Engineers dominate IIM admissions because they are the largest applicant pool, have CAT exam advantages (QA/DILR), and specifically prepare for management careers. The Reddit thread and SavingsReflection739 commenter correctly articulated: "Max questions in cat are of class 10 level. Did you not study math till class 10? If you solve 50% of the math questions of class 10 level in a cat paper you will get a very high score." At IIM Ahmedabad (Rs 27.5L fees, Rs 35.22 LPA avg, 99%+ CAT cutoff), engineers comprise 60-70% of admits despite being 50-55% of CAT applicants. This happens because: (
- Engineers practice Quant and DILR extensively in JEE prep, transferring directly to CAT, (2) 4 years of engineering keeps Quant skills sharp, (
- Many engineers face career dissatisfaction after 1-3 years of IT services and target MBA for pivot, (
- Engineering culture values hard work on aptitude tests, leading to focused CAT prep. The structural bias is real but reflects prep effort, not inherent superiority. The diversity cushion at IIMs (3-5 percentile for non-engineers) exists precisely to counteract this tilted applicant pool. Without diversity, engineers might be 80-85% of admits. Don't dismiss the engineer dominance as merit alone - it reflects demographic and prep realities. Non-engineers targeting IIMs should leverage the diversity cushion while also investing in QA prep to compete effectively. Check your eligibility at collvera.com/eligibility