Process of CAT for IIM MBA

Getting admission into an IIM is a 3-step process. The test very well known as IIm Cat for Mba the Common Admission Test (CAT), followed by a Group Discussion and a Personal Interview if you clear CAT. Do not fear.

You do not have to be a genius or an academic topper to get through what might seem like an impossible goal. On the contrary, all you need is a logical flow of thought and an analytical mind and the IIM dream is yours to live.

Once you have cracked CAT, the next step in the selection process is a Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI).

You would start with a  IIM MBA GD which is not elimination round. This means that you will give a PI irrespective of your performance in the GD round. The GD round usually consists of a group of 6-10 students. The panel remains the same over the GD and PI and usually consists of IIM MBA Professors.

The topic in a GD is usually a general topic but can vary to just about anything under the sun. 

The last round of selection is the PI. Most of us have a tendency to view an interview as something where someone is sitting across from us and we are trying to convince them of something and get on the top. However, we can perform much better if we could just look at it as a conversation that we are having with some people sitting with us, who are interested in hearing our opinion on different things. They are not looking for reasons to reject us; instead they are actually looking for reasons to accept us into their academic institute. If you have made it this far, they do recognize that you have potential and have a very open stance instead of being the threatening monsters that you probably imagine them to be.  One  thing is that you should prepare your content well for a PI. The content here consists of preparing your graduation subjects very well and understanding their application to some real world scenarios. Be confident and do not lie. If you don’t know the answer to something, just say that. There is nothing wrong about not knowing something. At the same time it is very important to stay composed through out the GD and interview. 

CAT results Declared

IIM have declared the results for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2011 on Wednesday, in which nine aspirants have notched up a 100 percentile. Around 1.85 lakh candidates took the test over a 20-day period across 36 cities starting mid-October, 2011.

The IIM and several other B-schools, including the management studies departments in the National Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology, subscribe to CAT score. The IIT and FMS decided to accept CAT scores this year for their MBA.

The convenor of CAT 2011, professor Janakiraman Moorthy of IIM Calcutta, said the IIMs will start calling candidates for the next stage of the admission process with immediate effect. "Some IIM may come out with the list from this evening itself. Within a week, all the IIMs would have sent out mails to prospective candidates," he said. About the results, Moorthy said: "While nine aspirants scored 100 percentile, 1,800 candidates scored 99 percentile and above."Vinayak Gupta, a student of economics (H) with SRCC who scored 99.89 percentile, said: "The 15-minute trial was a great help, and the test was better organized."

This year, many of the new IIM, including those in Tiruchirapalli, Udaipur and Raipur, have increased their intake from 70 to 120 for MBA . This will improve the chances of making it to the prestigious institute.

IIM MBA ADMISSION PROCESS:

ADMISSION PROCESS: Please note that each IIM shortlists candidates for second stage of selection which may be independent of each other. The process may include Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI).Performance in CAT 2011 examination is an important component in the admission process. IIMs may use previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in short listing and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes, academic cut-offs and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs. For more information you may refer the admissions policies of IIMs from their respective websites CAT Result and Short-listing CAT 2011 result will be announced on 11 January 2012 on the CAT website. List of shortlisted candidates for the next level of slection will be made available on the individual IIM websites. Each IIM will send interview letters to the candidates it has short-listed. The criteria for short-listing varies from IIM to IIM. Please visit the admission hotlinks of the respective websites of IIMs for further information. Eligibility Verification If a candidate is short-listed for interviews by any IIM, he/she has to comply with the following eligibility verification: Mark sheets and Degree Certificate A candidate must show all the original mark sheets and submit attested copies to prove his/her eligibility at the time of interview.  Further, if a candidate is selected for a programme, original degree certificate and mark sheets of all semesters/years along with their attested copies must be submitted for verification at the time of joining the programme. Reservation Category Requirements If short-listed for interview, SC, ST, NC-OBC, and DA candidates must show the original caste/class/disability certificate and submit a photocopy at the time of interview.  Further, if a candidate is selected for a programme, original certificate of qualifying degree and attested  copy of the same must be submitted for verification at the time of joining a programme. Candidates in the Final Year of Graduation If short-listed for interview, candidates appearing for the final bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification examination must show an original certificate from the Principal/Registrar/Director of the university/institution certifying that the candidate has obtained 50% marks or equivalent  (45% in case of the candidates belonging to SC, ST, and DA category) based on latest available grades/marks.  He/she must submit an attested copy of the original certificate at the time of interview.  For the PGP of IIMs, such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme PROVISIONALLY ONLY if they submit a certificate latest by June 30, 2012 from the Principal/Registrar of their college/institute (issued on or before June 30, 2012) stating that they have completed all the requirements including appearing for supplementary exams if any (the results may, however, be awaited) for obtaining the bachelor's degree/ equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate.  Their admission  will be confirmed only when they submit original mark sheet and qualifying degree certificate of having passed the bachelor's degree / equivalent qualification referred to in the certificate issued by Principal/Registrar of their college/institute.  They must obtain at least 50% marks or equivalent.  They also must submit an attested copy of the mark sheets and qualifying degree certificate.  The deadline for submission of the mark sheet and the certificate is December 31, 2012. NON-FULFILLMENT OF THIS CONDITION WILL AUTOMATICALLY RESULT IN THE CANCELLATION OF THE PROVISIONAL ADMISSION.  Provisional admission will also be cancelled if it is found that the certificate  is found to be incorrect subsequently. IIMs would not allow any candidate to join their programme in case the candidate is unable to complete all the requirements for a bachelor degree on or before June 30, 2012.  The IIMs would also not offer admission to any candidate after June 30, 2012.

