What Admissions Committees Actually Look For Beyond Board Marks

Why a 75% board score does not automatically mean you have no options

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Why This Anxiety Is So Common

A significant number of Indian students who are genuinely interested in liberal arts or liberal education programmes decide not to apply because they assume their board scores are not good enough. They have internalised the idea that admissions is primarily a marks competition, and that anything below 90% is already a disqualifying result.

This is not an accurate picture of how serious Indian liberal arts colleges actually assess applicants.

That does not mean marks are irrelevant. They are not. But for most programmes at institutions like Ashoka University, FLAME University, Krea University, Azim Premji University, and JGU, the admissions process is designed to evaluate more than a single marksheet. Understanding what is actually being assessed, and why, helps students make better decisions about where to apply and how to prepare.

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Do Board Marks Still Matter?

Yes. Board marks matter, and this article will not pretend otherwise.

At the most basic level, marks signal that a student has completed Class 12 at a sufficient level of academic engagement. At some institutions, they form part of the explicit weighting in the admissions formula. At others, they are used as a context signal rather than a cutoff. Understanding which model each college uses is important before you apply.

Here is what the official data shows for major Indian liberal arts programmes:

Institution	Stated Eligibility (UG)	How Marks Factor In
Ashoka University	Pass Class 12 from any recognised board; no minimum percentage specified for BA/BSc (Hons)[^1][^2]	Marks are one component; weighted at approximately 30% alongside assessments and interview[^3]
FLAME University	50% in Class 12 (General); 45% for reserved categories[^4][^5]	Academics weighted at approximately 35%; FEAT + PI make up the remaining 65%[^3]
Krea University	60% in Class 12[^6][^7]	KAT (Krea Aptitude Test) or SAT/ACT 40%; Academics 30%; Interview 30%[^3]
Azim Premji University	Class 12 from any recognised board; APU emphasises “contextualised review” of academic background[^8]	APU National Entrance Test + personal interview; academic context reviewed in full[^9]
JGU Jindal School of Liberal Arts	Class 12 from a recognised board[^10]	Personal statement, entrance test, and interview all contribute

The most important observation from this table is that no major Indian liberal arts institution uses board marks as the sole admissions criterion. All of them have multi-stage processes that evaluate aptitude, writing, reasoning, and personal fit.

A 75% board score does not meet a hard cutoff at one institution on this list (Krea, which requires 60%) and exceeds the minimum at others. It is not automatically disqualifying anywhere in the table above.

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What Admissions Committees May Look At Beyond Marks

Each component of the admissions process is designed to answer a specific question about the applicant. Understanding what each component is meant to reveal helps students prepare more thoughtfully.

Entrance tests and aptitude assessments are not subject-knowledge tests. The FEAT at FLAME tests verbal ability, reasoning, quantitative ability, and general knowledge over 120 minutes. The Ashoka Aptitude Assessment (AAA) is designed to measure intellectual potential and critical thinking, not curriculum recall. The Krea Aptitude Test serves a similar function. These tests are asking: can this student think clearly, reason through problems, and engage with unfamiliar material? A student who scores well on these tests, even with moderate board marks, is signalling academic readiness in a meaningful way.[^11][^12]

Essays and SOPs test whether a student can communicate clearly, think about ideas, and explain their own interests and intentions. FLAME’s selection process explicitly lists the SOP as a formal evaluation component, weighted alongside FEAT performance, academic record, extracurriculars, and the personal interview. Ashoka’s on-the-spot essay is evaluated on critical thinking, clarity of thought, creativity, and engagement with the prompt. These are not formalities. They are meaningful inputs.[^13][^14]

Personal interviews assess whether the student actually understands what they are applying for. Admissions teams use interviews to check whether the student has read the brochure, knows what they want to study, can discuss their academic interests with some depth, and is likely to use the degree’s flexibility well rather than drift. For a student whose marks are not exceptional, a strong interview is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate seriousness and readiness.

