CAT, XAT Application: Students find MBA experience rewarding; take first step now!

If you are reading this article, you surely have some interest in MBA education, and are evaluating your options. You are perhaps working, or graduating from your college this year. So have you applied to CAT 2013 yet? Do you know that last date to apply for CAT is now just a few days away – Sep 26. And you can also apply to other key MBA exams like XAT, NMAT, SNAP now. But you may still be asking the question, why now, and why so many exams. This article will clarify your doubts.

Students find MBA experience rewarding
Let’s start with the most basic reason why you must apply to CAT, and other exams. Students who are studying at well known B-schools are quite satisfied with their MBA experience.

IIM-A student Mr Debjit Nag who scored 99.97 percentile in CAT 2012 and also secured final admission offers from 10 top B-schools including 9 IIMs and FMS Delhi, says that the kind of industry exposure one gets at top B-schools like IIMA is indeed a great value addition and learning opportunity for shaping up managerial skills. “I would like to say that MBA is really worth investing time and money if pursued from a top notch B-School of the country,” he says.

Sharing his three-month learning experience at an IIM, Mr Rohit Anand Garg who cracked CAT 2012 with an overall 99.16 percentile, says that “MBA develops one’s interpersonal skills and decision making capabilities. These skills become important when one is required to handle bigger responsibilities and lead a group in an organization.”

The B-schools environment also changes your perspective towards business and develops a thought process that leads you to land yourself successfully into corporate world or build your own business. 

“Before joining the institute I had a mindset that I would be joining the corporate world after completing my MBA, but now after spending some time at my B-school, my plans have changed and I am more inclined towards being an entrepreneur,” shares Mr Garg.

Ms Sumedha Deogharia who scored 99.35%ile in CAT 2012 and presently pursuing PGDIM at NITIE, Mumbai, says that “the best part of doing an MBA is that you get to meet and interact with a lot of people: your seniors, alums and people from the industry. You get to learn a lot from these people.”

  

CAT, the first step
So is getting into a top B-school is your dream, then take the first step by registering for key MBA exams. By taking one single exam CAT, you get admission opportunity at IIMs and more than 100 other B-schools who accept CAT scores like MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IMI New Delhi and so on. More details on this link.

http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/6965/
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/7058/

While you would have made up your mind to take the CAT test, you may be wondering why take other exams.

XAT, NMAT, SNAP expand your options
While admissions to IIMs are conduct through a Common Admission Test (CAT), XLRI conducts its own test – XAT, for admission to its management programmes. Similarly, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and Symbiosis International University (SIU) conduct NMAT and SNAP respectively for admissions to their management programmes. 

More exams offer you more option on a later stage when you start selecting B-schools you wish to apply. Your score cards of different MBA exams broaden your options for B-schools and offer a wide range of B-schools which you can apply for. Also, in case you don’t perform well in one exam, you will have other MBA exam score cards to rely on.

Different MBA exams bring you admission opportunities to different set of top B-schools. For example, apart from IIMs, your CAT score will make you eligible to apply to many other top B-schools like FMS Delhi, SPJIMR, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad amongst others. Similarly, XAT scores are also accepted by more than 100 B-schools in India including GIM, XIMB, BIMTECH, TAPMI and many other top B-schools.

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Toppers Mantra: Know D-day strategy from 99.95 percentiler Dushyant Agarwal

Mr Dushyant Agarwal scored 99.95 percentile in CAT and 98.83 percentile in XAT. Presently, an MDI Gurgaon student of PGP-IM (Post Graduate Programme in International Management), Dushyant was also offered admission at IMT Ghaziabad. The engineering graduate had a working experience of about two years before joining the programme at MDI. 

In this topper’s Mantra session, Dushyant shares his success strategies for CAT preparation and GD/PI. He also speaks on his question solving strategy on D-day and other tips for scoring high percentile in CAT.

Q: What was your sectional and overall percentile in CAT?

A:  My sectional percentile for QA-DI and VA-LR section was 99.94 and 98.8 respectively in CAT. The overall percentile was 99.95. My XAT percentile was 98.83.

Q: What was the change in your prep strategy during last 30 days to CAT? 
A: I started my preparation in early February 2012 and dedicated around 3 hours a day for studies. I completed the full syllabus a month well before the exam and thereafter I focused on appearing for online mock tests. I used to give mock tests on weekdays and during the weekends, I concentrated on revising the basics.

