CAT scores losses its charm this year
After all the
hullabaloo over the Common Admission Test (CAT) going online, some of the
Indian Institutes of Management have decided to After all the hullabaloo
over the Common Admission Test (CAT) going online, some of the Indian
Institutes of Management have decided to the formula for selecting
candidates, reducing the weightage for the CAT score.
For instance, IIM-Kozhikode -- which placed the
highest weightage on CAT scores all these years, 90 points -- has proposed
reducing it to 50 points for this academic year's admission. "This year,
we plan to consider candidates' performance in Class-X and XII examinations,
too, apart from their work experience," said a senior IIM-Kozhikode
faculty.
He, however, added that the decision had nothing
to do with the technical glitches that marred the conduct of the entrance exam
this year. "We wanted to bring in this change for the past two-three
years. We've finally decided to bring down the CAT weightage from 90 points to
50 points this year."
IIM-Bangalore, meanwhile, has gone the Ahmedabad
way. The Bangalore B-school has done away with group discussion and expects
candidates to be prepared for essay writing, something that IIM-A started in
2007. Students will be given 30 minutes to write on a topic that will
"typically reflect current political, economic and business affairs,
though other topics such as sports and those that require more creative
thinking can also be included", said an IIM-B official.
IIM-A didn't divulge detailed information
regarding the selection process last year. This time around, too, it's unlikely
that the points it gives for the CAT score would be made public. But officials
confirmed that like last year, the highest weightage would be given to a
candidate's performance in the personal interview.
Himanshu Rai, chairman (admissions) at
IIM-Lucknow, said the institute would place 30 points on CAT scores and the
remaining 70% would depend on a host of other areas like group discussion,
personal interview, Class-X and XII marks and work experience. "We want to
bring in more diversity on the campus, in terms of fewer engineers and more
women students," Rai added.
Sources in IIM-Calcutta said the selection process
was likely to remain unchanged.
The new IIMs expected to start this academic year
-- Trichy, Ranchi, Rohtak and in Rajasthan -- are yet to take any decision on
the selection procedure. Admissions to these institutes will be conducted by
the existing IIMs.
CAT TILE
* IIM-Ahmedabad: CAT score will get less weightage
than personal interview like last year, also to be factored in are essay
writing, Class X and XII scores
* IIM-Bangalore: No GD and case study discussion
this year. Instead, candidates will be given 30 minutes to write an essay.
Merely 20 points for CAT
* IIM-Kozhikode: Weightage for CAT down to 50
points from 90 points, the institute will consider scores of Classes X and XII,
apart from work experience. Last year, 10 points were set aside for work
experience
* IIM-Lucknow: CAT weightage to remain constant at
30 points. But the institute plans to slightly tweak weightage for Class X/ XII
marks as well as work experience
