CAT ME IF YOU CAN

Top 10 Business Schools in India

2010-09-04T12:55:00.001+05:30

Frustrated seeing the names of some unscrupulous business schools in the list of top B-Schools published by various magazines and newspapers?

Click here to check out an unbiased, honest ranking of India's Best Business Schools.

IIM Shillong Shortlist | CAT 2009

2010-02-28T16:17:00.002+05:30

Want to check if you have been shortlisted by IIM Shillong?

Click here for complete list of CAT Registration Numbers of candidates shortlisted by IIM Shillong for GD/PI

CAT 2009 Results | IIM Shillong, Ahmedabad Shortlist

2010-02-28T15:16:00.005+05:30

Finally, after much delay, the results of CAT 2009 are beginning to trickle in. Two of the IIMs - IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Shillong have announced the CAT registration numbers of candidates who have been shortlisted for the next round - GD and PI. Students can now check with the IIM websites to see if they have been shortlisted for these two premier institutes.

The other IIMs are yet to announce the shortlist, but we can expect the other IIMs to announce the shortlists in the next few days now.

For complete list of CAT Registration numbers of candidates shortlisted by IIM Shillong, click here.

When should I join the CAT Coaching classes?

2009-11-19T13:43:00.003+05:30

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

2009-10-06T23:49:00.002+05:30

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

2009-09-05T14:29:00.002+05:30

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.

3 Tips for CAT/ MBA / B-School Aspirants

2009-08-28T01:54:00.005+05:30

This is a list of tips/advise/suggestions I have drawn up based on my own experience - both while I was a student preparing for the CAT as well as the years at IMS where my job brought me into direct interaction with hundreds of MBA aspirants. Some of these might not apply to you directly, and if that is so, ignore them - please don't try to find convoluted ways to connect them with yourself or your experiences.

1. "I am not IIM Material" - Thousands of students, every year, for one reason or the other manage to convince themselves and more unfortunately, many others that they are not "IIM material". For god's sake, please understand that there is no such thing as "IIM material". The worst thing which happens when you make this decision is not that you don't make it to one of the IIMs but that you will end up in a B-School not even remotely as good. Leo Burnett, the famous ad man once said that "When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get there, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either". So aim for the IIMs - even if you don't make it to India's best Business School, at least you will not end up in one of those fake b-shops.

2. "I am not good at Maths" - The CAT, MAT and most of the other Business School Admission Tests are designed to test your aptitude for a career in management, not your maths acumen. Yes, if you are good at Mathematics it will help. But the vice-versa is not necessarily true. A few of the questions in the CAT might require a high level of mathematical acumen, but then you need to get less than half the answers right to make it through, don't you? With sufficient preparation, you can crack enough of the questions in the Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section that can help you sail through. Remember that not every IITian who writes the CAT makes it to the IIM - they do better than others because these guys are good, diligent students - else they would not have been at the IIT. So please don't let the 'maths' thing discourage you.

3. "I shouldn't waste another year preparing for the CAT" - Didn't make it to a top B-School in CAT 2008, gave up, and joined a mediocre B-School because he/she didn't want to waste another year preparing for CAT 2009.

I don't have any empirical data handy to substantiate what I am about to say so I would recommend you cross-check this fact with a few veterans.

"Students rewriting the CAT have a higher chance of making it to an IIM than those writing the CAT for the first time." We are all human beings, and we make mistakes, more when we are trying to do something for the first time. We make fewer mistakes the next time because we have learnt our lessons. Even a maestro like Tendulkar took a few years to sort himself out before he reached the peak performance level. There are a few lessons that you will learn while writing the actual CAT that you will never learn no matter how many mock CATs you write.

And as for the idea of "wasting a year", it's the most stupid thought that should have ever occurred to you. Please understand that the kind of B-School you will graduate from will very likely decide the quality of the rest of your life. If by "wasting a year" you can greatly enhance how you are going to spend the next 40-60 years, then it's not wasting but "investing a year".

Create a secure campus

2009-02-16T12:20:00.003+05:30

For a parent, nothing is more important than the security of his child. If you are running a school or any other educational institution, it is imperative that you put the best security system in place to ensure the safety of your students, and give parents the peace of mind with the feeling that his child is not just getting the quality education that he seeks for it,but is doing so in a safe environment.

ADT is America's no.1 security company and it has been the leader in education security solutions for over a hundred years now, and today, protects thousands of educational institutes - ranging from schools to whole universities. Schools, Universities and educational institutes face a unique security challenge and need to provide a safe environment to its students within the budgetary constraints. ADT understands the specific challenges and risks that educational institutes face in this regard, and therefore is in the best position to provide these solutions. For over 131 years, ADT has been the most respected name in the business of security. Using ADT's security products, you can be assured that the parents will be reassured that their wards are getting quality security and safety.

Learn A New Language

2008-12-27T18:13:00.002+05:30

It's the age of global placements - you might be studying at IIM Ahmedabad but may end up taking up a job with a Spanish MNC. In such a scenario, if you can learn Spanish beforehand, itre can truly add vital value to your resume making it that much more attractive for potential recruiters.

Transparent Language is one of the world's leading providers of language learning softwares for individual learners as well as instiutions. More than 12,000 schools and colleges (USA) already use products from Transparent. And for good reason - while English has been and is still the world's dominant language of business, a good number of students are finding out that the knowledge of an additional language helps. Chinese, for example is fast gaining popularity because of the rise of China and its increasing clout over the world economy. If you want to do business with the Chinese, it makes a lot of sense then, to learn Chinese . You would stand a much better chance of effectively communicating with the business heads in Beijing, and which corporate house would not like to recruit an executive who can speak fluent Mandarin, or even understand it.

Check out the Transparent website and start with exploring their free resources - maybe you can get initiated by playing 'language games'. For instance, if your objective is to learn Italian, you can begin by checking out the 'Italian Games and Learning' section. Word Seek, for example, is a fun way to build up your Italian vocabulary.

There is lots more - if you are keen, head out to the Transparent site - spend a few minutes exploring the various offerings and features, and take it further from there.

CAT 2008 Cut Offs - Overall & Sectional Cut-Offs

2008-11-16T23:58:00.000+05:30

Expected Sectional Cut Offs for CAT 2008

Quant Section - Likely Cut Off: 33-34
Verbal Section - Likely Cut Off: 47-48
DI Section - Likely Cut Off: 29-30

Overall Cut Off for CAT 2008

You can expect an IIM call at a cut-off point of 125 or more, provided you also meet the sectional cut-offs. CAT 2008 candidates with a good academic + work-ex background can expect calls at slightly lower scores in the CAT.

* These are only predicted scores, and the actual cut offs as decided by the individual IIMs may differ, though unlikely to differ by a great margin.

Last Minute Tips for CAT 2008

2008-11-13T09:53:00.000+05:30

All ready for the big day? CAT 2008 is less than 72 hours away, and with so much at stake, and the immense competition to face, you might fancy this handy tips - nothing great or earth-shattering about them, but helpful nonetheless.

1. Tell yourself that you can always write CAT 2009 or GMAT or that there is XAT 2009 to follow - it will reduce the pressure, the last thing you want to do is to crumble because of the sheer pressure that you exert upon yourself.

2. If there are sudden surprises, don't panic - Remember that the changes are not for you alone, each one of the about 3 lakh students writing the CAT 2008 will face the same changes. The few thousand who will cope best with the sudden challenges will be the ones getting the calls from the IIMs - give yourself a minute to think over, don't rush into things - plan it out.

[ Note: If there are sudden changes or the paper is abnormally tough, the IIM cut-off as well as other b-school cut-offs are likely to dip. ]

3. If you have been employing a certain way of going about handling the Mock CATs for the last few months and that way has been working for you, don't give up on it suddenly. What has worked for a few months and many times over should work today as well.

4. If you are from an English-medium/convent background, or have been good at English otherwise, listen to your gut-feel in 'Verbal/RC'. Don't forget that you have been a student of the language for over 14-15 years now, and chances are that your 'gut is giving you the right feeling'.

Don't overdo Point no.4 or if you are happy ignoring this point, that is okay.

5. No one knows the cut-off while writing the CAT. The previous cut-off are at best an indicator, which may or may not mean anything. So don't keep chasing an 'unknown' number. Therefore -

"Read the Instructions Carefully" - If it says like it always does, then allott approximately equal time to all sections. If there are some major or minor changes in the instructions, give yourself a minute or two to formulate a plan to go about writing the CAT 2008. Believe me, it will be a minute worth spend.

All the very best,

MICA Admission Cut Offs | CAT 2008 | GMAT

2008-11-01T02:46:00.000+05:30

For years it has been a suspense as to what the cut off for Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA) is - whether it's 80 percentile or 85 or 95? God knows how many times I have been queried about the sectional cut-off requirement for MICA. "Does MICA only check your Verbal Score?", somebody would ask. Yet others wondered if MICA had any sectional cut-off in the CAT for quant or DI or not. The suspsense is now over, and officially so.

MICA CAT Cut Off for Admission to the 2009 - 2011 PGDCM batch

MICA will shortlist candidates for the MICAT, Group Exercise (MICA holds GE instead of a GD) and the Personal Interview on the basis of their performance in the Common Admission Test ( CAT 2008 ) - Overall CAT 2008 Percentile cut off will be 90 and they will need a minimum sectional cut offs of 50 percentiles in both Quant and DI sections in the CAT. In the Verbal (VA) section that comprises Grammar, Language and Reading Comprehension, MICA aspirants will need to clear a minimum cut-off level of 60 percentile.

MICA GMAT Cut Off for Admission to the 2009 - 2011 PGDCM batch

A minimum GMAT score of 600 obtained on or after 1st January 2007

MICA aspirants can hence write either the CAT 2008 or the GMAT to get a call for the second round of the admission procedure. Unlike last year, MICA has removed XAT from its list of written test options.

Another Change in MICA Admission Process:

Unlike the previous years when all shortlisted candidates were called for the MICAT, Group Exercise/GD and Personal Interview, the 2009 - 11 admission process will be 3-stepped. Candidates shortlisted from CAT 2008 and GMAT will first write the MICAT, and only the candidates further shortlisted will be called for the Group Exercise and Personal Interview.

IIM CAT 2008: Number of Applicants Up by 25%

2008-10-01T15:21:00.001+05:30

You may not yet have realized that the downturn in the US economy may have a more direct bearing on you - it reduces your chances of making it to the IIMs. With the number of jobs in the markets drying up, the beeline at the B Schools has increased tremendously.

Compared to the 2,30,000 applications received in CAT (Common Admission Test) 2007, the number of applications for the 2009-11 sessions have increased by a whopping 60,000 to reach to a figure just under 3 lakhs. Last year, there was at least one new IIM in the form of Shillong to cheer things up.

In terms of mathematical probability, an IIM aspirant this year stands a meagre chance of about 0.6 % of making it to one of the seven IIMs (including the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong and the additional increase of about 200 seats across the various IIMs). Delhi has now firmly established itself as the MBA Entrance hub of the country; IIM Lucknow which receives applications from Delhi candidates has been flooded with over 62,000 applications.

CAT Year	No. of Applications
2009	2.9 Lakhs
2008	2.3 Lakhs
2007	1.9 Lakhs

However there are about 15,000 seats on offer at the many non-IIM b schools that accept CAT scores. Only a handful of them - MDI, MICA and a few more are any good and not much can be said about the others.
For a list of the non-IIM b-schools that are accepting CAT scores, you can click here.

It will be interesting to watch this trend next year if the Common Admission Test does indeed go online.

What's your dream B-School?

2008-09-10T12:18:00.000+05:30

You must have noticed the 'Dream B-School' poll on this blog some time or the other in the last few months. Already 1164 votes have been polled and we have decided to finally close the poll now, as we have arrived at a very unambiguous conclusion.

B-School

No. of Votes

IIMs

584

MICA

MDI

FMS

106

GIM (Goa)

XLRI

136

TISS

Other Indian

B-School Abroad

Total Votes Polled

1164

No surprises at all at no.1 - the IIMs are definitely India's most popular B-Schools. Little wonder that the number of CAT takers is now swelling to close to the 3 lakh figure. XLRI Jamshedpur was ranked no.2 in our poll with 136 votes. FMS was not far behind, ranked at no.3 with 106 votes.

The two specialized B-Schools, MICA and TISS together garnered over 12% of the total votes indicating a huge marketing for specialized Business Schools. 28 MBA aspirants showed their keenness to do their studies from GIM, Goa. Located on the beautiful Mandovi, the Goa Institute of Management is the most picturesque of the Indian B-Schools, and the ideal place to mix partying and studying. What was the most surprising was the lack of interest shown in overseas B-Schools. Less than 5% of the voters said they want to study abroad; an indication of the student community's faith in the booming Indian economy. But given a choice between Harvard and IIM Ahmedabad, will they prefer the Indian school? I have my doubts there.

XAT 2009: Reach XLRI in 5 simple steps

2008-09-09T13:05:00.000+05:30

How to obtain the XAT bulletin?
- Available at select branches of AXIS Bank on payment of Rs.800 ( 121 branches in all, how select depends on where you are - 3 options for the whole of north-east, 7 for Delhi alone. )
- If the select branch is not close enough, you need to make a draft in favour of "XLRI Jamshedpur A/c XAT" and send it to XLRI Jamshedpur.

Next steps:
1. Go to the XLRI website and fill in the online XAT form. You need to fill in basic details like the XAT bulletin no, AXIS Bank Branch Name, your personal info and you will be immediately issued your XAT ID and password. In case you just have a draft with you, you will be required to fill in the draft number, date and personal info.
2. You need to further furnish details of your applications to the other XAT associate B-Schools and once you do this, you can proceed to take a printout of the XAT Payment Advice cum Photo Form ( lovingly referred to by the XLRI as the XAT PP form)
3. Fill in the details asked for in the XAT PP form and since the second P is for photo, you will obviously need to stick one onto the form in the designated box provided. ( this b-school guys are not too emotional types, so no point in getting all nostalgic and sending that cute pic of yours when you were only 10; they deserve much less - send a boring looking recent pic)
4. Remember your visit to the Axis Bank? Let's hope you have retained those pay-in slips. (If not, wait for my post on the IIFT entrance.) Take out the 3rd slip ( I can bet a 1000$ at least half the guys confirm it with a friend/mom/sister as to which one is the 3rd slip, here is a hint: it's the one that's immediately after the 2nd slip) and put it in the special envelope given to you by the Axis bank guy. Don't forget to also insert into the envelope the lovely looking XAT PP. For those of you unlucky ones, far removed from an Axis Bank, please insert the draft instead of the pay-in slip.
5. This is the most crucial step, the one step that will finally bring you in direct contact with your dream b-school - Post that envelope. Let me add that the XLRI guys are not as uncaring as the IIM ones, in case you are late, you don't have to be dependent on the sarkari Speed Post only. You are even allowed to courier your application - wow, isn't it?!

******
The XAT is India's second most premier MBA Entrance Test after the CAT. Organized by the XLRI Jamshedpur, the exam serves as the entrance exam for various other B-Schools in India including SP Jain (Mumbai), Alliance Business Academy (Bangalore), Goa Institue of Management (Goa), Welingkar (Mumbai) and XIM (Bhubaneshwar).