Q: Did you expect to get this much percentile after your CAT? How did you evaluate yourself on the basis of your mock test scores before CAT? 
A: I consistently scored in the range of 95-99 percentile during my mock tests so I was pretty positive for the final exam. I focused on continuing my preparation without getting overconfident. I performed well on the actual CAT testing day and was confident that I would score a high percentile, but 99.95 still came out as a surprise to me.

Q: How did you prepare yourself a day before the D-day (your CAT Test day)? 
A: I have a convention which I consistently follow during all my exams. I stopped studying 2 days before the final exam and allowed myself a lot of sleep and rest. I also tried to hang out with my friends. I believe this kept me positive during the exam.

Q: What was your question solving strategy on the CAT testing day? 
A: My strategy was simple just like most candidates. After looking at the question - I asked myself if it can be solved or not. If yes, I tried to do it as fast as I could and if not, I just marked the question and came back to it after solving all the other questions.

Q: What was the toughest & easiest section for you in CAT? What was your strategy to handle the difficult part? 
A: To be honest, I felt equally comfortable on both the sections but I worked harder in Verb Ability because I felt this was where more preparation was needed. I focused on solving Reading and Comprehension passages and para-jumbles because these constituted a large part of the section. My aim was to attempt all these questions at a 90-95% accuracy rate.

Q: One preparation area which influenced your selection to this Top B-school heavily. How? 
A: I feel one area that has really developed my personality is the general awareness. While preparing for my CAT exam, I made sure I was regularly reading Economic Times and other news articles. This did not only improve my vocabulary, but also helped me increase my awareness about the environment.

Q: Your long-term preparation strategy for GD/PI ?
A: I realized that scoring well in CAT exam was only a half job done. The other half was to score well in GD and PI to get into my dream college. I started my preparation for the same early August. I consistently read newspapers and attended mock GD and PI sessions. I also practiced on common GD topics by speaking loudly in front of the mirror almost every day. I feel it really helped me a lot, not just for selection in MDI, but also for my personal development.

Q: What was your biggest mistake during selection process beginning with CAT?
A: I prepared thoroughly for my GD and PI but I lacked the confidence during the final show at interview. I think this was a result of giving more importance to GD than PI during my preparation stage. I realized later that both are equally important.

Q: Your advice for CAT 2013 Aspirants 
A: Focus on both the sections because both are equally important. Giving online mock tests is very important because one can't improve the score unless one knows what went wrong in the paper. Finally, don't leave GD and PI preparation for the end; it should go along with the preparation of the written exam.

CAT Self Preparation@ Self Study Guide for CAT 2013

CAT 2013 exam has two sections namely; Quantitative Ability and Verbal ability.

Quant section also comprises of Data Interpretation while Verbal section is paired with Logical Reasoning.

Quantitative Ability:

The quantitative ability section of CAT tests you primarily on three areas -- Arithmetic , Algebra and  

Geometry . Even if you are weak in the section, you must ensure that you score enough marks that help clear the requisite cut off.

The new pattern of CAT offers time-bound sections of 70 minutes each. The quantitative ability area will have 20 questions and 10 questions will be asked from the data interpretation area. So, you need to plan accordingly.

Arithmetic:

Arithmetic is considered a weak area for many aspirants. Apart from algebra and geometry, arithmetic is the area from which the maximum number of questions comes in CAT.

Topics under arithmetic:-

The arithmetic area comprises averages, profit & loss, ratio and proportion, percentages, time, speed & distance, number systems, simple & compound interest, mixtures, progression, directions, etc.

Preparation strategy:-

Arithmetic is not only based on formulae, but can be identified with day-to-day life as well. You can relate many of the problems on profit & loss, percentage, time & distance, etc with your daily activity. If you are weak in arithmetic, take up one topic every day, revise the concepts and practice as many question as possible from that topic

Speed is an important factor in solving questions in arithmetic. The faster you can read all the questions and select the ones you think you should attempt; the better will be your chances of a good score.

Most CAT problems can be solved through multiple methods. So, make sure that you are not using long methods. Lastly, practice speed calculation for 20 minutes a day.

Algebra:

Algebra is all about formulae and knowing which formula will be appropriate for a particular problem

Topics under Algebra:-

The algebra section mainly consists of linear and quadratic equation, logarithm, progression, binomial theorem, inequalities, permutation & combination, probability, function, set theory, percentages, ratio proportion, profit & loss.

Preparation strategy:-

As algebra is mostly formula-driven word problems, you should be thorough with the basics and the formula first. As the first step of preparation, you must know all the formulae by heart. Take a topic at a time and solve more than 50 questions on it. This will put you in a good state.

