| Raghuram Rajan, chief economist at the IMF, believes that the Combined Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the IIMs is one of the toughest exam in the world, more gruelling than the GRE and the GMAT put together. Having taught students at some of the top US universities like the MIT, the University of Chicago and Northwestern, he ranks IIM students among the best in the world.  | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | THE TALENT FACTORY: Graduation ceremony at IIM-Ahmedabad | | Rajan, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus who is on the faculty of the Graduate Business School, Chicago, is not exaggerating. Like him, alumni of IIMs hold top posts in businesses in India and abroad. Little wonder then that close to five lakh students sat for entrance tests to management schools, nearly 1.4 lakh for the CAT alone. The number of students taking the CAT has risen dramatically in the past five years, from 39,000 in 1999 to nearly 1.4 lakh in 2004. Besides the IIMs, CAT scores are valid for admission to some 50 other B-schools across India, including the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon and the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad. Apart from CAT, there are at least three other entrance exams that are on the must-appear list of most MBA aspirants. The Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, is considered to be in the same league as the IIMs. The Xavier Admission Test (XAT) is conducted by the Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur. Its scores are also valid at the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar and some 20 odd B-schools across India. Then there is the JMET, conducted by the IITs for their own MBA programmes. The two high-profile and relatively new private B-schools-the Indian School of Business and The great Lake Institute of Management, Chennai-use GMAT and CAT scores for admission and have preference for candidates with work experience. | | GUEST COLUMN/GAUTAM PURI | | | Managing Time
The IIM alumnus and head of Career Launcher has appeared for CAT since 1990s. He offers tips on how to prepare for the test.  The CAT is an aptitude test for would-be managers. Hence the paper merely simulates day-to-day situations that a manager tackles at work, like performing under pressure, managing tight deadlines, making quick decisions and tackling sudden changes. With only a few weeks left, here are some tips on how to prepare for the CAT.
Be selective: Stay away from learning any new concept at this stage and focus on knowing 100 per cent of whatever you know. Nobody can solve all the questions in 120 minutes. The time pressure is imposed just to see how an examinee handles it. Rather than trying to solve a question per minute, one needs to set a more realistic target. An attempt rate of 60 per cent is good enough. In CAT 2004, about 70 attempts with 85 per cent accuracy was a sure-shot success recipe. Time management: There is a minimum cut-off score in each section of CAT. So an excellent overall score may not result in an interview call if you neglect even one section. Preset the time limit for each section. A good selection of questions is important-tough-looking questions should be left alone without wasting any time. If you skip a question without spending more than 10 seconds on it, you would be ensuring that no easy question is left unseen. Do not attempt a question if you are unsure. Every question in CAT has a decision-making attached to it-do it or leave it. Practise: It is the time to benchmark yourself nationally by writing all-India mock CATs, which are conducted every Sunday. During the week, take a full-length CAT at home. Revise: Identify the types of questions that you are good at and revise them so well that chances of making mistakes in those types of questions are minimised. Reserve one day in a week for revision, and rest of the week for section-wise tests and ironing out deficiencies. Assess yourself: Mock exams are only means to an end. What's more important is analysing your performance in the test to identify your shortcomings, mistakes committed and ways of improving. Ignore your weak areas in this last lap and focus on your strengths. Be ready for change: A changed format is bad news for any test taker. But while the structure of CAT has changed thrice in the past five years, the kinds of questions have remained the same. Keep an open and flexible mindset and be prepared for any surprise. It is just an examination: Above all, remember that the CAT is only one of the roads to achieve your goals in life. Keeping this in mind is one of the most important preparations that one needs. | | If the creamy layer of the B-schools go by CAT, the