This is your inside pass to India’s top B-Schools. Whether you’re choosing the right one, navigating...
2 hours ago
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CAT toppers look the same every year and no, that's not an exaggeration.
- CAT 2022 & 2023 toppers? Almost all GEMs.
- 99.5+ percentilers? Flooded with GEMs. But final admits? Suddenly, GEMs start disappearing.
Why? Because percentile isn't the whole story. We're told it's about diversity points, academic background, and profile factors that weigh almost as much as raw scores.
Should a 99.5% GEM lose to a 97% non-engineer, simply because the latter is a better fit for the B-School broc*ure? That is the question every GEM is asking in the 2026 cycle. The reality is that IIMs are no longer just measuring aptitude; they are engineering a classroom profile. If you are a GEM, you aren't just competing against the test; you are competing against the institution's need for demographic balance.
3 Replies
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Honestly, at a certain level of IQ/aptitude (97% vs 99.5%), the difference in ability is negligible. The institution is betting on the fact that the 97% non-engineer brings life/work experience that creates more value in a group project than an extra 2.5%ile in a test.
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It’s not just about the broc*ure. Top consulting and strategy firms ask for diverse batches. If IIMs want to keep their average CTC high, they need to produce graduates who fit the requirements of the recruiters, not just the toppers of a standardized test
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People call it 'discrimination,' but B-schools call it 'classroom variety.' If a classroom had only 99.5% GEMs, the quality of discussion would be incredibly one-dimensional. The diversity points are there to force a mix of perspectives, not just to pick a 'prettier' broc*ure.
