Do Past Academics Matter in Clearing IPMAT?

To secure an entry in the Integrated Programme in Management, one has to go through various rounds of the admission process. This includes the IPMAT, followed by the PIWAT process. While the initial gatekeeper is the entrance test, poor academic history can also become a hurdle at a later stage, even if not explicitly mentioned as a deciding criterion.

There is no magic formula to acing the final section of IPM IIM Indore/Rohtak other than excelling in all possible aspects mentioned in the admission criteria. However, some aspirants point out that the institute doesn’t give any weightage to past academics explicitly so why should they bother?

In this article, I’ll discuss why barely meeting the 60% minimum academic qualification won’t be enough.

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Past Academics IS a deciding criterion for IPM IIM Rohtak

Up until 2019, IIM Rohtak gave 10% weightage to past academics (both 10th and 12th) in the final selection. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some changes had to be made in the admission process.

Past academics became one of the criteria for initial shortlisting and also had a significant weightage in the final selection. However, the institute is likely to return to its previous admission criteria for the next intake.

Past Academics CAN influence your interview

While IIM Indore gives no weightage explicitly to past academics, it can significantly affect the way your interview goes. 

IPM interviews are known to be grilling on the academic front. Looking at it from the institute’s perspective, they are trying to find academically-oriented and disciplined candidates who are well-fit for the course.

Your past performance is indicative of your future performance, therefore, you’ll be grilled on the academic front to check how well-versed are you with the topics you’ve already covered. If you have been a poor performer in your school, chances are you’ll find it hard to dodge the questions put forward by the interviewer.

Furthermore, the interviewers can also put forward the question “why such low scores?” The chances of you converting the call are less unless you give them a satisfactory reply.

Can an average student get into IIM?

While it’s a fact that a person with a stellar academic record will have a slightly higher chance of converting the final call, mediocre academics can also take you to IIM Indore, provided that you excel in all other aspects. 

I witnessed one such example this year while helping students excel the Video-Based Assessment (a substitute to PIWAT in IPM-I due to COVID.) One of the aspirants managed to convert the final call in the first round of offer allotment itself. However, his aggregate in 12th was just 58%, 2% short of what was required. Therefore, even though he converted the final call, he couldn’t get in as he failed to meet the minimum qualification level (which is sad.)

My point being, if he can manage to convert the final call despite having a not-so-good academic record, what’s stopping you?

What percentage can be considered as ‘good’?

Based on my as well as shared experiences of my peers in IIM Rohtak and Indore, a score of 80%+ can be considered decent for converting IIM Indore’s IPM. IIM Rohtak, on the contrary, puts more emphasis on past academics so the figure is going to be around 85%+.

However, these are just ballpark figures and might not be indicative of the actual selection process as various variables come into play so it’s difficult to analyse academics in isolation. People having a percentage lesser than that were also able to get into the college. Some had a reason to put forward (putting all your focus on JEE can be one, provided that your rank over there is decent,) others made up for it in the interview round.

This post is not meant to discourage anyone but rather serve as a reality check so that you can put those extra efforts in all other aspects and still end up in your dream college despite having a mediocre track record in school.

If you wish to make up for your academic performance by acing the entrance, you can consider checking our IPMAT preparation course which will help you build your concepts from the ground up and clear the IPMAT in your very first attempt.

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Saksham Chauhan

Saksham Chauhan

Marketing @ AceIPM. Explored my interest in Digital Marketing early and turned it into a passion. Delved deeper into the ed-tech industry in 2018 and went all-in with my startup OneGyan.

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