Apart from the — how many questions should I answer to score a 99 percentile on the CAT — question, one of the questions that I get asked to answer most frequently both from my students as well as people on Quora is the one that is more or less framed as follows:
I have X% in X , Y% in XII and Z% in GRAD, will I get a call from the IIMs?
Given that this is such a popular question, I think it is time to dedicate a post to the same.
The first hurdles are not your Marks but your SECTIONAL and OVERALL Percentile!
Even before your Marks come into the play the first level of screening will be to eliminate all candidates who do not fulfil the minimum requirements in terms of overall and sectional percentiles.
So even if you have an overall percentile of 97 or 98 but do not clear any one of the sectional cut-offs, you are straightaway eliminated at this stage. The table below gives you a snapshot of the cut-offs for the six OLD IIMs.
The first three numbers represent the sectional percentiles and the last one the overall percentile. Once you clear this hurdle you will move on to the next stage.
The shortlisting criteria of various IIMs for a first call
By now you would know that whether you get a shortlist from your dreamed of IIM are depends on more than just your CAT score. What are the other elements that play a crucial part in the shortlisting process?
- X Marks
- XII Marks
- Graduation Marks
- Work Experience
- Education Diversity
- Gender Diversity
Each of the colleges gives different weights to each of these components. Some colleges might not use some components. The table below summarises the weight/marks given to different components of your profile.
| IIM-A | IIM-B | IIM-C | IIM-L | IIM-I | IIM-K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X Marks | 10 | 20 | 20 | NA | 36 | NA |
| XII Marks | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 40 | 20 |
| Grad Marks | 10 | 20 | NA | 10 | NA | 20 |
| CAT Score | 70 | 40 | 56 | 60 | 20 | 20 |
| Work Experience | NA | 8 | NA | 10 | NA | 13.33 |
| Gender Diversity | NA | 2 | 4 | 5 | 40 | 13.33 |
| Education Diversity | Yes | NA | NA | 5 | NA | 13.33 |
Some points to note that are specific to some of the colleges.
IIM-Ahmedabad Shortlisting Criteria
As you can see from the table above there is no numerical weight given to Education Diversity. Instead of giving marks to applicants from different streams, IIM-A uses a slightly different process:
- The various graduation disciplines are divided into 7 categories
- The top 100 students or 1% of applicants (whichever is fewer) are shortlisted based on their Composite Score – (Academic Rating).30 + Normalised CAT Score).70
- This shortlist does not differentiate between GEN, NC-OBC, SC, ST or DA categories
The IIM-A process thus ensures that the best commerce student or doctor or lawyer compete with the best engineer.
So if 9000 people belonging to a particular stream appear for the CAT, then the 90 top students from that stream will get a call for the WAT-PI round. The highest percentile in a particular education stream can be 97 but the topper will still get a call provided he/she clears all the sectional cut-offs.
IIM-Ahmedabad gives no weightage for work experience at any stage. So all that matters is how you do well in your PI, it does not make a difference whether you are a fresher or a working professional.
IIM-Bangalore Shortlisting Criteria
Unlike IIM-A , IIM-B gives weightage both to work experience and to Gender Diversity.
- The weightage of 5 for work experience is calculated as follows:
- The marks for work experience = 5*(number of months of work experience)/36.
- If you have more than 36 months you will get 5 marks
- Gender diversity plays a role only in the first call .
- For the Final Call the 1 mark allocated to women applicants will be removed and the remaining 35 marks will be for your WAT and PI.
IIM-Kolkata Shortlisting Criteria
While work experience and education diversity play no role in the first call, they play a role in the final call with a weightage of 8 and 3 respectively.
IIM-Lucknow Shortlisting Criteria
There is no change from the First Call to the second call. There are 50 marks in total for all the components in the first call, to this 50 marks will be added for the WAT and PI to arrive at a final score.
IIM Indore Shortlisting Criteria
While graduation marks along with work experience and education diversity have no role to play in the first call, the final call will give a 15% weightage to graduation marks.
IIM Kozhikode Shortlisting Criteria
While there is a 5% weightage for Gender and Education Diversity, a candidate cannot get marks for both. He/she can get marks only for one of the two. So girls who are commerce graduates DO NOT end up getting an outsized advantage.
Also, X, XII & Graduation Marks will have no role to play in the final call. Work experience, which does not have a role to play in the first call, will have a weightage in the final call.
How is the CAT Score used in the shortlisting process of the IIMs?
Your CAT Score is first normalised — divided by the highest CAT Score among the applicants — and then multiplied by the weightage or marks given to CAT Score, which is different for each IIM and is indicated in the table above.
In a very easy CAT, the scores are all very close to each other and hence when divided by the highest score and then the multiplied by the weightage or marks, differences between scores are further reduced.
