MBA Business School Profiles »XIMB »Admission Process
Admission Process
General
Questions
How can one procure the application form for the various
programs offered by your institute? What are the application
submission deadlines?
Applicants are required to take the Admission Test (XAT) to be
conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur, on 9th January 2005. For this,
applicants have to log on to
http://www.xlri.edu/xat and
apply online for XAT. Last date for applying to XAT is 7th
December 2004. Registering for XAT is a prerequisite for
applying to XIMB.
Applicants have to also apply online for the XIMB programme, by
logging on to
http://www.ximb.ac.in. The last Date of
applying is 15th December 2004.
Please explain the various stages in admission process for each
of the programs offered by you. (E.g., test, interview, group
discussions, etc.)
The Institute will decide the section wise cut-off marks as well
as weights that will be assigned to different components of the
XAT score. The composite score so derived will be used for
short-listing candidates to be called for Group Discussion (GD)
and Personal Interview (PI). GD & PI will be held at Bangalore,
Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The
final selection will be based on the candidate's performance in
the XAT and Group Discussion & Personal Interview (which factors
in the past academic record and relevant work experience). The
selected candidates will be informed by mail by April 10, 2005.
Two third of the number of seats will be offered to the
residents of the state of Orissa who fulfill the minimum
qualifying standard in the admission tests and interview which
will be set in tune with the standards set by the top-most
Management Institutes in India.
What is the most important stage / aspect of the entire process
(with maximum weightage)?
Each of the stages has its own importance. The XAT test is a
process of elimination. Thus out of 12000 applicants
approximately less than 4% students are selected for the GD and
Interview. This stage is important but the final clinch is the
Interview. After the first hurdle, the Interview is the most
clinching element in your selection.
What are the skills/qualities you want to test during exam,
interview and GD?
The written test as mentioned above is an elimination round so
the skills and qualities expected of students are their
analytical, logical reasoning, command of English and the
overall mental makeup of the student is tested. To overcome
this, mental alertness and efficiency of thinking is required.
During Interview and GD your presentation skills, body language,
confidence level, articulation skills and conviction is tested.
Academic Background
Are engineers more preferred over non-engineer?
No disparity is made between engineers and non-engineers. Both
have a level playing field and are evaluated at the same scale
and the same parameters.
How important are grades in the selection process?
For applying for the program, grades do not matter. But once you
are at the Interview stage, Grades do matter and kind of
impresses the interview panel when they see a candidate with
good grades. But, there are also numerous cases where the
candidates have low grades but with smart thinking and proper
articulation have won the interview board over.
It's your confidence and positive attitude that wins the day for
you.
How do you take an applicant's undergraduate alma mater into
consideration?
Generally, an applicant's undergraduate alma mater doesn't cause
much of a difference. The Selection Process looks more at the
candidate than having any consideration for his alma mater.
Work
Experience
How important is work experience for the selection?
Work experience helps at the Interview stage, as every Business
School prefers to have students with certain work experience.
What kind of work experience is preferred?
The work experience even if at a lower position should indicate
the amount of responsibilities shouldered by the candidate. The
post of the work is not a matter. What matters is how much the
candidate has learnt from his work environment, what he has
learnt and how he has handled issues and situations in his work
life.
How much professional experience is too much? Is a candidate,
say, with 12 years of work experience going to fit into the
program?
As mentioned above, term of service or quantity of service is
not an issue. The fact lies in whether the candidates have
succeeded in carving out a niche for themselves in whatever they
have done. Somebody with 12 years work experience might not have
been able to do his Business Management course due to various
personal and professional factors. The selection committee
appreciates those facts and understands them.
Interview
What kinds of questions can an interviewee expect to hear during
an interview?
Questions are generally related to academic background of
undergraduate degree, situational interpretations, concept
analysis and discussion on emerging trends and contemporary
issues.
We are looking for candidates who are self-motivated, confident,
have the power of articulation and proper presentation,
innovative thinking and independent judgment capabilities.
Group
Discussions
GD sessions are generally
seen as platforms where the student's initiative, leadership
capabilities, coordinating capabilities, team player attitude
and good articulation, conceptualization and presentation skills
are noted.
Other
Queries
Well, what
characteristics is the B-school looking for?
We are looking for students with excellent skills and qualities
of analytical, logical reasoning, command of English and the
overall mental makeup of the student.
It is also the presentation skills, body language, confidence
level, art of articulation and conceptualization of issues and
conviction that are tested.
The student's initiative, leadership capabilities, coordinating
capabilities, team player attitude and good articulation,
conceptualization and presentation skills are also noted.
Which aspect of the
application should an applicant be most concerned with to make
himself/herself a competitive player?
The thrust should be on providing accurate and precise
information. Ambiguity in data leads to uncomfortable questions
in the Interview, which subsequently makes or mars the
performance of the candidate