Fees for IIM MBA

The Indian Institute Of Management,Ahmedabad (IIM-A) charges   Rs. 14.45 lakhs  for its flagship  Post Graduate Program (equivalent to MBA)  and program in management for executives will be Rs. 20.31 lakhs.

Every there has been increase of around 5-8 per cent in the fees.

IIM MBA Interview Tips

In an attempt to help you prepare for your GD and Personal Interview, CAT 2009 topper and a student of IIM-Calcutta Ankit Garg reveals tips to succeed in GD and Interview-:

1) Personal Interview: If you want to succeed in this round, you must know how to sell yourself. You should know how to market yourself and should be compatible with your interviewer. It is not that questions asked in the interview are tough, but it is what and how you answer is what will fetch you a seat in IIM MBA. Also remember each institute checks different things in a candidate. They are looking for different traits and it is advisable to find out what each IIM is looking for in their candidates. In my case, I did research and got to know that IIM - Calcutta checks on how a student deals in pressure situation. As we all know life in B-school is very hectic and demanding, IIM - C will gauge if you can handle all this pressure. Hence, best thing is to talk to seniors or go through institute`s website to know what the interview panel is looking for while interviewing candidates. Also, you should be able to express yourself well and you must have soft skills to develop a rapport with your interviewers.

2) Group Discussion: There is one misconception which I would like to clear for B- school aspirants and that is that it is not necessary that you have to speak too much to make a mark in GD. It is not how much you talk but how much you contribute to the discussion that sets you apart. A GD checks how you conduct yourself in a Boardroom. It checks how you conduct yourself, how you handle everyone present in the room. You should give others a chance to speak and never try to be imposing. Be soft spoken yet assertive.

3) Essay writing: Though IIM - Calcutta does not ask candidates to write an essay, there are a few IIMs that check how an aspirant can structure his thoughts. Like I was asked to write an essay on Tiger Conservation when I went for my selection process in IIM - Bangalore. Each institute has different ways of judging students based on essay writing. The time is limited and can vary between 10 to 30 minutes and it checks how well you can structure your thoughts.

4) What to wear during Interview: When you're going for a B-school interview, you must be properly dressed. The B-school interviews still follow the conservative standard. You should wear formal suit or at least pant and shirt and have polished shoes, ironed shirt, cut hair and nails. You must look neat, serious and should make an impact.

Strategy for last minute CAT preparation

A very important thing for you to do is to analyse your test scores and performance in a detailed manner. If you have been taking mock test, you should sit down with your performance results and try to spot a trend. Crucial aspects to look out are:

In the English section
• Within the Reading Comprehension section, which type of passages are you comfortable with and scoring well?
• Conversely, in which type of passages do you struggle-is it that you are weak with passages dealing with philosophy for example? Do you struggle with inference based questions?
• What kind of strategy works for you in Reading Comprehension, to read the questions first and than attempt the passage or vice versa?
• Within English, are you more comfortable doing the Reading Comprehension part first or Verbal Ability?
• Is your Vocabulary up-to-date?
• Are you comfortable with Grammar?