Hence on an easy CAT a higher percentile will not necessarily make a very huge difference as will the other components, whereas on a difficult CAT on which the marks will be more widespread, CAT scores will end up having a huge impact.
I suppose this explains why at times we hear statements such as CAT is very tough my friend did not get a call even at 99.XY. It is not because of a tough CAT but because of an easy CAT and other components of the profile.
How are marks across boards and streams made comparable?
This is usually a big concern for aspirants since different boards and different streams are known to award marks with varying degrees of generosity — the most generous being the ones, in my opinion, in the south of the country and most frugal ones belonging to the east!
Obviously, something so obvious will be something that even the IIMs take cognisance of and each of them uses a different method to normalise the marks across boards and streams.
How do they equate scores across boards and streams?
IIM-A uses the marks of all the applicants that they have from the previous years’ to arrive at specific slabs for specific streams at both XII and Graduation Levels.
The classification is an exhaustive one to give short summary:
- AC – 1: Bachelors in Sciences
- AC – 2: Bachelors in Arts, Law , Education
- AC – 3: Bachelors in Commerce, Economics, Hotel Management, Business Administration
- AC- 4: Bachelors in Engineering and Architecture
- AC -5: Anything apart from 1 to 7
- AC – 6: Medicine
- AC – 7: CA, ICWA, CS
Please note that there is no distinction made across boards but only across streams.
Other IIMs use different method use the standard normalisation process based on mean and standard deviation of the scores of all applicants.
How much of an impact will X, XII and Grad marks have on getting a shortlist?
While our parents had told us all along how important X and XII marks will be in “settling down” in life, they never really told us much about the importance of Graduation marks. To a certain extent even they, like us, assumed that life will more or less be settled after getting into a good engineering college (by the way there is nothing called settling down, only sediment settles down).
But given the selection criteria of the IIMs and the additional weightage given for educational diversity, it might turn out that one stands a better chance had one not chosen engineering in the first place. And if one did, one should have ensured a percentage above 80%.
As you can see from the table above, almost all colleges barring IIM-L, which gives no weightage to X marks, give weightage to X and XII marks.
Each IIM has different marks at different slabs. For example, IIM-A has the following slabs for X:
- 90 and above – 10 marks; 80 to 90 – 8 marks; 70 to 80 – 5 marks; 60 to 70 – 3 marks; 55 to 60 – 2 marks; less than 55 – 1 mark
All colleges barring IIM-C and K start at slabs of 90 and above. Since these days getting above 90 in X and XII has become quite common, those who get below a 90 in X and XII will have a tough chance getting a first call since they will be dropping valuable points.
The biggest differentiator can end up being Graduation Marks since some of us were good students until till we reached graduation.
So if you have a Graduation CGPA or percentage that is less than 80% then a WAT-GD-PI call from
- IIM-A or IIM-B is ruled out even with very high CAT percentiles
- IIM-C is most definitely possible since there is no weightage
- IIM-L is definitely possible since the weightage is quite low
- IIM-I most definitely since there is no weightage
- IIM-K is possible since the weightage is moderate
The table below summarizes calls you can expect for most of the typical Academic profiles.
If two out of three among X, XII and Graduation are below 80 then I am afraid there is only a very slim chance of getting a call from any one of the old IIMs.
In case there is a combination I have missed out on, say 80-90-70, you can deduce it from the table and the analysis provided. You have to do at least some DI!
Can Work Experience can compensate for a slightly lower CAT Score?
If you look at the weightage for work experience, A, C and I have no weightage for work-ex, only B, L & K give 8,10 and 13.33 percent weightage to work-ex.
So those who have work experience of two years and above (and good acads) can get a call from IIMs at Bangalore, Lucknow and Kozhikode at a CAT percentile between 98.5 and 99.
In fact, we have had a girl candidate with 4 years of experience, a good academic profile and belonging to the General Category get a call from B at 96.5 percentile.
Which IIMs are freshers most likely to get a call from?
Freshers are with a good academic profile are likely to get a first call from A, C and L since all the three have more than 50% weightage for CAT Score.
The shortlisting criteria of various IIMs for a final call
The criteria for the final call will more or less remain the same with a few changes coming in here and there. Some b-schools bring in weightage for work experience in the final call stage and others remove weightage for some components such as Gender Diversity from the final stage.
But we will be running ahead of ourselves if we are discussing those elements at this stage. It is best that we cross the bridge when we get to it.
There might be changes this year
Later this year, the IIMs will announce their criteria for the 2018-2020 batch. Apart from IIM-B, most of the IIMs have tended to make some changes or the other every year. So do not treat the criteria as set in stone!