XLRI has announced the dates and registration process for XAT 2009 ( for admissions to the 2009-2011 MBA programmes). Here are the important details:

XAT - Exam Date & Time:
Sunday, 4th January 2009, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

XAT Test Centres:
Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Behrampur, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Goa, Gurgaon, Gauhati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Noida, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Rourkela, Trivandrum

Last Date for receiving the application:
5th December 2008

CATch 'em if you can

2008-09-07T13:14:00.001+05:30

You might find this piece on a topic a bit deviated from the regular 'cat' and 'gmat' stuff, but then only four months from now I am getting married! Confused? Well, let me clarify.

Her name is Sashi and she happens to be a lawyer. Till a few months back, she was as interested in the management world as I was in the legal but things have changed dramatically in the past twelve weeks. Today, she knows what the 4 P's of marketing are and fancy sounding words like mandamus and habeas corpus are already enriching my vocabulary. And me being me, a google fanatic, I have started scouring for more and more info on her world. That's how I landed at the doors of an 108 year old institute called Rasmussen.

Remember the dramatic call- to- action line in those Army recruitment ads : "Do you have it in you?". Rasmussen's online criminal justice degree programme tries to raise a similar emotion in you - "There's no higher calling than keeping America’s streets safe." This degree programme can be your starting point for an exciting career in crime management in the US. You can go on to work as a Police Officer, Correctional Officer, Customs officer and in other similar areas .The programme can be completed either in the classroom or through a blending learning programme wherein there is a mix of online and offline classes.

Rasmussen College's School of Justice Studies ' programmes delve into several different aspects of the legal process. With a degree in criminal justice from this premier school, you can aspire to reach the top in your field of work. Besides this programme, there are a variety of different course to select from, depending on your areas of interest. For instance, if you love lawyers (like I do) and wish to be close to a lawyer always, you can look at the Paralegal Associates' Programme from their paralegal school minnesota. Of course, there is always a possibility that you don't want to be as close to lawyers as I want to be, or you may simply not be in Minnesota. Not to worry, just hop over to their website and you will find lots else to opt from, or simply call toll free: (888) 5-Rasmussen.

Institute Strengths/Good Points:
- 108 years of experience (yes, they began operations as way back as 1900, this month - September),
- flexible scheduling enables you to create a fit with your work life,
- Personalized Support.
- Another thing I quite liked is their easily navigable website, with highly relevant and easy to understand content.

CAT 2009 will be online...well..

2008-09-05T16:17:00.001+05:30

Will the CAT 2009 go online or will it not? The debate has been raging for almost a year now, and we are as near to a definite answer as we were then - only the pendulum keeps swinging, from one side to the other.

The latest swing seems to be in favour of the "CAT will go online from next year". Latest media reports suggest that the IIMs, " which had rolled out the process for inviting tenders from various companies for conducting CAT have already shortlisted four companies." (source: Mint, 5th September)

Notice that this by itself doesn't really indicate much about the nature of the testing method itself. What it does indicate is that the IIMs are seriously considering outsourcing CAT. However the nature of the organisations that have been shortlisted does point clearly in the direction of a computer based CAT.

The companies which have been shortlisted are
1. ETS Prometric ( have handled GMAT before)
2. Eduquity Ventures ( conducts the BITSAT)
3. Attest (An Aptech concern, it is into computer aided assessment. But it also manages traditional paper and pencil tests)
4. Pearson VUE (Virtual University Enterprises) - (they are into computer based testing solutions)

A few months back the IIMs had officially denied that a decision had been made to make the CAT a computer based test (CBT), much like the GMAT , from 2009. What they did say was that the IIMs were exploring alternatives to the traditional testing method. This official denial was prompted by media reports and statements by various CAT coaching institutes that the test was indeed going online from next year. Even then it had all started with the news of the IIMs inviting tenders from interested parties for conducting the CAT.

Once again there is no confirmation or denial from any authority at the IIMs though the Mint report does include anonymous comments from an IIM official. Well, you can never be sure about that - whether it is truly an anonymous IIM official or the creative imagination of a journalist!

Watch this space for more.

****
post-script:
An online CAT doesn't mean a internet based test. It is actually a misnomer in that sense. What will likely happen is that the CAT will actually become CAT, which expanded means Computer Adaptive Test vis-a-vis GMAT.

List of non-IIM B-Schools accepting CAT 2008 scores - II

2008-08-17T15:55:00.001+05:30

For the List 1 of non IIM B-Schools accepting CAT 2008 scores, click here.

19.Delhi School of Professional Studies & Research
9, Institutional Area
Sector-25, Rohini
Delhi – 110085
Phone: 011-27062290

20.Department of Business Management
Punjab Agricultural University
Ludhiana – 141004
Phone: 0161-2401960-79

( The Punjab Agricultural University offers an MBA in Agri Business Management. Established in 1962, the University campus is spread across 580 hectares, and the no. of faculty members exceed 800 in number. Source: official website of the University)

21.Department of Management Studies
Indian School of Mines University (ISM Dhanbad)
Dhanbad – 826004
Phone: 0326-2296631

22.Dr.GaurHari Singhania institute of Management & Research
Jaykaylon colony
Kamla Nagar
Kanpur – 208005
Phone: 0512-2231417, 2232444

23.Department of Business Management
University of Calcutta
1, Reformatory street
Kolkata – 700027
Phone: 033-24499418

24. Department of Commerce, University of Calcutta
87/1, College Street
Kolkata – 700073
Phone: 033-22410071-74

25. Department of Management Studies,
Pondicherry University
R V Nagar
Puducherry – 605014
Phone: 0413-2655244

26.EMPI Business School
P.O CSKM Educational Complex
Satbari, Chattarpur
New Delhi – 110074
Phone: 011-26654422

27. EMPI’s Ajot Haksar Institute of Advertising, Communication & Marketing (AdCoM)
P.O CSKM Educational Complex
Satbari, Chattarpur
New Delhi – 10074
Phone: 011-26652373/2375/3927

28.Enterpreneurship Development Institute of India
Near Village Bhat
Via Ahmedabad Airport & Indira Bridge, Bhat P.O.
Gandhinagar – 382428
Phone: 079-23969163

29. Faculty of Management Studies
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi – 221005
Phone: 0542-2307430/31

( The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in 1916 and has for years been one of India's premier seat of learning.

The students to MBA/MIBA programmes at BHU are admitted through CAT conducted by the IIMs. Taking cognizance of its expertise and deep commitment to learning, the Faculty has been identified as one of the five Quality Improvement Programme Centres by the AICTE for developing and updating the teachers of management institutions of the country. )

30.Fortune Institute of International Business
Plot No. 5, Vasant Gaon
Opp. Army R R Hispital, Rao Tula Ram Marg
New Delhi – 110057
Phone: 011-26144319-20

31.Fore School of Management
B-18, Qutab Institutional Area
New Delhi – 110016
Phone: 011-41242424/26863396

32.Galgotias Business school
1, Knowledge Park, Phase II
Greater Noida – 201306
Phone: 0120-3272004, 3256832

33.Globsyn Business School
XI – 11 & 12, Block–EP
Sector-V, Salt Lake Electronics Complex
Kolkata – 700091
Phone: 033-40003600, 23573610-12

34.Graduate School of Business & Administration
Plot No-HS-02, Block-F
Sector Alpha-02
Greater Noida (NCR) – 201308
Phone: 0120-2320521-524

35.Haryana School of Business
Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology
Hisar – 125001
Phone: 01662-263111/263182

36.IFIM Business School
No.8P & 9P, KIADB Industrial Area
Electronics City, I Phase
Bangalote – 560100
Phone: 080-41432888

37.IILM Institute for Higher Education
DLF Golf Course Road, Opp. Suncity
Gurgaon
Phone: 0124-4559300

38.Indian Business Academy
Lakshmipura, Thataguni Post
Kanakapura Main Road
Bangalore – 560062
Phone: 080-32961373

39.Indian Institute of Forest Management
Post Box No. 357
Nehru Nagar
Bhopal – 462003
Phone: 0755-2775716/2773799

40.IEC Business School
Plot No.4, K.P-1
Greater Noida
Phone: 0120-2326537, 2326665

41.IILM Graduate School of Management
16, Knowledge Park-II
Greater Noida – 201306
Phone: 0120-4029318/4029300

42.IMRT Business School
Management Park, Vipul Khand-6
Gomti Nagar
Lucknow – 226010
Phone: 0522-4066823,3206771

43.Indian Institute of Finance
Post Box 8486
Ashok Vihar-II
Delhi – 110052
Phone: 011-27451212

44.Indian Institute of Information Technology
Deoghat, Jhalwa
Allahabad – 211012
Phone: 0532-2430006, 0539-2922178

45.Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
Management House
College Square (West)
Kolkata – 700073
Phone: 033-22191684/22418694

46.Institute of Engineering & Management
Salt Lake Electronics Complex
Calcutta – 700091
Phone: 033-23578189/8908

47.Institute of Management Development & Research
DES Campus
Deccan Gymkhana
Pune – 411004
Phone: 020-25653186/25652754

48.Institute of Management Sciences
University of Lucknow
Lucknow – 226021
Phone: 0522-2740412, 2741012

49.Institute of Management Technology-Nagpur
35 KM Milestone, Mouza Dorli
Katol Road
Nagpur – 441502
Phone: 0712-2805591

50.Institute of public Enterprise
Osmania University Campus
Hyderabad – 500007
Phone: 040-27098060

51.Integrated Academy of Management and Technology
(INMANTEC)
Adhyatmik Nagar, Delhi-Lucknow Highway (NH-24)
Udyog Kunj
Ghaziabad – 201009
Phone: 0120-2768951

52.Institute of Agri Business management
Rajasthan Agricultural University
Beechwal
Bikaner – 334006
Phone: 0151-2252981/82

53.Institute of Management
Nirma University of Science & Technology
S-G Highway
Ahmedabad – 382481
Phone: 02717-241900/01/02/04

54.Insitute of Management Education
G.T Road, Sahibabad
Ghaziabad – 201005
Phone: 0120-2621424

55.Institute of Management Technology
A-16, Site-3, UPSIDC
Industrial Area, Meerut Road
Ghaziabad – 201003
Phone: 0120-2705628

56.Institute of Petroleum Management, Gandhinagar
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Raisan
Gandhinagar – 382007
Phone: 079-23276911-14

57.INRECH Institute of Business Management
960, 24^th Main, 38^th Cross
4^th ‘T’ Block, Jayanagar
Bangalore – 560041
Phone: 080-

58.International Institute for Special Education
Kanchana Bihari Marg
Off Ring Road, Via Kalyanpur
Lucknow – 226022
Phone: 0522-2751066

59.International Management Institute (IMI Delhi)
B-10, 30 & 31, Qutab Institutional Area
Tara Crescent
New Delhi – 110016
Phone: 011-26529240

60.International School of Management Excellence
CAP-1, Export Promotion Industrial Park
Near ITPL, Whitefield
Bangalore – 560066
Phone: 080-65606200/6300

61.ITM Business School
Plot 25 & 26, Sector-4
Kharghar
Navi Mumbai – 410210
Phone: 022-27742793/98

62.International School of Business & Research
(ISBR Business School)
No.62, Electronics City, Phase-I
Opp. Electronics city Post office
Bangalore – 560100
Phone: 080-41668111/222

63.Invertis Institute of Management Studies
Invertis Village
Bareilly – Lucknow National Highway-24
Bareilly – 243123
Phone: 0581-2460442/443

64.Jaipuria Institute of Management
Vineet Khand
Gomtinagar
Lucknow – 226010
Phone: 0522-2394296/2398096

65.Jaipuria Institute of Management
1 Bambala Institutional Area
Pratap Nagar, Sanganer
Jaipur – 302033
Phone: 0141-2771330-33

66.Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS Rohini)
3, Institutional Area
Sector-5, Rohini
Delhi – 110085
Phone: 011-27042284, 27042296

67.Jaipuria Institute of Management
Plot No. A-32A
Sector-62
Noida – 201307
Phone: 0120-2403850-54, 2403379-81

68.JK Padampat Singhania Institute of Management & Technology
Damdama Lake Road
Bhondsi Village, Tehsil: Sohna
Dist: Gurgaon
Phone: 0124-4268031,4267641

69.KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research
Vidyanagar
Mumbai-400077
Phone: 022-66449300/66449350

70.Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies
Yantrapur
Harihar – 577602
Phone: 08192-241269/241483

71.K R Mangalam Global Institute of Management
S-Block, Greater Kailash-II
New Delhi – 110048
Phone: 011-29219274/9810534726

72.Kohinoor Business School & Centre for Management Research
Old Pune – Mumbai Highway
Khandala
Pune – 410301
Phone: 02114-269230

73.Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management
Shastri Sadan, Sector-III
R.K. Puram
New Delhi – 110022
Phone: 011-26191081/26172407

74.Lotus Institute of Management
16 KM Stone, Bareilly-Lucknow Road
P.O. Rajau
Bareilly – 243123
Phone: 05821-231364

75.Lal Bahadur Shasti Institute of Management & Technology
29, Theatre Road
Cantonment
Bareilly – 243001
Phone: 0581-2429203/205

76.Lovely Professional University
Jalandhar-Ludhiana G.T.Road
Near Chaheru Railway Bridge
Phagwara – 144402
Phone: 01824-500701

77.Management Development Institute (MDI Gurgaon)
Post Box No. 60, Mehrauli Road
Sukhrali
Gurgaon – 122001
Phone: 0124-4560800/4013050-61

78.National Institute of Bank Management
NIBM Post Offfice
Kondhwe Khurd
Pune – 411048
Phone: 020-26831584

79.National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut)
NIT Campus P.O..
Calicut – 673601
Phone: 0495-2286100

80.National Power Training Institute (NPTI Faridabad)
NPTI Complex
Sector-33
Faridabad-121003
Phone: 0129-2275448

81.Nanyang Business School
Nanyang Techonlogical University
Nanyang Avenue
Singapore – 639798
Phone: (65) 67905622

(Nanyang Singapore, one of Asia's finest B-Schools, is accepting CAT 2008 scores for admission to its MBA programme)

82.National Institute of Technology (NIT)
Thiruchirappalli – 620215
Phone: 0431-2503001

83.National Insurance Academy
Balewadi, Baner Road
NIA P.O.
Pune – 411045
Phone: 020-27204000/4444

84.New Delhi Institute of Management
60-61, Tughlakabad Institutional area
New Delhi – 110062
Phone: 011-29956566-68

85.Pearl School of Business
46, Institutional Area
S 32
Gurgaon – 122001
Phone: 0124-427500

86.Proton Business School
Narayan Kothi
Race Course Road
Indore – 452003
Phone: 0731-3245424, 3245425

87.S D M Institute for Management Development
No.1, Chamundi Hill Road
Siddarthanagar Post
Mysore – 570011
Phone: 0821-2429722/9161

88.S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR)
Munshi Nagar, Dadabhai Road
Andheri (West)
Mumbai – 400058
Phone: 022-26237454

89.School of Management Science
Khushipur
P.O. Bachhaon
Varanasi – 221011
Phone: 0542-2271771, 3259266

90.Shobhit University
NH – 58
Modipuram
Meerut – 250110
Phone: 0121-2575091/92

91.Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Karyal
Post Office: Katra
Katra (Jammu & Kashmir) – 182301
Phone: 01991-285687/285524

92.School of Management Studies (SMS)
University of Hyderabad
P.O. Central University
Hyderabad – 500046
Phone: 040-23135000/23011091

93.Shri Ramswaroop Memorial College of Engineering and Management
Tewariganj
Faizabad Road
Lucknow – 227105
Phone: 0522-2815015-16

94.Suryadatta Group of Institutes
2074, Sadashiv Peth
Vijayanagar Colony
Pune – 411030
Phone: 020-24336000/24330425/35

95.T.A. Pai Management Institute (populary referred to as TAPMI)
Manipal – 576104
Phone: 0820-2570361/2571358

96.Thiagarajar School of Management
Pamban Swamy Nagar
Thirupparankundram
Phone: 0452-2484099

97.The Business School
University of Jammu
Jammu – 180006
(Jammu & Kashmir)
Phone: 0191-2430133, 2435529

98.University Business School
Panjab University
Chandigarh – 160014
Phone: 0172-2541591/2534709

99.University School of Management
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra – 136119
Phone: 01744-238565

100.University of Petroleum & Energy Studies
SCO 9-12, Sector-14
Near HUDA Office
Gurgaon – 122007
Phone: 0124-4240300

101.Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management
Vignana Jyothi Nagar
Bachpally, Via Kukatpally
Hyderabad – 500072
Phone: 040-23044901/23044902
Fax: 040-23044953

102.VIT Business School
VIT Universtiy
Vellore – 632014
Phone: 0416-2202157/2125
Fax: 0416-2245544

Note:
That a B-School accepts CAT scores admission to its MBA/Other PG Programmes is not an indicator of the quality of the B-School. Please check with other reliable sources before applying to any B-School.

