CAT Selection Process 2021 - IIM Admission Process and Counselling

CAT Selection Process 2021: IIMs will commence the CAT 2021 selection process, after the declaration of the results. Those who clear the CAT 2021 exam will have to go through the CAT selection process 2021 to get admission to respective IIMs in India. Each Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) publishes its selection criteria separately on its official website. Performance in the CAT 2021 exam is an important component to consider in the CAT Admission Process 2021. Based on the performance of the candidates in the CAT exam 2021, the participating institutes of CAT 2021 will shortlist candidates for further rounds (Personal Interview, Written Ability Test/ Group Discussion).

CAT Selection Process 2021

CAT exam is a mother of all MBA entrance exams which will be conducted on the last Sunday of November 2021 i.e. November 28. IIMs will shortlist candidates on the basis of CAT 2021 and the selection process. The selection process of CAT will consist of Group Discussion (GD), Written Ability Test (WAT), and Personal Interview (PI).

IIM Admission Process through CAT 2021

In this complete Careers360 article, we clearly discussed the weightage given to various aspects, CAT selection process, the different selection processes to IIMs, non-IIMs, and other B-schools accepting CAT scores. The selection procedure for IIMs for CAT 2021 consists of three rounds such as,

• Round 1: CAT 2021 Result and IIM Shortlist

• Round 2: WAT and GD-PI rounds

• Round 3: Final Selection and Eligibility Verification

Round 1: CAT 2021 Result and IIM Shortlist

Once the CAT 2021 results are announced, IIM shortlist dates are released and all IIM will begin their shortlisting process. Individual IIMs will release the CAT cutoff 2021 based on the CAT score. The list of new IIM shortlisted candidates for the next CAT Counseling will be available on the respective IIMs website.

Each IIM will then send interview letters directly to the shortlisted candidates. The CAT IIM selection criteria for shortlisting is varying across IIMs.

Quick Links:

How to crack GD-PI & WAT rounds of top B-schools

Top B-schools Accepting CAT Scores and Cutoffs

CAT Admission Process 2021 - IIM Interview Call Letter

Candidates selected for the first round of the CAT selection process 2021 will receive invitation letters in their registered email id. The invitation letter will contain the following information:

• Registration link

• Last date to complete the CAP registration

• Date, time and venue of WAT/GD and PI

Round 2: WAT, PI and GD Rounds

All candidates who meet the CAT 2021 cutoff can move on to the next stage of the IIM selection process for MBA i.e. Written Ability Tests (WAT), Personal Interviews (PI), and Group Discussion (GD). Candidates are evaluated on the basis of general knowledge, communication ability, performance in previous rounds, and presence of mind.

Round 3: Final Selection and Eligibility Verification

Any candidate listed for a personal interview at IIMs must comply with the eligibility and verification for the CAT final selection process.

At this point, candidates get marks based on their academic performance. Here is a breakdown of the parameters selected by the candidates:

NOTE: The table above contains the parameters and weightage of IIM Bangalore for the CAT exam. The weightage of each parameter will vary from year to year for each IIM.

Also Check: MBA Colleges Accepting 60 Percentile in CAT

Candidates are listed for WAT / GD-PI processes based on CAT percentile. The aggregate score calculation process for the shortlist for WAT / GD-PI provided by IIM Lucknow is as follows:

What are the documents to be taken at WAT/ GD and PI time?

Degree certificates & mark sheet verification:

Candidates are required to produce original and attested copies of certificates and mark sheets during the IIM selection round i.e. personal interview. If selected, the original degree mark sheets of all semesters and attested copies must be submitted at the time of joining.

Required documents at the time of WAT/ GD and PI:

• IIM Interview call letter

• CAT 2021 scorecard

• Class 10 mark sheet and certificate

• Class 12 mark sheet and certificate

• The graduation mark sheet and certificate

• Reservation category proof of certificate (if applicable)

• Work experience certificate (if any)

Reserved category

Candidates are required to produce an attested copy as well as the original ST/ SC/ NC-OBC/ DA certificates during the personal interview. If selected, original certificates and attested copies of the reservation category must be submitted upon joining.

Final year undergraduate students

The selected candidates will have to submit an original as well as an attested copy of the certificate that the student has obtained 50% marks (45% for reserved category) from the Registrar/ Principal/ Director of the institute or university.

Their admission will be temporary until the original mark sheet and the qualifying degree at the undergraduate level are submitted before December 31, 2022. If a candidate fails to submit the requirements in time, his/ her admission will be automatically canceled.

Final CAT Selection Process

Other additional factors considered by most IIMs for CAT counselling are:

• Previous academic performance of the candidates

• Relevant work experience

• Gender and academic diversity

Quick Link-

CAT Admission Process 2021 - Parameters for Final Selection Process

NOTE: It should be noted that these parameters vary from institute to institute each year.

Common Admission Process: CAT Admission Process 2021 for New IIMs

The newer IIMs such as Rohtak, Ranchi, Raipur, Trichy, Udaipur, Kashipur will conduct a common counselling process called Common Admission Process (CAP). A shortlist of candidates will be made and they will be required to appear for the common written ability test and personal interview rounds. Each of these IIMs will publish a candidate’s performance based on a separate merit list.

The following new IIMs will follow the CAP-based CAT result 2021

Key points of IIM CAP 2021

• All the participating Indian Institute Management will send the shortlisted candidates for WAT-PI to the IIM conducting CAP.

• That IIM will conduct the WAT-PI round for all CAP participating IIMs.

• After the CAP, the participating IIMs will evaluate the performance of the candidates in WAT, PI, CAT score, profile, etc., and create their individual merit list to offer admission.

• The final list of selected candidates will be displayed on the respective IIM website. This is only available to candidates with an institute login/ CAT ID.

NOTE: The weightage of the eligible CAT cut-off and admission parameters will be common to all CAP participating institutes.

MBA Admission Through CAT in Non-IIMs

There are some B-schools that do not fall under the IIM category. These institutes conduct their own CAT selection procedure 2021. Though the CAT 2021 counselling includes the same set of rounds as WAT and GD/ PI. However, not all of these rounds are mandatory for final admission. Some institutes like IMT Ghaziabad conduct group activity or group training instead of group discussion.

Also Check: Top MBA Colleges in India accepting CAT score

IIM Shortlist Status 2022-2024 based on CAT 2021

IIMs are set to release a list of shortlisted candidates to join their 2022-24 batches after the CAT 2021 results are announced. Candidates can check the latest information on IIM shortlist status available in the table below.

List of Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT score in India