The best centers for management education and research in India are the Indian Institutes of Management or IIMs for short. There are 20 IIMs, and the majority of them provide executive, PhD, and post-graduate programs. We receive a lot of questions about how to enter IIMs and the IIM admissions procedure because every MBA applicant wants to enroll in one for a management degree.

Before a final offer of a seat may be made, you must pass a few phases to get into an IIM.

Stages of the IIM Admission Process

Stage 1: The initial step is to register for the CAT exam, which is held by the IIMs (GMAT for international candidates).
Stage 2: A candidate is contacted for a written test/group discussion and personal interview after passing the necessary cut-offs and the composite score (PI). For academic and professional validation, the candidate must provide two letters of recommendation from people who know them well. Considering that the 2020 PI round will be held online.
Final Stage: Candidates in each category will only be given admission offers strictly based on their final cumulative scores, which will consider numerous factors like work experience, gender, school board, etc.

Stage 1: CAT, or Common Aptitude Test

The CAT exam is the first step on your journey if you are a candidate trying to figure out how to get into an IIM. IIMs administer the Common Aptitude Test, also known as CAT, as the entrance test for their management programs. For more than 4318 slots in PGP Programs, thousands of applicants take the highly difficult CAT exam. To fulfill the IIM cutoffs, candidates should concentrate on achieving a high overall and sectional score.

Second stage: WAT/GD and PI

Personal Interviews (PI) are typically conducted by IIM academics, though occasionally former faculty or even graduates participate. Your different soft talents and interpersonal abilities will be tested in this round.
Personal information, work, and academic inquiries are all possible. The IIMs also administer a Written Ability Test (WAT) in addition to PIs to evaluate your writing skills and understanding of the subject matter. Group Discussions (GDs) is no longer used by IIMs, with the exception of IIM Shillong, which still holds GDs at the second stage of the hiring process.

In an IIM, the choice is final

The final choices are determined by a set of criteria that may vary for each IIM. Your composite CAT score, prior academic success, employment experience, and performance in WAT/GD and PI all factor towards the marking scheme. Final decisions are made in accordance with these final scores.
You may now easily determine which IIM and at what CAT percentile are most likely to shortlist you for the WAT/GD and PI round.

IIM Admission Procedure: Qualifications

The criteria for admission to IIMs are the same as those for the CAT. Here are a few additional considerations, though.

For general, EWS, and NC-OBC categories, a graduate degree is required; for SC, ST, and PwD categories, it must have a minimum GPA of 45%.

Additionally, candidates in their final year of high school are eligible.

To participate in the WAT/PI rounds and anticipate interview calls, candidates must achieve the minimum cut-offs.

Scores and Weightages in the IIM Admission Process

After the CAT results are announced, IIMs conduct their separate interviews and admission procedures. As a result, the specifics of the admissions procedure can vary from IIM to IIM. However, the CAT scores, WAT/GD, and PI rounds are not the only components of the IIM admissions process.

IIM admissions are determined by a candidate's final composite score obtained during the final admissions process as well as a composite score used to determine selections to the WAT/PI stage. Due to the decentralized nature of the procedure, the weighting of the parameters for these ratings varies. As a result, each IIM gives weight to factors like work experience, 10th and 12th-grade grades, WAT/PI scores, CAT scores, etc.

IIM Ranking

Rank	IIM	Qualifying CAT Cut-offs 2021 (Percentile)
1	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) Ahmedabad	85
2	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-B) Bangalore	85
3	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-C) Kolkata	85
4	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-K) Kozhikode	85
5	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-I) Indore	90
6	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-L) Lucknow	90
7	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Rai) Raipur	93
8	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-T) Trichy	93
9	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-U) Udaipur	93
10	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-R) Ranchi	93
11	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-S) Shillong	75
12	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Ro) Rohtak	95
13	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Ka) Kashipur	94
14	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-N) Nagpur	85
15	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-SB) Sambalpur	93
16	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-AM) Amritsar	85
17	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-SR) Sirmaur	93
18	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-BG) Bodhgaya	93
19	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-J) Jammu	93
20	Indian Institute of Management (IIM-V) Visakhapatnam	80

Common Admission Process: Admission to IIM

Following the CAT exam, each of the older IIMs has its own admissions procedure. However, a Common Admission Process (CAP) that unifies the selection process is used by nine new IIMs. The following are some essential considerations:

IIM Udaipur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Trichy, IIM Raipur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sambalpur, and IIM Sirmaur are the nine IIMs taking part in CAP.

IIM Rohtak was a member of the CAP group until 2020 when it opted out.

IIM Trichy has been given the task of conducting CAP for 2022.

For CAP 2022, the Writing Ability Test (WAT) will not be given. Therefore, CAP 2022 will include a Personal Interview (PI).

