“Tera kya hoga Kalia?” –  Often we ask this question to mock at some one, bursting into a loud guffaw. Indeed, a variant of this question that stares most of the candidates preparing for CAT is:

“Considering my profile, what should my CAT score be, to ensure a call from the top IIMs [BLACKI]?”

I have lost count of the number of times that I have answered this (and similar) question. I have tried to explain that, all one should worry about is scoring high in CAT and that should, more often than not, fetch him/her an IIM call. However, is that the complete truth?

The reality is that, most of the IIMs shortlist candidates for the personality assessment stage based on multiple criteria; while IIM A and C are pretty straight forward, IIM B and L have a complex algorithm and hence when I answer the above questions, it is only a vague estimate that could easily be incorrect for some of the IIMs.

Given that your preparation plan/strategy is dependent upon the CAT score you need to achieve, we analysed the eligibility criteria for each of the 13 IIMs and matched it with the percentiles at which these IIMs called students for the personality assessment process (GD, PI, WAT). Based upon our analysis we have introduced a tool – IIM Profilizer*.

The IIM Profilizer* maps your profile (category, academics, gender etc.) with the eligibility criteria of the IIMs and, will give the list of IIMs from where you can get an interview call and, the percentile required for the same.  The key features IIM Profilizer are:

  • Handles all complexities of academic diversity, gender diversity and different categories.
  • Analysis of top 13 IIMs and their shortlist criteria based on latest 2014 data
  • Modeling of relative State Board difficulty levels to simulate normalization of X/XII marks
  • Validated against 12,000+ calls of 2014 IIM call getters
  • Over 3300 students have used it to generate their IIM Profilizer report in the last few days.

For a few of you, the IIM Profilizer* will confirm your worst fears, that your profile makes you in-eligible for any of the IIMs. This should make you work harder because, apart from IIMs, most of the top MBA institutes (FMS, IIFT, XLRI, NITIE, most IITs, etc) shortlist candidates for the interview based only on the CAT/XAT score and do not consider profile at all. Even in the final selection, profile has a low or negligible weight for most of the non-IIMs.

I hope that greater clarity of the target score will incentivize you to work harder to achieve your goals. To get an estimate of the required CAT score, click on IIM Profilizer* and register by entering the required data. Complete your profile and then view the Profilizer report.

CL students can access the IIM Profilizer* in their SIS also.

All the best,
GP

*Patent applied.