List of Institutes accepting CAT 2008 Scores - 1

2008-08-04T11:52:00.001+05:30

1. Accurate Institute of Management & Technology
Plot No. 49
Knowledge Park – III
Greater Noida - 201306
Phone: 0120-2328234-35
Fax: 0120-2320355

2. Algol School of Technology
Behind Sector 34 Marble Market
Sector – 34
Gurgaon – 122001
Phone: 0124-3212001

3. Amrita School of Business
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University
Ettimadai P.O.
Coimbatore – 641105
Phone: 0422-2656422
Fax: 0422-2656422

4. Aravali Institute of Management
Marwar Bhawan
Polo No.2, Paota
Jodhpur – 342006
Phone: 0291-2550070/255356
Fax: 0291-2543600

5. Asian School of Business Management (ASBM)
Shiksha vihar
Barang-Khurdha Road, Chandaka
Bhubaneswar – 754005
Phone: 0671-2111204/207/208
Fax: 0674-2111205

6. AICAR Business School
Village Damat
Neral, Karjat
Raigad – 410101
Phone: 02148-236714-20
Fax: 02148-236713

7. Alliance Business Academy
19^th Cross, 7^th Main
BTM-II Stage, N.S. Palya
Bangalore – 560076
Phone: 080-26681444
Fax: 080-26684137

8. Apeejay School of Management
Sector-8
Dwarka Institutional Area
New Delhi – 110075
Phone: 011-25363979/81
Fax: 011-25363985

9. Army Institute of Management
Judges Court Road
Opp. Alipore Telephone Exchange, Alipore
Kolkata – 700027
Phone: 033-24398335/37/38/24794494
Fax: 033-24794929

10. Asia-Pacific Institute of Management ‘
4, Institutional Area
Jasola (Opp. Sarita Vihar)
New Delhi – 110025
Phone: 011-42094800 (30 lines)
Fax: 011-26951541

11. Bharathidasan Institute of Management
M.H.D. Campus
BHEL Complex
Tiruchirappalli – 620014
Phone: 0431-2520796/502
Fax: 0431-2520733

12. BLS Institute of Management
Opp. Mohan Meakins Factory
Mohan Nagar
Ghaziabad – 201007
Phone: 0210-2658405, 2657654
Fax: 0120-2657714

13. Birla Institute of Management Technology
Plot No. 5
Knowledge Park–II
Greater Noida (NCR) – 201306
Phone: 0210-2323001-10
Fax: 0120-2323022/25

14. Calcutta Business School
11, Lord Sinha Road
Kolkata – 700071
Phone: 22427488/22821450
Fax: 22826350

15. Center for Management Training & Research
CMTR Campus, Khanpur
P.O. Textile Colony, Kharar
Distt: Mohali – 140301
Phone: 0160-5009000
Fax: 0160-2282493

16. College of Agribusiness Management
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Pantanagar – 263145
Phone: 05944-233884
17. Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP)
Hindi Bhavan
Chhajubagh, Post Box No.42
Patna – 800001
Phone: 0612-2200453
Fax: 0612-2200453

18. Cosmic Business School
B-1/E-II, Mohan Co-operative Indl. Estate
Mathura Road
New Delhi – 110044
Phone: 011-40520815-816
Fax: 011-26945323

Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong: An anomaly

2008-08-03T23:52:00.002+05:30

As a marketing communications professional, I pay a little more than average attention to things like ad copies, headline, logos et cetera. Most logos flummox me no end. Try hard as I may, their original meaning is almost always indecipherable. Yes, I might be creative enough to provide a wonderfully sensible sounding meaning to the logo. But did my 'imagination' match the 'imagination' of the creator, well, that's a different ballgame! Can you guess what the IIM Shillong logo signifies?

" The Logo heavily uses the color and the imagery from nature like the sun, the sky and the mountains. The portrayal of the sun with its rays spreading across in the half circle above gives a feeling of progress and light. The curves in yellow within the round give a shape of the mountain, where the institute is situated. The blue color stands for the sky. The definite linear lines at the bottom of the circle show energy can be channelized. This can also be compared to the skill of the students, which would be enhanced and guided properly. " (source: Wikipedia)

If you guessed that accurately, don't forget to give yourself a big pat in the back. You have a bright, imaginative future ahead!

The IIM logos, with the exception of Ahmedabad, are invariably sarkari looking, dull creations. So, I was hardly surprised to see what the new IIM Shillong dished out. Just look at that hideous logo again - shudders! Shillong is a breathtakingly beautiful place; the institute itself, set amidst tall, stunning pines looks most pretty. Why then such an unaesthetic symbol for such a lovely institute. Why the sun in the logo, for an IIM located in a place known more for its cloud bursts than a fiery sun. Wouldn't that be more apt for IIM Jaisalmer, whenever that happens!

CAT 2008 notification

2008-07-18T15:39:00.000+05:30

The IIMs have released the notification for this year's Common Admission Test (IIM-CAT) to the IIMs, which also serves as the entrance test for quite a few other reputed business schools. Notable among these are Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), Nanyang Business School (Singapore), MDI (Gurgaon), SP Jain (Mumbai) and Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) (Bhopal).

These are some of the important dates relating to the application process.

Issue of CAT Bulletins at Axis Bank starts : JULY 14 (Monday)

Issue of CAT Bulletins at Axis Bank ends : AUGUST 8 (Friday)

Issue of CAT Bulletins by the IIMs ends : AUGUST (Wednesday)

Last date for receipt of completed CAT Applications by the IIMs : SEPTEMBER 5 (Friday)

COMMON ADMISSION TEST : NOVEMBER 16, 2008 (Sunday)

Will the CAT go online from 2009?

2008-06-23T20:00:00.000+05:30

See what the official IIM website has got to say on this:

"An article appeared in Business Standard dated February 4, 2008 which gives an impression that a decision has been taken that IIMs will introduce online CAT from CAT 2009. This is totally incorrect. In view of increasing number of candidates IIMs are considering various alternatives for modifying the process of conducting CAT, if necessary. Online testing is one of those alternatives. The proposals are at the preliminary stage of discussion."

While talking to newspersons earlier during this year after the news of the CAT going online from next year first surfaced in the media, the IIM-A director appeared to be pretty confident about the possibility of the CAT going online from 2009. What had strengthened the belief in this stand further were reports of the IIMs approaching various organisations for the conduct of an online CAT.

Various established players added to the rumour by publishing unconfirmed reports. This is an excerpt from the website of Career Launcher.

Look at the story in the bottom half of the image above (cached from http://www.careerlauncher.com/mba/news/mbanews.jsp). It says without a hint of doubt, " The common admission test(CAT) will finally go online from 2009. " This is utterly irresponsible journalism. Making things funnier the last line of the story ends saying, "According to sources, the IIMs are contemplating conducting CAT" !!! There ain't a full stop there, so obviously someone forgot to complete the sentence, and no one at Career Launcher has bothered to have a second look at the page, i guess.

So, is the CAT going online from 2009? The answer is "no one knows for sure yet, and if somebody at the IIMs does, he ain't coming out with a forthright answer". My take is - the IIMs are highly interested in going online, but are not sure yet if they will be able to put the required infrastructure in place by the next year end.

Watch this space for more.

Preparing for CAT 2008?

2008-06-17T20:30:00.002+05:30

It has been quite a while since I wrote a general post for students planning to write CAT 2008 or any of the other MBA Entrance tests towards the end of the end of this year or in the beginning of 2009. Now that November 2008 is just six months away, it's time to take stock of your preparation.

Have you taken your first MockCAT for CAT 2008? (or SimCAT or AimCAT or CopyCAT, whichever be your preference) What was your score like? More than the absolute score, what was your percentile score like?

But even before you start gloating over your 99th percentile or feeling saddened that in the rat race called CAT 2008, you are left far behind with your 60th percentile, think things over in the overall perspective.

When did you start preparing for CAT 2008 seriously? May 2008, November 2007 or January'08 ? You surely can't compare apples with oranges, can you? If you started your preparation in early 2008, then you surely had a headstart over quite a few other competitors and they will soon be better geared to give you a tougher fight in the next mock-cat. So, stay happy, but don't get over-confident. Similarly if you started your preparation as late as May 2008, then don't worry if you haven't fared as well in the mock cat. Afterall, you are still on with your quant and verbal fundamentals, and by the time the second mock cat arrives, things will have changed drastically. You can now attempt that permutation and combination question, which you couldn't last time, simply because you know now the formula!

Now, for them, who started early, yet are lagging behind now. Surely, you can't give up on your hopes. Not so early, dear. Maybe you won't make it to the IIMs, but I won't be so sure, not just yet. What you need to do is stop, and spend time understanding what went wrong.

1) Re-open the Mock CAT paper, alongwith the answer key. Group your responses under these heads - did not attempt, attempted and got right, attempted and got wrong. Now, try and see if you can form some clusters. For instance, did you get a bunch of RC questions wrong? Or did you not attempt all quant questions of a certain type?

If that is the case, then all you need to do is go back to the fundamentals in this areas, study hard, and take another Mock 10 days from now. But before that, I'd suggest you should take sectional tests for those areas.

2) Where did the Mock CAT go wrong for you? Did you make too many mistakes, or was it simply a question of not attempting enough questions?

3) Did you attempt too many RCs? ( for instance 7 questions from 3 RCs, out of the total 10 on offer) - See, there are no hard and fast rules here: but if a certain approach is not working for you, you need to re-think, that's all. If you still think that this was the best approach, great. Now get the answers right. Somehow!!

Now you know the line of thinking - every once in a while, spend time analyzing. The CAT is a thinking manager's test. It's not a test of quant or verbal only. Remember you are not applying for a M.Sc in Mathematics or a MA in English. It's actually the MBA - and it's all about managing it well. Maths and English are mere tools.

The Mock CAT Battle

2008-05-29T13:37:00.004+05:30

It's crazy, and outright shocking the way the various CAT coaching institutes misguide students to achieve their own commercial ends. I was associated with IMS Learning Resources, the oldest coaching institute for CAT in the country, for close t0 3 years - during this period and before it IMS offered 8 SIMCATs (the IMS mock CAT) for students getting ready for the CAT and other MBA Entrance Tests. While other coaching institutes were offering more and more Mock CATs with an idea to lure away students from the competition, I was proud that my organisation stuck to its guns because as an organisation we believed that 8 mocks were sufficient for a student preparing for CAT. The counselors had a tough time explaining the logic as it is far easier to sell "more than less". But we were doing a fair job, though we could see that our competitors were gaining strength because they were offering 'more for less' and gullible students (read customers) were being misguided into taking the wrong decision.

The logic behind 8 SIMCATs was simple - a Mock CAT has certain objectives:

1) to find out where do you stand vis-a-vis other CAT takers (so the overall percentiles and the sectional percentiles are important)

2) to help you find and assess your strong and weak areas so that you can correct/balance your further study plan accordingly

3) to gauge your progress as you move towards the CAT day, expose students to various likely papers/patterns and improve his Test Taking Techniques.

4) and as a result of point 3 above, you get a fair idea of which b-schools you stand a chance of getting into and can thus apply accordingly.

and most importantly:

5) we insisted on 8 SIMCATs and no more because we wanted students to get time to assess his performance, work on it and gradually improve his performance over the 8 tests.

What is funny is that the above logic was perfect and IMS was producing results year after year, yet now they have taken a complete about turn. I just checked out the IMS website and was horrified that they have not just increased the number of SIMCATs for CAT 2008, but actually gone ahead and doubled it. The new SIMCAT package for CAT 2008 has its selling line saying (and read this and see the irony of it all): "The 1st commandment of CAT Prep comes back with double the strength and double the power..but at the same price.." Sham, Shame!

But the biggest culprit is still not IMS. That i would think are the other 2 biggies in the CAT Coaching arena - Career Launcher and TIME. This trend of more and more Mock CATs has been shamelessly advocated by TIME for years - and what's more they sell it for a bargain price so that students enrolled with other coaching institutes also enrol with them for their Mock CATs. ( It's called AIM CAT, but the students never knew what the real aim was!!) Their objective was to get more and more students so that they had a larger number of IIM seats that were filled up by TIME to claim. That has been their chief marketing ploy for years now. They now even shamelessly claim that they send the largest number of students to the IIMs, compared to even IMS. What an utter distortion of truth!! ( and their marketing managers are stupid enough to believe that someone outside Hyderabad or Secunderabad would even believe this crap, they have now gone ahead and got this distortion of truth approved by KPMG) - yeah and don't forget what their tagline claims: No.1 institute in India. My IMS office was in Barakhamba and every time we passed their centre in CP, we used to have a hearty laugh - "forget India, they are not even no.1 in Connaught Place, and yes not even no.2". ( To understand how TIME sends the largest number of students to the IIMs, i strongly recommend you to first brush up your fundas on Set Theory - else ask me, i would love to explain further!)

And let me say a few nice words about Career Launcher too - the trendiest and the most youthful of the lot, they started off well, with noble intentions maybe. I was one of the earlier CL students, and the quality then was not great, but not too bad either - with the founders themselves playing teachers way back then. But if one organisation is to be blamed for dirtying the CAT Coaching atmosphere, this honour has to go to CL. They are out and out commercial, playing every game - right or wrong to increase their numbers. Every month they have a "fee incentive ending soon" campaign!! If you have ever gone there for an enquiry and left your number behind, they will keep calling you till you have enrolled with them or till you ask them to buzz off saying what hurts them more than the choicest four-letter word: "I have joined IMS".

I am a marketing man myself and have nothing against people trying to promote their product/service - afterall that's how i have been earning my bread this last 7 years. But blatant lies and misguiding your customers - that's not fair, and not right. What's more, it's not required. There is a right way of going about it, and it ain't that difficult either.

Great News for CAT Aspirants in Delhi

2008-04-15T18:26:00.002+05:30

If you are readying yourself for CAT 2008, chances are you are already a regular visitor of http://www.totalgadha.com/ - just in case you are not, don't delay any further. It is the only online study place for CAT and a fine one at that. Check for yourself the quality of the lessons, articles and quizzes.

Now for the big news - these guys have opened their first centre in the New Delhi and have already 4 batches running. Known by the name of Tathagat, the first centre is at Kailash Colony (GK-1) and next week they are opening their second centre in Connaught Place. The first batch in Connaught Place starts 26th April and enrolments are open. For more information you can contact 9999658139 or 9891147846.

