IIMB PGP Selection Criteria | 2022-24

IIM Bangalore’s PGP 2022-2024 selection policy has been released. Here’s a comprehensive guide for you to understand what this selection policy essentially means for you. So, let’s get started.

IIMB adopts a two-phase selection process and accordingly these selection criteria are applied in two phases. The first phase of the process is applied to all eligible candidates who appear for CAT 2021 to determine candidates to be called for a personal interview (PI). Candidates selected for the PI process will be additionally required to take a Writing Ability Test (WAT).

Phase 1

1. Minimum eligibility criteria

Here’s the good news!

Lots of people have misconception that if you do not have good marks in 10th and 12th then IIM Bangalore won’t take you. Whereas, there’s nothing in this paragraph that shows something like that. “A first shortlist is prepared comprising candidates who have secured a pre determined minimum score on all sections of CAT 2021. Candidates obtaining a positive (greater than zero) raw score, at the minimum, in all sections of CAT-2021 will only be considered. The percentile cut-off scores applied to CAT 2021 as part of the admission process are shown in Table 1. All the subsequent processing, standardization and selection are limited to candidates selected to the first short list alone. This means that the CAT score alone is used as the basis for arriving at the first short list.” So, all of you who do well at CAT and have the minimum and have the minimum percentile criteria are considered for the 2nd phase of GDPI process.

What are those minimum criteria then?

Category	VARC	DILR	QA	Aggregate
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

So the good news is that they are not looking at your 10th and 12th score at least for the first shortlist, and you have a chance as far as you’re doing good at CAT 2021.

2. 10th and 12th standard scores

“For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in Table, 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.“

Let’s try to understand this by using a simple example. Let’ say you’re a student from CBSE board, and you got 82% in your class 10th. So, IIM Bangalore will look at the entire list of candidates who have applied to CAT in the last two years from CBSE board. Let’s say there are 60,000 candidates from CBSE board those who have applied to IIM Bangalore through CAT in the last two years. So, the 90th percentile in this pool of candidate will be 6000th rank. Then they will look at the percentage score obtained in 10th standard by this 6000th rank candidate. Then your percentage score will be divided by the percentage obtained by this 6000th rank candidate (Frankly speaking, this is much better than dividing your score by the marks obtained by the topper which other IIMs do :P).

Same process is followed for your marks obtained in 12th standard.

3. Work Experience

For all candidates in the first shortlist as stated in, 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

Here’s a good news too! If your work experience between 0 to 36 you get some points. Even you have one month of work experience you get some points. But if you have work experience more than 36 months you will still get 8 points. Obviously as you take X from 0 to 36 this value will keep going up. At X = 36 you’ll get 8 points. And, this 8 point is maintained even if you have more than 36 months of work experience.

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.

4. Weights assigned for different parameters

CAT 2021	40%
10th board	20%
12th board	10%
Bachelors	20%
Gender Diversity	2%
Work Experience	8%

IIM Bangalore has given 40% weightage to the CAT. 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.

That means your CAT 2021 score is going to play a pivotal role for you to get into IIMB this year.

I Know, I know, I know IIM Bangalore assigns a lot of weightage on academics, but they allow you to fail at least in one. May be you didn’t do well in your 10th standard but you recovered in your 12th and undergraduation then you will be spared if you have done that 😛

Also, for gender diversity IIMB is giving only 2% points. So all you GEMs out there, cheer up! The popular GEM misconception is not visible in this year’s IIM Bangalore’s selection criteria that other IIM have.

What If you have an exceptional academic track record?

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 automatically qualify for PI. It means IIMB is recognizing the fact that if you’ve done really well in your academic discipline across the country then you deserved to be call for a PI, and they’re not looking at your CAT score also. But, but, but at the end of Phase 2, all such candidates must merit selection based on the composite aggregate score, like any other candidate.

5. The normalization formula

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}]

Notice this line, “Standardized score, truncated between 0 and weight (wt) “. What does this mean? Let’s take the weight assigned for class 12th, which is 10. So, the truncated score between 0 to 10. Whatever your actual score is in 12th standard you get a score between 0 to 10. And they will compute the score that you should get on a scale of 0 to 10 using this formula Max [0, min {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}]

Now let’s try to decipher this formula.

The formula written here is a function where you get the maximum of two scores. I.e the two scores are 0 and minimum of {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}].

Now let’s try to understand the second part – minimum of {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}] – of this formula first. So, if wt < wt/2 + ((val-mean)/sd) * wt/6}] then the minimum of {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}] will be considered which is wt. And then it will be put into this formula Max [0, min {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}]. Here in this formula if wt > 0 then the final score that will be awarded to you is wt.

Now, let’s try to understand what do the different components of this formula mean?

Once again, let’s take an easy example. We know that the weight assigned for class 10th is 20. So, wt will be 20. But, what about this part – wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}] ?

Let’s say you got 88% in your 10th standard, and the mean score is 85%, which is being measured from the applicants list of CAT from your board. And let’s say the standard deviation is 3%. So if you put this values in this formula ((val-mean) / sd) = ( 88 – 85 ) / 3 = 1. Which means your score is one standard deviation above the mean score.

So this will be equal to = wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}]

= 20/2 + ( 88 – 85 ) / 3 * 20 / 6 }]

= 20/2 + 20/6

= 80/6

= 13.33

So the formula will take the minimum of {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}] = minimum of { 20, 13.33} = 13.33

And then this 13.33 will be put inside this function Max [0, min {wt, wt/2 + ((val-mean) / sd) * wt / 6}] = Max [0, 13.33] = 13.33

So, they will give you a maximum of 13.33 for class 10th.

This same process will be followed to arrive at the normalize score for the other parameters.

Phase 2

WAT and PI

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.

All candidates will be required to provide two confidential reference letters from their employers or from teachers in the academic institutions where they had been students previously. These reference letters will also be used in the personal interview evaluation.

Final shortlist

The WAT score, and the personal interview score, after standardization across interview panels and sessions, will be added to the following scores to arrive at the final aggregate score.

Parameters	Weight
CAT 2021	25
WAT Score	10
PI Score	30
10th board	10
12th board	5
Bachelors	10
Weighted work experience	10

The final offers of admission to candidates selected from each category will be made strictly on the basis of the final aggregate score as mentioned in table 3.

Best wishes for CAT 2021!!

Abhishek Mukherjee works for 2IIM. Apart from solving interesting math questions he likes to eat biriyani and watch movies.