IIM Bangalore Selection Criteria and Admission PGP 2015-2017

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IIM Bangalore (IIMB) Selection Criteria Admission PGP 2015-2017

IIM Bangalore has announced the details of selection criteria and shortlisting process for PGP admission 2015-2017. The selection is carried out on the basis of  CAT score, work experience, and other factors. The selection process ensures that only the best and most eligible candidates get admission in the B School. The detailed outline of IIM B admission and selection criteria 2015 is given here.

IIM’s Selection Criteria

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 2014 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 write a short note (one page) on a topic provided by IIMB. The topics chosen will typically reflect current 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 writing the note 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 written note 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 short listed at each stage in each category to meet the reservation requirement for each group, as applicable at that time.

Phase 1

The first short list of candidates is based on candidates securing minimum section-wise and aggregates percentile scores in the CAT. The percentile cut-off scores used for CAT 2013 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 2014-16 based on CAT 2013

Minimum Percentile requirements for the first shortlist (2014)* – CAT Cut Off for IIM Bangalore.

CATEGORY	SEC1(QDI)	SEC2(VLR)	AGGREGATE
GENMERIT	80	85	90
NC-OBC	70	75	80
SC	50	50	70
ST	50	50	70
DA	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 by the candidate are used for the bachelors’ degree and professional degrees (if any). Incomplete or intermediate scores are considered only if the candidate’s final score was pending. Thus, for final year bachelor’s degree candidates, their incomplete graduation score would be taken in lieu of final graduation score. Graduation scores are adjusted within their respective categories. 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 = 5x/36 if 0 < x < 36 OR = 5 if x >= 36.

Where x is the months of work experience up to September 2014 , 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 5 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 give a maximum score of 10 for work experience.

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.
• Other than work experience or professional course, the weights for the remaining four components (each of them being standardized) are fixed as: CAT = 20, 10th board=15, 12th board=10, Bachelors= 15.
• The weighted total of the five components namely (a) work experience or professional course, (b) CAT, (c) 10th board, (d) 12th board, (e) bachelors as stated above is used to prepare a pre-PI rank list for calling candidates for the PI. Sufficient candidates will be invited for PI to enable selection based on the additional PI evaluation components: (a) note content, (b) note style, (c) personal interview, and (d) review of work experience (if any).
• The top 10 candidates in each sectional and total score in CAT, adjusted SSC, HSC, Bachelors, 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 on one parameter. 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 note will be scored by 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 three confidential reference letters from their employers or faculty and this will also be used in the personal interview evaluation. For each of the three elements of evaluation during the PI process – Note Content, Note Style and Personal Interview – the average of the scores given by the interviewers 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 (maximum score 5) used in Phase 1 will be revised in Phase 2 (maximum score 10).
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 note content score (weight=7.5), note style score (weight=7.5), and the personal interview score (weight=20), after standardization across interview panels and sessions, will be added to the pre-PI total to arrive at the final aggregate score.
5. The final offers of admission to candidates will be made strictly on the basis of ranks in each category on the final aggregate score as mentioned in the point above.

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 short list. 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.

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 (Jan 2012 to Dec 2014) and should not be/ have been in a position to appear for CAT2014. The GMAT code for IIMB PGP is Q9H-KK-49.
• The first short list among such applicants is created by applying the same percentile cut-offs for CAT 2014, as used for the general category candidates.
• For each applicant in this shortlist, each member of the evaluating committee (5 faculty members were involved in the selection process of the 2014-16 batch) will go through the applications in detail and in particular will evaluate the academic background and the international experience of the candidates. The evaluating faculty 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 remote video conferencing. The candidates appearing for the PI process in person would be interviewed along with the candidates using the CAT 2014 score, and the same PI process would be followed. For candidates appearing for the PI process through remote video conferencing would be required to submit their notes through email.
• The performance of each candidate on the note will be scored by 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 three confidential reference letters from their employers or faculty and this will also be used in the personal interview evaluation. For each of the three elements of evaluation during the PI process – Note Content, Note Style and Personal Interview – the average of the scores given by the interviewers will be considered.
• The evaluating committee would again assess the performance of the candidates in the PI process 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.