I have been a great fan of the website myself and was myself associated with it for a good part of last year. You must check out some of the articles yourself. You may start with this article on the Study Plan for CAT 2008 . ( I think login is required for this page so you will have to register but it takes less than a minute so that should be okay)

Tathagat has kept its fee on the slightly higher side (Rs.30,000) - market leaders IMS and CL are priced in between Rs.25,000 and Rs.28,000. But the quality of the material and the faculty justifies the price. For verbal they have two of Delhi's best English teachers for CAT including Kumar Abhishek, who had a long and successul stint with Career Launcher. As for Quant, it is being handled by Sanjeev Singh - the chief architect behind TG and the head of the content development team for totalgadha.com . Need i say more?!

Conclusion: Tathagat is Highly Recommended.

List of B-Schools which accept CAT Score

2007-09-25T22:34:00.000+05:30

If you will write the CAT 2007 or the CAT 2008, my best wishes are with you - i hope that you make it to one of the IIMs. But if you don't make it to an IIM don't blame yourself much - the fact is the odds are stacked against the brightest of students. Almost 2,00,000 students write the CAT every year - chances are that figure may swell upto 2.5 lakhs in CAT 2008. The total number of seats offered by the IIMs is fewer than 3000 which means only 1% of the students can expect it to make it to India's best b-school. And it's nobody's case that 99% of the students writing the CAT every year don't deserve a seat in a good b-school.

Here's a list of other Business Schools/Institutes which accept CAT scores for admission.

1. Academy of Management Studies, Bhubaneshwar

2. Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore

3. Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore

4. Apeejay School of Management, New Delhi

5. Aravali Institute of Management, Jodhpur

6. Army Institute of Management, Kolkata

7. Army Institute of Management & Technology, Greater Noida

8. Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneshwar

9. Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi

10. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Information Technology & Management, Gwalior

11. Bhartidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirappali

12. Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida

13. Centre for Management Training & Research, Kharar, Mohali

( this list will be added to regularly till we have a more comprehensive list)

Business Today Indian B-School Rankings 2007

2007-09-21T15:43:00.000+05:30

The fifth annual Business Today - Nielsen Best Business Schools of India survey's findings have just been released. Here are a few of the key results:

Top 10 Business Schools of India:

(In some browsers, the 'Tick' may appear as 'a' in the Our Remarks column)

Rank 2007	Rank in 2006	Business School	Our Remarks
1	1	IIM Ahmedabad	a
2	2	IIM Bangalore	a
3	3	IIM Calcutta	a
4	4	Symbiosis-Pune	Symbiosis at No.4?? Over IIM-L and XLRI?
5	5	IIM Lucknow	Should be at No.4 or at No.5, just after XLRI
6	8	IIM Indore	? We suspend our decision on IIM-I
6	7	Bajaj(JBIMS), Mumbai	Could be anywhere between Ranks 7 and 12
8	6	XLRI Jamshedpur	Should be at Rank 4 or 5
9	13	ICFAI Hyderabad	This business school has no business to be in the top 15
10	17	Narsee Monjee (NMIMS) Mumbai	Could be anywhere between Ranks 10 and 13

Is your target called "CAT 2008"?

2007-09-09T23:44:00.000+05:30

Of all the problems faced by you and your rivals preparing for CAT 2008 the one that is the most illogically problematic is this: Is it too early to start studying for the CAT that will only happen in November 2008, much more than a year away? There will be the smart-alecs in your college who will try and run you down - tell you that the CAT is no more than a 3-4 month game, that you are being foolishly 'book-wormish'!! I have just one bit of advice for you to give to this mates of yours: BUZZ OFF. ( and it is for the sake of decorum that i have replaced one of the words in that 2-word advise!)

Only one person should decide when you should begin preparations for things in your life: whether it's marriage, life-insurance plan, raising kids, or even the small matter of CAT 2008!! So if you think that you need to start early, congratulations on your decision. Now stop bothering yourself about the wisdom of that decision - don't seek any advice from anyone - not from those idiots at college, nor from the bigger ones at the coaching institutes! Just go get yourself a study plan for the 14 months ahead and BEGIN: we will look at the 'study-plan' bit in the next post, so do come back soon. Cheers!

XAT 2008 Notification: XAT & XLRI facts

2007-09-02T17:14:00.000+05:30

XAT 2008 Test Date: Sunday, 6th January 2008

XAT 2008 will serve as the admission test for XLRI Jamshedpur, Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) Bhubaneshwar, Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai (LIBA), XIME Bangalore and more than 30 other Indian B-Schools.

Where can you purchase the XLRI prospectus from?

1. Branches of State Bank of India ( demand draft of Rs.800)

2. By sending a non-refundable demand draft for Rs.850 or Rs.1350 (if you are applying for more than one programme) in favour of XLRI, Jamshedpur payable at SBI, XLRI Jamshedpur Branch ( I don't understand why this institutes try and make life hell for students - now what kind of drafts are not payable at SBI, Jamshedpur or any other SBI for that matter). You also need to enclose alongwith the draft the XLRI PA form that you can download from the XLRI website.

The XAT 2008 prospectus/bulletin can be purchased from September 1 to November 30 2007.

Forbes ranks top B-Schools(2007) on ROI criteria

2007-08-31T02:04:00.000+05:30

In its 2007 rankings of the top Business Schools of the world, Forbes has gone in for the 'Return on Investment'* criteria to rank the best B-Schools across the globe. (though the sample used for this is not from the immediate past batches, which raises a question mark over the current validity of the results - however, the rankings can be a good indicator of the top B-Schools. Word of warning: Should you see some very surprising results, do take a second opinion. Do i see you running to the FT rankings already!!)

Here are the FORBES B-School Rankings for 2007.

Forbes Top 10 US B-schools 2007:
Rank 1. Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth 2. Stanford 3. Harvard 4. Virginia (Darden) 5. Pennsylvania (Wharton) 6. Columbia 7. Chicago 8. Yale 9. Northwestern (Kellogg) 10. Cornell (Johnson)

Forbes Top Non-US One-Year Business Schools 2007:
Rank 1. IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland 2. Insead, Fountainbleau, France 3. Judge Business School, University ofCambridge, UK 4. Instituto de Empresa, Madrid, Spain 5. Cranfield, Bedford, UK

Forbes Top Non-US Two-Year Business Schools 2007

Rank 1. Australian Graduate School of Management 2. British Columbia (Sauder), Canada

3. Esade, Spain 4. Ceibs, China 5. McGill, Canada

****

1. US Top B-School Rankings

2. UK Top B-School Rankings

3. India's Top B-School Rankings

4. India's Top B-School Rankings Part 2

*What is Return on Investment?

- ROI is return on invested capital. While using this criteria for b-school rankings, a simple way of going about it would be to weigh the average placement salaries against the tution fees or the total expenses incurred to complete your MBA. A more complicated approach might try and factor in the cost of 'lost opportunities' as well. For example, if you gave up a 45,000 USD job to join Tuck that goes into the investments!

IIM Shillong for CAT 2007

2007-08-28T05:32:00.001+05:30

If you are writing the CAT this November, the govt. has good news for you. All CAT 2007* candidates automatically qualify for the 1st session (2008-2010) at the IIM Shillong. The only sore part : It has been christened Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management. Now I am quite appreciative of the efforts of the ex-PM but i don't quite like this idea of prefixing his name to the new IIM. Some of the greatest brand-creators and brand-custodians of this country have and will pass out of the hallowed portals of the IIMs and tinkering with that brand itself ain't such a great idea. They did it earlier with my college in Delhi: a few years after I passed out of the College of Business Studies i found out that the name of a freedom fighter had been added to the name. It now became a very boring sounding Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. CBS sounded ok, if not cool. Nowadays students refer to the college as Sukhdev. Yipes!

Should you want to know more, you can contact the offices of Mr. Pramod Tandon, the Vice Chancellor of North Eastern Hill University ( NEHU). Mr. Tandon is currently doubling up as the Project Director of the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong.

Address: NEHU Campus, Shillong, Meghalaya. Phone: 0364-2550101

***

*The CAT 2007 notification issued on the 15th July 2007 doesn't mention the 7th IIM, therefore there was confusion amongst the students.

IIM Calcutta Campus: Virtual Tour

2007-08-25T18:51:00.000+05:30

The IIM Calcutta site has added a new feature: "An Online Tour of the IIM-C campus". If that's where you are planning to go to do your MBA, it might be worthwhile to check it out. Click here.

I remember a friend of mine who used to take an evening walk in the IIT-Delhi campus, during the days of his IIT-JEE preparation. He found the walk very motivating - and it sure did work for him - got through the JEE successfully though he ended up doing his B.Tech a few thousand kilometres to the east, in IIT Kharagpur. You wouldn't mind landing up in an IIM a few thousand kilometres west of Kolkata, would you? No, i'm not talking of Indore.

Browsing the IIM Calcutta site, there is another interesting info i noted - not that you would be unaware of it, but an official line makes things that much more clear. This from the CAT page of the IIM Cal site..

Verbal Ability (VA)
This section explores your understanding of the English Language and also tests you on Reasoning Skills.

So there it is: i guess you need to get ready for more LR everywhere, English included.

******

ps: I found the picture of the IIM Cal faculty members quite interesting. (are you a fitness freak?) So i added it here to add to the visual appeal of my blog!

Blog Advertising: A win-win situation

2007-08-24T23:56:00.000+05:30

Many of the readers of this blog will be doing their MBA, specialising in advertising and marketing. As you will find out in the next few years, one of the biggest challenges for the advertiser is to make sure that the 'ad is actually seen' by the Target Audience. Of course, you will then get into more refined targets like 'reaching out to your audience at the lowest cost per head' (CPM or Cost Per Thousand as the Media Planners call it).

It's possibly because of this reason that marketeers loved the internet - here was a way to reach out to a focussed audience. Weblogs or Blogs as they are called took this revolution a step further - Each blog is a potential media - while a single blog may not have the traffic of a larger portal, but it has its own loyal audience. Marketers get an option through blog advertising to reach out to their audience in a language that they preferred listening to. Advertisers also get to link back to their own websites from the blogposts, helping them get quality traffic directly onto their sites.

For bloggers like me, this provides with an option to monetize my efforts. A win-win situation for everyone, ain't it? Smorty.Com, acting as a bridge between advertisers and bloggers is a place to check out for - for both advertisers and for bloggers. It's a great opportunity for bloggers in that you can now actually make money off your blog. How much you end up making is entirely upto you - your earnings are a function of the opportunities you will get, which are proportional to the efforts you put into your blog.

I have been using Smorty for the past few months and what i liked about them was - 1. Service Quality and 2. Speed of Response. Besides they are amongst the fastest in terms of approval and payments. Highly Recommended from this blog.

Favourite B-School: Opinion Poll Results

2007-08-24T02:56:00.000+05:30

I had been running this "My Favourite B-School" opinion poll on this blog for the past 3 months and it's time now to share the results with you.

A total of 413 MBA aspirants have taken part in this poll so far. (still running) The b-school at No.1 is not very surprisingly the IIMs ( the six IIMs clustered together) - the IIMs were chosen as the B-School of choice by 193 respondents, a little under half the total number of respondents. B-School Rank 2 is XLRI, Jamshedpur - with 57 votes. At no.3 is MICA, the specialised b-school for marketing communications in Ahmedabad. 'Others' make it to No.4, closely followed behind by FMS, Delhi with 30 votes. 20 students voted a non-Indian B-School as their preferred place to do an MBA.

Are you preparing for CAT 2007 or CAT 2008? Or are you amongst the few that are not looking at the IIMs but at the specialised b-schools like MICA, TISS or IRMA - do let us know your favourite b-school by participating in the poll.

Tackling the MOCK CAT 2007

2007-07-20T23:43:00.001+05:30

It's that time of the year again, when CAT aspirants get ready to start tackling the battery of CAT-like tests administered by various coaching institutes across the country. For those of you preparing for CAT 2007 or XAT 2008 or any of the many other MBA Entrance Tests, here go a few suggestions:

1. These tests are important no doubt - whether you are taking at a centre or at home from your study material, but be careful. These tests are just that - tests. A test is supposed to help you evaluate where you stand, you get an idea of the yields of your preparation efforts and it also helps you identify your strengths & weaknesses. Once these objectives have been achieved, please move on ahead. Get back to your books and work on the deficiencies. Don't keep taking tests after tests. ( A maximum of 2 a week, i'd think )

2. Should you find after Test 1 that there are too many areas that you have no clue about, then the test has served its job. Go back to your basic material/fundamental books , Part 1 or Part A or whatever else you were using - immediately. Forget all about tests. First get your basics in place, because if that ain't there, even God may not be able to help you - so what can a test do?

3. Do spend some time evaluating your efforts, once you get the results. That's where the value of the test lies - remember these tests are only mock, so they are but stepping stones to the real thing.

4. While you will obviously work on your deficiencies, don't forget the strength areas completely. Keep doing a few questions from them from time to time and be in touch with them. Giving any topic a 2-3 month break is never a good idea.

5. Chill. It can do wonders!

Make money from your blog

2007-05-03T16:09:00.000+05:30

I started this blog about just under a year back. While it's a great feeling to be running a site which is visited and read by hundreds of MBA aspirants, I always had this feeling that if i could put in more time and effort into the site, maybe i could provide more value to my readers. However, the constraints of a living force one to do only so much. I was constantly looking for ways to monetize my blog, and have been very happy to find one good potential source of revenue for this blog. It's called Bloggerwave and if you run a blog too, I would suggest you to check it out.

The process is simple: You register at BloggerWave, then you can choose from the review options available at the site, do the reviews that you want on your site and get paid for it. In case you are confused, a review is like a 'product description' or your opinion of a new site/product/service. Advertisers want to market their product, and through your blog, they have a platform to get talking to your readers. Your blog is a media vehicle like any other website or televison channel or newspaper - and just like they get paid for doing an ad or talking about a product, you too. Isn't that nice, and good?

IIM OBC list creates confusion galore

2007-04-13T02:30:00.000+05:30

Bangalore / Ahmedabad

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, on behalf of all the six IIMs, has sent a letter to Human Resources Minister Mr. Arjun Singh suggesting three dates when they coould announce their first list of selected candidates without the OBC quota.

"We are ready to release the first list. In case the government recommends inclusion of the OBC quota, it can be done in the subsequent lists. We have to release the first list at the earliest to ensure that the academic session is not disturbed," IIM Bangalore Director Prakash Apte said.

"We have submitted three dates, and April 21 is one of them. We have given the government enough time to respond," he added.

An IIM spokesperson said that the IIMS may be forced to release the list this year without the quota list if a decision was not made by the government or was not possible for the government to make a decision in time.

The government had asked all the centrally-governed elite institutes such as IIMs and IITs to implement the 27% OBC quota. The IIMs had decided to do so in a phased manner starting this academic session. However, last week the Supreme Court put a stay on the law implementing the quota on the ground that the government had no clear data on who comprise OBCs.

If the IIMs release the first list on the suggested date without the OBC quota candidates, about 1,350 candidates would get a call from the 6 IIMs, put together. A number of students will soon face another tricky question – the other b-schools they may have applied to will soon release their results and they may be forced to pay the fee there.

Preparing for CAT 2007: Reading Comprehension section

2007-04-12T17:40:00.001+05:30

I have always found the Reading Comprehension (RC) section the most intriguing of the various sections in the CAT and other MBA Entrance Test. Now, here are a number of questions, where the answers lie right in front of your eyes. Yet, the RC section troubles those preparing for CAT like nothing else.

