Strategy to Crack CAT Exam

MBA-CAT Exam is a Online Common Admission Test for getting admission into the IIM (Indian Institutes of Management) and about 120 other MBA Colleges in India. Currently there are 9 IIM in India. They are listed below. The Online CAT Test is held online once a year in last week of November.

List of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) in India :

1) IIM Ahmedabad
2) IIM Bangalore (Bengaluru)
3) IIM Calcatta (Kolkata)
4) IIM Lucknow
5) IIM Indore
6) IIM Kozhikode
7) IIM Shillong
8) IIM Ranchi
9) IIM Rothak
10) IIM Raipur

To get into IIMs and the 120 Colleges which use CAT Scores one has to go through a selection process which includes most OR all of the following :

1. Written Test
2. Group Discussion
3. Personal Interview
4. Essay Writing
5. Psychometric Test
6. Group Task
7. Management Games

The percentile secured in CAT is used by the B-Schools in India for short-listing candidates for admissions to their Institutes MBA Programs.

The written exam tests the aptitude of the candidate in a number of areas. It usually consists of questions related to :

1. Quantitative Ability
(Questions in Mathematics mostly from 8-9-10 standard, covering Arithmetic, Geometry, Menstruation, Algebra, Trigonometry and Co-ordinate Geometry)

2. Verbal Section
(Questions in the area cover Grammar, Sentence Correction, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension & Verbal Analogies)

3. Data Interpretation / Data Sufficiency
(Analysis of Data. Usually data is in form of tables, charts, graphs. Students are required to study them and answer the related questions)

4. Logical Reasoning / Ability
(Questions to be solved using Common Logic)

5. General Awareness
(Currently CAT does not have questions on General Knowledge)
(Questions pertaining to current/past issues (national & global), economics, general knowledge etc.


Preparation Strategy to Crack CAT Exam:

There is no formula or shortcut to crack the CAT or any other MBA Entrance Test. One should take care of the following :

1. Clear your concepts of 8-9-10 standard maths (preferably NCRT)
2. Extensive Reading on current issues (Indian & Global), business, economics etc. Reading magzines like Business India/World/Today, Forbes India, India Today, Frontline, and National English Newspapers daily is recommended.
3. Regular puzzle solving
4. Solve as many questions in all areas of the CAT Test. Subscribe to study material from any national coaching center or download from internet. This practice will give you the required speed needed for CAT.
5. Join a Test Series of min 20 Tests and do the complete analysis of each test. We suggest you to join any 2 leading National CAT Coaching Centers such as T.I.M.E., IMS, Career Launcher for test series.
6. Daily write an essay (2-3 pages) on any one topic (currently issues, business etc) of your choice. Try refining them after 1 month.
7. Speak English 24x7 for fluency confidence
8. Increase your vocabulary by over 1000 words (ie memorize & then use 20 new words daily).

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 )

Rs 5,000-8,000 for an MBA ????

                                                                                                            (A update by dna india)

Despite her anxiety about entering the job market in a few days, Sunitha  is not overtly optimistic. The 23-year-old, who has just completed her engineering degree, has to be content with a modest pay package of Rs 90,000 per annum at a call centre. 



However, Sunitha says she is lucky to have at least got this job, as several of her classmates from her engineering institute in Davangere, about 265 km from Bangalore, are still
scouting left, right and centre for one. 

She says that even though various surveys suggest the job market is improving and hiring is thriving again, the situation in tier III towns and institutes is still gloomy. “There were hardly 4-5 firms this time at my institute who made offers to just a handful of students. Salaries are more or less similar to what I have been offered,” says Sunitha.

Sailing in the same boat is Namit Kumar (name changed), whose MBA institute in Cuttack, Orissa, mostly lay barren as far as placements were concerned. Namit was lucky to have got a sales job in a retail firm as a result of his own job hunt, for a monthly income of Rs 5,500, minuscule compared to what students from reputed institutes get. 

“The entire course fee for two years was nearly Rs 4 lakh, but after spending so much, all I get is peanuts,” complains Kumar. Namit and Sunitha’s story is a grim reality despite talk of jobs and fancy salaries brimming all over again.

Rishi Das, co-founder and CEO of Bangalore-based talent
acquisition firm CareerNet Consulting said that usually, students settle for salaries of Rs 5,000 then work hard, gain whatever experience they can, and start hunting for jobs with bigger organisations.

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......

