Preparing for CAT

CAT season is around the corner and preparations are going into overdrive. Here are a few things to keep in mind while preparing.

Have a clear strategy before your Mock CATs -
Fine tune your strategy and use it on the day of the exam. Most wars are won not on the power of the ammunition and armor a country possesses but on the power of its think tank. The same is true when it comes to CAT. Before you take any CAT comprehensive test put down on paper the strategy that you want to adopt for that test. Typically, students spend about 30 minutes in the verbal section, 40 minutes in the DI section and 50 minutes in the Quant section. This split could vary from individual to individual. Having set this limit, shave off 5 minutes from each of the sections and keep those 5 minute blocks as reserve.
Keep track of your time -
Having set time limits for each of the sections that appear in CAT, you need to ensure that your progress is keeping pace in the set time limit. Attempting 85 to 90 questions in CAT and getting over 65 as net score is a definite recipe to get calls from couple or more of the IIMs. With 120 minutes at your disposal, the arithmetic essentially translates to about 7 to 8 questions every 10 minutes. Therefore, divide your 2 hours mentally into 12 slots of 10 minutes and at the end of each 10 minutes do a status check. In reality, you should be doing better in the first half of the time allotted to each section in terms of the number of questions attempted (over 10 questions every 10 minutes) than the second half. The reason for this assumption is that you are expected to attempt the easier questions that consume less time in the first half than in the second half. If you find yourself slipping in any one slot, you need to buck up in the next couple of ones to maintain your average. If you are in the habit of using a stop watch, make sure that you start it as soon as you get the signal from the invigilator to start the test. There have been instances of students getting tensed on account of not starting their stop watches.

Striking a right balance - Accuracy vs Speed -
The usual dilemma that one faces while preparing for CAT is the trade off between accuracy and speed. There is no need to trade off one for the other. In fact these two are not mutually exclusive events. Accuracy is important. But that doesn’t mean that you should not hesitate to approximate whenever needed and proceed. One important thing to keep in mind as you proceed with each step of solving a question, is to take a quick glance at the answer choices. This way, in many instances, you will find that you do not have to go to the last step and find the answer. Even if it is only one or two steps saved for each problem, that will give you enough time to crack another 3 or 4 more problems in CAT. That is a huge difference when it comes to getting calls from the IIMs.
Skipping tough questions is the key to success -
Do not get unduly concerned if you seem to skipping questions. In the first attempt only answer those questions that are really really easy (that will take around a minute or less to answer). Though this is generally true across all three sections, it gains greater importance in the quant section. As you go through each question if you encounter a question that you do not know or happens to be difficult, put an X mark next to it, skip it and forget it. If you find a question that you know, but will take 2 or more minutes, put an A next to it, skip it and proceed. Attempt in the 1st round only those that will take about a minute. After exhausting all these easy questions, if you still have time, come back for the questions that you have marked as A. This way, your selection of questions follows the rule of attempting the easiest ones first and then the tougher ones. Putting X and A marks next to the question eliminates the necessity to re select questions when you revisit the section. On an average, students who crack CAT need to get about 50% or lesser of the number of questions in the quant and DI section as their net score. That essentially translates to skipping every other question, provided you can maintain very high levels of accuracy. So, go ahead and skip questions that are difficult. It will be more detrimental to get stuck in a question and spending a lot of time on it than skipping a question that is easy by mistake.

Choosing the Right B-School.

There reaches a point in the lives of students and professionals when a post graduate degree in management becomes not an add on but a necessity to move further up the ladder. In this age where packaging a product is as important as the quality, if you have decided to do an MBA then the next step is to decide which business schools to apply.

This aspect of an MBA is the most daunting task as the number of colleges offering MBA’s is measured in the thousands. They vary widely in cost, in reputation and in entry requirements. Your choice of business school is such a key decision regarding your future that it is important that you be very thorough in your approach while making the selection.

What one must be ideally looking at is the finer aspects of any college MBA. Facilities provided by the college like faculty, libraries, alumni, assistance if any with placements etc.

• Faculty

Even amongst equally reputable schools, teaching quality can differ drastically. Some business schools have strict expectations for faculty members, facilitating continued training and monitoring performance, but other programs are more concerned with an instructor's research and writing credentials.

• Classroom setting

It is important for each student to determine their learning needs early on. While you might more easily grasp information in a traditional collegiate-style setting, others need real-world simulation in a competitive setting. Choosing the wrong kind of classroom setting can have a hugely negative impact on your MBA success. You should also check their emphasis on research and practical hands on experience that it can offer.

• Location

The location of a school can affect not only your overall enjoyment of the program--with social life outside the classroom playing a big role for some students--but also your access to networks and career opportunities. It is not uncommon for business school graduates to remain within the area where they earned their degree, so choose a location that will bring you long-term satisfaction. Business schools in cities with large business will be able to provide better opportunities than a place that is just a university town.

