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. 

Talk with a Cat Cracker

"Be sure in yourself that you want to do MBA. It is not the end of the world if you don’t want it.".
Vipul Goel, IIM Lucknow (2009), IITD (2005), discusses with a leading website about his mba preparation journey and making it to best mba college in India.

1. Tell us something about yourself.

I am a Delhi guy since the start. I have done my engineering from IIT Delhi. Worked in a MNC for two years and then went for higher studies at IIM Lucknow. At present I am working in another MNC.

2. Why did you choose IIM mba Lucknow?

The reason for choosing IIM mba Lucknow was it being one of the premiere institute for pursuing MBA in India. The broader perspective to business world and the chance to pursue studies according to your choices and interests were some of the factors which supported the fact.

3. Tell us something about the life in IIML?

IIM Lucknow is a place where you get a chance to meet people coming from all walks of life. A fresher coming out of a small college in India as well as people who ended up as as COO of some top firms (after graduation), people who have written books, people who have worked in army. Ofcourse, geographical diversity of the place can never be missed. All this can provide a different aspect to one’s outlook in the life.

Other than that almost all batchmates were super enthusiastic people who take interest and pride in their work. The quality of the teams in which I have worked throughout the period was amazing. Before MBA I was a person who wasn’t confident in interacting people with various walks of life which I felt is a hindrance in reaching the top. Presently I enjoy interacting with all which I believe. This is the biggest change in myself.

The life of MBA isn’t over without mentioning the number of clubs, committees and competitions which help one in fulfilling their interests in academic interests as well as in fine arts.

4. What made you leave your well-settled job and go for a full time MBA?

Leaving a well-settled job and high paying job is never an easy decision. One needs to be absolutely sure that they want to go for it. Difference it might make to one’s career is reaching your career advance in a Ferrari then by a Honda

5. How did you study for mba entrance exam?

I never studied for CAT. That was the only exam I appeared for. I simply kept my cool on the day and cracked the same.

6. What was your strategy for GD/PI?

For GD, I only spoke my points which I felt relevant. I always avoided entering a fish market. Idea is to make your points early to give structure to a presentation or give new direction if no new points are coming up. Please don’t try to be a leader of the group as usually most of the contemporaries are aggressive enough themselves and this strategy can backfire.

In PI, be yourself. Don’t try to fake your reasons for doing MBA or your achievements. Confidence is a must as you never know, what question can come up next. I have seen interviews going in very different direction then expected. Also, don’t indulge in asking those who had given interview first as to what their experience was or what questions were asked as it only hampers your open mindedness.

Just a fact that my IIM mba Lucknow interview has lasted less than 8 minutes, ended on a seemingly bad note as per others. I ended up among top 20 entrants there.

7. According to you, what is the right time to go for an MBA. Should economic scenarios drive an individual MBA plans?

In short term yes economic scenario can drive an individual’s MBA plans. On a longer term however, it doesn’t matter. You get to learn much more during adverse times which can guide you better when times change.

8. Any advice for future mba aspirants?

Be sure in yourself that you want to do MBA. It is not the end of the world if you don’t want it. Hundreds of career waiting which can make you earn much more if you are a top performer in them.

Crack IIM CAT

Tips to prepare for IIM CAT

1. Place two table clocks on your study table. Both should be stop clocks. Give each clock a name. Let their names be "Actual" and "Believed". The Actual clock will keep a count of the actual time you spend on your studies, while the Believed clock will maintain a record of the time you believe you are spending on your studies.

2. Set both clocks to 12 noon when you start your studies for the day. Stop both when you give yourself a planned break of more than half-an-hour. However, when your break is of a duration smaller than half-an-hour, or at least that is what you believe, stop the ‘Actual’ clock and let the ‘Believed’ clock tick as usual. Even if you are daydreaming, stop the ‘Actual’ clock by the appropriate time amount.

3. Check the time on both clocks when you are done for the day. The ratio of time difference between the Actual and the Believed clock will give you the exact measure of your efficiency. An efficiency of over 80 per cent is excellent. An efficiency of over 70 per cent is acceptable.

Try to maintain & increase your efficiency.Only then u can expect to have chance in " CAT cracking "

Pattern Of CAT

The pattern (format) of the CAT paper in the last 12 years

1995 to 1998:

Total Questions - 185
Time - 120 minutes
Verbal Ability - 50 Q
Reading Comprehension - 50 Q
Problem Solving - 45 Q
Data Interpretation - 40 Q

In 1995 and 1996, the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections were grouped and had a time limit of 1 hour.

Similarly, the Problem Solving and Data Interpretation sections were grouped and had a time limit of 1 hour.

There was no such time limit in 1997 and 1998.

1999:

Total Questions - 165
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 55 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 30 Q
Section 2 : 55 Q - Problem Solving - 55 Q
Section 3 : 55 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Verbal Reasoning - 24 Q

2000:

Total Questions - 165
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 55 Q - Verbal Ability - 15 Q and Reading Comprehension - 40 Q
Section 2 : 55 Q - Problem Solving - 55 Q
Section 3 : 55 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Verbal Ability - 24 Q

2001:

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 20 Q and Reading Comprehension - 30 Q
Section 2 : 50 Q - Problem Solving - 50 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Logical Reasoning - 19 Q

2002:

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 40 Q and Logical Reasoning - 10 Q

Section 2 : 50 Q - Problem Solving - 50 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 25 Q


2003 (re-exam format given):

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 25 Q

Section 2 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 30 Q and Logical Reasoning - 20 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Problem Solving

2004:

Total Questions - 123 Total marks: 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1