Do not worry about what you can’t change, control and change what you can
This post wasn’t intended to demotivate test-takers rather, as I had mentioned earlier, it has stemmed from a lot of queries posted by aspirants.
Some of you might feel dejected at this point of time that — Oh I didn’t know that IIM-A will not be possible! What’s the point if I can get a call only from one or two old IIMs?
Just take a breather and ask this question to yourself — What is the goal?
- To get into IIM-A or to build a great career?
Getting into IIM-A might be much easier than surviving IIM-A!
- Do you know that a number of students (sometimes as high as 20) from reputable graduation colleges drop out after the first trimester at IIM-A being unable to handle the heat!
- Do you know that big consulting firms such as McKinsey barely give shortlists to candidates who are not from IITs or NITs.
We have to always play with the cards we are dealt. We have to always play the current round well. There is no point wishing for other cards or trying to undo other rounds, both are exercises in futility.
So what is it that you can control and change?
- Your X, XII or Grad Marks — NO.
- Your preparation towards getting a great CAT Score – YES.
And remember there is always FMS — the b-school with a fee of Rs. 20, 000 and average salary in excess of Rs.15,00,000 — that does not consider X, XII, Grad marks or work experience both for the first call and the final call. The only scores that matters for FMS are the CAT Score and WAT-PI Scores.
So do not waste your time and mine asking me about whether you will get a call from the old IIMs. It changes nothing in terms of prep plan and application strategy (if you have to ask me whether you will get calls then it means that you have to apply to good schools other than the IIMs).
It is crunch time, NOW
I hope all the readers of this blog are aware that crunch time has started.
A lot of aspirants waste a year and get it on a second or third attempt since they do not bring their A-game early on. They still operate in the college mentality and believe that they can pull it off by getting semi-serious and taking all mocks from September.
Only after trying and failing a few times do they put in their all. Cracking the IIMs and getting that awesome salary is not tough but it is definitely not going to be as easy as getting a 90 or a 9 in your engineering. The CAT is a different kettle of fish altogether.
Those who succeed not just on the CAT(or GMAT) but also at a premier b-school and in their professional life later are those who are willing to plan, prep and put their best foot forward.
I’ll leave you with a story of one of the best students I have had in recent times. A fresher in his third year of engineering, he had enrolled for the GMAT with us and attended most of the classes diligently. Each and everything I told him, right from reading the GMAT blog to planning the mocks he followed to the T. After every Mock he brought his laptop along to discuss how he could get better; he was not late even for a single appointment. He was taking the exam in Bangalore and so before he left to take the exam, he came to me to discuss a bit of the mental part of test-taking with me (he said he gets tense when he is unable to solve a QA problem and I had sorted out the issue for him)
Three days later texted me saying he got a 760!
I asked him whether he was applying to the ISB YLP program and he said he was planning to work for three years and then apply to premier MBA programs abroad; he was not looking at any school in India.
For some reason throughout these 3-4 months, I had not asked him which college he was from. Listening to his career plans, I asked him which college he was studying in and he replied that he was from IIT-Madras!
Given the stereotypes surrounding IITians’ ability (and hence their attitude towards coaching centres) and their attitude, it had not even remotely occurred to me that he might be from IIT-M. I thought he was a bright student from CEG, SRM or SSN.
If an IITian can be so diligent, organized and focused about his prep, I am sure many of you reading this blog should also do the same.
The CAT Writer 
Hello sir.. Your essay really cleared a lot of things. I got 10 cgpa in 10th and 85 % in 12th.. I am going to study bba this year… I know its a bit early, but i wanted to know how much percentage should i have to get in my graduation (bba) to be eligible for iima..
Also, I am quite confident about getting 98 and above percentile for cat.. I was just wondering that how much focus should I give to my grad score, considering that I haven’t score very well in 12th.
Thanks a lot
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Hi Shaswati, Good to see that you have started thinking about your MBA this early. A graduation percentage/CGPA above 80 is a must, above 85 will s great!
All the best for your prep!
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sir ,i have cgpa of 7.78 in B.E mechanical engineering.
will i get a call if my CAT score is >99 percentile
12th =97%
10th = 98%
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hello sir,
my acedemics details are as follows
Xth – 94.2%
Xth- 84.4%
graduation BBA (3.49/4 )
category- general
gender- female
sir i am yet to give my CAT. Can you tell me the chances of me getting a call from old iims and the cat percentile required for the same?
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Hi Ayushi,
You have pretty decent chances of getting a call form the old IIMs. You would need a percentile in the high 98s to get atleast one call.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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sir ,i have cgpa of 7.78 in B.E mechanical engineering.
will i get a call if my CAT score is >99 percentile
12th =97%
10th = 98%
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Hi Ranjith,
A and B I am not sure (I know of students with 99.91 not getting a call because they have a grad GPA of less than 8) but definitely all the rest. And as I keep saying A,B,C is not alphabetically decreasing order or status, all three are equal when it comes to placements.