• Reputation

In general, it is understood that the better the program you attend, the more options that will be open to you after graduation. For some this means a more satisfying career and for others it means a bigger paycheck. Whatever your expectations, the reputation of a program can aid the decision-making process tremendously, especially when the choice comes down to two very similar programs. Don’t follow rankings of institutions that magazines or news portals provide explicitly. Other markers such as scope for achieving what you have set out to do and satisfaction of former students must be taken into account.

• Areas of specialization

In this age of super specializations you should choose you school based on your area of specialization. Some schools are best for certain fields and some are not. You must select the right specialization in your MBA program in order for your MBA degree to carry the most value that can help in your career move. By knowing the options of MBA program's specialization, you will have better chances to select the best MBA program that best fit into your career goal.


Other important factors like your budget must be factored in. Some MBA schools charge more than the others based on their programmes. But financial aid opportunities exist that can make the most expensive programmes affordable. You should also interact with the university and ask questions like the business experience of the faculty, the average experience of the students, companies that recruit from the school, what have been the most recent changes in the programme etc. You should also talk to alumni and students to get a real feel of the college and the programme. You also need to choose between regular or part time program. Several full time MBA programs are also available as part time programs. One has to be very sure of the time you can comfortably spend for your MBA program.

Shortlisting a school is a very important task. Go over your choices and shortlist any three good schools. . Entry to the best schools is highly competitive and so you need an alternative if you should be turned down by your first choice school. It helps to start the admission process early. Do not apply to too many schools. Completing the application form and preparing for the interview can be very time consuming. It is better to prepare thoroughly for a few schools than to prepare less thoroughly for a large number of schools.

Finally what an MBA is going to give you at the end of the day is that it will help you combine the skills from your graduate degree and your management education. It will also cross train you so that you have a well rounded understanding of many facets of business. It provides you expertise to survive today’s business environment and prepares a person for the transient nature of today’s business world.

MBA- Maximum Benefits Avenue...

There's suddenly a clamour in the education circles about graduates getting themselves armed with the latest in educational ammunition- MBA. It's become like a little magic word that can make sure you get access to the elite circles of business positions.

The standard benefits of an MBA that everyone knows about is that there are just so many more takers for your resume the moment it has an MBA degree to boast of! And then there are the other benefits too.

There's the question of the pay packet. With an MBA, your employers are more likely to take you a little more seriously. That means a considerable fattening of the salary and more chances to get promoted. The pay rise, they say, can go as high up as 56% more than what you were earning before you got that golden degree. And with a few years of experience after graduation, your boss is obliged to pay you more to keep you on the workforce.

Another thing that an MBA offers you is knowledge that it would take years to gather during actual office work. This puts you in a position of power when it comes to time giving you better chances of being promoted. There's also the question of wanting to consider a switch in careers. An MBA keeps your options open. It makes sure that you build enough of a network during your learning process to not have to feel too stuck to your present job. The MBA allows you more of a success rate if that career change leads you right to the "start my own business" dream! Studies have shown that there's 50% less chance of failure in small entrepreneurs' businesses when they have the backing of an MBA. Why? Because it's at a B-school that you learn about achievable business plans and about acquiring venture capital. There's nothing like tried and tested knowledge.

Then there is the need of employers the world over to make sure that their managerial staff is as good as it gets! This means that if your employers think you're worth it, then you may just get a degree sponsored for you with all tuition fees payed! So you see, nothing comes from nothing and that means there must be something good!

Entrance Exams For MBA In India

Want an MBA degree? Confused by the deluge of options with regard to management schools and entrance exams. If yes. Then read on for MBA related information.

There are a large number of management entrance exams in the country. Some of these exams are used by multiple institutes as a part of their respective admission processes. The prominent among such exams are

CAT - Entrance test for 7 IIMs and more than 100 management schools
XAT - The entrance test for XLRI and more than 50 management schools
JMET - The entrance test for the Schools of Management at the IITs and IISc
SNAP - The entrance test for SIBM, SCMHRD and other Symbiosis group institutes
MAT - Accepted by more than 100 management schools
ATMA - Accepted by more than 100 management schools

There are a few management institutes conducting their own entrance exams. Some of the reputed among them are FMS, IIFT, IRMA, NMIMS, etc.
In addition, there are Common Entrance Tests (CETs) conducted by some states for the MBA courses offered by all the universities in their respective states

