A couple of weeks ago 21-year-old Samkit Shah was on top of the world after receiving admission calls from four branches of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Today he faces a unique quandary.

With IIMs deciding to defer admissions till the quota issue is resolved, several students like Shah are confronted with a problem over which they have no control. The final admission depends on the overall CAT scores of the aspirants.

β€œI received calls from Kozhikode, Indore, Lucknow and Kolkata. But since I don’t know when the admissions will start, I am forced to keep other options open,” he told DNA.
β€œI have also received a call from FMS Delhi and have already paid up Rs10, 000 as deposit, which isn’t refundable.” Saurabh Bhansali, who has got admission calls from four IIMs, says, β€œMy net loss amounts to Rs35,000. I have paid this amount as a non-refundable deposit to the SP Jain Institute of Management. Nothing prevents IIMs from announcing the list of general category admissions.” Riaan Rodrigues, 26, has a similar problem. β€œI have paid a deposit of Rs90,000 to IFT Kolkata. As and when the IIM admissions take place I will lose 10 per cent of the deposit,” he says. β€œDue to the delay I have kept other options open.”