All the best!
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Hii sir,
I have 64.4 percentage in 10th . 67.2 percentage in 12th and 79.44 percentage in b.tech. I have total 3 years of work experience . Is there any chances for me to get admission in IIMs(old or new ).
I am also planning to leave my job to prepare for cat’18 . Please suggest .
.
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Hi Manish,
It is really tough for you to get a call from the old IIMs, you have an outside shot at the new IIIMs. So you should apply to a lot of schools apart from the IIMs.
Since you have 3 years of experience it is okay to quit your job but remember that you will face questions in the PI both about your marks and about your decision to quit your job. You should read the post about titled — Should I quit my job — that is on this blog.
Hope this clarifies.
All the best!
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Hello sir.. i have about 93% both in class 10th and 12th. And 77% in my btech and mtech. I also have a work ex of 6 months as of now. Do I stand a chance at the old IIMs (ABCLI) if I score upwards of 99%ile in CAT18 ?
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Hi Arpit,
A and B are borderline since the grad marks are below 80 but the rest you will definitely get.
Hope this clarifies.
All the best!
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What should be my choice for ISB vs Rest of the IIMs(apart from A and B). I am planning to apply for ISB YLP.
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Hi Arpit,
It depends on the sector that you want to work in and the specializations you want to choose.
ISB’s average work experience is close to 4.8 years and hence it tends to attract a lot of consulting profiles.
So for those with two or fewer years of work-experience I will still say that A, B, C & L offer many more options, especially in Marketing and Finance, in both sectors the old IIMs offer a wider choice of roles.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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As you have mentioned A and B are border-line for me, if I plan to apply to A using my CAT 2019 score, what can I do in this one year(profile building) to increase my chances (at A and B) ?
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Hi Aryan,
If you look at the selection criteria there is a weight for each element and for a first call, there is nothing in terms of profile apart from X, XII, Grad, Work-ex, Gender Diversity and Educational Diversity, CAT Score.
The only thing you can change at this point is work-ex in terms of quantum of work-ex (and as you would have seen in the blog post, A does not have any marks for work-ex). So more work-ex can get you a few more points for B.
the profile comes into play after the first call, when they send out a form asking you to catalog your achievements or to write an SOP. A good profile will help you fill those forms, write those essays and impress the panel in an interview.
Thus, the most important thing at this point is to focus on getting a great CAT score, and doing things to build your profile, which you can know from reading my post on the same.
Don’t waste any time on thinking about A and B, C is as good if not better.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello sir. I have 94.5% in my 10th and 86% in my 12th. but i have 7.3 cgpa in b.tech. my name is Sarthak Padhi. i am a male . can I get into iims with a good cat score?
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Hi Sarthak,
The IIMs A & B will be borderline since your grad marks are below 8, but the rest are definitely possible.
All the best!
Tony
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I have 86.5 in 10th, 86 in 12th ,66 in grad and close to 2 years of work ex. what are my chances for IIM’s with a good score. also for gmat can more work ex make my profile good for colleges outside india?
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Hi Harshit,
Your grad marks will be a roadblock in all the IIMs, barring IIM-C if I am not wrong. But a good CAT score will get you calls from schools such as FMS.
For international schools, 3 years of work-ex is the minimum that good schools expect, the average age as well at most of the international schools is around 26-27.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Tony,
I have 92.2% in X(CBSE), 82.7% in XII (Science) and 80% in BE(Electrical and Electronics). I belong to the general category and am a female. I have a work experience of 3 years at Accenture as an application development analyst and am a freelance writer for publications in Medium and Travelista.org. Which IIMs are sureshot and how much should my CAT percentile be?
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H
I have 93 73 70ish acads btech with 14 months exp what iims do i have a chance at if i get above 99.5 %ile?
thanks
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Hi Ankur,
You can expect calls from C, L and K.
All the best!
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Hi Sir
I have 89% in Xth and 83 in XIIth board and 6.9 cgpa in Bpharm and i don’t have a work exp although i have passed out in 2017. what are my chances if i score high in CAT
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Hi Arjun,
You can get calls from one or two of the old IIMs and a few new IIMs and good private b-schools as well such as MDI and IIFT.
All the best!
Tony
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Hi Sir
I have 85.5% in Xth and 77% in XIIth board and 56 % in B.E and i have a work of 1 year exp and also i although i have passed out in 2017. what are my chances if i score high in CAT ?
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Hi Rishabh,
You can get a call from the newest IIMs and other private schools.
