When should I join the CAT Coaching classes?

Thousands of students ponder getting ready for the CAT ponder over and over again this one simple question: Should I join the CAT Coaching classes in November/December/January or after my exams in May/June? There is one simple, and best answer: Join Early. Let me explain why:

If you decide to join in May/June, and then realize that it was a bad decision you cannot correct the decision. You will either keep ruing your decision, or decide to take a serious attempt at CAT in the following year. Either ways, it is a loss.

On the other hand if you join your coaching classes early, and you are unhappy with the decision, you can always ask for a transfer to a batch starting in May/June. Most CAT Prep institutes that I know of won't charge you anything extra for this, and will be happy to accommodate this simple request of yours. The only thing you need to check out for is if there is a difference in the fee for students joining in Decemer as against someone joining in May. Generally, you will not find a difference in fee as the course content remains the same - the coaching institutes provide an accelerated programmes to students joining later. Even if there is a small difference, it is worth taking the risk - there is just too much at stake.

IIMs extend CAT deadline

The IIMs have extended the deadline for accepting up the CAT 2009 applications in view of the number of bank holidays in the first two weeks of October ( Gandhi Jayanti, Durga Puja, Eid, Dusshera). You can now submit your filled-up CAT forms till October 11th. The same new date is also applicable for the "edit" feature. Axis Bank will accept CAT applications till October 8th.

7 new IIMs to come up

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of 7 new IIMs (Indian Institute of Management - India's finest management schools). These are to be located in Tamil Nadu, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana and Jharkand. This will take up the total number of IIMs in the country to 14. Currently, the IIMs are located in Ahmedabad (Gujrat), Bangalore (Karnataka), Kolkata (West Bengal), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Kozhikode (Kerala) and the 7th and last one was established a couple of years back in the north-east in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.

Whike the J&K, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand IIMs will be set-up in the second phase while the others are slated to come up in the 2009-10 period and become functional for the academic year 2010-11. If that happens, that's very good news for students writing CAT 2009 as it opens up four new opportunities for them. India is woefully short on good business schools, driving a number of bright students to mediocre b-schools which have mushroomed round the country. Thankfully, at least a few more hundred of the brighter lot will get to receive quality education.

We just hope that the new IIMs won't be christened on the lines of the Rajiv Gandhi IIM in Shillong. Please leave them as just IIMs.