Admission Process

Admissions 2024 Calendar

What B Schools look for in MBA Candidates?

Profile-based Early Interview Process:

Academic Abilities

Leadership Potential

Integrity and Ethical Values

Diversity of Experience

Application Guidelines

Essays

Scholarships

Diversity & Merit Scholarships

Dr. Bala V Balachandran Merit Scholarship

Issue of Application starts from	1^st Aug, 2023
Last date of submission - Cycle 1	1^st Dec, 2023
AWT - Cycle1	7^th Dec, 2023
PI - Cycle 1	9^th-10^th Dec, 2023
Last date of submission - Cycle 2	4^th Jan, 2024

At Great Lakes, we seek experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds with demonstrated track record of real world performance in business management and ability to lead as we aim to build a community of empathetic business leaders. As a top ranked business management school we continue to innovate business education to add value, not only to our candidates but also to our corporate stakeholders and society as a whole. This is reflected both in selection process and pedagogy of our One Year MBA Program. The admission process is based on a comprehensive evaluation of the candidates on multiple dimensions encompassing personal and professional track record, academic performance, management aptitude and demonstrated competencies.

Eligibility

Valid CAT^*/GMAT^x/XAT⁺/CMAT scores. For PGPM admission process 2024-25, Great Lakes Institute of Management will accept scores of GMAT taken after 1^st January 2021, CAT taken in 2022/2023, XAT taken in 2023/2024 or CMAT 2023. CMAT 2024 Scores will only be accepted if CMAT results are declared before the final admission deadline.
NMAT^# 2022 onwards scores will additionally be accepted for PGPM 2024-25. You can enter scores from multiple attempts. Only the best score will be considered for your admissions.
A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized institution
Typically candidates with 2 to 10 years of work experience are considered. However, exceptional students with 21+ months of experience (by April 30^th, 2024) may be considered.
Candidates with 2-3 years of work experience by 30th April 2024 are encouraged to apply for the One Year Flagship PGPM. They are also eligible to apply for the Two year PGDM.
In case an eligible candidate would like to apply for both the programs, they may do so by filling the application forms for both PGPM and PGDM separately. Candidates will be evaluated based on the respective program’s admission criteria. The admissions panel may also recommend the candidates for a specific program based on the assessment and program fit.
Freshers and candidates with experience lesser than 24 months strictly may apply to the Great Lakes PGDM Program

*Great Lakes uses CAT scores only for screening applications for admissions and IIMs have no role in the conduct of Great Lakes academic programs.

+Great Lakes is not an associate institute of XLRI and uses XAT scores only for screening applicants for admission. XLRI has no role to play in the conduct of any of Great Lakes programs.

^xAll editions of GMAT - Classic, Focus and Online will be accepted.

#Great Lakes uses NMAT scores only for screening applications for admissions and NMIMS has no role in the conduct of Great Lakes academic programs.

Admission Process for Great Lakes programs are carried out only through the online application available on www.greatlakes.edu.in. Great Lakes Institute of Management has not authorized any third party to initiate applications on its behalf.

Great Lakes Institute of Management does not admit students under Management Quota or any other form of reservation. Any third party organization or individual offering management quota seats for Great Lakes programs would be fraudulent and applicants are requested not to approach such organizations or individuals.

Mr. Gautam Lakhamraju, Admissions Director talks with Unacademy about what MBA colleges like us look for in MBA candidates and also shares tips on approaching and preparing for admissions.

Great Lakes will conduct early interviews for PGPM Admission Process 2024 wherein applicants who have registered for MBA entrance exams - GMAT/CAT/XAT/CMAT/NMAT but are yet to get the results would be shortlisted and interviewed along with candidates with scores basis the strength of their profiles.These profile based early interview candidates would be considered for final offer post submissions of scores once the test results are declared and submitted.

The profile based early interview process has been introduced to enable students with a strong demonstrated track record to apply early and subsequently get their result early. Given that the one year PGPM program starts early and the results are only available by end of February, the early Interview process aims to give students additional time to prepare for the start of the program.

Eg. Students taking CAT 2023 and shortlisted for the early interview process are likely to get their CAT scores in Jan 1^st/^2nd week and can get the final result by the end of January. They get the results 3 months before the start of the program as compared to 2 months after Cycle 2 results.

