Based on your past academic records, you are likely to get into top IIMs only with a very high CAT score. Honestly, your academic performance is average and IIMs especially give a lot of weightage to past academics. However, you can target IIM Shillong and elite Non-IIM b-schools such as FMS and MDI. 

The best part of these Non-IIM B-Schools is their less weightage given to past academics during shortlisting. They focus the most on your CAT score. So anyone with an average profile can dream of getting into these schools by preparing for CAT sincerely and acing the exam.

Institutes like XLRI and IIFT focus a lot more on the entrance exam scores (around 60%) than your past academics. The other major parameters they give relative weightage to are work experience, GD/PI, and WAT performance. So choosing a B School like FMS, MDI, IIFT, XLRI, or JBIMS is a lot better for someone with your profile.

How to improve your profile:

Past Academics are not the only determining factor during admission. In fact, many B Schools give the least weightage to it. So the question is how can someone with an average profile up their scale and improve their profile? The 3 common ways are

• Gain some valid work experience (up to 3 years max)
• Pursue a hobby or passion in your leisure time
• Learn some professional skills

The CAT percentile required for some B schools you mentioned are

The required percentile to get into JBIMS varies every year and is dependent on the difficulty level of the entrance test. For OMS or all-India seats, the process is straightforward. You take the CET/MAT/ATMA/CMAT/CAT/XAT exams and apply with your score. Students who score high in CAT and XAT exams usually go to IIMs and XLRI, leaving students who applied with the remaining exams.

To have a chance of getting into JBIMS, you need to score a percentile of at least 99.98 in any of the exams. For Sydenham and Somaiya, a score of 99.95+ percentile is ideal, and a score of 99.9+ percentile offers you a fighting chance of being accepted.

According to the recent trends, the NMIMS Mumbai NMAT cutoff is 208 (94%). Your score is on the boundary and thus serves as no guarantee for admission. The cutoff usually depends on the level of difficulty of the exam and ranges from 207–210. In addition, if you are a fresher or have work experience of fewer than 12 months, your chances for conversion are zero. But if you do have good work experience, the chances are still rare.

All I can suggest to you is that you go for a retest and improve in the section you have flunked. Re-trying NMAT might get you a better score and thus increase your chances to an extent.

There are 2 key points you need to know regarding NMAT 

• 70% weightage is given to NMAT score during shortlisting
• The NMAT cutoff is usually around 205-250 marks

Now people might infer that a candidate with higher marks is likely to get into NMIMS. However this is not the case as I know many people who had a score of 220+ but were unable to make it into NMIMS Mumbai. So it’s best that you don’t worry about your scores and compare it with others once you have cleared the cutoff. You have more important factors to consider like the personal interview and case discussions which require a lot of preparation.

Moreover, a score of 213 is not that bad so don’t let it demotivate you a bit. Focus on your future endeavors. Preparing for the interview can be best done by going through your own CV and practicing to answer the questions related to it. The case discussion round is also risky and you need to be extremely patient throughout. Give everyone a chance and deliver your opinion in a concise and impactful manner.

In case you are worried about your past academics and work experience, here is the good news. NMIMS does not focus too much on work experience and academics and I have seen many freshers who were able to make it into NMIMS by scoring 210+. So all you need to do is work hard and not give up.

JEE MAINS 2023 cutoff at MITS Gwalior for Computer Science Engineering is 69794. To be honest your rank of 135000 is not at par with the requirements and your chances of getting admission are very poor. Anyone who wants to take CSE MITS Gwalior should have a rank of around 60-70k. Your rank is out of limits and has zero chances unless you belong to SC or ST Category. 

My advice to you would be to go for IT instead which might be possible with your rank. Stay at the top throughout the first year and then request a branch change since there will be 2–3 vacancies in CSE after one year. Even if you fail to get into CSE, you can stay there and avail similar benefits. The placement and curriculum are almost the same with the only difference being in fees and some subjects in the final year.

So unless you belong to a reserved category, your chances of getting into CSE at MITS Gwalior are less than 50%.

NMAT has no age limit and is open to freshers as well. The only eligibility criteria is an Education pattern of 10+2+3/4 years. The new exam pattern and scoring criteria have made it all the easier. NMAT will now be 108 questions and 120 minutes, unlike its earlier pattern of 120 questions and 120 minutes.

The sections will have the same weightage of 36 questions each in terms of the number of questions. But the time allotted to each section has changed. 

• VA- 36 questions ; 28 minutes.
• LR- 36 questions ; 40 minutes.
• Quant & DI - 36 questions ; 52 minutes.

NMAT has sectional cut-offs, so no section is more or less important. The factors taken into account for final shortlisting and their respective weights are given below

Your NMAT score will have no impact on your Personal Interview. The panelists usually question you on the basis of your CV and the question sheet you filled out while submitting documents. They might also question your GK and knowledge of current affairs. So be prepared for this round as it is a crucial part of the admissions process.

Generally, one gets a call from MDI at 95 percentile however for the final convert 96-97 percentile is observed as the score. Considering your profile, your CAT score is on the borderline, especially for a regular MBA. However, you are likely to get calls for MBA HR and MBA IB.

There are high chances of your getting calls from newer IIMs like Trichy, Ranchi, and Rohtak. Your exceptionally good academic background will fetch you a call. 

Your work experience is too less to be considered and nevertheless, no top 2-year MBA program in India makes work ex essential. It comes into play only if you are applying to SPjain operations or IM specialization. You should consider other options like IIT KGP, Madras, and Kanpur. In addition, you should sit for some exams other than CAT like NMAT, IIFT, SNAP, and XAT.

Yes, even with your profile, you can certainly pursue an MBA from MDI and fulfill your dream provided that you score excellently in your CAT. There are 2 major reasons why people prefer MDI Gurgaon even with low past academics 

The criteria of the preliminary round does not include any weightage to past academics. 

The final round gives very little weightage to past academics

This relaxation makes it possible for those who are geniuses yet because of a certain issue could not achieve great marks in the past. An interview call can be expected around the 98+ percentile and the 99 percentile is required to guarantee your entry into the college.

However, MDI Gurgaon lays great emphasis on interviews so the best way to compensate for your low marks is to perform excellently during your interview and justify your low marks confidently. So 2 things will help you get into MDI,

• A good CAT score
• An excellent interview