Indian Institute of Management, Indore lowers entrance benchmark for UAE course

Apparently compelled to attract more students to its Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in the UAE, the Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) has set its eligibility CAT percentile to historic low of 85 and GMAT score to 600.

The institute had so far maintained the eligibility CAT percentile for entrance into PGP programme at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE (PGP RAK)  at 90 and GMAT score at 650.

Sources claimed that even private management institutes like XLRI have a higher cutoff requirement than this new eligibility criteria  for PGP RAK.

This lowering of eligibility criteria suggests that IIM- Indore, which had boasted of being the first to start international IIM campus, is now struggling to attract sufficient students to this PGP programme.

While there are over 450 students in every batch of similar programme run in Indore, only 53 students had sought admissions in two batches of PGP RAK course.

Asked to comment on the lowering of criteria of its UAE course,  IIM-Indore director N Ravichandran said, " I don't want to talk to you about it." 

The institute had postponed the last date of admission for PGP RAK thrice in the last five months (May- September).  Last month (on Aug31), it announced fresh dates and lowering of  eligibility criteria for PGP RAK course through an advertisement on its website and newspapers.

The institute also held informative sessions about the PGP RAK programme in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Cochin, Hyderabad and Indore.

"The final result will be prepared by September 24," said IIM-Indore admission in-charge Prof Rohit Kapoor. He, however, went incommunicado when asked as to why the eligibility criteria was lowered for the PGP RAK programme.