You can be the CAT’s whiskers at many of the IIMs

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) may have made special provisions for girls and non-engineering candidates to encourage diversity in its classrooms, but the common admission test (CAT) still tips the balance in its favour with the highest weightage.

And as if on cue, the IIMs uploaded their individual admission policies on their websites as soon as the CAT 2012 results were declared on Wednesday.

To get into an IIM, a candidate has to score well in both sections of the test as well as be among the admissions shortlist drawn up by the institute. True that a high CAT score can take one only till the personal interview round, but most IIMs have a soft corner for such top scorers.

Leading the pack of those tilting towards the CAT score is IIM-Calcutta, giving it a weightage of 80%. Close on the heels is IIM-Ahmedabad, with a 70% weightage. Of the 13 IIMs, almost nine favour the CAT score to others.

No one puts this in plainer terms in its admission policy than IIM-Ahmedabad. “Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well in each section of the test.” Many others have pointed out that the stress lays on scoring well in both sections of the entrance test.

The IIMs recently decided to give advantage to candidates from a non-engineering background and girls. Take the case of IIM-Udaipur, which gives 30% weightage to diversity, and IIM- Tiruchirappalli. But girls and non-engineering candidates can make use of the advantage only if they are shortlisted for the personal interview round.