If there is one area of the CAT, for which the faculty, students and other experts (not excluding the idiots at the various top coaching institutes) have devised the maximum number of tips and strategies, it’s this R.C. section. 30 CATs have gone by, and CAT 2007 is just a few months away. Another new CAT, yet the same old question still lingers in every student’s mind – What’s the best strategy for the Reading Comprehension section?

I think the answer to this conundrum lies in the fact that it’s still an unsolved mystery – if after so many years, there is still no well-defined answer to this question, then chances are there is no well-defined answer. Just because the experts are supposed to give you an answer, they do.

Then, what should a CAT writer do in the Reading Comprehension section? My suggestion is – don’t listen to anyone, or if you do, don’t agree to anyone. Hear them all out, if you must – but find your own answers through your own experiments.

If there are 5 passsages with 5 questions each, try all these RC strategies and see what works for you.
·

- Do them as quickly as possible, and try and answer as many questions as possible. Objective of RC Strategy No.1: Maximize attempts.

- Do the passages as quickly as possible, and answer the questions which you are sure of /easies ones. Objective of RC Strategy No.2: Maximize passage and question scanning but filtered attempts.

- Scan passages and do the 2 or 3 that you like. Objective of RC Strategy No.3: Filtered attempts

So, while RC Strategy 1 will work towards attaining maximum attempts, it’s assumed that your accuracy levels will be lower. But since there are more marks for a correct answer than negative for an incorrect answer, if you can beat the odds sufficiently, this will work in your favour.

(Attempting 24 and getting 12 wrong leaves you with a net score of 44. on the contrary if you are choosy and do only 14 questions, and get 10 right you score 39)

Similar calculations can yield similarly better answers for each strategy. What will work best for you can be decided by only one person – you. But you will need to make an effort, after all getting it right means making it to the IIMs, so I guess it sense to put in that bit of work.

B-School Ranks: Top US Business Schools

2007-04-08T18:38:00.000+05:30

United States B-School Rankings : Top Schools for your MBA

Rank 1: Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
( Rank 1 in Financial Times B-School Rankings and Rank 2 in Business Week Top MBA Schools 2007)
Wharton, founded in 1881, besides being the best place to do your MBA in the US is also the best in the world। This school places emphasis on solid grounding in the basis principles of management and as such the first years’s curriculum provides an intensive foundation in general management skills. Students can choose from a variety of dual and joint degree programmes.

Average GMAT Score = 713
GMAT score range = 660 - 760
No. of full-time MBA enrollments: 800
Percentage of female students = 36%
Percentage of Asian students = 22%
Average age of student = 28 years
Average work-experience = 5.8 years
Application Fee = 215 $ (Credit card only)

Rank 2: The Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford Graduate School of Business offers an MBA Program that is a two-year, full-time residential program, focusing on the academic facets of general business management, a Ph. D Program and the Stanford Sloan Program, a ten-month general management program for mid-career executives, leading to a master of science in management.

Average GMAT Score = 711
GMAT score range = 530-800
(GRE score may be accepted in lieu of GMAT score)
No. of full-time MBA enrollments: 749
Percentage of female students = 32%
Percentage of Asian students = 11%
Average age of student = 28 years
Average work-experience = 4 years
Application Fee = 245$ (Credit card preferable though you may pay through checks and money orders in US currency)

Rank 3. Harvard Business School
This home of the “case-study” method of teaching offers a two-year, full-time program that starts in the fall with the summer off between the first and second year. Harvard also offers a number of short-term courses for working executives.

Average GMAT Score = 707
GMAT score range = 600-800 ( TG Guessestimate)
No. of full-time MBA enrollments: 907
Percentage of female students = 35%
Percentage of Asian students = 10-14%
Average age of student = 27 years
Application Fee = 237 $ ( by credit card only)
Average Work Experience = 4 years 6 months
( No minimum work-experience criteria)

Rank 4. MIT Sloan School of Management
Sloan offers a Full Time MBA and Executive Programs. Sloan offers a Doctoral Program leading to PhD in management and an

Undergraduate Program leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Management.

Average GMAT Score = 702
GMAT score range (middle 80% range) : 640 - 760
No. of full-time MBA enrollments: 328
Percentage of female students = 31%
Percentage of Asian students = 23%
Average age of student = 27.9 years
Average Work-experience = 5 years
Application Fee = 230$ (payable by credit card only)

Rank 5. Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg School of Management offers full-time, part-time, executive and international executive MBA programs. Kellogg is organized into six academic departments and each area offers individual Doctoral Programs

Average GMAT Score = 703
GMAT score range (74% of students) = 650-740
No. of full-time 2 yr MBA enrollments: 506
Percentage of female students = 38%
Percentage of Asian students = 28%
Average age of student = 32%
Average Work experience = 5.2 years
Application Fee = $ 225

Other Top Business Schools in the United States:

- GSB, University of Chicago
(Rank 1 in Business Week Top MBA School Rating)

- University of Columbia
(Rank 2 in Financial Times Top B-Schools 2007)

- Dartmouth College, Tuck

- New York University – Stern

- Yale School of Management
(FT B-School Rank 2007: 10)

Disclaimer:
Unless mentioned, the data given is for the full-time MBA program in each college. Wherever possible, we have tried to use the official websites and the prospectus as the source for the information, else we have employed other credible sources. However, we suggest that before taking a decision, you cross-check this information with at least one more source. Most of the data given above is dynamic and may change within a given range over a period of time.

The Tent People of INSEAD

2007-04-07T03:16:00.001+05:30

A humorous documentary about two students at a top 10 business school who lived in tents with no electricity while pursuing their MBA, contrasted sharply with the housing situations of other students.

Oxford MBA Michaelmas Term 2006

2007-04-01T21:24:00.001+05:30

Planning to do an MBA from Oxford? You may like watching this video then - it captures moments from a student's term at this prestigious college in the United Kingdom

B-School Ranking: UK Top 5

2007-04-01T21:06:00.000+05:30

Rank 1: Oxford - Said Business School

Rank 2: London School of Economics

Rank 3: Warwick Business School

Rank 4: University of Cambridge - Judge Business School

Rank 5: University of Bath - School of Management

A to-be MICAn's queries - answered.

2007-03-29T19:38:00.000+05:30

I'm reproducing a mail which I received this morning from someone who has received a final call from MICA. He has raised a few perninent questions, which I thought might interest more than a few people, so I'm reproducing it here. The coloured text has the answers to his questions।

I have got the offer letter from MICA and I have some queries which I know you will have answered million times but for me it is the 1st time so I hope you will get time to answer it.Here it goes:

Q 8 Lacs for the course. Is it worth it? I mean, will I be able to repay my loan or in other words what will be the salary range for 2009 batch?

- Since it's a money-money question, let's look it from a finance angle. Treat this 8 lakhs as any other investment - Supposing you had to put this money into an investment fund what Rate of Return would you have been happy with. What are the normal and good rates of return in the market?

When you pass out in 2009, unless the economy sinks into a 1930s kind of depression or even the 1988-90 kinds, you should at the very least make 4 lakhs p.a. Assuming that this 8 lakh is the principal which can never be gotten back, you have just bought a fund which gives you 50% interest in Year 1 and it's an expanding balloon where the returns will keep increasing for the next 30-35 years. And don't forget, 4 is the bare minimum we are talking about!!

Q. If you are creative you can rise to the top through this course. Is it true? If yes how?

- No, this course is not about "creativity". (PGPCM) You will be working as Brand Managers/Account Executives/ Research Associates/Media Planners etc after this programme - so while you may remain in close association with creatives, you will yourself not required to be one. Of course, a bit of creativity helps one everywhere - but the primary answer to your question is NO.

Q. For lateral placements what docs are needed?

- Certificate of Work Experience besides the regular documents. Nothing special, i guess.

Q. Since I am in the bond period my company can demand the huge compensation so is it advisable to pay them and get the work ex certificate or salary slip and bank statement will be sufficient docs for lateral recruitment?

- It's always advisable to remain on the right side of things, however for this question I'd suggest you take the advise of your friends and parents/relatives also.

Q. I have work ex of 21 months till April. Will it count for lateral placements?

- Yes, of course. Why did you doubt? ( Unless it's part-time or was done along with your studies or before your graduation)

( The advise and the answers given here are general in nature. They may not apply to every single case, so you would be advised to factor in your own peculiar circumstances and take a second opinion)

Next MAT on 6th May 2007: Notification released

2007-03-21T21:16:00.000+05:30

AIMA has released the notification for the next Management Aptitude Test (MAT). One of India's more popular entrance exams for various MBA courses, the MAT will be held on Sunday, 6th May 2007 from 9:30 am to 12:00 noon. Over 400 B-schools/Management Institutes are participating in the May MAT.

How to obtain the MAT Bulletin, Prospectus & Application Form?

by post: Send a Demand Draft for Rs.690.00 drawn in favour of All India Management Association - CMS payable at New Delhi alongwith two self-addressed slips/adhesive stickers.

by hand: You can get the MAT Bulletin and Application Form by cash payment at AIMA counters in Delhi and some UTI Bank Branches. (Phone: 24653382, 41757046)

UTI Bank Branches with Phone No. for Sale of MAT form:

Ahmedabad: 66306102

Agra: 2850979

Allahabad: 2421845

Aurangabad: 5621969

Bangalore: 25370615

Bhagalpur: 2409444

Bhopal: 4273882

Chandigarh: 2621591

Chennai: 65295844

Coimbatore:2217765

Delhi - Karolbagh: 51451175

Delhi - East Delhi / Vikas Marg: 22014245

Delhi - Shakti Nagar: 23843389

( for Delhi University North Campus students this will be the nearest UTI branch to collect their MAT forms)

Dhanbad: 2300667

Faridabad: 4039739

Guwahati: 2340522

Indore: 2436908

Jabalpur: 2375601

Jaipur: 2375601

Jamshedpur: 2422307

Kanpur: 2346210

Kochi: 2384270

Kolkata: 22829837

Kota: 2365511

Kozhikode: 2761359

Lucknow: 4009522

Ludhiana: 2402361

Meerut: 2664519

Mangalore: 2410981

Mumbai - Borivali (Suburb): 28903992

Mumbai - Fort (Town): 22835788

Muzaffarpur: 2244009

Mysore: 2512093

Nagpur: 2555647

Panipat: 4015001

Patna: 2206702

Pondicherry: 2227311

Pune: 56015723

Rajkot: 2455931

Ranchi: 2301039

Siliguri: 2642745

Surat: 2663109

Thiruvananthapuram: 2558470

Tiruchirapally: 2769790

Thiruvanantapuram: 2558470

Vadodara (Baroda): 2311313

Vijaywada: 2570672

Vishakapatnam: 2712806

AIMA Nodal centres for sale of MAT form:

Delhi - South - JIMS: 26462385, 26237887

Delhi - Central - DIMS: 23370989

Noida - Vishwa Bharti Institute of Management: 2455197

Faridabad - Faridabad Institute of Management Studies: 2278895

MAT Bulletins will be available till 18 April 2007 (last date)

Last date for submission of filled-up MAT application forms is 20 April 2007

Disclaimer: The above information may not be comprehensive. MAT bulletins also available at other places. We have tried our best to avoid any errors in providing this information. However, you may confirm the above with AIMA, New Delhi (located near the Sai Baba temple)

IIM Calcutta Placements - Better than ever before

2007-03-13T03:26:00.000+05:30

Two students of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (now Kolkata), IIM-C have bagged the highest paying placement offer in IIM history, worth $250,000. In rupee terms, that works out to Rs.1,12,50,000 per annum. ( One crore twelve lakhs+) . These salaries have been offered by an investment bank for a job in its New York branch. In 2006, the highest salary offered was $152,000.

In sheer percentage terms, domestic salaries have recorded an increase of 100% this year. Again, the highest offer is by an investment bank - Rs. 43 lakhs.

Besides fat pay checks, the IIM-C students this year have also been offered great positions - for the first time in history, Indian b-school students have been offered the post of associates. This brings the IIM students at par with graduates from Harvard, Stanford and Wharton.

Companies which visited the IIM-C campus for placement this year included:

Mc Kinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), AT Kearney, Optiver, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, UBS, CIC, Value Partners, JP Morgan Chase, BNP Paribas and the Sun Group.

(source: Hindustan Times)

Best Schools under MAT (Management Aptitude Test)

2007-03-04T21:55:00.000+05:30

The Management Aptitude Test, generally referred to by its abbreviated name MAT has become one of the most popular MBA entrance tests in India. It has now been approved by the Government of India as a National Entrance Test and a wide number of AICTE approved institutions and some University departments now use the MAT as their entry level test. Conducted by the All India Management Association (AIMA), the MAT is held 4 times in a year.

B-schools affiliated to the MAT are by no means comparable to the ones under the Common Admission Test (CAT) or the XAT conducted by XLRI, but there are a few good ones which can be considered by those who have for some reason or the other not been able to make it to the top b-schools.

The MAT is an 800 marks test, similar to the GMAT, though the level of difficulty is lower than either GMAT or CAT.

This is a list of the top institutes under MAT. Not in any particular order though Amity & Alliance are the most preferred ones.

Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore
( from the Alliance website: Alliance is the first B-School in India to be accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), USA, one of the 3 premier accrediting bodies for management education.)
Outlook C-Fore survey in 2006 ranked it at no. 9 amongst India’s top private b-schools. In another survey carried out by AIMA, Alliance was ranked as an A+ institute.

Amity Busines School, Noida
(Though it has been ranked as the no.1 private b-school, I am not too sure about that. There are too many b-school surveys happening in India, and the results of most of them are pretty suspect. I won’t be surprised if some of the b-schools they include amongst their top ten are sometimes paid for)
Amity also has a campus each in Delhi, Lucknow, Manesar, Gurgaon and Jaipur.

Indian Institute of Modern Management, Pune (IIMM)
( Though it also conducts another test called BAT (Balaji Admission Test) for the institutes in the Balaji Society, IIMM being one of them. It also accepts CAT, XAT and SNAP scores.)

Christ College Institute of Management, Bangalore
Ranked as an A grade institute by AIMA b-school survey. Christ College accepts the February MAT scores. Minimum requirement: 600

Jagan Institute of Management Studies, Delhi (JIMS)
A comparatively new institute, JIMS has been able to create a name for itself, at least in Delhi and its neighbourhood. Its BBA programme is widely rated as the best under the IP University.
Also accepts CAT scores. Ranked at B+ in the AIMA survey

Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur
Needs a MAT score of 600. You can also apply through ATMA. Ranked as an A grade institute in the AIMA survey.

School of Communication & Management Studies, Cochin (SCMS)
Ranked at A grade by the AIMA survey. Also ranked as A+ by Business India. CAT scores also accpeted

Caution: This is only an indicative list, and by no means an exhaustive one. Please corroborate this information with atleast one more source before taking any decision.

Earn an Online Degree

2007-03-03T15:12:00.000+05:30

Wouldn't you like to prefix a degree against your name, that too from the Kaplan University or the University of Phoenix? That too sitting at home!

EarnMyDegree.Com presents an opportunity for working adults to advance their careers by earning a degree. While there are quite a few quality online programmes to choose from, you may also opt from one of many campus opportunities as well - without ever having to give up on your current assignment.

