This is a question that we get asked frequently, more so this year given last year’s tough DI-LR section. One place where you can get more SimCAT-level questions whose level of difficulty is quantified is in a book called CAT 500. This is a book that we publish every year with new questions across all areas and classifed topic-wise. The USP of this book is that the questions are selected based on actual SimCAT data.
Now that the notification is out and the CAT is out of the bag, a lot of test-takers have begun their preparation in all earnestness. It is a huge relief to know that the pattern is going to remain the same. For test-takers taking the CAT for the first or second time it might not seem like a big deal but for those such as yours truly it is in fact a really big deal. If I am not wrong this is only the second or third time that the CAT pattern has remained absolutely unchanged (the two or three times being since the test went computer-based in 2009). One of the reasons for me taking the CAT every year has been the novelty factor — what’s new this time, what new question types have they come up with, how does the relative difficulty level of this year compare with the previous one etc. Now that test-takers have gone into the serious-prep mode, the big question that I get asked or not asked is — …
Apart from the — how many questions should I answer to score a 99 percentile on the CAT — question, one of the questions that I get asked to answer most frequently both from my students as well as people on Quora is the one that is more or less framed as follows: I have X% in X , Y% in XII and Z% in GRAD, will I get a call from the IIMs? Given that this is such a popular question, I think it is time to dedicate a post to the same.
Now that the first round results of almost all the b-schools are out, we get regular queries about which b-schools to join. There is rarely any confusion about A, B and C but after that it seems as if aspirants are having a lot of trouble choosing between the IIMs L, I and K and other top b-schools such as FMS, XLRI, MDI and others. How does one go about making the right choice between the IIMs and other top schools? One of the terms thrown around a lot these days is ROI.
Exceptionally good at cricket analysis — this is the phrase that can go into most Indian resumes (football fans though burgeoning are still a minority) and so it is not a surprise that in the aftermath of India’s loss in the WT20 semi-final to the Windies, we have seen a wide range of explanations being offered for the same, the most commonplace ones being the two no-balls and the dew factor. While it is not important to come up with right answer to this question, taking a look at the way we analyze a failure can have a huge impact on our chances for future success. This is where the relevance kicks in for those looking at a CAT retake in 2016.
As most of you would know, over the past few years, the GRE has begun gaining acceptance as a test that can be used by business schools to evaluate potential applicants, with quite a few international b-schools now accepting the GRE along with the GMAT. Reflecting this trend, one of India’s premier business schools, Indian School of Business (ISB) has announced that it is going to accept the GRE as well for its Young Leaders Program.
The IIM-A process involves an AWT as opposed to the WAT. The best way to understand the difference is to view the two as the two essays that the GMAT had earlier – Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an Argument.
It might seem like an unlikely choice to consider in the aftermath of an unsatisfactory CAT but the GRE and the MS is possibly the one of the most under-rated career choices. One of the reasons for this is the false dichotomy that we buy into — MS or MBA, Techie or Manager. Let delve a bit more into the GRE and MS as a career option and what it means after your Plan A — an MBA.
Over the past four weeks I have been extremely tied-up doing WAT-GD-PI sessions for our students here in Chennai, which explains why the posts have become sporadic. Now that we are done with the Achievers Workshop here in Chennai there is more breathing space to do some writing. The IIM interview season has already started and aspirants would be trying to get as much insights as they can right from how to dress for the interview to how to reduce India fiscal deficit without affecting our growth! Amidst all of this clutter how does go in with the right perspective? What is the state of mind with which one should approach an interview? How you approach an interview will make all the difference.
All b-schools seem to be falling over each other in trying to pose questions or set tasks for call-getters or potential call-getters via their forms that are really unique. Gone are the simple what are your career goals or one incident where you demonstrated leadership skills; the new breed of questions are taking it to a different level altogether. A case in point is the latest set of questions that XLRI call-getters are supposed to fill.
The CAT Writer 