Academic record in context is evaluated differently from a raw percentage. Azim Premji University’s eligibility page explicitly states that the admissions process takes a “contextualised” view of academic background, accounting for board type, school environment, and individual circumstances. A student from a state board who scored 74% in their subject combination may be assessed differently from a student from a well-resourced CBSE school with the same marks.[^8]

Extracurricular and co-curricular engagement is evaluated at most institutions, but with important nuance. Participation alone is not impressive. What matters is whether the student’s engagement outside the classroom is coherent, evidence of real interest, and related to the academic direction they claim to be pursuing.

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Intellectual Curiosity Matters, But Only When It Is Specific

Most applicants say they are curious. Admissions teams have heard this many thousands of times.

What reads as genuine intellectual curiosity is something more specific: a student who can name a question they find genuinely difficult, explain why they return to a particular subject, describe a book or idea that changed how they thought about something, or articulate what combination of fields they want to spend three or four years exploring and why.

A student with 75% who can explain, clearly and specifically, that they want to study the relationship between political economy and environmental policy, and who knows that their target college offers a major in Economics combined with a minor in Development Studies, is a more compelling applicant than a high scorer who says they want a “broad education.”

Liberal arts admissions is not just asking “Is this student smart?” It is asking “Is this student likely to use an intellectually open, flexible, discussion-based environment well?”

That question cannot be answered from a marksheet alone.

Before writing an SOP or preparing for an interview, the most useful step is to read the college’s curriculum page, understand the major and minor options, and form at least a preliminary view of which subjects and combinations interest you. The guide How to Write an SOP for Indian Liberal Arts Colleges explains how to translate that research into a specific, credible application essay.

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Fit Matters More Than Generic Brilliance

Admissions committees at Indian liberal arts colleges are not only selecting the highest-scoring students. They are selecting students who are likely to engage seriously with a model of education that requires self-direction, breadth, and active participation in a discussion-heavy classroom.

A student who can explain why they want to study at this institution, what specific features of the curriculum attract them, and how that academic structure serves their direction is demonstrating something that a high score alone cannot show: that they have chosen thoughtfully.

FLAME’s admissions process guide describes selection as evaluating “the best and most well-rounded candidates” through a combination of entrance test, essay, personal interview, academic record, extracurricular activities, and personality profiling. Krea describes its admissions process as “rigorous, merit-driven, and multi-dimensional.”[^15][^16]

Multi-dimensional is the key word here. A student who has taken time to understand what they are applying for has a meaningful advantage over a student who is applying based on brand recognition alone. This is one area where preparation matters more than a fixed academic profile.

For a broader understanding of what liberal arts colleges actually offer and how to evaluate whether an institution is the right fit, the guides What Are Liberal Arts and What is Liberal Education cover this in detail.

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What 75% Means, and What It Does Not Mean

What 75% may mean:

At Krea University, a 75% board score clears the 60% minimum eligibility. At FLAME, it exceeds the 50% minimum. At Ashoka, the formal eligibility criterion is simply completing Class 12; some sources indicate a 50% informal baseline may exist, though no fixed cutoff is published. At APU, the contextualised review means that 75% is assessed in the context of the student’s board, school, and circumstances.[^1][^4][^17][^6][^8]

In practical terms, 75% clears the formal eligibility threshold at most serious Indian liberal arts institutions. It may not be a competitive score at the highest-selectivity institutions if left unaccompanied by anything else. But it does not disqualify a student automatically.

What 75% does not mean:

It does not mean the student is academically weak. It means the student scored 75% in a particular board examination in a particular year, which is data, not a verdict.

It does not mean the rest of the application is irrelevant. At institutions where the entrance test, essay, and interview collectively carry 65–70% of the admissions weighting, a strong performance in those components matters enormously.

It does not mean every college judges the application identically. A student with 75% who takes the entrance test seriously, writes a specific and thoughtful SOP, and prepares well for the interview has a genuinely different application from a student with 75% who submits a generic SOP and does minimal preparation.

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What Can Strengthen an Application if Marks Are Not Outstanding?

These are not emergency measures. They are the parts of the application that always mattered, and that a student with strong marks often neglects precisely because they assume the marks will do the work.

