Admissions Process

At Great Lakes, we seek students from diverse backgrounds with demonstrated track record of real world performance and ability to lead as we aim to build a community of empathetic business leaders. As a 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 our selection process and our pedagogy. 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/XAT+/CMAT scores. For PGPM 2021, Great Lakes Institute of Management will accept scores of GMAT taken after 1^st January 2017, CAT taken in 2018/2019, XAT taken in 2019/2020 or CMAT taken in 2019
A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized institution with atleast 50% in graduation
Typically candidates with more than two years of work experience are considered. However, exceptional students with 18+ months of experience (by April 30th, 2020) may be considered.
Freshers and candidates with lesser experience 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.

Application Cycles

Great Lakes PGPM has two cycles for admissions. The following are the applications considered in each of the cycles

Candidates with existing Test Scores - GMAT scores from 1^st Jan 2017, CAT 2018, XAT 2019 and CMAT 2019 - can apply and be evaluated in Cycle 1. Their results will be available by first week of Jan 2020
Candidates not having eligible test scores but expecting results post Nov 30, 2019 but before January 31^st 2020 can also apply in Cycle 1 and submit their forms pending the availability of their scores. Selected candidates will be interviewed based on their profiles in Cycle 1 Profile Based Early Interview process Learn more. These candidates will have to update their scores within 5 days of receiving their scores and will be considered for final offers post the score submission.

Cycle 2: Application Deadline - 31^st Jan 2020

All candidates who have not applied in Cycle 1 but have taken eligible exams can apply in Cycle 2. The Cycle 2 deadline is 31^st January and the interviews will be conducted in Feb 2020 with the first list results declared by end of the month.
Students who have applied in Cycle 1 without scores and not considered for Early Profile based Interview process will be considered for shortlisting for Cycle 2 calls post submission of the scores.

Candidates who have already planned to pursue their MBA for the next academic year are encourage to apply early as applying in Cycle 1 would allow candidates with scores and those shortlisted for the Profile Based Early Interview Process to get their results earlier than Cycle 2 and allow more time to prepare to join the program including taking care of financial, professional and personal commitments.

Profile-based Early Interview Process (Cycle 1):

Great Lakes is introducing Early interviews for PGPM Admissions 2020 wherein candidates applying to Cycle 1 (App. Deadline: 30 Nov ‘19) who have registered for GMAT/CAT/XAT exams but are yet to get the results would be shortlisted and interviewed along with candidates with scores in Cycle 1 basis their profiles. These profile based early interview candidates would be considered for final offer post submissions of scores once the test results are declared.

The Profile Based Early Interview process has been introduced to enable students with strong demonstrated track record to apply early and subsequently get their result early. Given that the PGPM starts in early May and the Cycle 2 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 2019 and shortlisted for the early interview process are likely to get their CAT scores in Jan 1^st/2^nd week and can get the final result by 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 the Interview evaluation, Essays, Diversity and relative merit within the interviewed candidates.

For any queries regarding the Profile-based early interview, write to admissions@greatlakes.edu.in

What we look for?

Academic Abilities

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

Leadership Potential

Proven leadership capacity at Work, College or School level

Integrity and Ethical Values

Virtues that form the foundation for any leader

Diversity of Experience

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

Application Guidelines

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
Purchase the application form from the Great Lakes Offices in Chennai
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 admissions@greatlakes.edu.in

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

Essays are an integral part of our application process 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:

Why should you be part of PGPM Class of 2021 and how do you think you can enrich the experience of the Great Lakes Community? (Required)

The first essay is compulsory and delves into what you would bring to the Class as an individual. We receive 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.

Diversity and Merit Scholarships

Great Lakes is offering diversity and merit scholarships to PGPM students to encourage diversity of perspectives and commitment to excellence. A total of 20 diversity and merit based scholarships worth Rs. 5 lakhs each will be awarded for the PGPM Class of 2020-21 and minimum of 30% of the scholarships would be for female students. Candidates will be shortlisted for scholarships 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 and at least one month before the start of the program.

Key Dates

Eligibility Criteria	All GMAT Takers [(GMAT 2017\| GMAT 2018 & GMAT 2019 (taken on or before 30^th November, 2019)] All CAT 2018 takers All XAT 2019 takers All CMAT 2019 takers Candidates appearing for CAT 2019 \| XAT 2020 or GMAT (taken on or before 31st Jan, 2020) 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	30^th November, 2019
Personal Interview(Dates)
	City	Date	Day	Duration (Days)
	Mumbai	7^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1
	Bangalore	7^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1
	Kolkata	7^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1
	Delhi	14^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1
	Chennai	14^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1
	Hyderabad	14^th Dec, 2019	Saturday	1

Eligibility Criteria	All GMAT Takers [( GMAT 2017, GMAT 2018, GMAT 2019 and GMAT 2020 (taken on or before 31^st of January 2020)] All CAT 2018 & 2019 takers All XAT 2019 & 2020 takers All CMAT 2019 takers
Deadline	31^st January, 2020
Personal Interview (Dates)
	City	Date	Day	Duration (Days)
	Mumbai	8^th Feb - 11^th Feb, 2020	Sat, Sun, Mon and Tue	4
	Delhi	13^th Feb - 16^th Feb, 2020	Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun	4
	Bangalore	8^th Feb - 9^th Feb, 2020	Sat and Sun	2
	Chennai	15^th Feb - 16^th Feb, 2020	Sat and Sun	2
	Hyderabad	8^th Feb - 9^th Feb, 2020	Sat and Sun	2
	Kolkata	15^th Feb - 16^th Feb, 2020	Sat and Sun	2