Benefits:

1. Hundreds of online degree programmes to choose from

- Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, MBA, Doctoral, & Certification Programs

( Even within programmes you can choose from a long list of subjects - to name a few, Business, Criminal Justice, Legal, Nursing, Religious Studies, Science and Maths. You can further drill down on each subject area - say within Business, you may go for Marketing/E-business/Accoutning/Finance.)

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3. Fast - Earn a degree online in as little as ten months

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As for those looking for assistance or information on Online Educational Programmes, this place has compiled all required information for you. Just check the Online Education Learning Centre for yourself.

Earnmydegree also helps you find out whether a certain career option suits you. For example, Should you go for Criminal Justice as a career option? Without going in for a full-fledged psychometric analysis, they have tried to help you find out at a basic level whether this career would appeal to you. There's also a separate section devoted to Online Military Education.

For working professionals, EarnMyDegree looks to be a great new place. Check it out.

*****************************

( This is a Sponsored Post)

MICA (Mudra) Interview Questions

2007-03-02T16:01:00.000+05:30

MICA or Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, unlike most other schools you would have applied to, is not actually a b-school. The people behind MICA like referring to it as a C-School or a Communications School. It's a specialised b-school, with its area of competence being "marketing communications'. Even the degree you will be awarded at the end of your 2 yrs stint in Shela will not be an MBA or a PGDBM. You will hold in your hands a "Post Graduate Diploma in Communications Management".

Owing to its narrower scope, the MICA interview may include a few questions pertaining to the areas covered under "Marketing Communications". Of course, it's not necessary that you will be asked one such question - but if you include the entire pool of questions, there should be quite a few of them.

Let me enumerate a few to get you thinking along the right lines:

1. What is the difference between 'advertising' and 'p.r.'?

2. What is 'brand management'?

3. What is 'marketing'?

4. Do you know the difference between 'marketing' and 'sales'?

5. Do you think advertisements work? Why? Which one did you like? Do you think it worked? Why do you think so?

6. What's your favourite ad? Do you know who has created it? The agency? ( generally asked if you cite advertising as a career choice, which is true for quite a few people who apply to MICA)

7. What exactly is Maket Research? How is it done? Do you know what a sample is? Can you give the name of a famous market research agency? What's the full form of ORG-MARG?

8. Is there any difference between TV ads and Print ads? Are the products different? When should one go for a TV ad/Print ad/

9. What is your favourite brand? If you were the creative head, what kind of an ad would you have designed?

10. Tell us the name of India's top 10 ad agencies.

11. What is "Marketing Communications"?

12. Do you think you have the sensitivity required to work with highly creative people? Would you be able to handle such people? ( a strength/weakness question in a twisted format)

13. What is Media Planning/Account Management/Accout Planning?

14. Do celelbrity endorsements work? Tell us one.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list, but more so an indicative one..to give you an idea to get started. Take it further from here...all the very best.

Common MBA Entrance Interview Questions..Contd.

2007-03-01T13:31:00.000+05:30

q. what are your strengths?

While it's easy to give just any correct answer, it's far more difficult to give a correct yet imressive one. Lots of interviewees end up giving answers like - "I'm very hard working". Now, it's all very good to be hard-working but at this level, hard-work is almost a basic requirement and even if one is not, everyone claims to be one. Hence, the answer comes across as unimaginative and doesn't really add to the interviewers knowledge about you. Please remember that there is approximately 20% chance of selection, so you need to weed out about 80% of the competition through your answers, and in that scenario this answer is not sufficiently good.

If you had indeed been hard-working you should have worked on this question already - the first step would have been to try and categorize your strength areas:

1. Professional strength areas (displayed in case of those already working or in case of students this would be what you think are your potential strengths)

- You may be very good at "analysis" - try and give an example to buttress your point. You may also explain how it can help you be a good manager.

- A great "team player". - you can cite about your success in your college festivals or events.

- Technical strengths

- Any other.

2. Personal strengths

- "I am thorough, meaning you give attention to details and then explain how it wil help you in your professional areas"

- punctual, diligent

- patient, persevering

- flexible, open

3. Other skills & strenghts

- Communication Skills

- Good listener ( this may be a sub-set of the above)

- Friendly / easy to approach / sociable / easy to get along with

The above is only an indicative list, and by no means exhaustive. Please find your own and add and subtract from the list - but spend some time forming your answer. Your friends and family may be a good help here.

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Next question we will deal with: "What are your weaknesses?". Keep watching this space.

***

The World Cup Cricket is round the corner. Log onto Cricket Etcetera for more.

Preparing for the MBA Entrance Interview - part 2: Common Interview questions

2007-02-24T12:57:00.000+05:30

In these posts, we will discuss some of the most common b-school/mba entrance personal interview (p.i.) questions.

q.1 Why MBA? / Why do you want to pursue Management as a career?

-
No interviewer worth his professional/academic experience will accept you as a likely candidate if you go wrong with this one. So you must get this right, without fail.

This question may come disguised also - for example, if you are an engineer, the interview panel may want to know as to why you don't plan to do a Masters in Engineering or Technology. Why not GATE or GRE? But essentially they just want to know that - that why is it that you want to do an MBA?

Where do interviewees go wrong with the answer? - They miss the wheat for the chaff. While it's alright that you do want to make a lot of money in life, please understand that money is an end and not the means. It's not that one cannot make loads of money without doing an MBA - please understand the question clearly: they are asking "why you have chosen this means - that is, management". Similary, lots of other students say that they want to become CEOs or achieve other such exalted corporate positions. Again, the same problem - becoming a CEO is an end, not the means. Getting it?

To understand the question completely and give a suitable reply, you need to understand what becoming a manager entails. What are the roles of a manager? What skill sets does he need? You must know for your own sake the definition of a manager - do you think you have the required skills? Do u think the ones that you don't can be acquired? Can some of your existing managerial skills be refined? As you hunt for this answers, all the while asking yourself as well, the answer to the "Why MBA" will become clear to you.

I don't plan to give you an answer - that will defeat the whole purpose. But think of it like this - people do an MBBS to become doctors, not to become the Medical Superintendent of AIIMS. But will AIIMS ever give the post to a non-MBBS? Why not? Does every MBBS stand a chance of going to the very top? Think about it..and the answers will come flooding in.

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You may write to me should you need a bit of help - but please write only after you have gone through the process i mentioned.

Preparing for the MBA Entrance Interviews

2007-02-07T14:49:00.000+05:30

Let me begin with a question: Would you fear an examination if you were told most of the questions that would be asked, beforehand, and further given time to prepare the answers for them too?

Quite a few things in life are actually pretty simple - just that we somehow manage to complicate them on our own. The B-school (including the IIMs) interviews are one such thing. The interview board rarely ask you questions that you were not expecting or couldn't have expected if you had done even some amount of homework. Even if they do throw a few surprisers, it' s unlikely that a good interview board would reject you on the basis of your lack of knowledge of a particular fact. I have been on the interview board of one of India's finest b-schools myself, and believe me when I say this - each one, mark my words, each one of those rejected was rejected for failing to give a good answer to question/questions that they should well have expected. Yes, we did ask a student to tell us the exact number of districts in India, but she was never rejected because she failed to answer it correctly. We further gave her time to give us an approximate answer, but she was not even rejected for failing to do even that. Such questions are generally "select" answers rather than "rejection" answers. If she had told me that for administrative purposes the great country had been divided into 593 districts, you can't blame me for forming a positive disposition towards the country, can you? I'd have been even more pleased if she wouldn't have known the precise figure but worked out an approximate one. ( 10 small states x 8= 80, 10 mid-sized x 5= 150, 7 large ones x 25 = 175, total: 405 - each one of these figures is wrong, but full marks for an immediate approximate analysis).

If you could become a fly on the wall in any IIM interview room, you would be amazed with some of the answers that you will hear. Students don't go wrong with some of the tougher questions, it's rather the simpler ones which seem to elicit some very weak responses. Inane questions like "Why do u want to do an MBA?" or "What is Marketing?" - well if you want to do an MBA and you expect India's premier b-schools to pick you up you should have a good answer for that, shouldn't u? The marketing sitter is asked to only those students who show an inclination towards marketing, and then not being able to suitably define marketing is a crime, don't u think so? I mean, it's okay if you don't know the precise Philip Kotler definiton of marketing, but your answer should be sufficiently explantory, thats all.

The problem is - interviewees are looking for much external help but don't really sit down on their own and do some good old-fashioned homework. Please understand that the iim interview or for that any other interview is no rocket science. The interviewers are not going to ask you questions out of nowhere. The interview is not so much a knowledge of your test but a test of your aptitude again, just like the CAT. Hence it is not too difficult to gauge what the interview is going to be like, and it follows then that, it's a test where the interviewee already knows the questions beforehand. You just need to be ready with those answers.

Likely scenario:

"Tell us something about yourself/introduce yourself/give us a background et al" are the most common interview openers. There are 2 aspects you need to take care of while answering this question:

1. You should have a rough sketch of the answer ready - of course you know that don't rehearse or memorize the answer.

2. This answer will by and large dictate the rest of your interview. Spend more time or show sufficient enthusiasm while talking about areas that you would like the interviewer to ask you more questions on. If you are a cricket fanatic and would be very happy answering questions on the game, may be you could start with "I am a cricket lover born in a rare non-cricket state in India. It surprises me how Sachin Tendulkar became my favourite sportsman whereas most of my schoolmates at Kochi would swear by Ronaldo or Beckham". Just a suggestion, you could form your own ways of going about it. But don't overdo it as you should cover the various facets of your life and if you drag too long you might be cut short. Also, don't end your first answer talking about a segment of your life from which you do not want the questions to emerge. So don't wind up with academics if that's not where you want the questioning to happen.

to be contd....

Indian B-School Cut-offs & Percentile requirements

2007-01-27T00:39:00.002+05:30

This is an attempt to compile the likely cut-offs for various business schools for admissions to their MBA/PGDBM programmes. Unless specifically mentioned, the cut-offs given below are for the flagship programmes of the respective institutes. All cut-offs are for open/general category students and unless mentioned the cut-offs are in percentiles and not percentages (%) or absolute scores.

Wherever possible, the cut-offs mentioned have been sourced from the respective b-schools, else it has been predicted based on past and current data plus personal interactions and experience. Though I have tried to minimise mistakes to the best of my knowledge, please forgive should a mistake have crept in. The cut-offs mentioned may not be the lowest cut-off but of the lowest point after which very few students would get a call. Please confirm this information with at least one other source before making any final decisions, and use the data prudently.

IIM Ahmedabad - CAT- 98.3 percentile

IIM Bangalore - CAT - 92 percentile

This year, IIM Bangalore has given huge weightage to work-experience thus bringing the cut-offs down. I have personally seen students not getting calls with 99.8 percentile!! ( this student had very good scores across sections but no work-experience)

IIM Calcutta/Kolkata - CAT - 97 percentile

IIM Indore - CAT - 98 percentile

IIM Kozhikode - CAT - 98 percentile

MDI Gurgaon - CAT - 97 percentile

cut-off for MDI Human Resources programme would be about 95 percentile

Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) - CAT - 90 percentile

MICA also accepts XAT and GMAT scores. Though there is no confirmation for the same, it's widely believed that MICA expects a high English/Verbal score. Yet, quite a few Engineers do make it through so there is no bias against any academic groups.

Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad - CAT - 95 percentile

May not be considering sectional cut-offs

International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi - CAT - 93.6 percentile

You also need to fare well across sections as IMI considers sectional cut-off as well.

FORE, New Delhi - CAT - 88 percentile

Quite a few very high scores, with percentile over 98 in the CAT were not given calls - FORE may have an upper cut-off.

NITIE, Mumbai - CAT - 97 percentile

Sectional cut-offs considered, only for Engineers

XLRI, Jamshedpur - XAT - 95 percentile

Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Goa - XAT - 87 percentile

T.A. Pai, Manipal (TAPMI) - CAT - 93 percentile

Sectional cut-offs required

University Business School (UBS), Chandigarh - CAT - 93.6 percentile

Sectional cut-offs: don't know for sure

Nirma, Ahmedabad - CAT - 90 percentile

K J Somaiyya, Mumbai - CAT - 83 percentile

for those without any work-experience the cut-offs may jump to over 88

Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management - CAT - 85 percentile

Great Lakes, Chennai - CAT - 85 percentile

Work-experience required

Welingkar, Mumbai - CAT - 85 percentile

ISWBM, Kolkata - CAT - 80 percentile

IMDR, Pune - CAT - 70 percentile

IMFR, Chennai - CAT - 70 percentile

Amity, Noida - CAT - 70 percentile

Amity also has its own separate entrance test called AMCAT, you need to score over 60 approx out of 100, there is no negative marking here. You can also enter through MAT with a score of 600 plus.

SDM, Mysore - CAT - 75 percentile

Birla Institute of Management & Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida - CAT - 80 percentile

You may apply through MAT as well. BIMTECH also has a separate category of admissions for industry sponsored candidates.

Alliance, Bangalore - CAT - 82 percentile

Kirloskar, near Bangalore - CAT - 70 percentile

Jamnalal Bajaj (JBIMS), Mumbai - MAT percentile of 99 plus

the chief entrance test is Maharastra's state test, the Common Entrance Test (CET) or what's also known as MH-CET or M-CET

Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resource (SCMHRD), Pune - CAT - 94 percentile

the chief entrance test is the SNAP, a score of 75 should do, though like other Symbiois colleges, SCMHRD also factors in other parameters like work-experience and educational background before arriving at the GD/PI shortlist.

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune - SNAP score of 83.75

IMT, Nagpur - CAT - 90 percentile

S P Jain, Mumbai - CAT - 89 percentile

SIIB, Pune - Internation Business - SNAP score of 76.75

SIIB, Pune - Agri Business - SNAP score of 51.00

Both the above Symbiosis cut-offs have been arrived at after giving weightages to various parameters including work-experience, education etc. For details, check the official SIBM site

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For the sectional and overall cut-off for the IIM CAT 2008, click here.

MICAT: Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad's (MICA) Selection Test

2007-01-17T18:05:00.000+05:30

Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad (MICA) is South Asia's leading Communications School today. The Post Graduate Programme in Communications Management (PGPCM) is MICA's flagship programme, the elimination for which happens through either of CAT, XAT or GMAT - the choice being yours. However, post this stage MICA uses an additional written test, besides the regular GD & PI as a part of the selection process. It's called the MICA Admission Test or in short MICAT.

The MICAT is designed to assess the candidates' skills, analytical and divergent thinking, written communication and familiarity with the Indian ethos (this is from the official MICA website). The entrance test is of 1 ½ to 2 hours’ duration and consists of objective-type questions on English and reasoning. There will be some questions on communication as well. You could be asked to develop a slogan/jingle or an advertisement for a brand of mineral water, a new holiday resort, etc.

One myth which almost everybody holds about MICA is the need for "creativity". Please bear in mind that the PGPCM programme at MICA will not land you up with a job in the creative department of any advertising agency - you will instead be in the Media Planning or Account Management or Planning Department. So don't try to be unnecessarily creative while attempting otherwise simple questions. Yes, feel free to let yourself loose if a certain question demands so. And please don't use any verbose language - keep it short and simple. ( you will learn more about KISS once you are inside MICA)

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MICAT Sample Questions:

Reasoning:

Each question has a set of four statements. Choose the alternative where the third segment in the statement can be logically deducted from the preceding two.

A. All fools are idiots; some men are fools; some men are idiots.

B. All fruits have seeds; All seeds have vegetables; All vegetables have fruits.

C. No fruits are vegetables; All flowers are vegetables; No flowers are fruits.

D.No fruits are seeds; All flowers are seeds; No fruits are flowers.