In the Quant Section
• Are you strong or weak with a particular type of question-Example: Are you weak in Probability or Geometry?
• Do you take too much time solving some particular type of questions?

In the Data Interpretation and Analytical Reasoning Section
• Are you comfortable with all sorts of diagrams such as tables/graphs etc. or struggle with a particular type?
• Are you good with analytical reasoning/logic based questions or have trouble with them?<

The reason for doing this is that it is time for you to decide your strategy to attempt the paper. Of course, this is only an ‘interim’ or ‘draft strategy’. The reason why it is called interim is that there is no way you can actually predict the CAT paper, and hence your actual final strategy must be decided only when you get the actual question paper in your hand/view the questions on the computer screen, as we shall see in the next chapter, since there is always some unpredictable aspect in the CAT exam.

Nevertheless, it is beneficial to have an interim strategy in place. As Louis Pasteur said “Chance favours the prepared mind”. This will ensure that there is some method you adopt in tackling the CAT exam and that you do not panic and attempt the paper in a random, haphazard way.

It is the time to decide what type of questions you will definitely take a shot-at in the exam, what you will most likely leave and what you think you should work more on in the remaining month. For example, let us say that you are weak with passages pertaining to philosophy. What you can do is read 5-6 passages on this theme from a journal or a site like www.magportal.com and improve your confidence and comprehension abilities in such passages.

Similarly, if you realize that you are weak in Geometry, you can go back and revise the basics from any of the CAT preparatory material you may have with you. In addition, you can decide to practice 15-20 questions on this topic every day for the next 7-10 days, thus attempting to improve yourself in these types of questions.

Or if you are weak in Mathematical/Analytical Reasoning based questions, you can practice the same from a good book on the same lines (10-15 questions a day for 7-10 days).

The important thing is to take stock of where you currently stand a few weeks before the CAT and focus your preparation accordingly.

Personal experiences of Best Students at IIM MBA interview

-- Ankit GargAnkit Garg had his D-day fixed at IIM Ahmedabad on Monday, March 15, 2010. The topic of essay was ‘Diversification is not an indicator for inclusiveness’. This was indeed a complex topic and involved a lot of thinking before penning down the appropriate words. But for those who have the ability to articulate well and razor sharp mind can make the best use of the 10 minutes.

The interview questions for Ankit were generic. He was first asked to introduce himself. “There was another question which was ‘ Sell yourself to IIM A for mba,” said the 100 percentiler. In this question he had to emphasize his strengths and convince the panelists that he is the apt candidate for IIM Ahmedabad MBA. The marketing skills were also tested through this question. He was also asked questions on Math and his city, Chandigarh. Some general questions on hobbies and interests were also asked. 

-- Manu BajajThe essay topic for Manu Bajaj on Sunday, March 14 was ‘Child artistes are an exploited lot’.  Manu touched the lines of the child artistes in films as well as the reality show where the participants are children and the immense pressure they have to undergo at such young ages.

The PI round for Manu started with the basic questions on introduction and academics. He was asked about his favorite subject. Being a student of Computer Engineering, he had to answer quite a handful of questions on quantum computing and other such facets.

Then he was asked ‘Why MBA?’ In this, he gave an overall answer. “I have always been part of Extra Curricular Activities and I am a good team leader. I want to leverage the leadership skill by being a positive drive force for an organization,” was what Manu answered to the question.

Apart from this he was also asked questions on what he had written on the essay topic. Here a general discussion went on regarding the society, reality shows etc. In the last question, he was asked about his views on the Women Reservation Bill.

“When I answered that it was a good move, they started grilling me! A debate ensued on whether the reservation should be done on the basis of gender or caste,” Manu reflected on his interview. According to him, 10 minutes of the interview was on academics and five minutes each on essay and Women’s Reservation Bill. 

-- Anshul SinghThe essay writing and personal interview round for Anshul Singh was on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. His essay topic was ‘Lay offs can give a new direction.’ Here the advantages of lay offs in an organization had to be discussed.

The interview was pretty generic for him. He was asked questions on his hobby, which is cricket and on his graduation subjects. “My graduation marks were low, so I was asked the reason,” Anshul said. “The interviewers check the practical application and presence of mind,” he cited.  