Following factors would be evaluated for the Profile-based Early Interviews:

Academics
Work Experience
Awards & Achievements

The final offer would consider other inputs as well, including Interview evaluation, Essays, Diversity and merit within the interviewed candidates.

For any queries regarding the Profile-based early interview, write to [email protected]

What we look for?

Standardized test scores(GMAT/CAT/CMAT/XAT/NMAT), School, College and University scores

Proven leadership capacity at Work, College or School level

Virtues that form the foundation for any leader

How can you contribute to the Great Lakes community during and after the MBA program

Candidates meeting the eligibility criteria can apply to Great Lakes Institute of Management by completing an online form
Candidates can choose to apply by any of the following methods:
Visit the website www.greatlakes.edu.in and fill in the online application form after making a payment of INR 2,000. Candidates have the option of either applying to Great Lakes, Chennai and Great Lakes, Gurgaon campuses separately or for both the campuses through the common application form by selecting the appropriate option in the registration form
The eventual application process is online for all candidates
Candidates have to provide the official email-id of the recommender. The recommendation letter will be collected from the final selected students' recommenders and it must be submitted online
All your queries regarding admission process can be sent to us at [email protected]
For notifications regarding admissions 2024, please join this telegram group - 'Great Lakes Admissions 2024'

Admissions Journey

Online Application
Initial Screening & PI invite
AWT & Personal Interview
Final Shortlisting
Initial Fee Payment
Admission Offer Acceptance
Admission Offer Roll Out
Course Registration
Orientation
Course Commencement

Essays are an integral part of our PGPM admission process applications and help us understand you better; who you are, what motivates you, what are your career aspirations and how you will fit in to the Great Lakes community.

As a part of the application process we have 2 essays:

What are your personal qualities which you think make you suitable to be a part of the Class of 2024? (Required)

The first essay is compulsory and delves into what you would bring to the class as an individual. The PGPM Program at Great Lakes receives large number of applications from promising candidates every year and while selecting the candidates, it is important for us to understand how you will add value to the class and enrich the experience of your peers.

Is there anything else about you that is not covered in the application that you would like to share with us? (Optional)

While optional, this question gives you a chance to talk about things you would like the admissions committee to know about you and not captured in the rest of the form. Please avoid repeating information already shared in other parts of the application.

Great Lakes is offering diversity and merit scholarships to one year PGPM students to encourage diversity of perspectives and commitment to excellence. A total of 40 diversity and merit based scholarships worth Rs.5 lakhs each will be awarded for the Class of 2023-24 and minimum of 30% of the scholarships would be for female students. Candidates will be shortlisted based on their application form, essays and interview assessment and there is no separate application process. Selected candidates will be intimated on the award of scholarship through email post confirmation of their admission acceptance and enrolment to the program at least one month before program commencement.

Eligibility Criteria

All GMAT Takers [GMAT 2021 | GMAT 2022 & GMAT 2023 (taken on or before 1^st December, 2023)]
All CAT 2022 takers
All XAT 2023 takers
All NMAT 2022 & NMAT 2023 takers
All CMAT 2023 takers
Candidates appearing for CAT 2023 | XAT 2024 or GMAT (taken on or before 31st Jan, 2024) can also apply in Cycle 1 and submit their forms pending the availability of their scores. Selected candidates will be interviewed basis their profiles in Cycle 1. Learn more about Profile Based Early Interviews in Cycle 1.

Deadline

1^st December, 2023

Analytical Writing Test (AWT)

7^th December, 2023

Personal Interview (PI)

Delhi (9^th Dec, 2023)
Chennai (9^th Dec, 2023)
Hyderabad (9^th Dec, 2023)
Mumbai (10^th Dec, 2023)
Bangalore (10^th Dec, 2023)
Kolkata (10^th Dec, 2023)

The Dr. Bala V Balachandran Merit Scholarship has been instituted in memory of Dr. Bala V Balachandran (1937-2021), Founder, Great Lakes Institute of Management. The scholarship seeks to recognize candidates with exceptional potential and demonstrated track record and encourage their pursuit of excellence at Great Lakes. The Dr. Bala V Balachandran Merit Scholarships constitute full Tuition Fee waiver (Rs. 10.9 lakhs for PGPM 2022-23) and access to mentorship from CXOs as well as high achieving alumni giving them an invaluable learning experience and networking opportunities.

CLICK HERE to know more about the Legacy of Dr. Bala V Balachandran.

Key Dates