tier II colleges rely on the Management Admission Test (MAT) conducted by the All India Management Association (AIMA). MAT is probably the only entrance test which is conducted four times a year-on the first Sunday of September, December, February and May. "This helps us cater to the different academic schedules of the B-schools that use MAT scores," says Wing Commander V.S. Bejoy, senior deputy director, AIMA. MAT scores are used by over 340 B-schools across the country to screen MBA students. Last year, over one lakh students took the MAT. | | B-SCHOOL ENTRANCE TEST READY RECKONER | | | CAT | | 1. Name of exam: Combined Admission Test | | 2. Date of exam: November 20, 2005 | | 3. Basic information about the exam: Sections: Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability; Time allotted: 120 minutes; Number of questions: Variable (123 in CAT 2004); Marks: 150; Negative marking: Yes (-1/3 of mark); Special sections: None | | 4. Qualifying cut-off for 2004: Above 55% | | 5. Personality test: Involves case study/GDs followed by interview | | EXPERTS' tips: Unpredictable, judges candidate's ability to adapt; good time management holds the key; sectional cut-off is critical as is overall score; pick out easy questions in test. |
| | FMS | | 1. Name of exam: FMS Admission Test | | 2. Date of exam: Not announced yet | | 3. Basic info about the exam: Sections: Problem Solving, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning and Critical Reasoning in Quantitative Aptitude and Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction and Analogies in Verbal Ability; Time allotted: 120 minutes; Number of questions: 175; Marks: 700; Negative marking: Yes (-1/4 of mark); Special section: None | | 4. Qualifying cut-off for 2004: Above 324-330 | | 5. Personality test: Extempore speaking and interview | | EXPERTS' TIPS: Only 90 seats, so take a few risks; unfamiliar words in Verbal Section; Quantitative Section lays stress on algebra, time; comprehensions are lengthy | | | XAT | | 1. Name of exam: Xavier's Admission Test | | 2. Date of exam: January 8, 2006 | | 3. Basic information about the exam: Sections: Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning and General Awareness; Time allotted: 120 minutes; Number of questions: 175; Marks: 150; Negative marking: Yes (-1/3 of mark); Special sections: Essay (20 minutes) | | 4. Qualifying cut-off for 2004: Above 70% | | 5. Personality test: Individual interview only | | EXPERTS' TIPS: Questions often repeated so go through past papers; tougher math than CAT; more questions on probability and permutation and combinations; section on general knowledge |
| | MAT | | 1. Name of exam: Management Admission Test | | 2. Date of exam: Four times a year; first Sunday of September, December, February and May. | | 3. Basic info about the exam: Sections: English usage, reading and comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Critical Reasoning and Indian and Global Awareness; Time allotted: 150 minutes; Number of questions: 200; Marks: 200; Negative marking: Yes (-1/4 of mark); Special sections: General Awareness | | 4. Personality test: Depends on institute to which one has applied | | EXPERTS' TIPS: Easiest of all MBA exams; stable and hence predictable papers; institutes not top of the rank so be choosy; to get into good college you should have a high score | | | JMET | | 1. Name of exam: Joint Management Entrance Test | | 2. Date of exam: December 11, 2005 | | 3. Basic information about the exam: Sections: Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning; Time allotted: 120 minutes; Number of questions: 150; Marks: 150;
Negative marking: Yes (-1/4 of mark);
Special sections: None | | 4. Qualifying cut-off for 2004: Above 70% | | 5. Personality test: Group discussion followed by interview | | EXPERTS' TIPS: Structured almost like CAT except for a few sections; math questions are tougher (first-year engineering level); emphasis on analytical reasoning more than in CAT |
| | IIFT | | 1. Name of exam: IIFT Entrance Test | | 2. Date of exam: November 27, 2005 | | 3. Basic information about the exam: Sections: Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning with no defined sectional cut-off; Time allotted: 120 minutes; Number of questions: 196; Marks: 200; Negative marking: Yes (-1/4 of mark); Special sections: General knowledge about business, current affairs | | 4. Qualifying cut-off for 2004: Above 45% | | 5. Personality test: Group discussion followed by interview | | EXPERTS' TIPS: Differential marks for each section so focus on sections with maximum weightage; do GK and vocab sections first; reasoning questions quite tough and time consuming | | | Index
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