Entrance test preparation. The FEAT, AAT, and KAT all test reasoning and verbal ability, which can be improved with deliberate practice. A student who scores in the top 30–40% of entrance-test takers, even with moderate board marks, is demonstrating readiness in a format the institution specifically designed to identify potential. See the companion guide How to Prepare for Entrance Tests at Indian Liberal Arts Colleges for more detail.

A tailored, research-driven SOP. A well-written SOP that demonstrates genuine knowledge of the institution, a coherent academic interest, and a plausible future direction is the most controllable part of the application. It cannot compensate for every academic concern, but it can shift a borderline application significantly.

Interview preparation. An interview is not a test of spoken English fluency. It is a conversation about what you think, what you want to study, and why you want to study it here. A student who has done the research, formed a view, and can discuss their academic interests with some depth is already better prepared than most applicants. The companion guide How to Prepare for Interviews at Indian Liberal Arts Colleges covers how to approach this stage.

A coherent extracurricular narrative. Not a long list of activities. A short, coherent account of what the student has done outside class that connects to their academic interests. If a student wants to study political science, their involvement in a debate society, a community project, or independent reading in that area is meaningful evidence of interest. Random awards from multiple unrelated fields are not.

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Common Myths Families Believe

“Only toppers get into good liberal arts colleges.” The admissions data does not support this. No major Indian liberal arts institution publishes a minimum marks cutoff above 60% for its UG programmes, and all of them use multi-stage processes where the entrance test, essay, and interview carry significant weight.

“Extracurriculars can replace academics.” No institution treats extracurriculars as compensation for academic weakness. They are part of a profile, not a substitute for it. A coherent extracurricular narrative strengthens an application; it does not override concerns about academic readiness.

“The SOP is just a formality.” FLAME explicitly weights the SOP as a formal selection criterion. Ashoka’s Application Guide says essays “aim to understand how you think.” These are not formalities; they are evaluated inputs.

“Interviews only test spoken English.” Interviews at liberal arts colleges are not English-proficiency tests. They assess whether the student has thought seriously about what they want to study, whether they understand the institution’s curriculum, and whether they are likely to engage well in a discussion-based classroom. Preparation requires research and reflection, not accent coaching.

“If my marks are moderate, only unknown colleges or foreign universities remain.” This is simply not true. Azim Premji University, which runs a serious and well-regarded liberal arts programme, states explicitly that its admissions process uses a contextualised review rather than a simple marks cutoff. It also offers substantial need-based scholarships. A student with moderate board marks who prepares well for the APU National Entrance Test and interview has a realistic application to a serious programme.

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How Students Should Think About Options, Not Just Rejection

The most useful reframe for a student with moderate marks is to shift the question from “Will I get rejected?” to “What do I need to do to submit a competitive application?”

A sensible application list for a student with 75% marks might look like this:

Ambitious options (worth applying to with serious preparation): Ashoka University, FLAME University, if entrance-test performance is strong and the SOP and interview are well prepared.

Realistic options (where the profile is competitive): Azim Premji University, JGU Jindal School of Liberal Arts, Shiv Nadar University’s BA programmes (where marks requirements are less restrictive).

Strong-fit options within comfortable range: Good public universities with serious humanities programmes, including central university options covered in the guide Colleges Under ₹5 Lakh Per Year for Liberal Arts and Humanities.

At each level, the student should check official eligibility rules, understand the admissions process, and prepare accordingly. Do not self-reject from the ambitious options without applying. Applying is low-cost information. You will not know the outcome without submitting.

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What Students Should Actually Do Now

1. Check official eligibility rules for every college you are considering. Use the institution’s own admissions page, not a summary site. Verify the minimum marks requirement, the entrance test, and the process stages.

2. Review how each college structures its admissions. At FLAME, the FEAT, essay, and interview collectively carry more weight than marks. At Krea, the KAT and interview each carry 30%. At Ashoka, the assessments and interview carry 70%. Knowing these weights tells you where to invest your preparation.

3. Read the brochure and website before writing anything. Know the major and minor options. Know what the foundation year looks like. Know what the institution says it values in applicants. You cannot write a credible SOP or perform well in an interview without this research.