Don’t spend a lot of time thinking about whether you will get a call, just get the highest percentile you can.
All the best!
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Hi Sir
I have 85.5% in Xth and 77% in XIIth board and 56 % in B.E and i have a work of 1 year exp and also i am in NCOBC category , although i have passed out in 2017. what are my chances if i score high in CAT ?
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HI SIR,
i have got 88% in Xth, 87% in XII board.But in graduation(BE in Comp Science) i have got 65%. Also i an from OBC-NCL category. Im in the final year of college and am planning to write cat tthis time. How much cat percentile will qualify me for the iims(old and new)?
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Thanks a lot sir
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Hi Sir,
I have got 88% in Xth and 87% in XIIth boards. But in B.E(computer science) i have got 62%and also i am in OBC-NCL category.Right now, im in my final year and am writing cat 2018. How much percentile should i achieve to get a call from iims(old and new)?
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Hi Gautam,
If you had above an 80 in grad a percentile of around 95 would have sufficed to get all the IIM calls. But given your grad marks, you will need to score around a 97. Colleges that do not take graduation marks into consideration, such as IIM-C, will still give you a call at 95.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Sir my marks are like 85.5% in Xth, 73% on 12th and 72.2% in graduation GEM will it be possible for me to expect any call from IIMs and at what CAT percentile??
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Hi Manoj,
Since your XII and Grad marks are below 80, it will be tough for you to get calls from old IIMs even at a very high CAT percentile. You might get calls from new IIMs if you score above 98.
There are good b-schools apart from the IIMs, focus on applying to them and taking their tests as well.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir!
GENERAL ENGINEER MALE
My 10th marks 94%
My 12th marks 95.5%
My Graduation marks is around 70%
What are my chances?
And is it true that some old IIMS can give you a call at even around 90 percentile provided that you have good academics and clear the sectional and overall cutoffs?
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Yes, IIM-L has started to give calls at lower percentiles.
But to get calls from most of the old IIMs you would need in excess of 99.
All the best!
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Sir my marks are like 85.5% in Xth, 73% on 12th and 72.2% in graduation GEM will it be possible for me to expect admissions in FMS at a very good CAT score?
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Sir please also suggest some other good B-Schools at this academic profile, which does accept CAT Scores…Thanks in advance
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You should apply to MDI, SP Jain and the IITs at Delhi and Bombay.
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Yes FMS is definitely possible with a very good CAT score.
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Hello sir ,sorry to bother you ,please suggest whether I have a chance of IIMs ?
Xth- 80% (2005)
XII- 87% (2007)
Qualification- Chartered Accountancy (53.25%,2016)
Work experience-around 4 years
Thanks a ton sir
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Hi,
Given that you are CA and have a good amount of work-ex you stand a chance of getting a call if your score a good percentile as per the category you fall into – around 97.5 if you belong to the General category and around 93 if you belong to the NC-OBC category.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thanks a ton sir for taking out time for us students
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Glad to be of help.
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Hello Sir,
Can you please suggest whether I have a chance of IIMs May not be A,B,C but Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode? If I got a chance what is the score that I should get in CAT to get an interview call.
Xth- 95.6%
XII- 97%
Qualification- B.E Science stream (7.1 CGPA)
Work experience-around 1.5 years
Thanks in Advance.
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You have a good academic profile.
You will get a call from L,I, K if score 98.5 and above.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I am a dual degree graduate from IIT, my profile is : X -9.2 , XII – 95, BTech+MTech – 8.1
At what percentile can I get calls from A and B?
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Hi Sounrangshu,
You have a great academic profile. If you are fresher, you would need to score between 99 and 99.5 to get a call from both A and B.
If you have more than 18 months of work-ex you can get a call from B at around 98.5.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
X-93.7
XII -91.17
BE – 88.78
Female
NC-OBC
Work exp – 60 months in core company.
What calls can I expect with 97.22 percentile in CAT?
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Hi Sindhu,
You should be able to get calls from most of the old IIMs.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I got 96 percent in 10th, 93 percent in 12 th both CBSE board. I did my graduation in 2015 in mechanical engineering with CGPA of 8.5. I have work experience of around 3 years.
this year in CAT I scored 95.66 percentile. QA 94, VA 96, DI 81
any chances for old IIMs?
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Hi Sourav,
Chances of getting a call from old IIMs are slim at 95. IIM-L gave out calls at lower percentiles last year, that’s your only bet.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I am a general category female with acads Xth 89.8 XII (Sci) 87
B.Tech:78.8 B.Sc (Psych): 60
CAT Overall is 97.36.
No significant work experience
What calls can I expect?
