If you want to get admitted to such a college where the fees for an MBA for the complete 2 years is just Rs. 2 lakhs, and the average package goes more than Rs. 30 lakhs, this means that it competes with IIMs. Plus, their academic weightage is also very less.
If your marks in 10th, 12th, and in graduation are low, you can still get admission to this college. Then this is the best option for you.
Contents
Introducing FMS Delhi
It is called FMS Delhi. It’s not even necessary to give a glorious introduction to it as all the MBA aspirants know about FMS. But why is this series made? Because there are so many B-schools, the criteria for getting selected for them is different, the shortlisting criteria is different, and the selection criteria is different.
So, I thought there should be a video in which all these three things are explained crisply.
Video Request and Feedback
So, let me start off with this video. But if you want the same videos as this for other IIMs and colleges, then do give me feedback.
Eligibility for FMS MBA Program
The very first thing is eligibility, i.e., for the 2 years MBA program in FMS, what are the conditions? There are three basic conditions:
- 12 Years of School Education: You have to complete your 12 years of school education, i.e., your formal education in school.
- Bachelor’s Degree: You should have a bachelor’s degree, and you should have 50% marks in your graduation. For category students, 45% marks are enough.
- Final Year Students: If you don’t have your bachelor’s degree but you are in the final year, then also you can apply. Being in the final year means when you write the CAT exam in November, during that time, if you are in the final year, you can apply for it. There is no condition on your marks. If your marks are less than 50% in your graduation, you can still apply for it. The only condition is that during your admission, your declared result should meet the 50% marks condition.
So, these are the three small conditions. If you meet these, then congratulations, you are eligible for FMS.
Seats and Cut-off
The second thing is seats and cut-off, i.e., how many total seats are there and what is their bifurcation. To clear this, how many marks do you need in the CAT exam?
In FMS, the total seats last year were 251, out of which 101 seats were allotted for general category students. The rest of the seat bifurcation is shown on the screen; you can pause it and check them one by one.
After this comes the cut-off. CAT is the only exam that FMS accepts. If you want to go to FMS, then you have to write the CAT exam; without that, you can’t get admission. The cut-off for the general category is usually between 98-99. For the category students, the number of cut-off varies based on their category.
But I would say that you keep your target above 90; that way, you can secure admission in some other colleges also. One important thing to remember at this point is, in the CAT exam, you can score as much as you want. But if you don’t apply for FMS separately, then you won’t get a call for it.
Important Application Step
It’s a very critical point, so I will elaborate on it. Generally, for the IIMs, you just need to fill out the CAT form only, and automatically, you get a call from IIM. But FMS, although it’s a nice institute like IIM, for that, the first form you have to fill out is for the CAT exam which opens in August, and the second form you have to fill out for FMS as well separately. Its fee is also separate but a nominal amount.
But the FMS form you have to fill out separately; sometimes it has to be filled out before the CAT exam and sometimes after the CAT exam. So, please remember to track the FMS form. As soon as it is announced that the form is out, you have to fill it up.
Resource Recommendation
Now, how will you track it or where will you check it? For that, I will recommend a resource. It’s absolutely free, and they have also sponsored today’s video, which is Studybuzz.
About Studybuzz
Studybuzz is a CAT coaching institute that has a YouTube channel you can also subscribe to. In fact, this is one of the biggest YouTube channels of the MBA ecosystem, where 400k plus subscribers are there. All the important information about MBA, e.g., if a form of some college is out or how to fill that form, all the detailed videos you will get on the channel on time and in an elaborate format.
In fact, they make some revision videos as well. Once the whole CAT syllabus is over, they start posting 3 hours, 5 hours revision videos of each section in which they completely cover the whole syllabus. You can check their playlist section as well. There, you can see the informative videos of the different B-schools and the revision series about which I was talking; you will find that in detail in this particular playlist as well.
So, what I would simply recommend to you is, as it’s free to watch, all you have to do is just subscribe to this channel. It will help you in your journey. So, you can do that, and in this way, you will get to know when the FMS form is out.
Shortlisting Criteria
The next important part is the shortlisting criteria. In a previous video, I explained the meaning of shortlisting, where I have said that to enter any IIM or a nice B-school, there are three stages. The very first stage is shortlisting. To shortlist means that the college has called you for an interview. What are the criteria for that?
This is the best part about FMS because they just consider the CAT exam marks. If FMS wants to call the students for an interview, they will just see your CAT marks only. In that, they give weightage for all three sections separately:
- VARC: 40%
- DILR: 30%
- Quants: 30%
After taking these marks, they have five additional points for female candidates to promote diversity in B-schools. So, after that, they make a list of candidates who have the top marks based on the CAT score and gender diversity points.
That’s it. There is no sectional cut-off, i.e., a minimum score in VARC or so. There is no academic cut-off also, i.e., 10th or 12th minimum marks, in the shortlisting stage. If you want to sit for the FMS interview, then the only thing you need is to score well in the CAT exam. That’s it.
Selection Criteria
The final point is the selection criteria, i.e., if we have reached the FMS interview round, then we are just one step away from our destination. So, at that point, what criteria will be there, and what’s the weightage during the interview process?
There are three processes during the interview:
- SOP Discussion: When you fill out the form for FMS, the second form which you have to fill out, in that you have to write an SOP. SOP means a statement of purpose, i.e., why you want to join FMS. When your interview happens, at that time, they keep a small section where they discuss the SOP. This is the first thing that happens.
- Extempore: Any topic will be given on the spot on which you have to speak for a few minutes.
- Personal Interview: They might ask you some questions about your academics and may ask many questions based on hypothetical situations, your values, why you want to do an MBA, and many other types of questions.
Now, these three components are for the day when you have your interview. Other components are also there, like your CAT exam score, gender diversity, your 10th, and 12th marks, so they also have separate weightage.
Weightage Breakdown
- CAT Exam Score: We aren’t talking about the percentile; we are talking about the weighted score which was counted in stage 1, i.e., 40%, 30%, 30%. The total of that score’s 50% weightage in this stage.
- 10th Marks: If your marks were between 60-75%, then you will get 5 points, and if it was above 75%, then you get 10 points. Maximum it has just 10% weightage only.
- 12th Marks: Similarly, if you have 60-75% marks, then you will get 5 points, and if it was above 75%, then you get 10 points. Max 10% weightage only.
All the other components which I have told you about here are 10 points for SOP discussion, 5% for extempore, and for the final interview round, 15%. So, the whole process that happens on that day carries 30% marks. Apart from that, in this stage also, 5 additional points are given to female candidates to promote diversity.
Summary
In the whole scenario, what you understand is 50% of CAT marks, 20% of your academic marks (just 10th and 12th, nothing about graduation), and
30% marks of the interview round. This means that even if you score good marks just in CAT plus decent performance in interviews, then you can get into this institute whose placement and culture are almost similar to IIM.
I totally get that to enter here, only 100 general seats or just 250 overall seats are there. Many students tell me that it’s easy to say but it’s very difficult to enter. But if you are preparing, then target this kind of institute. Whenever someone says that their academic marks are not so good, then I would say that nothing is better than this option to aim for this institute. All you need is to score more than 98 or 99 percentile in CAT and prepare well for your interviews.
That is it, and that will seal the deal for you to get into an institute like FMS.