Communication:

You consume so many products. Mention any of one your favourite brands in any category and tell us (a) why it's your favourite? (b) Did the advertisement and promotion of that particular brand influence you in any way to buy it? Do not exceed 30 words.EnglishUse each of the following words in a sentence to clearly bring out its meaning: (a) clandestine (b) misdemeanour (c) cataclysmic (d) debatable (e) criteria (f) divisive (g) junket

East Delhi: Addresses of MBA Entrance Coaching Institutes

2007-01-16T00:57:00.000+05:30

List of CAT Prep Institutes in East Delhi. Though East Delhi is a huge geographical area, all these coaching instiutes seem to be clustered on the Vikas Marg stretch. Here's a list of the branch offices of some of these coaching institutes in this part of town.

1. PT Education
First Floor, Above Sony World, 3, Park End,
Vikas Marg, New Delhi
Phone: 011-22443402 / 08

2. Career Launcher
1st floor, Sikka complex , Commercial Complex,
Preet Vihar
New Delhi - 110092, Delhi
Phone: 011-22443352, 22443382
Email: pv@careerlauncher.com

3. TIME (has 2 centres in East Delhi)
C-4/18, Ankur Complex, Acharya Niketan,
Mayur Vihar Phase I, New Delhi - 110091

F203, IInd Floor, Ashish Complex,
New Rajdhani Enclave, Vikas Marg,Opp. Jhankar Banquet
Phone No. : 42440139/22017044

IMS, surprisingly seems to not have a centre in East Delhi.

Addresses of Coaching Institutes for CAT / Other MBA Entrances: West Delhi

2007-01-16T00:54:00.000+05:30

1. IMS Learning Centre,
J-2/21, Najafgarh Road, Rajouri Garden Pin 110027
Phone: 41447295-97
E-mail: rajouri@imsindia.com

2. Career Forum
EFS Institute, 116-117 Suneja Towers II,
Janakpuri District Centre, NEW DELHI - 110058
Phone Numbers: 011-25555494, 9818550475

3. T.I.M.E ( Triumphant Institute of Management Education)
J-2/6A 1st Floor, B.K. Dutt,
Rajouri Garden, New Delhi-110027
Phone Numbers : 25441026/41447973

4. PT Education
J-1/164, Nandi Apartments, Rajouri Garden ,
New Delhi Ph: 011-25412263, 25419384

5. Career Launcher
Building No. 22, Ist floor , Central Market, Punjabi Bagh(W)
New Delhi - 110008, Delhi
Phone: 45408237, 45408238
E-mail: punjabibagh@careerlauncher.com

Remark: Career Launcher doesn't have a centre for CAT prep in West Delhi proper. Punjabi Bagh is in North-West Delhi

List of MBA Prep / CAT Coaching Institutes in North Delhi / North Campus

2007-01-16T00:49:00.000+05:30

1. Roots Education
2519, 1st floor, Hudson Lane, Kingsway Camp, Delhi - 9
Telephone : 64510803, 47081956

2. Career Forum,
Merry International Senior Sec. Public School ,
Pocket H -19, Sector -7, Rohini, Delhi - 110085
Phone Numbers: 64506956 , 9212117399

3. PT Education: North Campus
2520, Hudson Line, Kingsway Camp, Delhi Ph: 011 - 27427785, 27427786, 32560808

4. PT Education, North Delhi
1, Kohat Enclave, Pitampura, New Delhi
Ph: 011-42451031, 42451032, 32611441

5. TIME, North Campus
G-14 A, 1st Floor, Vijay Nagar, Delhi - 110 009
Phone No : 27458195/27465203/27419563

6. IMS Learning Centre - North Campus
2529, Hudson Lines, North Campus Pin 110009
Phone numbers: 30965272, 27429661

List of MBA Entrance Prep Institutes / their branches in South Delhi.

2007-01-16T00:45:00.001+05:30

1. TIME
A 31, II Floor, Above Sony World, Kailash Colony Market.
Phone No :29235077/41622923/41734029

2. Career Launcher

Kailash Colony, HS-17, 2nd Floor, Near Punjab and Sind Bank ,

Main Market, Kailash Colony,

phone: 26452181, 51632969

3. TATHAGAT ( This blog recommends, especially if you are damn serious about your CAT prep)

HS-13, Kailash Colony Market

Near GK-1, New Delhi - 110 048

Phones: 9891147846 / 9999658139

4. IMS Learning Centre, Kailash Colony
HS-12, Main Market, Near Anupama Sweets
phone numbers: 41731456-57
e-mail: southdelhi@imsindia.com

5. PT Education

A-21, Kailash Colony, New Delhi

Ph: 011-29239359 / 29234822.

5. Roots Education

They hold classes at Laxman Public School, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 16.

You may contact them at these numbers: -41828858, 41828859, 65646758

6. Career Forum

C-16, Ist Floor, SDA Commercial Complex, Opp IIT Main Gate,

NEW DELHI - 110 016.

Phone: 011-26529494, 26528030, 9313748080

Other MBA / CAT Prep Institutes in South Delhi: Alchemist, Manchanda, Sachdeva New PT College and a host of smaller coaching institutes.

(Information compiled from various sources. Though we have tried to ascertain the correctness of the information, we shall not be held liable for any errors that may have crept in due to sundry reasons.)

List of CAT Coaching Centres / Branches of MBA Entrance Prep Institutes in Delhi - Central

2007-01-16T00:42:00.001+05:30

List of CAT Coaching Centres / MBA Entrance Preparation Institutes in New Delhi - Connaught Place/Delhi Central: Address, Phone Numbers & E-mail Address, branch-wise

1. IMS Learning Centre,
101-A, Ashoka Estate Building, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi – 110 001.
Phone Numbers: 23359967-68, 70/87. E-mail: delhi@imsindia.com

2. Career Launcher,
16/47, B Block, 1st Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001
Phone Numbers: 23358918, 23358914
E-mail: cp@careerlauncher.com

3.Tathagat (New Institute but highly recommended)
72 Rear, Janpath
Near Pizza Hut
New Delhi - 110 001
Phones: 9999658139, 9891147846
( If you want to check out their quality of material/teaching, get a first hand idea at their CAT website here.)
4. T.I.M.E.
12, Scindia House, Top Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001
Phone No.:23321275/23318026

5. PT Education
214-17 , Naurang House , 21 , K.G. Marg , Connaught Place , New Delhi -110001
011-41510891 /92/93 , 32589148 / 32624740
E-mail: ptconnaughtplace@ptindia.com

( The information is correct to the best of our knowledge. This is only an attempt to assist students who are looking for information on MBA Entrance Preparation Institutes and we shall not be held responsible for any error in the information. Kindly check from at least from one other source before acting on the information given here. This may not be a comprehensive list.)

Get Ready for the Group Discussion(GDs)

2007-01-14T18:39:00.000+05:30

You must have received your CAT score-card by now, and it's now time to get ready for the crucial next phase of the B-School Entrance process - the Group Discussions and the Personal Interviews. The first point that you need to understand now, and this is very crucial, is that unlike the written test which was an elimination process, the Group Discussion & Personal Interview (GD PI) rounds are a selection process. At the Common Admission Test (CAT) stage, your objective was to just be one-up on others so that you finish around the 99th percentile. However, now you need to make a sufficient impression and convince the GD/PI panel that you are good enough to be selected for the prestigious MBA seat.

In this post, we will discuss how one needs to prepare himself for the GDs and a few handy tips for the B-School Group Discussions.

In the Advanc'edge MBA, Chitra Jha correctly and succinctly defines a GD: Group Discussion is simply an informal discussion amongst a group of candidates belonging to the same age-group and possessing similar aptitude (as proven by the CAT). A group generally comprises six to ten candidates, who have the full freedom to discuss their views on a given subject in the manner they please. This exercise gives the examiners an opportunity to assess the personality traits of many candidates within the same time-frame.

The beauty of this unstructured process is that whenever a group of human beings is given a common task within a set time limit, the group dynamics soon finds a leader or leaders. Those who have natural leadership traits in them display their inborn talents and automatically take over as leaders, enabling the selectors to gauge everyone's leadership quotient. Simultaneously, several important personality characteristics of the candidates can be observed when they are engaged in the discussion, and their guard is lowered.

A most common misconception is that you must speak as much as you can and as many times. While it's important that you make yourself heard sufficiently and put forth your point of view across clearly, and if need be, a little forcefully - it would be most imprudent to try and hog all the limelight. Remember at all times that you are not on a podium but on a round table ( mostly invisible!!). Your objective for the GD should be: To put forth your point/s on the GD topic across to everyone else, supported by logical and meaningful reasons for your stand. Also factor in a secondary objective, which if well executed alongwith the main objective can make you a winner - be a good listener, so that you can sieve out points put forward by your colleagues which you can embed into your arguments as further support. Thus, you will manage to increase the circle of influence for yourself and convince the group on your stand.

You may also take note of the following points for a good GD:

1. No amount of tips and suggestions can help you if you do not have a sufficient knowledge base - you must be regulary reading at least one English newspaper and one Business daily. Make sure to read the editorials and columns - while knowledge is essential, the GD is ultimately a place to voice your opinions and back it up with logic. Look at the way the top columnists structure and build up their argument to convince you of their stand.

2. Begin the GD only if you are absolutely sure you have enough reason to do so - remember that you will be immediately noticed - while you will get points for the initiative, it can easily backfire too if you make a fool of yourself.

3. If you can support your arguments with statistics and quotes from influential people, nothing like it. But at no point should you resort to a lie.

4. Listen to others. It helps.

5. You may disagree with a point raised by someone else - but you must counter the point politely and logically. Don't overdo it.

6. Never lose your cool. Never.

In a later post, we will discuss Personal Interviews at length.

MBA Programmes in India for Working Professionals

2007-01-06T02:14:00.000+05:30

Are you a Working Professional? If yes, check out this list that we have created of institutes in India offering MBA or Post Graduate Management programmes specially meant for candidates with work experience. Click here.

IIM Ahmedabad Short Listing Criteria CAT 2006: General, OBC, SC, ST & PWD Categories

2007-01-05T16:42:00.000+05:30

Short-listing Candidates for Admission to Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) 2007-09 of

IIM Ahmedabad

Available Seats in the Post Graduate Programme 2007-09 of IIMA
A total of 280 seats are available for admission to the Post-Graduate Programme 2007-09 of IIM Ahmedabad. The break-up of 280 seats for various categories of students is given under:
General - 192, OBC (6%) - 17, SC (15%) - 42, ST (7.5%)- 21, PWD (3%) - 8

Minimum Cut-off Requirement of IIM Ahmedabad
In the CAT 2006 bulletin, IIM Ahmedabad had announced the minimum cut-off requirement for each section and overall score as given under:
“Please note that the cut off for short listing SC/ST/PWD candidates for group discussion and personal interview would not be less than 17% score in each of the three sections of CAT-2006 and no less than 25% score in aggregate. For other categories, it would be no less than 25% in each of the three sections and no less than 33% in aggregate. The actual cut-offs used for short-listing, however, may be higher than the above mentioned percentage scores and would depend upon the performance of candidates in CAT-2006.”

Category-wise, the number of candidates, who met these criteria in CAT 2006, is as under:
General : 3431
OBC : 174
SC : 168
ST : 20
PWD : 14

Category-wise Short-listing Criteria and Number of Candidates called for Group Discussions and Personal Interviews
From the qualifying candidates meeting minimum cutoff requirement, the candidates were short-listed
on the following basis:

1. General Category candidates: Out of qualifying candidates, who applied for PGP of IIMA, 608 General category candidates were short-listed. Candidates, whose percentile in each section was above 95.33 and who have an overall percentile above 98.3, have been called for the GD & PI.

2. OBC Category Candidates: Out of qualifying candidates, who applied for PGP of IIMA, 55 OBC category candidates were short-listed. OBC Candidates, whose percentile in section 1 and section 3 was above 90 and who have an overall percentile above 98.3, have been called for the GD & PI.

3. SC Category Candidates: Out of qualifying candidates, who applied for PGP of IIMA, 123 SC category candidates were short-listed. SC Candidates, whose percentile in section 1 and section 3 was above 65 and who have an overall percentile above 85.3, have been called for the GD&PI.

4. ST Category Candidates: Out of candidates, who applied for PGP of IIMA, all 20 ST category candidates, who met minimum cutoff requirement, were short-listed for the GD&PI.

5. PWD Category Candidates: Out of the candidates, who applied for PGP of IIMA, all 14 PWD category candidates, who met minimum cutoff requirement, were short-listed for the GD&PI.

Understanding / Reading the IIM CAT Score card

2007-01-03T19:38:00.000+05:30

Based on information collected from various sources and studying the IIM Common Admission Test score-cards of a few students, including Nihalani Aarti Vijay Kumar's, we arrived at the following results: ( In case you are wondering, Aarti is the national CAT topper with a 100 percentile score )

Important change: Unlike last year, the percentage scores mentioned for each section this year are a percentage of the maximum score in the section. Last year, the percentage score indicated your score divided by the sectional toppers score. So this year, you can actually calculate your absolute score. Just keep this in mind - though each section had a maximum of 100 marks (25 questions x 4 marks ), the IIMs will keep out the questions which had errors out of the calculation.

You may use the following table for your reference: ( in order - section 1, 2,3)
Set 111 - 25, 25, 23
Set 222 - 25, 25, 24
Set 333 - 25, 25, 23
Set 444 - 25, 24, 24

For example, if your score card says 78.33 % for section 3 ( Set 444), it means you have scored 68 marks in that section. ( Set 444 had 24 questions considered for section 3 and 68/96 is equal to 78.33 percent)

I am reproducing the score card of Arti / Aarti Nihalani for your reference:

LR(Percentage Score) 65 DI/LR(Percentile Score) 99.8 Verbal(Percentage Score) 53 Verbal(Percentile Score) 99.97 Quantitative Ability(Percentage Score) 78.125 Quantitative Ability(Percentile Score) 99.82 Total(Percentage Score) 65.375 Total(Percentile Score) 100

Another thing: the total percentage is calculated slightly differently, it's the average of the 3 sectional percentages. You can check using the above scorecard. Cheers!

CAT 2006 scorecard / result out

2007-01-03T02:24:00.000+05:30

The IIMs have announced the results for the Common Admission Test (CAT) held on 19th November 2006. After a brief confusion yesterday morning, where the online link after being put up by one of the IIMs was subsequently withdrawn, has been sorted out and you can find out your CAT 2006 scores here now.

For those of you, who have got the desired percentile scores, a hearty congratulations. I hope you are already gearing up for the crucial Group Discussion & Personal Interview rounds. While IIM Kozhikode seems to have announced the results, the other IIMs seem to have delayed the results and the situation will be clearer in a day or two. Officially, 6th January looks to be the new deadline for announcing results.

Now, there were close to 2 lakh students who wrote the CAT 2006 and in spite of your best attempts, there will be lots of you who would miss the desired IIM call. What should one do?

- if you have narrowly missed the call, it may be a very good idea to gain some work experience in the coming year and write the CAT again in 2007.

- if for some or the other reason, you do not want to wait for another year, go for the next best options only: viz MDI Gurgaon, MICA Ahmedabad, NITIE or some of the other top b-schools through the other tests like FMS & XAT

- if your percentile scores are much lower, say below a 60 percentile, then you need to do some serious reassessment of your performance and future options. Do you think you had put in optimum effort this year? If no, then you may try again next year. If yes, then you may have to look beyond MBA. Please remember that there is not much point doing an MBA from just any b-school - an MBA will add value to your profile only if it's done from a decent place so take your time before deciding. Consult your teachers and friends - they would know you well to give you a good advise. At least look at the world beyond MBA also - there are plenty of emerging fields and you would surely find something of your interest. It may not be a bad idea at all to make use of scientific career planning tools like Psychometric Analysis to find out your areas of interest, strengths & weaknesses.

