For the past few years,
the number of CAT applications has undergone a gradual dip. The trend
has created much ripple amongst the MBA educators from IIMs as well as
the top private B-schools. The question that encounters their mind time
and again is, ‘is the MBA dream receding amongst the youngsters of
India?’ Or has the number attained certain stability? This might be
directly proportional to the job scenario in the country.
Let us have a look at the number of registrations at CAT over the past three years:
Year
|
Total Number of CAT Registrations
|
CAT 2011
|
2.05 lakh
|
CAT 2010
|
2.04 lakh
|
CAT 2009
|
2.41 lakh
|
CAT 2008
|
2.46 lakh
|
Source: IIMs
With CAT 2012 exam registrations to start in a week, MBAUniverse.com raised the question, “Will CAT 2012 see a rise in applications?” We reached out to the CAT Convenors of the past three years and the directors of the top B-schools in India which accept CAT scores for their admission process.
The CAT Convenors are of the view that the number of MBA aspirants who apply for CAT exam has reached a stable point. They don’t expect a sea change in the numbers but are optimistic that the numbers won’t see a further dip as well.
The current Convenor of CAT 2012, Prof. SSS Kumar believes that the number of CAT takers has now reached a point of stability and the educators should respect the fact rather than expecting a sudden surge in numbers. In an exclusive interview with MBAUniverse.com, Prof. Kumar mentioned, “I feel number of test takers is not something like earnings numbers of corporate and expect a secular growth. I guess the number of aspirants stabilized and we should respect the aspirations of the next generation.”
Dr. Janakiraman Moorthy, CAT 2011 Convenor is, however, optimistic about the rise in numbers but also maintains that there has been stability in the number of CAT applicants over the years. “I am expecting stability or slight growth. I have a strong belief that most of the economies will be on the recovery and growth path by the time the current aspirants hit the market and it is likely to be more positive.”
According to the CAT Convenors, the improvement in the job market can get things back on the track. However, nothing is lost as it has reached a stable phase.
Prof. Himanshu Rai, CAT 2010 Convenor says, “I expect similar numbers till the job market picks up across the country and across the globe.”
With CAT 2012 exam registrations to start in a week, MBAUniverse.com raised the question, “Will CAT 2012 see a rise in applications?” We reached out to the CAT Convenors of the past three years and the directors of the top B-schools in India which accept CAT scores for their admission process.
The CAT Convenors are of the view that the number of MBA aspirants who apply for CAT exam has reached a stable point. They don’t expect a sea change in the numbers but are optimistic that the numbers won’t see a further dip as well.
The current Convenor of CAT 2012, Prof. SSS Kumar believes that the number of CAT takers has now reached a point of stability and the educators should respect the fact rather than expecting a sudden surge in numbers. In an exclusive interview with MBAUniverse.com, Prof. Kumar mentioned, “I feel number of test takers is not something like earnings numbers of corporate and expect a secular growth. I guess the number of aspirants stabilized and we should respect the aspirations of the next generation.”
Dr. Janakiraman Moorthy, CAT 2011 Convenor is, however, optimistic about the rise in numbers but also maintains that there has been stability in the number of CAT applicants over the years. “I am expecting stability or slight growth. I have a strong belief that most of the economies will be on the recovery and growth path by the time the current aspirants hit the market and it is likely to be more positive.”
According to the CAT Convenors, the improvement in the job market can get things back on the track. However, nothing is lost as it has reached a stable phase.
Prof. Himanshu Rai, CAT 2010 Convenor says, “I expect similar numbers till the job market picks up across the country and across the globe.”
The Directors are
optimistic that the number of CAT registrations will rise this year. Dr.
S K Jain, Dean, Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi says, “I am
hopeful that the number of CAT 2012 registrations will increase. There
are 13 functional IIMs which improves their chances to study in IIMs.
Since last year, respectable institutes like IITs, NITs and FMS have
also started accepting CAT scores. There are many more B-schools which
would accept CAT 2012 scores which open a plethora of worthy options for
the aspirants. Hence I believe that there should be a rise in the CAT 2012 applications.”
Dr. Brahm Prakash Pethiya, Director, IFIM Business School Bangalore shared similar thoughts. He mentions, “The rise in the number of IIMs as well as the number of seats in the old IIMs must be enough confidence boosters for the MBA aspirants to take CAT 2012. Moreover, the cut offs of the new IIMs are not very high which makes it easier for the test takers to get the call.”
Sharing his view on the reason for the dip in number of registrations, Dr. Pethiya opines, “A large part of the CAT takers are from small towns and for they are not comfortable with the computer based CAT format due to lack of enough resources.”
While CAT registration numbers is gradually dipping, the applications in the top B-schools are not affected much. As Dr. R Sesha Iyer, Director, SPJIMR Mumbai states, “The dip in the number of registrations is not very high. Hence it is not much of concern for us. Moreover, the number of applications at SPJIMR has seen a steady rise over the years which bear the proof that the number of quality MBA aspirants has not reduced.”
IIM Kozhikode has announced the dates of the CAT 2012 on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The exam will be conducted from Thursday, October 11, 2012 to Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The registration process for CAT 2012 will start from Monday, July 30, 2012 and will go on till Wednesday, September 19, 2012.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on CAT 2012.
Dr. Brahm Prakash Pethiya, Director, IFIM Business School Bangalore shared similar thoughts. He mentions, “The rise in the number of IIMs as well as the number of seats in the old IIMs must be enough confidence boosters for the MBA aspirants to take CAT 2012. Moreover, the cut offs of the new IIMs are not very high which makes it easier for the test takers to get the call.”
Sharing his view on the reason for the dip in number of registrations, Dr. Pethiya opines, “A large part of the CAT takers are from small towns and for they are not comfortable with the computer based CAT format due to lack of enough resources.”
While CAT registration numbers is gradually dipping, the applications in the top B-schools are not affected much. As Dr. R Sesha Iyer, Director, SPJIMR Mumbai states, “The dip in the number of registrations is not very high. Hence it is not much of concern for us. Moreover, the number of applications at SPJIMR has seen a steady rise over the years which bear the proof that the number of quality MBA aspirants has not reduced.”
IIM Kozhikode has announced the dates of the CAT 2012 on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The exam will be conducted from Thursday, October 11, 2012 to Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The registration process for CAT 2012 will start from Monday, July 30, 2012 and will go on till Wednesday, September 19, 2012.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on CAT 2012.
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