Tips for Preparing for the CAT to Get into an IIM

Review the math and English principles you learned in classes 8 through 10, then work through practice exercises that put these concepts to use.

Purchase quality study guides from a reputable publisher, or you can even consider enrolling in lessons at a school.

Depending on your schedule and time limits, you can choose between offline and online lessons. Candidates can choose programs based on their needs as recent grads, students finishing up their degrees, or working professionals.

Master a few subjects that come up often. Arithmetic, algebra, numbers for quant and reading comprehension for VARC are a few subjects that are heavily weighted in the CAT exam. Make careful to put these into practice starting today.

There are sectional cut-offs, therefore you should write a sectional test each week to make sure you are prepared for each one.

Give practice exams to see how well you prepared and understood the material on the first day. Invest in a series of high-quality mock exams. Write a mock every 10 to 12 days, and spend at least 5 to 6 hours qualitatively analyzing each mock.

IIM SELECTION PROCESS FAQs

Q1. Is it difficult to get into IIM?

Ans. This has made IIM Bangalore one of the toughest business schools to get admission to, and every year, even CAT 99+ percentiles miss out on a call from the institute

Q2. Can I join IIM after the 12th?

Ans. IIM courses after 12- Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) at IIM Ranchi. IIM Ranchi recently joined the ranks of IIMs offering integrated programs for high school graduates. Students from all backgrounds can opt for such IIM courses after 12th, science students included

Q3. Is studying at IIM difficult?

Ans. IIM is one of the toughest colleges to get into and CAT is one of the toughest entrances to clear. But every exam can be cleared in spite of being an intelligent student or an average Student. Intelligent here is referred to as a better percentile in academics.

Q4. Are IIM interviews tough?

Ans. IIM interview rounds can be the toughest to crack. After all, you cannot get admission into a world-class institute so easily. As per some of the candidates, the toughest interview is conducted by IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Bangalore.

Q5. Is CAT tougher than NEET?

Ans. Neet tests basically your knowledge and cat is the test for aptitude. so, if we see a cat exam.is considered tougher than neet. Only 1500 candidates out of 2 lakh people get into the IIMs every year. That makes it one of the toughest entrance exams in India, so the cat is considered tougher

Q6. What if we fail in IIM?

Ans. IIM-C rules decree that a student who does not score the required number of grade points at the end of the first year may have to repeat it. "But every student has to complete the two-year course in a maximum of three years. Those who fail the first year a second time are forced to drop out," added Bhattacharyya.

Q7. What is the salary after MBA from IIM?

Ans. The salary packages for graduates from top IIMs are far above average, however, the salary packages offered to newer IIMs are around 10-20 lakh INR per annum. There is no estimate of the lowest salary offered, although the lowest salary an IIM graduate can expect would be 6 lakh INR per annum.

Q8. Which stream is best for IIM?

Ans. so commerce is the only stream for you. after completing 10+2 with commerce, choose BBA as your graduation course, then prepare very hard for CAT. CAT is the only exam through which you will get admission to IIMs. And to get admission to IIM you have to score a minimum of 99%.

Q9. Which degree is best for IIM?

Ans. If you want to enroll in IIM-A, you must have 70-80 percent in your 10th and 12th grades. A minimum of 55% is required to enroll in an MBA program, with the remaining percentage determined by your CAT exam. A minimum of 55% is required to enroll in an MBA program, with the remainder determined by your CAT score.

Q10. What are the fees of IIM?

Ans. IIM Fee Structure and Seats - IIM fees for the MBA program range from Rs 10 lakh to 23 lakh for its complete course. The top three IIM fees i.e. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta are having the highest which is Rs 23 lakh. However, the newer IIM fees for MBA through CAT is under Rs 12 lakh

Q11. Does anybody fail in IIM?

Ans. Yes, they do. The academic requirements are fairly stringent and are set at a high level. Courses have credits, one has to take a certain number of credits every year, and clear them to graduate. Some candidates are allowed a longer time to graduate, others are asked to leave if they fail multiple courses

Q12. Can I lie in the IIM interview?

Ans. The interviewers are experienced to judge if you are being genuine or not. Never try to bluff. If you don't know something, simply say so. You'll earn their respect for not lying and not losing much

Q13. Is there a uniform in IIM?

Ans. There is no dress code, you can wear whatever you want.

Q14. Is IIM easy cracking?

Ans. In 2021, more than 230,000 candidates appeared for approximately 4,300 seats in 19 IIMs. The ratio stands at 1:53, which needless to mention makes CAT one of the toughest exams to crack.

Q15. Who got the highest package in IIM?

Ans. As per the 2022 final placement report of IIM Ahmedabad, the highest salary offered was Rs 55.88 lakh per annum, and the international salary was Rs 1.32 crore per annum. IIM Ahmedabad's placement process for the academic year of 2021 was conducted in three clusters.

IIM Selection Process