(.an article from mbauniverse.com )

IIM A mba gets set for new session 2010-12 with 20% increase in students

                                                                                                                                                                     ( A Update by Mba universe)

 IIM Ahmedabad, the apex B School in India too is all set to welcome the next extended 2010-12 batch of MBA Students from Monday, June 21, 2010 onwards.

Unlike the other top B Schools, IIM Ahmedabad has not undergone any change in the curriculum but it has made the room bigger for the IIM  MBA aspirants. 

IIM Ahmedabad makes the room bigger for the students

 This year, the number of seats has been increased in IIM Ahmedabad. Hence, the admission of the number of MBA students has gone up to 385 provisional admissions in 2010 from 312 last year. “For 2010 we have made 385 provisional IIM MBA admissions. In 2009 we took 312 MBA students for our Post Graduate Program in Management,” mentions an official from IIM Ahmedabad.

Contact  Study hours

According to IIM Ahmedabad, for the 2010-12 batch, or the PGP I students, the contact hours is 2040 hours. While the contact hours for the second year MBA students is 1360 hours. “For the PGP I batch, the contact hours is 2040 hours with 25.5 credits and the PGP II batch has 1360 hours of contact hours which give them 17 credits,”  says IIM Ahmedabad.

Visits

There are few courses which requires industry interface. The course itself organizes that industry visit for the MBA students. “There are a few courses for which industry visit is required. For that, the industry visits are organized during the course for the MBA Students,” IIM Ahmedabad says.

What IIM CAT really wants??

The IIM scaling model is as follows:
Section Scores = 0 to 150 Total Exam Score = 0 to 450

Four scaled scores are presented for each candidate: an overall scaled score and three separate scaled scores for each section. As the three sections evaluate three distinct sets of knowledge and skills, scores do not correlate across sections. A high score in one section does not guarantee a high score in another section. Percentile rankings are provided for each individual section as well as for the overall exam score.


The CAT exam was developed to accurately identify top performing candidates and that design makes use of a scaled score range of 0-450.
In order to appropriately identify the top performing candidates, the CAT exam was, by design, very difficult. As would be expected with the more difficult CAT exam, no candidate answered 100% of the items correctly and no candidate achieved the top theoretical score. The exam design accomplished the goal of identifying the top performing candidates who were, indeed, ranked at the top of the list.
If the exam were designed to be substantially easier, it would be theoretically possible for a candidate to achieve a score of 450. However, an exam constructed to be that easy would not serve the distinct purposes of the IIM.

IIM Ahmedabad 2010 fees

IIM Ahmedabad has announced the revised fees for the PGP Batch 2010-12. The fees has been increase by about 9.6% compared to the fees of the 2009-11 batch.

The release says, “The fees has been revised to Rs. 13.70 lakh (Rs. 6.6 lakh for the first year and the balance for the second year). The fee includes all costs other than cost of food. The fee has been arrived at after taking into account the significant increase in costs due to implementation of Sixth Pay Commission’s Recommendations as well as general rise in operating costs due to high inflation in the economy.”

IIM-A has also announced that it would continue to provide fee waiver to students based on family income. In the financial year 2009-10, a total of 41 students were educated at IIM-A absolutely free.

Life at IIM

Hey folks!!

Are now afraid of dreaming about IIMs ??

Do you know what are you up to ??

Are you Living Up The MBA Dream ??

Are you sure for IIMs???


If reply to any of question is negative, its time to know more about IIM or yourself......

Four things required for Cat Cracking

Fortunately or unfortunately, competitive exams like iim cat have become a strict norm for selection to various professional courses i.e. MBA in our country. Notwithstanding the demerits of such a system, competitive exams like cat for mba are a reality for the lakhs of students who appear in them every year.

In such a scenario, everyone wants to success. Success in these exams brings immense glory and confidence to the individuals, besides giving them a clear cut break into the career line of their choice. However, seats are limited and not everyone who appears can be selected. This does not mean that those who are not selected do not deserve a training in these courses. It only means that there aren't sufficient seats to accommodate all the deserving candidates.

Keeping this background in mind, let us explore what it takes to succeed in these competitive exams.

To my mind, the first prerequisite for success in these examinations is determination. The candidate must be quite sure of his level of motivation. Without a high level of motivation, no one can go through the rigorous preparation process. Thus, you must be absolutely determined to give your best efforts in your endeavor.