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Hi Arshia,
The old IIMs will be a tough ask. May be A because of your diverse edu background but that too will be a bit of a stretch because of the low grad percentage. May be a call from K is possible.
You should be able to get calls from the new and baby IIMs.
All the best!
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Hello , sir
My name is Som Samantray.
I scored 96.15 %ile in CAT 2018.
My Percentage in 10th/12th/Grad – 95/89.4/90 , General , Male , Fresher
Which calls are possible given that A , B , C , I , K and L are out of bounds.
I have also received a Profile Based Call from SPJIMR.
Is my conversion to IIMs , MDI and SPJIMr possible ?
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Hi Som,
At 96.15, a call from MDI might be tough.
As far as SPJIMR goes, since you have a profile-based call and have cleared the cut-offs with a percentile close to that of a score-based all you should be able to convert if you do the interview well.
Don’t rule out a call from IIM-L, they gave out calls at lower percentiles last year.
All the best!
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Sir
I have two years gap after graduation
X- 95.4%
XII-95.4%
BE-CGPA-8/10
with good CAT score is it possible for me to get into old IIMs
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Yes, with marks like those, most definitely!
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I am of GEM category and my scores are as follows:
X – 84.6
XII – 79.4
Grad – 7.1 CGPA ( from BITS Pilani)
Work ex – 3 years(by July this year)
What percentile do I need to get for a call from older IIM’s.
Apart from that the percentile doI need to get for colleges llike FMS, SPJAIN,MDI etc.
Regards
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Hi Ishan,
Since you have work-ex you can get a call from a few of the old IIMs at around 99 and from all (plus FMS) at a percentile above 99.5
For the other top schools, a percentile above 97 should suffice, the exception being IIT-B (whose cut-offs go above 99).
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi sir..
I got 7.6 cgpa in class 10th and 84.6 %in class 12th , in current I am a student of BBA 1st year. From next year I wanted to join a coaching for CAT preparation. Is it is better for me ??I am also wanted to know about how much work experience in which field is needed for clearing CAT examination and graduation percentage.
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Hi Monika,
Having about 24 months of work experience is preferable for those looking to build careers in Operations and IT post-MBA.
For those looking at Marketing or Finance, work-ex is not a requirement.
Please note that work-ex in itself is not mandatory for clearing the CAT.
You need to score more than 50% in graduation but to stand a chance to get a call, you need a graduation percentage at least above 80.
All the best!
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Hello Sir, your post really gave me a lot of food for thought. I have 92% in 10th , 85% in 12th and a cgpa of 8.32 in my graduation. I’m currently working in a MNC in my own core engineering field, What percentile would I have to aim for? Also being a working professional who spends rounf 12 hours just in travelling and work, what would you suggest as a strategy for my CAt prep?
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Hi Anjana,
In terms of aiming for a percentile, you should always aim to get as high a percentile as you can. If I tell you 98 is enough to get a cal then will you stop putting in effort once you reach 98 in the mocks?
You stand a good chance of getting a call from a few the old IIMs if you score above a 99 since you have a good academic profile.
It is tough to manage work and CAT Prep, maybe I’ll do a post dedicated to the same.
All the best,
Tony
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Hi Sir,
My Profile is below:
X: 96%
XII: 74.5%
BE Instru: 7.8 CGPA
Work Ex: 27 months
Targeting CAT 2019. Can I get call from old IIMS (A and B to be precise) provided I score 99.5% or more? Other B schools which I can apply for Operatinons/Finance ?
Thanks in Advance!!
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GEM
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Hi,
A might be a bit tight even at 99.5 and above since you will drop marks both for XII and for Grad, B will be possible since work-ex has weightage in the selection process.
You should apply to schools such as NITIE and SPJMIR for Operations, and NMIMS & IIFT for Finance.
All the best!
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Hi sir ,
In my 10th I got 85.28% and 12th (science stream) -73.16% and in BBA – 72.56%
I changed my stream from science to commerce cause after 12th I realized what I really want.
(How can I justify this to the interviewers? )
And after BBA I worked as Insidesales account manager for 6 months at an IT infrastructure company.
I resigned cause I wanted to change my domain and industry. And the company was very unhygienic, literally.
And now I have 8 months left for CAT. I have started my preparation.
Should I join some company to get more work experience?
I want to get into IIMB or old IIMs .
How can I justify the interviewers when my road path of career line is so messed up.
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Hi,
The change from science to BBA is very much okay, you are not expected to know what you want to do in life at 15.
If you feel you cannot work and prepare for CAT at the same time, do not look for a job, else look for one.
Also, please do not keep your choices limited to old IIMs. Take the XAT, IIFT, NMAT, and SNAP and ensure you apply to the top 30 colleges.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi,
I am targeting CAT 2019.