The dates for some of the entrance exams in 2009 announced till now

CAT 16TH NOV

IIFT 23RD NOV

IRMA 9TH NOV

BISAT 21st DEC

SNAP 21ST DEC

Why do an MBA Specialisation

When one considers the future, one thing that you need the most, is knowledge of the now. And a knowledge that is not half baked, based on guesses, or only first hand information, but a comprehensive picture. This sort of a picture is not easy to generate at all, and still less easy to understand. The kind of data that is available today is immense, and very varied, to process all of it for any event requires training. To not take advantage of all the information and make a choice on a limited amount is senseless. But it remains impossible to deal with the immense amount of information that must be comprehended. The answer to this dilemma is specialisation. Every field of study or operation has specialists minutely trained to process information of a particular kind. But with this ability of detailed study, comes the disadvantage or inability to see the larger picture, or of processing information of a kind you are not used to. The answer to that question has been a different kind of specialist, one that can understand most information, even if he cant process the data, and then compile all the information he receives into a single, unified, simple model, and then predict the future.
In the world of Bussiness, this specialist, who specialises in being a ‘jack of all trades’ is called an MBA. I feel the best way to think of it, is to imagine the company like a circuit, with highly specialised components, all connected to a circuit board. The MBA is the circuit board. Some people might lead to believe he is the Procesor, but that’s not accurate, the MBA is as much an employee as any other. But his job is making sure every one else can function. This involves looking beyond only the immediate needs of the company, in the now, but also a degree of foresight. The responsibility of an MBA goes beyond just the limits of his company, but must be encompass the economy as a whole, the understanding of which cannot be imparted on the job. To a man trying to make a cotton factory earn money, the stock exchange in London may not make sense. It may not necessarily make sense to an MBA, but he will realise that it does impact the business. It is this vision, and an understanding of things outside the immediate purview of production, or profit that make an MBA invaluable.

Perhaps it will be better understood when I tell you the entire idea of outsourcing was that of an MBA, or as we know Bill Gates knows little or nothing about programming. In the case of outsourcing, it is a revolutionary idea, and that could only come from someone with a slightly wider view of the world one limited to the confines of a 9 to 5. Bill Gates and the windows were barely made for each other, in fact you could argue that Windows as OS is barely made for a computer. But the foresight of Gates, is what made him the riches man around. It is this trained ability to, look beyond the obvious, and to be aware of the periphery, like a growing pool of English speaking urban, educated youngsters in India, or the fact that computers were the future, and striking the deal with IBM, in the insipient years of the industry that makes an MBA.
Of course the argument that one can teach himself all this, is acceptable, but the time involved in learning things, that would lie outside one’s field of interest, only to gain minimally, over the time spent educating oneself, defeats the purpose of the exercise. Even an MBA of about six years ago, finds commerce vastly changed, and is constantly involved in furthering his education. To be teaching yourself the basics while the MBA could with ease give you the boost of a couple of years, is something an MBA would not suggest. The fear that as an MBA you may loose whatever specialised skills you possess, is in some ways a legitimate one, because as an MBA you’re compulsorily limited to managerial tasks. But that’s not to say that you wont have opportunity to bring you’re own experience into play. An MBA does not limit the paradigm within which you think, but is in fact an attempt to systematise and make easier the search beyond that paradigm. So anything that you have done or can do, which is more than the training you receive as an MBA will always be a resource to you… and though it might be something seemingly unconnected with business like playing the guitar, an MBA will help you see it as a economic resource, and though you may never end up with an album, it will help none the less.

Top Institutes For MBA In India

With so many MBA institutes cropping up in every nook and cranny , it becomes quite a conundrum choosing the right institute. However, it is general knowledge that IIMs are considered the mecca of MBA study in India.Again, there are many quality non-iIIM institutes which are giving the IIMs a run for their money. The B –school rankings in recent years have reflected this trend conspicuously. However, it is not wise to go by rankings purely as one’s choice on institute should be made keeping in mind several factors like choice of specialization, cost of course, return on investment,etc. Here is a list of the best places in India for MBA

1) All the Indian Institutes Of Management (Ahmedabad,Bangalore,Kolkata,Lucknow,Indore,Kozhikode,Shillong)

2) Management Development Institute, Gurgaon

3) SIBM, Pune

4) S.P Jain institute of Management & Research, Mumbai

5) Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur

6) Shailesh J.Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay

7) Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi

8) ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad

9)Indian institute of Foreign Trade,Delhi

10) Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar

11) Narsee Monjee , Mumbai

12) International Management Institute ,Delhi

13) T.A Pai Mgmt institute, manipal

14) Nirma Institute Management , Ahmedabad

15) NIILM Centre for Management Studies, Delhi

16) ISB, Hyderabad

CAT Verbal Section Tips by Pravin Vedamuthu of IMS

n the last minute build-up to the Verbal Section of CAT 2008, we would do well to remember that CAT 2007 had 3 main ‘components’ to its verbal section, totaling 25 questions: verbal ability based questions (6), verbal reasoning based questions (7) and reading comprehension based questions (12). Each question with 5 answer choices had 4 marks allotted to it and a negative of 1 mark. Though CAT sections are not strictly timed, it is safe to say that one needed to allot 50 minutes per section so as to have the best chances to clear sectional cut-offs. So these 25 questions needed to be attempted over 50 minutes. The objective was to maximize score, not necessarily attempt all.