Always make it a point to revise things that you have already covered, but do not exhaust yourself doing all these in the last few days

Algebra is meant to be tackled through answer choices. To choose the right option in the questions, you need to follow the process of elimination (POE). If you have a good grip over algebra, you can utilize the techniques such as assumption and substitution .

Geometry:

Most of the test takers are perturbed with the Geometry section.  It can be considered as a tough area for many, if you are not clear conceptually or do not know the right application methods.

Topics of Geometry:-

Geometry part consists of the topics such as Lines, Angles, Triangles, Polygons, Circles, Mensuration, Trigonometry and Co-ordinate Geometry. Equations (linear + Quadratic), Series & Sequences, functions, Triangles, Circles, are more important of these.

Preparation strategy for Geometry:-

Like every other section, improvement in geometry section depends on practice. Geometry is about shapes. The best way to handle Geometry is to draw the figure to scale and then visually analyze the problem.

One should focus only on geometry for a week. On Day 1, go through theorems on Triangles. On Day 2 and Day 3, solve all Geometry questions from study material first and then past CAT and XAT papers. Study the theorems on circles and polygons on Day 4. On Day 5, 6 and 7, solve all problems from circles and polygons

Books for Quantitative Ability :-

•     The NCERT Maths Books of Class 8 to 10

•   Any one of the following books by R.S. Agarwal: Objective Arithmetic, Mathematics for MBA, Quantitative Techniques

•     ‘How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT' by Arun Sharma

•     ‘The Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT' by Nishit Sinha

•     ‘Quantitative Aptitude for MBA Entrance Examinations' by Abhijit Guha 

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How mock tests helped 99.32 percentiler Apurv Jain to secure admission at FMS Delhi, IIMs?

Mr Apurv Jain scored an overall percentile of 99.32 in CAT 2012 and secured final admission offers form many IIM and other top B-schools like FMS-Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, MDI Gurgaon, SIBM Pune.

The engineering graduate who worked for two years with Deloitte Consulting India before joining 2-year full time MBA programme at FMS Delhi in 2013-15 batch, shares his key CAT preparation strategy in last 30 days and long-term strategy for GD/PI. In this Topper’s Mantra session, he advises CAT Aspirants to go for as much practice as possible. He also shares his experience on how mock CAT tests helped him enhance his performance and boost his confidence for the D-day.

Q: What was your sectional and overall score in CAT? Please also name some of the B-schools which made you final admission offer.
A: While my overall score in CAT 2012 was 99.32, the sectional score in QA & DI and VA & LR was 98.05 and 98.71 respectively.  I received final admission offers from many B-schools including IMT-G, MDI Gurgaon, SIBM Pune, IIM Trichy, IIM Udaipur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Rohtak.

Q: What was the change in your prep strategy during last 30 days to CAT?
A: My CAT preparation strategy for the last 30 days before CAT was to practice as much as I can from the previous CAT papers. In spite of the fact that the pattern has changed, I still feel that solving questions from the previous years’ papers helps understand the type of questions. I solved one CAT paper everyday and analyzed it after attempting it. I also revised the important questions and concepts that I had jotted down. Apart from it, I made it a point that I remained in practice with the reading comprehensions. 

  

Q: Did you expect to get this much percentile after your CAT? How did you evaluate yourself on the basis of your mock test scores before CAT? 
A: I was expecting a good score but getting a 99.32 was unexpected. I found QA section as my strength but to my utter surprise, I got a higher score of 98.71 percentile in the VA & LR section and 98.05 percentile in QA & DI section. During the mock tests I never got a comparable score in the VA & LR section but motivation to improve helped me increase my score. Mock Tests helps you analyze your preparation and judge yourself amongst the competition and also helps you to improve and overcome your weak areas.

Q: How did you prepare yourself a day before the D-day (your CAT Test day)? 
A: A day before CAT is only meant to relax. I only revised my notes for an hour that I had prepared over past few months. Apart from that, I tried to keep myself calm and stable because I think it is very important as you need to be afresh for the next day. I went out with my friends to hang out for some time to divert my mind and feel fresh. My suggestion is that aspirants should have confidence in their preparation and they should just relax the day before CAT. 

Q: What was your question solving strategy on the CAT testing day?
A: My strategy for QA & DI section was to first attempt the QA questions as it was my strength as compared to DI. I tried to attempt as many questions within first 40 minutes and marked questions that I thought I can do in second attempt.  After going through all the 30 questions of the section, I went back to attempt the marked questions. This helped me maximize my score within the stipulated time. For VA & LR section, I attempted LR questions first and then VA questions following the same strategy as for the first section.

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