4. Prepare seriously for the entrance test. These tests reward preparation. Verbal reasoning, critical thinking, and reading comprehension can all be sharpened with deliberate practice. Do not leave this to chance.

5. Write a tailored SOP for each institution. A student who explains specifically what they want to study at Ashoka, with reference to a particular academic combination and a credible directional goal, has a stronger application than a student with 5% higher board marks who submits a generic essay.

6. Build a realistic application list. Ambitious, realistic, and safe options. Do not apply only to the top names and accept no backup plan.

7. Do not self-reject before applying. Moderate marks are a piece of the file, not the whole file. Admissions committees will make a decision; your job is to submit the strongest possible application and let them make it.

Endnotes

¹ Admissions criteria and evaluation processes reference official application guides and admissions process pages from Ashoka, FLAME, Krea, Azim Premji, and Jindal.

² Eligibility requirements and minimum criteria draw on published institutional admissions documentation.

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References

1. Ashoka University Admissions Process - Ashoka University 2026 eligibility: Class 12 pass from any recognised board; no minimum marks percentage specified for BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) programmes.

2. Ashoka Aptitude Test Eligibility Criteria 2026 for UG, Any student who has completed or is completing Class XII from a recognised board is eligible to apply.

3. Ashoka University: Exam Dates, Exam Patterns, Fees, Ashoka University Application Guide 2026: admissions process includes Ashoka Aptitude Assessment (AAA), on-the-spot essay (OSE), and personal interview; approximate weighting: assessments 40%, application (including essays) 30%, interview 30%. FLAME University selection process weights: FEAT 40%, personal interview 25%, academics 35%. Krea selection: KAT or SAT/ACT 40%; academics 30%; personal interview 30%.

4. Minimum Eligibility, Undergraduate | Admissions, FLAME, FLAME University minimum eligibility (UG, 2026): 50% in Class 12 for General category applicants; 45% for reserved categories; no published cutoff score for FEAT.

5. Flame University Cut Off 2026, 2025, 2024, BBA cutoff at FLAME University for 2025 requires 50% in Class 12 for general, paired with FEAT score.

6. Eligibility | SIAS Krea University, Krea University SIAS eligibility (2026): minimum 60% in Class 12 (or equivalent).

7. Krea University Admissions - Krea University admission: students having a score of 60% or above in Class XII are eligible.

8. Eligibility and Diversity, Azim Premji University, APU’s eligibility page explicitly describes contextualised review of academic background accounting for board, school context, and circumstances.

9. Application and Selection Process, Azim Premji University, Azim Premji University admissions process: APU National Entrance Test for all applicants; shortlisted candidates called for personal interview; APU’s eligibility page explicitly describes contextualised review.

10. View All Programme Requirements, JGU, JGU Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities programme requirements: application includes personal statement evaluated alongside entrance test and personal interview.

11. Application Guide 2026, Ashoka University, Ashoka University Application Guide 2026: admissions process includes Ashoka Aptitude Assessment (AAA), on-the-spot essay (OSE), and personal interview.

12. Admission Procedure, Undergraduate, FLAME, FLAME University has an online application process; FEAT is 120 minutes, 100 questions, 140 marks; tests Verbal Ability (40Q), Reasoning (20Q), Quantitative Ability (20Q), General Knowledge (20Q); SOP is a formal component evaluated in selection.

13. Selection Process, Undergraduate | Admissions, FLAME, FLAME University Selection Process: SOP is listed as a formal evaluation component alongside FEAT, essay, personal interview, and extracurricular activities.

14. On-the-Spot Essay Sample Prompts (2026 Intake), Ashoka, Ashoka on-the-spot essay evaluated on critical thinking, clarity of thought, creativity, and engagement with the prompt.

15. Flame University Pune Admission 2026: Application, FLAME admission considers test scores (FEAT) and evaluates “the best and most well-rounded candidates.”

16. Admissions, BA (Hons) & BSc (Hons) Undergraduate, Krea, Krea follows a “rigorous, merit driven, multi-dimensional admission process to select high potential students.”

17. Ashoka University Application Guide 2026 - Students who have completed Class 12 can apply for Ashoka; no officially published minimum cutoff.