MBA Entrance test alert 2010

Institute Name	Last Dates	Tentative Cut-Offs	Test Score Acepted	Website	Fees for 2 years	Residential or Non - Residential Program
SCMS, Cochin	30-May-10	60 percentile and above	CAT/MAT/ATMA	www.scmsgroup.org	PGDM General Mgt, PGDM (Insurance & Banking) & PGDM (Retail & Merchandising) Rs.5,50,000/- PGDM General Mgt, PGDM (Insurance & Banking) & PGDM (Retail & Merchandising) Rs.5,50,000/-	Residential
Praxis Business School, Kolkata	30-Apr-10	Profile Based - 80+ percentile (Deadline is for round 3)	CAT/XAT/ GMAT/PAT	http://praxis.ac.in	Rs.6,63,800/-	Residential
Indian Institute of Plantation Management	30-Apr-10	_	CAT	http://www.iipmb.edu.in/	Rs.2,50,000/-	Residential
Mumbai Business School	30-Apr-10	85 percentile for CAT	GMAT/ CAT/ XAT/GREAT TEST	www.mumbaibusinessschool.org	Rs.8,50,000/- (Program Duration: 1year))	Residential (for outstation students)
Pondicherry University	By post: 21st April 2010, In person: 28th April 2010, Last date for submission of filled in Application form: 28th April 2010	_	Own Test on 29-30 May 2010	www.pondiuni.edu.in	M.B.A. Tourism: Rs. 41,941/- , M.B.A. International Business:Rs. 53,683/-, M.B.A. Insurance Management: Rs. 58,683/-, M.B.A. Banking Technology: Rs. 58683/-	Residential (Limited Facility)
Teri University, New Delhi	20-Apr-10	_	CAT	http://www.teriuniversity.ac.in	{MBA (Business Sustainability)- Total fees is Rs. 2,74,450 MBA (Infra) - Total Fees is Rs. 2,53,350}	Residential (only for female candidates)
ISME, Banglore & Navi Mumbai	15-Apr-10	60 Percentile	CAT/ GMAT/ XAT /MAT/ ATMA	http://www.isme.in	Rs. 4,35,000/-	Residential
Welingkar Mumbai & Bangalore	7-Apr-10	82-85 percentile for both CAT & XAT	CAT/XAT/ATMA & MAHT -CET	http://www.welingkar.org	Rs. 5,00,000/- For PGDM, PGDM e-Business, PGDM Business Design. Rs. 4,00,000/- for PGDM Retail Management	Non- Residential (Hostel Accomodation available)
GITAM, Vishakapatnam (GIIB)	5-Apr-10	60 percentile	CAT-2009 / IIFT-2009 / XAT-2010 / MAT-(Sep-2009, Dec-2009, Feb -2010)/ GET’10 (GIIB Entrance Test - 2010 on 18th Apr 2010).	http://www.gitam.edu	Rs. 4,94,000/-	Residential
EDI, Ahmedabad	5-Apr-10	_	CAT/XAT	http://www.ediindia.org	Rs. 8,30,000/-	Residential
Alliance, Bangalore	31-Mar-10	75+ percentile for both CAT & XAT, & MAT 600 above	CAT/XAT/MAT	http://www.absindia.org	Rs.10,00,000/-	Residential
ITM, Navi Mumbai	31-Mar-10	Including Marks of 12th, Graduation, & CAT, XAT, GMAT Score 60-65% & GDPI	CAT/XAT	http://www.itm.edu	Rs.6,79,000/-	Residential
ISBM, Pune PGDM Program	31-Mar-10	60+ XAT, 60+ CAT, 70+ MAT	CAT/XAT	http://www.isbm.ac.in	Rs. 7,00,000/-	Residential
ISBM, Pune Media Program	31-Mar-10	_	CAT/XAT	http://www.isbm.edu.in	Rs. 4,00,000/-	Residential
Indian Business Academy, Bangalore	31-Mar-10	50% For CAT, XAT, ATMA & MAT 550	CAT/XAT/ATMA/MAT	http://www.ibainternational.org	Tuition Fees:4.8 Lakhs + Hostel Fees :1.5 Lakhs	Residential
National Institute of Technology, Karnataka	30-Mar-10	_	CAT	http://www.nitk.ac.in/	Rs. 2,00,000/-	Residential
AMRITA, Bangalore,Kochi	30-Mar-10	composite system including marks of +2, undergraduation, CAT % and experience.	CAT/ GMAT	http://www.amrita.edu	Bangalore- Rs.9,11,554/- and Kochi - Rs. 5,27,435/-	Residential