Why so few chartered accountants(CAs) in IIM Ahmedabad?

Having followed this year's admissions of both IIM Ahmedabad and Bangalore closely this year(thanks to friends in both colleges), I was struck by the virtual absence of chartered accountants in IIM Ahmedabad, but with their number nearly touching double digits in IIM Bangalore. Both trends are not new, with the last chartered accountant receiving his PGDM degree from the 2009-2011 batch, but even till 2011-13 batch, nobody else has secured admission. While there are B.Com/B.A(Hons) and other non engineers in the batch, it is quite surprising that chartered accountants fail to get admission in that mecca of Indian management education IIM Ahmedabad(as a proud alumnus I still say that despite what some random rankings say it is still #1, but then I digress). After some thinking/brainstorming, this is what I came up with

1.  No special dispensation for CAs:-Unlike in IIM Bangalore where the top 10 Chartered Accountants(among those giving CAT and applying to IIM-B) are called for interview irrespective of their CAT score, the same is not followed in IIM-A or IIM-C. 
2. CAs neglecting their graduation/post graduation and thus losing out:-This year, a friend scored 80%+ in his TYBCom Exams of Mumbai University and(having secured 80%+ in 10th/12th also) was even called for interview, but his final admission was not processed because after recalculating his marks to include non university college level marks of FY/SY BCom, his aggregate in graduation fell below 80% thus making him ineligible for interview call as per IIM-A criteria! As most CAs pursue their articleship along with graduation, excelling in both becomes very difficult, more so securing the high marks IIM-A expects...
3. Different aptitudes/interests/not exposed to objective type exams:-A reason why engineers score over their non engineer peers in MCQ exams like CAT, is their exposure to these exams since Std10 itself(take it from me, acing these exams is a skill honed through intensive practice), and CAs who work or undergo genuine articleship, rarely have time for attending coaching. Even those engineers who have not undergone CAT specific coaching still know how to give MCQ exams. CAs may not know that. 

How to solve these issues? Normalization of degree scores is one way to solve #2, but to solve #1 and #3, CAs need to buck up and ace the CAT instead of expecting special treatment IMO

Practical ways to rank an IIM by yourself

For Bschool aspirants especially with multiple calls, it is quite difficult to narrow down to one school. The usual sources of information are either outdated(magazine rankings have a lag time), biased(forum boards, alumni, bschool ads) or irrelevant(using weird criteria of no interest to the aspirant). Instead, I suggest the following framework which I developed virtually on the back of a napkin, while speaking with some juniors at IIM Bangalore

1. Recruiters perception:-Here, the placement reports(audited or otherwise reliable) released by a college is important(though it comes with 1yr lag generally). See the roles, pay and profile not just the recruiter name as the same company may offer different roles at difference campuses. For example, Goldman Sachs offers front office roles at IIM A, B, C and XLRI, but for colleges like MDI Gurgaon, only back office/middle office roles are offered. 
2. Students perception:-On whatever basis formed, the student perception is something good to know especially if you believe in the wisdom of crowds(that many independent people usually converge to the correct result). For this, check at what number the waitlist cleared, and also which college those with multiple admits decided to accept. Of course, like in this year, colleges like IIM-A gave buffer admits to ensure seats getting full to avoid losses due to students paying the Rs 1500 admission fee(measly na?) but not turning up on final day due to job offers, admissions for MS or other reasons. So that makes such comparisons difficult.
3. Coaching classes perception/Academics perception:-Both of these are hopefully based on more rigorous criteria like teaching,research, infrastructure and so on. So these would add the scientific element in the entire mix.
4. The fit for YOU:-For those with special requirements(like focus on niche areas like supply chain, private equity, non-finance international roles etc), they should probe deeper into the above aspects. For instance, IIM-Indore gets offers for supply chain/logistics roles owing to the experienced students and the star faculty like Prof Ravichandram. IIM_Bangalore gets VC/PE offers due to location and alumni mix, while IIM Ahmedabad gets great consulting offers due to alumni mix and other factors. In addition, some campuses are more friendly towards different learning styles(c.f weightage on mid term/end term exams) and students from different backgrounds(as the non engineer/gender diversity ratios show). So even see those factors.

The above 4 data  points can help you differentiate the top 3-4 IIMs among which otherwise there is very little to choose. 

