10th board=20, 12th board=10, Bachelors= 20, Gender Diversity = 2, Work Experience = 8.
• 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. Gender diversity component is applicable only for the pre-PI rank list for interview calls, and will not be applicable for phase 2 of the admissions process (final offers of admission)
• For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table (1), the weighted total of the six components namely (a) work experience or professional course, (b) CAT, (c) 10th board, (d) 12th board, (e) bachelors, (f) gender diversity as stated above is calculated for calling candidates for the PI. Sufficient candidates will be invited for PI to enable selection based on the additional PI evaluation components: (a) WAT, (b) personal interview, and (c) review of work experience (if any).
• For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table (1), the top 10 candidates in each of the following : total score in CAT, adjusted Bachelors’score (commerce, arts, and science disciplines), and Professional (CA / ICWA / CS), from the first shortlist, as created using the criteria in Table (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 Phase 2, all such candidates must merit selection at an identical level of composite aggregate score like any other candidate.
• For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table (1), normalization or standardization in any component stated above is carried out as per the following formula. All standardization is done with reference to the qualifying first shortlist or its subdivisions; Standardized score, truncated between 0 and weight (wt) is computed from the raw score (val) as:
  Max [0, min {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}

Phase 2

1. The performance of each candidate on the Written Ability Test (WAT) will be scored in terms of content and style. Each interviewer will use the Personal Interview to comprehensively evaluate the candidate’s motivation and ability to fit in and benefit from the PGP program. All candidates will be required to provide two confidential reference letters from their employers or faculty and this will also be used in the personal interview evaluation. For Personal Interview – the average of the scores given by the interviewers will be considered, while for the WAT, the scores given by an independent evaluator will be considered.
2. 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 program. 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 Phase 1 will be revised to arrive at a weighted work experience score.
3. The scores in all past academics will also be updated, if required, on the basis of actual mark sheets / grade cards submitted. Unless otherwise mentioned, percentages would be calculated by considering all subjects that the candidate has appeared for examination.
4. The WAT score (weight = 10), and the personal interview score (weight = 30), after standardization across interview panels and sessions, will be added to the following scores to arrive at the final aggregate score.
   CAT (weight = 25), 10th board (weight = 10), 12th board (weight = 5), Bachelors (weight = 10), Weighted Work Experience (weight = 10).
5. The final offers of admission to candidates in each category will be made strictly on the basis of the final aggregate score as mentioned in (14).

Since IIMB follows a comprehensive multi-criteria process at the pre-PI stage, it is able to identify many candidates for the PI who have an excellent academic record and work experience but who, while doing well enough in the CAT to be in the first shortlist, may have narrowly missed the high score that would have been required if CAT alone was the basis for the PI shortlist. Such candidates effectively replace candidates who have only a high CAT score but score poorly in terms of their past academic record and work experience. IIMB emphasizes consistent and high performance in past academics and all other parameters.

IIM Bangalore (IIMB) Admission into the Post Graduate Program through GMAT

• A separate process will be used for processing applications from candidates who apply with a GMAT score. To be eligible to apply with a GMAT score, a candidate must have resided abroad for at least 18 months in the preceding three years and should not be / have been in a position to appear for CAT 2018. The GMAT code for IIMB PGP is Q9H-KK-49.
• The first shortlist among such applicants is created by applying the same percentile cut-offs for CAT 2018, as used for the general category candidates.
• For each applicant in this shortlist, each member of the evaluating committee will go through the applications in detail and in particular will evaluate the academic background and the international experience of the candidates. The evaluating committee member will also assess whether the candidate is likely to gain admission through CAT. Finally each member will recommend in favor of the candidate or recommend rejection.
• All candidates who have been recommended would be required to appear for a Personal Interview (PI) process, either in person or through a remote video conferencing. The candidates appearing for the PI process in person would be interviewed along with the candidates using the CAT 2018 score, and the same PI process would be followed. Candidates appearing for the PI process through remote video conferencing would be required to take the Written Ability Test (WAT) through email.
• The performance of each candidate on the WAT will be evaluated in terms of content and style. Each interviewer will use the Personal Interview to comprehensively evaluate the candidate’s motivation and ability to fit in and benefit from the PGP program. All candidates will be required to provide two confidential reference letters from their employers or faculty and this will also be used in the personal interview evaluation. For Personal Interview – the average of the scores given by the interviewers will be considered, while the WAT scores given by an independent evaluator will be considered.
• The evaluating committee would again assess the overall performance of the candidates and make a final offer. There will be no quota or fixed number of seats for such candidates. There will also be no wait-lists for the same reason.

For more detail of IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria Admission PGP 2019-21 – Download Information Brochure.

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