I am a general category female and my Profile is as below:
X: 93%
XII: 87.5%
BSc(CS): 89%
Work Ex: Will be close to 1.5 years by CAT 2019.
What percentile in CAT will be sufficient for a call from FMS and the old and new IIMs?
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Hi,
For new IIMs — above 98, for a few of the old IIMs — above 99, for FMS and IIM-C — above 99.5.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I’m a general category female candidate targeting CAT 2019.
My Profile is as below:
X: 92.7%
XII: 87.5%
BSc(CS): 89%
Work Ex: 1.5 years
What percentile will be needed for a call from old and new IIMs?
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Hi,
I think at a percentile of 98.5 plus to get a call from IIM-B and K, given the weight for gender and education diversity.
For the other IIMs, you would need a percentile in excess of 99.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi,
I’m a general category male candidate targeting CAT 2020.
My Profile is as below:
X: 10 CGPA = 95%
XII: 91.8%
B.Tech = 81%
Work Ex: 0 years
What percentile will be needed for a call from old IIMs?
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Hi Tapan,
You will a percentile above 99.30 to get calls from a few of the old IIMs and in excess of 99.6 to get a call from all the old IIMs.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I’m a general category female candidate targeting CAT 2019.
My Profile is as below:
X: 95%
XII: 97.5%
iMtech : 7 CGPA (Was having hard time during my graduation due to some issues, now i feel like it has ruined my chances a lot.)
I am confident that i am gonna get above 99% in CAT.
Do i have any chance to get into any of the old IIM’s(my priority goes like this – A,C,B).
Thanks.
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Hi Soumya,
I think it makes a lot of sense to set your goals more long-term — working with a brig brand firm in Fin, Marketing, Ops etc. rather than A, C and B.
Given your grad marks A and B are a tough ask but if you score above 99, you can get calls from the rest of the 4 and they will give you a great career.
While A, B, and C are great, it does not mean that an MBA from any other premier college cannot build a great career or does not have great skills? Absolutely not.
So put your grad marks behind, ACB behind, and get a great CAT score, as of now everything else is immaterial.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I am general male engineer.
Work ex – 25 months (till july 2019)
10th – 88.76% (94 % according to ssc board rule-best of 5)
Diploma – 90.44%
BE Mechanical – 75.56%
Last year I had a profile based call from SPJIMR.
Do I stand a chance for old iims?? and cat score required?
Thanks in Advance
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Hi Ajinkya,
Since you have 25 months of work-ex, you can get a few calls if you score above 98.75 and all if you score above 99.6.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi sir
I have an expected percentile of 97.3
10-94
12-96
Grad-7.7
I’m a qualified CA n CS
Do you think I have a chance in IIM A/B/C?
Thank you
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Hi Shakshi,
IIM-A is a possibility but I will not bet on it since the competition among CAs( they select among the education groups and not across groups) is quite strong.
IIM-B you have a chance since CAT score weightage is less, but you need some work-ex at least.
IIM-C is ruled out at 97.3.
Though you might not care for them, you have a higher chance of getting a call from L, I, and K.
Do let me know through the comments if you get calls.
All the best!
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sir, i have
78.8 in 10th
88.2 in 12th
58 in grad commerce
belong to EWS category
male
expecting 90 percentile in cat
which college can i expect
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May be the baby IIMs.
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Hello Sir,
I have finally gotten an estimate for my CAT scores and I am wondering as to what colleges I might be getting a call from? My main target in HR so MDI is the biggest name out there outside of XLRI n TISS.
10th: 89.3
12th: 79.8
Grad: 82%(Business management)
Work exp since Jan 2019 in Agribusiness Industry in Sales
CAT VA: 67
LRDI: 35
Quant: 34
Slot 2
In terms of percentile, it is being predicted as around 97.5-98 percentile depending on the scaling.
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Hi,
If you cross 97, which should be possible, you are in with a chance to get a call from MDI, 98 and above will make a call certain.
All the best!
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Hello sir. My name is Amit and i am male, general category. My 10th cgpa is 9.5, 12th marks- 79%,
btech-64%. what are the chances of getting call from any of the old iims ?
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If you get a percentile above 99.60, you can get calls a few calls from C, L, I, and K; A and B are next to ruled out.
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sir, my 10th cgpa is 9.8 and 12th marks is 79%. my graduation marks is 64%. i am a male, general category. what are the chances of getting call from any of the old iims and if there is any chance then how much percentile is required ?
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If you get a 99.60 and above, you can get a few calls from C, L, and K; the others are very much ruled out.
