CAT Admit Card Date:12 Nov' 25 - 30 Nov' 25
Aspiring management students, who wish to make their way to the coveted Indian Institute of Management (IIM) have to undergo through personal interviews after they overcome the herculean task of clearing the Common Admission Test (CAT).
Those who are able to get admission to the IIMs, recall their interview as a memorable one, while those who are grilled and fail to make it to an IIM prefer to forget it. IIM Personal Interview Experiences by Careers360 showcase the forgettable and unforgettable experience of the students.
The personal interview round is the key stage of an IIM admission process. It is during this final round that the interview panel, at times, grills the candidate about his academic background, professional qualifications, and his general knowledge.
Vinayak Kudva, Head – PG India & Mumbai Region, IMS, on why PI is important says, “A personal interview is the last step to get to know the candidate well. Personality traits that cannot be uncovered through Entrance tests, GD or WAT are evaluated here. The selectors try to understand the candidate’s personality, his/her interests, motivation, aspirations etc.
If you are starting your preparation with the personal interview (PI) the experiences shared by the successful students of the IIMs will prove to be a boon.
The interesting PI rounds
Describing each IIM interview unique, Raghav Sehgal, on Quora, says that the interview process of each IIM varies. He opines, “Each one of my interviews was unique and different. I was asked stuff ranging from railway engines, cold war, and geopolitical issues resulting in WW3, cricket, cooking, my academics, entrepreneurship, ethics and what not. They want to know how genuine you are and whether you will be a better person with the education you get.”
Sharing an interesting experience of impressing the interviewer by unexpectedly responding to one of his questions, Anirban Mukherjee, IIM Calcutta says that at times what matters is just answering one of the random questions posed by the panel. Recalling the question, which proved to be a turning point and got him an admission in the IIM, Mukherjee says, “Panel: Name the other Republican candidates. Me: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush. Panel: (delivers a killer burn) Well you could have supported Bush because sometimes you beat around the bush. Interview over, and IIM Calcutta seat booked.”
Another Quora user, Parth Shah, presently studying at IIM Ahmedabad, talks about the response which turned the table in his favour. He shares, “Interviewer: So you play chess. Answer these questions as fast as possible. He had a tablet in front of him. He asked me 15 questions on chess from it which included some like, what is FIDE rating, how is it defined, Against whom Anand lost recently, Anand's rating, Carlsen's rating, my chosen first move, E4-C6 is called what, Fool's mate, Queen's gambit... I answered all questions correctly. “
Forgettable PIs at IIMs:
Sometimes the interviews to IIMs are a cake walk, while on other occasions, it proves to be a nightmarish experience. Sanath Sunny, who despite being selected in IIM Indore, was on tenterhooks till the final result was out as the interview panel grilled him.
Me: Opened the door to enter. Interviewer: Just looked at me saying to come inside in angry faces.Don't you have any manners to close the door? Me: Converted the call after an hour-long grilling! |
Syed Naser, 98 percentiler in CAT, states that interviews are at times a roller coaster ride. But one must always stay confident before the interview panel.
In one of his interviews he was asked a number of questions, to which he did not know the answers. He shares, “One of the interviews went off the course at the very beginning and that roller coaster was my worst experience. I was asked how is the President of India elected? What is the difference between a republic, democratic and sovereign country,? Discussion revolved around Telangana. I was asked about similarities between Chattisgarh and Telangana. One of the questions, which came out of the blue was the National Anthem of Bangladesh(I was asked this question as I had said that I love poetry)...I was completely taken aback as I had no clue about the answer to these questions.
Another candidate who shared his ordeal on Quora was Ankur Garg, who during an interview for IIM, Lucknow was asked if he was from an “Upadravi gotr’(‘Upadravi’means an anarchist). The term was used by Kiran Bedi, when she was competing against Arvind Kejriwal during the 2015 Delhi assembly elections.
P1 (in Hindi): Upadravi gotr ke ho kya? (Translation: Are you from 'Upadravi gotr'?) Me: Sorry sir, I didn't get that. P2 (while going through my marksheets): Rehne do, isko samajh nahi aayega, 10th mein Hindi mein kam marks hain. (Translation: He won't understand as he anyways has less marks in Hindi in Class 10th) Me: Facepalm. |
Amit Singh expresses his anguish on Quora on how the interview panel at IIM Lucknow gave him a tough time about his hobby ‘Ophiology.’ Despite answering the questions to his satisfaction level and getting positive acknowledgement from the panellists, Singh was rejected.
Though it is a dream for every candidate to make it to the prestigious institute, however, a rejection should not affect his or her confidence. With the passage of time, it is the experience that you acquire while working.![]()
Also Read:
On Question asked by student community
Hi there,
You have to apply separately for each symbiosis college, like SIBM Pune, as they as not automatically included. The CAT form automatically includes many IIMs, but the SNAP exam is a separate test that is given for admission to Symbiosis Institute, which requires its own separate application and fee.
Hope it helps!!!
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Hello,
To get admitted to the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), BHU, for an MBA in 2026, you must clear the CAT entrance exam. For that you need to fill out the application form of the CAT in August 2026, which you can get on the Official CAT website
I hope it will clear your query!!
Hello
You can get all the papers on the Careers360 website. To access the paper and download it for practice, just visit here:
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nift-cat-2024-question-paper-with-solutions
Hope it will help you!!
Hello dear candidate,
Yes, you have a very good chance of getting a BPT seat with 488 out of 600 and TS EAMCET rank of 14,000 under the ST category.
As the cut off of BPT for ST category students are generally between 25,000 to 45,000 ranks, depending upon the college and you have TS EAMCET rank of 14,000.
Thank you.
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