Once one is sufficiently motivated, one needs to be ready to give sufficient number of hours of his or her time in studies. This is real hard work and involves significant sacrifices on the part of the individual. "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy". Therefore it is also important that the candidate does take out some time for relaxation either through sports, music or other art forms. Regular exercise ( about 15 - 20 minutes ) every day will help maintain a healthy body which in turn will house a healthy mind.

The third requirement, is selection of the right study material. One should not go for shortcuts. Instead, try to understand the chapters / concepts in detail and practice sufficient number number of questions. Therefore go for standard textbooks, study materials provided, as various correspondence courses and other coaching institutions serve as supplementary and complementary material to the textbook material.

The fourth consideration is an appropriate 'Study Strategy'. A very common question which students ask is, How to balance the studies with competitive exam study. Think that can be incorporated within the broad framework of one's competitive exams' preparation strategy. One strategy is to look at each chapter as a chapter to be learnt, a material to be mastered; rather than dichotomizing it as school & competitive exam-related study material.


Also revise the important concepts, facts, problems that you would have marked during during your year or years of preparation before the examination.

On the day of examination, keep your cool and attempt the questions. Remember, if you have given your best during the last months, you need not fear anything. Ultimately, only effort and not the result is in your hand. Which you should do to your maximum capability as outlined above. Rest is your destiny or luck. So go ahead, give your best and leave the rest!

ONLINE CAT 2009

It is very tough to say whether the IIM CAT will go online this year or not. Pankaj Chandra, director, IIM Bangalore said that they are not sure whether the CAT will go online or not.The Probability is that they will go for the usual paper-pencil test, where they are familiar with the entire logistics of printing, advertising and hiring of rental places for writing the test.

Online MBA CAT would mean taking the test on a computer which will serve questions from a local server. The IIMs have said they will need a good number of computer terminals for students to take the examination. A whole lot of other details need to be put in place which needs time. Online CAT require good work from IIMs in terms of infrastructure and facilities which will not happen in a few months' time.

Career Launcher is investing around Rs 30 lakh to facilitate online cat training on computer to its students. ETS Prometric, Pearson VUE, Eduquity Career Technologies and Mumbai-based Attest, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aptech are the four companies that are shortlisted for conducting of test online.But when will this happen only God or IIM knows!!

A degree provides you with innumerable career opportunities in various fields .It is especia

IIM CAT Topper Talks

Before I talk about group discussions and interviews, I want to share my experience - about taking CAT. I come from an engineering background. As Mathematics was one of my subjects during graduation and Computer Science my area of expertise, I was confident about the QA and DI/LR sections. However, language has been my weak point since my school days (I got a measly 60-plus in English in the CBSE 12th standard exams). Hence, this was the area I was most concerned about.
The most important thing that you need to keep in mind while formulating the CAT strategy is that you need to do equally well in all the sections. If you miss the cut-off in any one section, your chances of getting a call from the IIMs reduces greatly, even if you top the exam. You also need to manage your time properly during the examination. Since QA and LR/DI were my strong areas, I attempted these first, giving roughly 35 minutes to each section to try and clear the cut-offs. I tried to do around 20-22 questions in QA (cut-off is 16-18) and 28-30 questions in LR/DI (cut-off is 23-25). Then I went on to the EU section and tried to attempt 40-plus questions in the remaining 50 minutes, as this was my weak area. The intention was to come back to QA to maximise my gains, if any time remained.
Since I was doing my exam preparations alongside my professional duties, I did not have enough time to put in any extra effort. This was because, after my graduation from IIT Delhi in 2003, I joined UT Starcom, a telecom equipment manufacturer, as software engineer in their Gurgaon centre. So, I focused on the material provided to me by my coaching institute and found that it was more than sufficient. However, despite my best efforts, I was able to finish only 60-70 per cent of the reading and practice material provided to me. However, I made it a habit to read newspapers and books regularly.
Group Discussions
First and foremost, one should always remain calm in a group discussion (GD). It is very easy to get into one-to-one situations with other group members who do not agree with your point of view. However, one must remember that a GD is all about the group. The more you become part of the group and help bring out new, innovative points and perspectives into the topic under discussion, the better chance you have in the GD. Equally important is to listen to what the other members of the group are saying because you may be asked by the panel to summarise the discussion, either orally or on paper. If you are busy thinking about what your next point would be, you might miss the flow of the discussion. Another member of the group might give the topic a whole new dimension and by the time you come back to your senses, you will be totally clueless about the point being discussed.