How NOT to choose a Bschool

Just google 'how to select a bschool' and you will get umpteen results. Most of them however, are slavish reproductions of the Western oriented approach where a person, often after considerable work experience, applies to a few bschools with a detailed application, has a set career path/goals in mind, and often self finances the MBA himself. While over here, we Indians must often fake the bit about career goals(learn to lie convincingly about a 5 year career plan) and take resource to parent's financing the 2yr holiday after we tire of our jobs/to fill the gap after undergraduate education. Anyways, this post was motivated by hours of amused chuckling over several advertisements for bschools, which promise the sky, but on closer thought really have no value. Lets check out those factors

1. Faculty from IIM/XLRI/Harvard etc:- There must be around 20,000+ alumni alive of IIMA,B,C alone, to say nothing of the other bschools. Being a faculty of those bschools is a cachet, but being an alumnus who then decides to teach does not in my view, have the same impact.
2. Wifi enabled campus:-Lets face it. It is unlikely that you will need to use Wifi in classrooms for any legitimate academic purposes(its really more of a distraction). If the instructor wants to show videos etc, then he can use the desktop/laptop projector for that. And about using the wifi in campus, library, other locations, well, even a data card can achieve it much better than what a slow Wifi connection would. Ok it is good to have especially for those smartphone users who MUST check their email/facebook updates every now and then, but otherwise for us mortals, it is avoidable
3. 100% placement assistance:-Mark the words 'assistance'. That means it is on a best efforts basis. I agree that no program can really give a job guarantee(except maybe the IFBI retail banking operations diploma or the ICICI-NIIT MBA for recruitment of officers. So be aware that this is just a weasel word, without any legal backing. Now, if anyone guarantees a job with minimum CTC post campus OR defers the fees till the graduates get a job, THEN I'll give some credence.
4. Free laptop/books/exchange program/study tours..:-Nothing in life is free. The cost is built into your course fee, and the institute administration is probably getting a cut/commission from the supplier, which is compulsary.
5. Paid internships:-the minimum companies can do is to pay you for the work you do during the internships.But rather than stop at that, look at the company mix, and also the conversion rate of internships to PPOs, and then final acceptances. even at very good colleges, the PPO rate rarely exceeds 25%-35%, and the acceptance rate in a good year may be around 80% or less. 
6. Student Exchange Program:-This may be in some little known colleges, which are just located in a 'fun place'-read London, Paris, New York and so on. What you may not know is the extra costs/fees attached to that. So find that out before entering with starry eyed videshi dreams. 
7. 'Industry Interface'-lectures, projects:-the lectures are likely to be a hagiographic version of how the executive rose to his position, or a marketing spiel for his company. The projects may be a form of crowd sourcing ideas or just free labout(a typical marketing project for example!). So do dig deeper to understand this industry interface. the acid test is whether those companies offer scholarships, paid internships/projects and come down to recruit as well.
8. Swimming pool. amenities, club house....Remember all those amenities are at YOUR expense and reflected in the fees. They are surely good to have, but remember that it is NOT a favour or anything, just something you pay for. And even in colleges without good hostels(read FMS, SP Jain and so on), accomodation at every price point would surely be available nearby. So just because a college offers superior amenities is not a sufficient point. 
9. Star faculty/authors/gurus:-Firstly, many of these people may just be self proclaimed management gurus, who rarely teach(why would they when they can earn big bucks in training or consulting or MDPs). So find out whether those 'star faculty'/'big names'  actually teach, and if so whom, and how often, and whether you can get in. 
10. Rankings/Awards:-Lesser said about it the better, but if a college uses a single ranking to defend its position, its a red flag. Multiple data points, consistency across years are all important while evaluating a college. Also, think about whether the college strengths dovetail with your own. for example, if you are a finance guy and the college is great in marketing and so-so in everything else, you may want to rethink your position. Also, try to find out the age of the rankings, as also the scope. Many colleges rest on past laurels(like using 2010 rankings in 2012 ads even when 2011 rankings available) or win awards just because the top colleges did not participate or the college sponsored the award function. So be careful. 

After all this, you may think about what is remaining to look for! Nothing beats speaking to a cross section of recent alumni from the college, whom you trust to be objective. But for the rest of us who are not well networked(u should rethink your MBA potential in that case!) and must go for non brand colleges, go to the pagalguy forums or try speaking to the placement coordinator/faculty to see what impression you get. Hopefully, even if not the complete truth, those people should not lie.