Achieving a perfect score in the CAT exam is a great beginning! So, if you have made it so far, get ready to advance to the next level of selection at the distinguished Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Lucknow! From here, you will need to vie for MBA spots with the most qualified applicants in the stated screening rounds.
The whole point of the admission process is to make sure the applicant has the aptitude and potential for the coursework and the associated professions. The panel uses the interview process as an opportunity to inquire into the candidates' level of focus and motivation for applying.
About IIM Lucknow
Set up in 1984, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow is the fourth one in the line of renowned IIMs. In 2005, IIM-L made history by opening the first-ever IIM satellite campus dedicated solely to Executive Education in the NCR region. The institute offers a range of postgraduate, fellowship, and executive programmes. As for the full-time regular ones, IIM-L is popular for PGP in Management, PGP in Agribusiness Management, and PGP in Sustainable Management. Further, it also extends MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
IIM Lucknow - Selection Process
Based on their CAT scores, academic records, and professional experience, candidates are selected for the Personal Interview (PI) and the Written Ability Test (WAT). These rounds are held in Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Hyderabad. The CAT scores, academic history, job experience, and PI-WAT performance - all play a definite role in the final selection of the candidate.
Topics Allotted in IIM-L’s WAT
During the writing ability test (WAT), the candidates are given a topic and asked to draft an essay on it within a time limit, which is usually 15-25 minutes. Most candidates are able to write a 250-300 word essay in the given time. The topics that form a part of WAT are drawn from current affairs and issues pertaining to management, business, economics, etc. The following list shows the topics given during IIM-L admissions of the past few years:
- Lying for a better cause or truth at any cost?
- Fitness should be a compulsory criterion for admission into MBA
- Social Media is leading to rising loneliness
- Rise and fall of Air India
- National security is a priority over the right to privacy
- Political parties should be funded by the State and not by industrialists or public donations
- Building monuments in the names of great leaders is a waste of public money
- Should the national anthem be played in cinema halls?
- Priority of Political Parties: National security v/s social security?
IIM Lucknow - Interview Experiences
Questions Faced in IIM-L Interviews
The candidates are interviewed by two members of the panel regarding their general awareness, preferences, academic background, and work experiences. In addition, questions regarding the candidate's hometown and family history are also asked. On average, each interview lasts between 10-15 minutes. Go through the actual interview questions put to candidates during IIM-L admissions in recent times:
Personality Traits & Goals
- Let's say you earn your MBA, work for a company for two years, and then find yourself in charge of a team of ten employees who refuse to take any of your directives seriously. What are your plans?
- Any other calls to IIM?
- When did you have your interview for IIM-B?
Academics & Work Experience
- Can you please tell me how many months of professional experience you have? So, you've left your job after only five months there, and why is that?
- What did you study to earn your degree?
- Can you talk about economics? Produce a demand curve depicting the potato market.
- In kinematics, what is the second law?
- Which area of expertise do you like the most?
- Is there a chance you'll get picked? If I tell you to make a bar graph out of the data based on a certain frequency, what do you call it?
- What is the distinction between business and commercial activity?
- You indicated in the application that marketing is your favourite part of the job; nevertheless, your current position is in a completely another department; please explain.
Current Events & General Awareness
- What is the number of states you've visited? Can you explain the cultural divide between Northern and Southern India? Where do West Bengal and Orissa differ culturally? How does the Biryani in Hyderabad vary from the Biryani in Kolkata?
- Do you know of any black ladies who have triumphed at a beauty contest? Even though you're younger, why should we choose you?
- Do you know about the situation in Ukraine and Russia? Putin's actions are puzzling.