Over the years, Reading Comprehension (RC) based questions and Jumbled Sentences (JS) have been constant features in a CAT paper. For the last lap, it would be wise to take 1 ‘drill’ everyday on these topics. A drill will try to mimic the actual situation which you will face w.r.t these question types in the actual paper.

An RC drill would consist of a set of 4 passages with 3 questions each to be attempted in 25 minutes. A JS drill would consist of 4 questions on Jumbled Sentences to be taken in 10 minutes. While taking a drill, it has to be kept in mind that the idea is to maximize score under a pressure situation. After a drill is taken, you should compute your score. So 1 RC drill and 1 JS drill each day will need 35 minutes of your time and an additional 25 minutes for computation of the score and analysis. So 1 hour each day on drills.

Prepare a set of examples, w.r.t. all important grammar concepts focusing on errors. If you have every important concept error (e.g. mistakes in parallel construction, dangling modifiers, subject- verb disagreement, etc.) in the form of an example, you will be alert to these when you tackle the sentence correction questions.

For critical reasoning type of questions, it is absolutely necessary to be very clear about words like ‘inferred’, ‘implied’ and ‘implicit’ and how they play out in a CAT paper. Also, question types like ‘what, if true, would best support the author’s view…’, ‘what, if true, would provide the most compelling logical disproof of…’ ,‘all of the following support the author’s claim EXCEPT…’etc.

For vocabulary based questions, it would still be good to go through a wordlist and glance at especially those words which you have heard and read but were not sure about. It is of course past the time to learn completely new words.

Last but not least, remember that the CAT is becoming more and more rigorous and the questions more and more complex. It is less of a ‘speed game’ now and more of clear, composed and focused thinking free from biases and prejudices. It tests who has better reasoning in a stressful situation rather than who has ‘worked’ the most. So stay calm and do not panic. The test is not about ‘how tough or easy’ it is always about ‘how competitive’ and hence the most important thing is how to avoid meltdowns and not give fellow competitors a ‘competitive advantage’.

I wish you the very best of luck for CAT 2008.

Pravin Santosh Vedamuthu,
IMS Learning Resources
P.G - MICA

Courtesy: www.imsindia.com
Email: ims@imsindia.com

CAT Tips from Jaya Desai - IMS Centre Head

The countdown to the CAT is akin to the countdown to a rocket launch- A lot of hard work has already been put in ; there is a blend of nervousness and excitement ;an air of expectancy ….

Here are some tips that will hold you in good stead for D-Day:

Take two/three tests with a lot of emphasis on analysis:
After taking a national percentile ranking test like the SIMCAT, note down your total attempts within the allotted time frame. Then, arrive at the number of correct and incorrect attempts. You may feel as to why you should ponder over the correct attempts. Ah!there might be a faster or an easier way to do the same! Second, w.r.t the incorrect attempts, if the same has been due to oversight, tell yourself you will be more vigilant the next time. If it was the outcome of a blind guess, then you must resolve to steer clear of such an approach because of the spectre of negative marking. And last but not the least, if the incorrect attempt was because of lack of knowledge of the concept, then go back to your basics to that extent! Also, do not forget to have a kettle of tea or coffee next to you !



Work hard on areas of weakness and capitalize on areas of strength
If any of the components ,i.e. Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation or English, has been an area of concern, please do not hesitate to devote quality time to concepts. Sections you are good at, you can fine tune attempts a bit!

Read the Instructions page carefully on test day:
"Elementary, my dear Watson!” would say Sherlock Holmes! But test takers ever so often do not read the instructions page carefully before zeroing in on a strategy. Reading this page is important from the point of view of knowing the marking system and the distribution of sections.

Keep away from the ‘Fixed Strategy’ approach:
Since the CAT does not have a fixed pattern with respect to number of questions, question type or the marking system, do not have a fixed way of approaching the test. The only cardinal rule that you need to keep in mind is start garnering marks in your kitty by attempting questions that you are sure about! Remember, there are always simple questions and absolute sitters in the paper, visible when you devote a couple of minutes scanning the questions.

Keep cool and do not succumb to paranoia:
Being in the right frame of mind is half the battle won! This is very essential because anxiety and negativity will kill the golden goose! You must be what a good manager is in times of crisis and uncertainty- cool, calm and collected. This will help select the right questions.

All the best for a fantastic experience!
Jaya Desai,
Centre Head - IMS.