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Sir , i have 88.22% in Class 10 , 81.8% in class 12 , 50.37% in graduation , 85.37% in post graduation . I won state level quizzing championship during my graduation year . I have 5 yrs gap all total . I work as a private tutor for last few years . There is no work experience certificate for that . I did it for living . Next year i want to give CAT . What will be my chances to get into top 20 colleges in India ? If i score above 95 percentile in CAT then can i get calls from top 20 colleges ? please help me sir with my confusion . I’m bit confused due to my poor grad & gap years . Also will these affect me later for MBA placement too ?
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Hi Riju,
Which category do you belong to? If it is NC-OBC then you can get calls at a percentile of above 95.
If you belong to the General category then top 20 colleges is tough.
In terms of admissions and placements, you will be at a disadvantage given the Grad marks and the gap years but that does not mean that you should give up on your MBA dream — maybe not a Top 20 college, maybe not a top-tier firm, but you if both colleges and firms feel that you have the potential to do well in managerial roles, they will select you the drawbacks in your profile notwithstanding.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Thanks Sir for replying me . I’m preparing for CAT 20 . I belong to general category & I have done my graduation in Physics . What you would suggest me for CAT or other MBA exams so I can get good college ? I have completed my masters in 2019 May .
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Hi Riju,
As I mentioned, you might not get into Top 20 colleges but you can get into one of the top 30 colleges.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thanks a lot sir . I’ll do my best
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Really heartwarming to see you kind sir to respond to every query and this is not the current trend , I have seen you been this gracious for past 2 years .
Gratitude and love from all of us student for your love towards us , hope we can be any assistance to you in future .
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Thanks a lot for acknowledging!
It takes me 30 minutes everyday to respond to queries and I do it the first thing when I open my laptop since I know it means a lot to students and it tough for them to get access to the right guidance.
Thanks again.
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Hello sir
It’s very heartwarming to see you reply to each of us students , you not even once use blanket message to reply but treated each one of us individually and seperately , in a world where populace are reduced to numbers , it garners respect . And It’s not the recent trend ,I have seen you being such generous for past 2 years since I am preparing for CAT. I only wish I could land a job that I love as you love yours. Please take a moment to recognise the difference you have made in our lives , thank you for that .God bless you
CA Animesh
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Hello Sir,
My profile :
GEM
Xth =10 CGPA (95%)
XII = 94%
Grad : 86.5% (NIT )
WorkEx: 15 months as of now, Associate Consultant in MNC
What percentile do I need in CAT 2020 to get calls from old IIMs ?
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Hi Mohit,
You will need in excess of 99.30 percentile since you will have less than 24 months of work-ex at the time of application.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir
my name is Aditya i got 8.6 cgpa in 10th standard, 76% in 12th and 59% in graduation.
i have represented rajasthan in SGFI football national level championship and i am also an ncc cadet .
can i get calls from old iims?
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Hi Adithya,
Assuming that you are in the General Category, it will be tough to get a call from the old IIMs given your XII and Grad Marks.
What you should look at is a good top-30 b-school that will give you a 15-LPA plus break in your first job and set you up for a great.
And you can get this by taking not just the CAT but also XAT, IIFT, NMAT, and SNAP and applying to the best colleges through these tests.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Tony,
I am GEM with scores 10th(CBSE)- 10CGPA, 12th(CBSE)-89.6%, Grad- 80.6%, Work ex- 8 months in RIL as of now. Do I fare a chance getting a call from IIM-B? Also what percentile will be required in CAT 20 in order to get a call rest of the old IIMs?
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Hi,
Since you have less than a year of work-ex you will need in excess of 99 percentile to get calls from a couple of old IIMs and above 99.6 to calls from all of them.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi,
I have scored 10CGPA in 10th, 97.2% in 12th, 9.01/10 CGPI in Engineering from a decent Govt. institute. I do not have any work experience as such. What percentile can get me a call from IIM A/B?
thanks,
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Hi Animesh,
Since you are a fresher you will need in excess of 99.40 to get a call from A or B.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I am a GEM, scored 10CGPA in 10th, 89% in 12th and 74.06% in B.tech(DCE). I have 3 years of experience.
Can i get calls from old IIMs?
If yes, what percentile do I need in CAT 2020 to get calls from old IIMs ?
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Just to the add the experience is in developing Marketing and Sales Strategies for business growth.
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Hi sir
Kindly suggest percentile required for older IIMs
GEM
Work Ex- 2 Years
10th- 10 cgpa
12th- 90.2%
B.Tech- 9.03 CGPA (NIT)
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Hi Akash,
If you score above a 98.5 you can expect calls from a few of the older IIMs such as IIM-B, and if you cross 99.5 you will get calls from all the old IIMs. Everything else falls in between.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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10- 87.4 12- 59.66 B.A(maths and eco) nc-obc
any chances in iim and fms delhi
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