Data Interpretation: 20Q of 1 mark each

Data Sufficiency: 6 Q of 1 mark each

Logical Reasoning: 12 Q of 2 marks each


Section 2

Math problems: 20 Q of 1 mark each

Math problems: 15 Q of 2 marks each


Section 3

Verbal Ability: 10 Q of 0.5 marks each

Verbal Ability: 14 Q of 1 mark each

Verbal Ability: 5 Q of 2 marks each

Reading Comprehension: 21 Q of 1 mark each


2005:

Total Questions - 90 Total marks: 150
Time - 120 minutes


Section 1

Verbal Ability: 10Q of 1 mark each

Verbal Ability/Reading Comprehension: 20Q of 2 marks each


Section 2

Math problems: 10Q of 1 mark each

Math problems: 20Q of 2 marks each


Section 3

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 10Q of 1 mark each

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 20Q of 2 marks each

2006:

Total Questions - 75 Total marks: 300
Time - 150 minutes


Section 1

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 25Q of 4 marks each

Section 2

Math problems: 25Q of 4 marks each

Section 3

Verbal Ability/Reading Comprehension: 25Q of 4 marks each

There was no section wise time limit in from 1999 - 2006.

REMEMBER : It is essential that you demonstrate your competence in all the sections.



Some noticeable trends in CAT:

The following trends are clearly noticeable in CAT in the last few years.

The weightage of Math based questions has increased. Until 1998, we would have 85 out of 185 questions that were Math based. This is about 45%. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 almost 81-90 out of 150 questions. This is between 55-60%!!

The Problem solving section would constitute 1 out of 4 sections in the test until 1998. In the last 6 years, it has been 1 out of 3 sections. The importance of this section has therefore tremendously increased (from 24% of the total paper to 33.33% of the total paper)

CAT has been getting progressively tougher and thereby low scoring by the year. You no longer need fantastic scores of 100+ to clear the CAT. Over the years, SharpMinds students who have cleared the CAT and made it to the IIMs have had in the range of 75-90 attempts in the paper.

Experience of Cat Cracking

Name: Kalpana Bhat
My background: Associate, JP Morgan Chase & Co, San Francisco - 2000 to present
PGDM IIM Ahmedabad 2000
B.Com Ethiraj College Chennai 1998


My Testing Experience
I decided sometime during my 2nd year of college to give the CAT a shot. So, in May 1997, I borrowed the IMS material from a friend and started "preparing" for the tests. Like a good pupil, I started by following instructions and studying the material but I caught myself nodding off on more than one occasion. So, I decided to can it and dive right into the tests. That is when things got really interesting!! I took about 5 tests and never scored more than 70. That is enough to make you throw your hands up in despair and give up. But, I kept at it doggedly and trusted what people called the "learning curve". After about 10-12 tests, I could safely infer :
what I was good at and what I needed to work on
which questions to pursue and which ones to skip (for want of time)
that it was time to retrieve my 10th and 11th std Math text books, dust it and give it the once-over
that there is only one way to go and that's UP!!!!
To put all of the above in perspective - after the initial disappointment, I did not miraculously grow a brain!!! I just developed the ability to balance the little time I had and pick questions judiciously. It is crucial to know which questions to answer and which ones to re-visit IF you have time later!!! One is not fighting the familiar demons, like math or reading comprehension, but the break-neck speed at which the hands of time are flying! By Nov 1998, I had taken approx 40 tests. I also checked on the internet but unfortunately, there are very few resources offering CAT sample tests.Just keep practicing. Try doing at least one test a day leading up to the big day.

My CAT
The year I tested (1997), the test was divided into 2 portions. QA and DA were part of the first half and RC and VA were part of the second. We were given one hour for each portion. After the first hour, we were made to hand in our QA-DA section and then we received the RC-VA section. I think QA-DA had 85-90 questions and RC-VA had 90-95 questions. For me, the DA and VA portions were reasonably challenging while the QA and RC sections were relatively easy. I focussed on attempting the maximum number of questions that I knew I had a shot at getting right. If a question was not of a familiar format or of a format that I knew would take time to solve, I kept it for later. This strategy works for me but it is important to determine what methods of filtering work for you. In Feb 1998, I found out I had calls from all but 1(Kozhikode) of the 6 IIMs.

My GD and Interview Experience
I had not registered with IMS. So, I did not really have a lot of structured GD or interview preparation. I just trusted my luck and common sense. I filled out the form which has the "Why do you want to do an MBA", "Describe one incident where you took on a leadership role" questions honestly. Just be prepared to defend every word you state in that piece of paper. The interviews just whizzed by and I won't dwell on them too much. Suffice to say that the IIM-A GD and interview went really well. Both in the GD and the interview, I took strong stands and stuck to them.

The GD was a case study involving an army driver who decides to break the rule of not using official vehicles for personal purposes. After dropping off his commanding officer very late one night, he is very tired and takes the vehicle home. On the way home, he hits a child and kills him/her. He is obviously guilty of involuntary manslaughter but is he guilty of violating the army code of conduct? Should he be discharged? The case study gave rise to some interesting debate. At the end, we were asked to give a brief written synopsis of the GD.

The interview was very interesting too. A number of questions directed at me were either from my courses (accounting, mostly) or regarding my ethical values. When is the LIFO method of inventory valuation used? What would I do if I saw a corrupt politician in action vis-a-vis a third person? What would I do if I saw the same corrupt politician harming my own family? And more questions in that vein .... What the interviewers are looking for, both in the GD and interview are basically, honesty, strength of conviction and of course, at least a few correct answers! Don't ham when you don't know an answer. Just say you don't know!!!

In April 1998, I found out I had gotten into IIM-A. My 2 years at IIM-A were a roller-coaster ride.. But, I will go into that some other time ...

Until then, good luck and Godspeed!!!