- don't lose heart, always remember that the IIMs are a very good option but not the only one. Cheers!

****
IIM websites:
Ahmedabad - http://www.iimahd.ernet.in
Bangalore - http://www.iimb.ernet.in/
Calcutta - http://www.iimcal.ac.in
Lucknow - http://www.iiml.ac.in/
Indore - http://www.iimidr.ac.in
Kozhikode - http://www.iimk.ac.in

When should one start preparing for CAT 2007?

2006-12-31T21:30:00.000+05:30

In less than 3 hours from now, 2006 will come to a close. A new year brings with it new hopes and new aspirations. For those of you entering your final year of graduation, it's time you made the big decision - what after B.A /B.Com / B.Tech / BBA ?

Last year well over 4 lakh people wrote various MBA Entrance Tests in this country and they were fighting over less than 5000 quality B-School seats that India has to offer. Of course, doing an MBA abroad is a very good option and the competition there is relatively easier but either which ways you need to make a decision now - whether you want to join the MBA rat(read cat) race. More than 20,000 students have already begun their journey to Ahmedabad - the first batch for CAT 2007 started as early as June 2006 at IMS Learning Centres across the country. Going by past history, that number should more than double by the time the first month of the new year draws to a close.

If you have decided that you do want to go for the coveted MBA degree, then you need to answer the second question - when do you start? Is January too early? Is January already late? Should i first get over with my college exams in May/June? How will I combine the CAT preparation with college exams and the internships and summer training programmes? Each such question has to be answered and factored in to arrive at your final answer.

Take the following points into consideration:

#1 Pre-final year exam schedule

#2 Dedicated preparation time for the above

#3 Mid-term exams if any ( Delhi University students generally have this in Jan)

#4 Duration of your internship/summer training programme

#5 Semester exams in Nov/Dec 2007

and personal factors as well:

#6 Your current level of preparedness / level at day zero

( you can contact your nearest IMS Learning Centre and register for a Preliminary Test - this is based on CAT 2006 and it will give you a very good idea of where you stand vis-a-vis the Common Admission Test)

#7 Are you the kind who prepares for exams over a longer period of time/shorter but crunched study periods?

Some suggestive answers:

1. Start early if possible - January is perfect. But go slow - don't overdo things and space out your preparation programme.

2. Buy the correspondence pack, start preparing on your own for a while and then you may get a better idea of when you want to upgrade to the full classroom programme.

3. If you are not an Engineer/BBA and will not be doing a summer programme, then May or any time immediately after your 2nd year exam ends may also not be a bad time to start.

4. Ask your classmates who have already started.

All the best,

India's Best B-Schools - A Ranking (continued)

2006-12-09T23:02:00.000+05:30

This post is in continuation to my earlier post where we had discussed the country's top ten b-schools. Let's now look at other good options for India's MBA aspirants. This list contains those management schools which may probably not fetch you the mind-boggling dollar salaries that the IIMs can. However, an MBA from these places will get you an assured placement at a reasonably great organisation of your choice and over a period of 3-5 years, if you can display your competitiveness at the workplace, you can reach at par with your contemporary IIM alumni or atleast very very close. From there it will be all upto you, as you compete with them for money, power and glory.

There are two distinct clusters in this second list:
1) b-schools offering the regular MBA degree / PG Diploma in Business Managment and
2) management schools offering specialised programmes. We will take up the second one first.

India's Best Specialised Management Programmes: ( not ranked )

1. Post Graduate Programme in Communications Management offered by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)

2. Post Graduate Programme in Agri Business Management offered by IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Lucknow

3. Master of Arts in Human Resource Management and Labour from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai

4. Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management at Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA)

5. MBA in International Business offered by Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi

6. P.G. Diploma in Computer Aided Management offered by IIM Calcuatta

7. Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management from Indian Institute of Foreign Management (IIFM), Bhopal

8. Masters programme in Social Work at TISS ( refer to 3 above)

9. XLRI's post graduate programme in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.

10. Post Graduate Programme in Fashion Management offered by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Delhi

Dark-horse:
2-yr Programme in the Business of Film & Television at Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International, Mumbai

( will update the post soon to discuss the general b-schools)

IMS Celebrates 30 Successful CATs

2006-12-07T00:25:00.000+05:30

Click on the pictures to enlarge and see details. These pictures are from the ad we published in the Hindustan Times dated 6th December ( yesterday). This is easily the most expensive ad that we have ever done at IMS. A front-page jacket innovation, but a great deal. Also, the creatives took us more than 40-45 hours. We scrapped atleast 2 other ideas which we had at one stage thought were great. This one easily was the best. We knew it the moment it struck. Do check out the body copy.
So those of you preparing for the CAT 2007, don't miss on the fabulous offers at IMS Delhi/NCR as we Celebrate 30. All the very best.

India's Best B-Schools - A Ranking

2006-12-04T23:44:00.000+05:30

1.Indian Institute of Management(IIM) - Ahmedabad
2.Indian School of Business(ISB) - Hyderabad
3.IIM - Bangalore
4.IIM - Calcutta
5.IIM - Lucknow
6.Xavier's Labour Relations Instiute(XLRI) - Jamshedpur
7.National Institute of Industrial Engineering(NITIE) - Mumbai
8.Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) - Delhi
9.S.P.Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) - Mumbai
10.Shailesh J.Mehta Institute of Management, IIT Mumbai

The Common Admission Test, populary known as the CAT is not without reason India's best known MBA Entrance Exam. Out of the above 10 b-schools, as many as 6 use the CAT as the written test. A good percentile in the CAT can earn you an interview call from one or more IIMs, NITIE and S.P. Jain. If you have appeared in the CAT that just went by, on 19th December 2006, you will probably need a score in excess of 110 to get a call from the IIMs. Of course, one also has to ensure that the score is distributed fairly well across the 3 sections to meet the sectional cut-off norms.

If your target is the b-school located in the Steel City of Jharkhand, your entrance examination is called the XAT(Xavier Admission Test). XLRI's entrance test has a higher level of mathematics. It also has a 20 minutes essay writing part.

The IITs hold the Joint Management Entrance Test(JMET) for entry into the various management programmes offered by the various IITs and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. As these programmes are meant for engineers only, you can expect a definitely tougher mathematics section. The JMET also includes a separate Logical Reasoning question. The coming Sunday (10th December 2006) will see the country's brightest engineers fighting it out for these premier techno-management seats.

FMS Delhi has its own separate test, whereas ISB Hyderabad uses the GMAT scores for screening candidates. The latter is open to students with a minimum of 2 yrs of work experience only.

**********
You may also like to read:

Best Places to do an MBA in the US

UK Top Ranked B-Schools

I couldn't bell the CAT, should i settle for MAT?

2006-12-02T23:11:00.000+05:30

The easy answer is NO. The gap between the institutes that you can make it to through the Commmon Admission Test or the CAT ( the six IIMs, MDI Gurgaon, MICA et cetera) and MAT ones ( Welingkar,Amity,BIMTECH,Alliance) is too huge and you can ignore it at your own peril. An MBBS is an MBBS and all MBBS are doctors. Not that all medical colleges are equal, but even if you pass out from the ones at the bottom, you are still a doctor and expect to make a very reasonable living.Unfortunately, as an MBA you may not be as lucky if you don't make it to a good b-school. Lots of the lower ranked b-schools cannot even guarantee you a minimum job, forget a career. So your choice of a b-school becomes critical - where you spend your next two years will decide how you will spend the rest of your life!

While dismissing the MAT is easy, belling the CAT is not so. Almost two hundred thousand people wrote the CAT this year and the IIMs have less than 2000 seats to offer. Even if you include the other good institutes where you can apply through the Common Admission Test, that number doesn't stretch to more than 4000. Let's not forget that out of those 2 lakh students who want to an MBA, more than 1.9 lakh will still not find a seat. What then? The first option is to write the next level of tests. If you are an engineer you can try for NITIE and the IITs through the JMET. If not, you should definitely write the FMS ( Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi ) Entrance and the XAT ( Xavier's Admission Test for XLRI Jamshedpur). Next in line are SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test), IIFT, IRMA and TISS.

Now, I have reached the point where I sincerely hope that you have made it to one of these places that I have mentioned. Because beyond this, you will really begin to compromise, the quality of the b-schools drop alarmingly, the kind of education and training you will be getting will be highly questionable and as a result of all these your career is bound to suffer.

(to be continued)

CAT-CALLS

2006-11-22T01:08:00.000+05:30

A call from a reporter working with a leading news channel yesterday evening got me thinking in more ways than one. He was asking for my comments on the 3 errors which had crept into the CAT 2006 question papers. Now that's an alright thing to do but his further prodding made me sit up and realize that this seemingly harmless line of questioning may actually not be so. My first reaction had been spontaneous and honest, almost so much so that it got me worried that he would put me on record for saying what i had. But i would only soon realize that i had nothing really to worry about because the answer i gave was exactly the opposite of what he wanted, and it fortunately, had no chance of making it to the airwaves. This became quite clear when he put his next question which was actually the same question again, but the language had undergone a complete transformation. When i would still not react in the way he wanted me to, out came question number 3, which was actually question # 1 again but now it came with the answer already prefixed with it. All he was seeking was a certain reply which had not been forthcoming, so words were being put into my mouth now. Luckily, i had realized the trap well in time and didn't fall for it.

"When there is no news, it's often created by the newsmen", once said Vir Sanghvi. Yesterday's experience coupled with a few news pieces i read in the newspapers and saw on the news channels today and i understood what the ace journalist was trying to say that day. I was at my Barakhamba Road office on the CAT afternoon and had met dozens of students who had just written the most important examination of their lives. Each one of them was well aware of the 3 errors but not one was making a hullabaloo about it. The general opinion was that it was not expected from the IIMs and that was it. No one thought the mistakes could have impacted their future lives. After all there were 75 questions and even the best had attempted only 50 odd questions. You had plenty of questions to not attempt, so a complication here n there and they had all proceeded to the next question without much ado. But this is lean season for newsmakers, and they scented blood here. All that was needed were a few comments from the various stake holders – students, parents and training institutes like mine. That’s how the phone-call fitted into the scheme. Thank you Mr. Sanghvi, for the forewarning.

The C.A.T is not news, it happens every year but mistakes in the CAT questions had potential. Almost 2 lakh people wrote the CAT this year, up by almost 40% from last year so the CAT is definitely getting popular. Now there are less than 2000 seats in the six IIMs put together which means most students can't make it to the top. Could their frustrations be tapped into? After all we are talking about almost 2 lakh families now which translates into a million people. A million people is a lot of people, enough to take the TRPs up by a decimal point or two. In the cut-throat world of news channels, that’s reason enough to sit up, take notice and make news!

CAT 2006: The changes

2006-11-20T01:16:00.000+05:30

What used to be about 170-180 a few years back has now reduced to just 75. If you look at the last four years, the decline seems to have been a very planned affair. 150, 123, 90 and now 75 - that's the number of questions asked in the CAT( Common Admission Test to the IIMs) in the last four years in reverse chronology. Experts say it's a move towards the GMAT-ification of CAT. I don't know whether they are right about that but if that's the raison d'etre behind this shrinking basket of questions, it's a pitiable one. What makes more sense, and is possibly the correct rationale is that the IIMs have realised that what can be tested over 175 questions can as accurately be done over fewer questions, just that they have played it safe by following a gradual approach towards this. My own feeling is that they have hit the peak this year, and we will see this graph plateauing over the next few years.

The most impacting change this year was interestingly the least visible one. Increasing the number of options is at first impression not too great a change, but it can change the whole test-taking-technique dynamics. You will need a little more education before you take an educated guess now!! The game of elimination becomes a tad more time consuming. It may change the way you go about solving a problem completely. And there's a 20% more chance of you getting confused between two options. Other changes this year included an increase in the test duration to 150 minutes and a return to the traditional uniform marking scheme.

While these structural changes are important and affect the test takers, it's the anatomical changes in the CAT that happened this year that are without doubt more crucial. When I met Ravi Kiran, a student at the IMS Barakhamba Road branch, minutes after the test, he seemed confident about his chances but was more than a little disappointed that his many hours spent learning the finer nuances of the English grammar had gone completely waste. A mere glancing through the English section was sufficient to understand Ravi's point. Not a single grammar or usage based question was asked this year. All that was important this year was reasoning and interpretation. When i spent a little more time with the paper, i realised that although it was not as obvious in the Problem Solving section, a similar philosophy had been adapted there as well. Logic and conceptual understanding counted far more than any technical knowledge of mathematics. I will not be far off the mark if i were to say that the IIMs have reduced the importance of both English and Mathematics in the CAT.

All in all, three things would count this year:
1.Conceptual Understanding
2.Logical Reasoning & Other Reasoning Skills

3. How good an interpreter you are - your ability to arrive at decisions based on given texts and data.

All three are important attributes seeked for in a manager, and that's why at IMS we keep saying, "Take the CAT like a Manager".

For a detailed analysis of CAT 2006 and to know the possible cut-offs for the IIMs, MDI, MICA, TAPMI and other institutes click here

Over 40,000 students wrote the CAT 2006 in Delhi alone

2006-11-20T00:55:00.000+05:30

In my previous post, I mentioned that early indications showed that around 30,000 students wrote the CAT (Common Admission Test to the IIMs) in Delhi including the NCR areas. Newspaper reports in the last couple of months gave a similar figure and we thought we were right. But by the time the final figures were compiled from the 56 CAT centres in the region, the figure had changed upwards by more than 35%. Including the centres in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon over 40,000 students appeared for the Sunday's entrance test to the finest b-schools in India. ( Faridabad and Ghaziabad were not given a centre by the IIMs this year)

That's a staggering number compared to only a few years back when I had written the C.A.T. - in 1999, the figure for the entire country stood at 75,000 or so. Now North India alone has that many people writing the test !! With over 2 lakh applicants now across the country, India is awfully lacking in seats in quality b-schools which means that thousands of good students end up pursuing their MBA dreams from an inferior business school. While at IMS, we constantly ask students to not compromise on their choice of an institute, even suggesting them to wait for an year if need be, it's easier said than done. There are not even 10,000 seats in b-schools you would pass as good. So it's hardly a surprise that lots of our students don't heed our advice in this regard. The industry needs far many more qualified professionals than our system is churning out today and there are enough students inteterested in taking up management as a career option, as can be seen by yesterday's enthusiasm. What we need is more top quality b-schools, and soon.

*****
Post-script:
IMS has taken a step in this direction setting up a b-school at Kolkata. Praxis, as the new b-school has been christened is an IMS Learning Resources initiative in collaboration with XLRI, Jamshedpur.

My bread-n-butter Sunday

2006-11-19T12:22:00.000+05:30

Today, 19th November 2006 is not just any other Sunday। It's the CAT Sunday - as i post this entry over 1,80,000 students are possibly writing a test which may can their lives forever. The Common Admission Test for the six IIMs is a ticket to corporate success, so it's hardly any wonder that the competition is gruelling. So gruelling that even a 99th percentile ( a top 1% score) is sometimes not sufficient to get the all important interview call from the Indian Institutes of Management.

For us working at IMS, the stakes are both higher and lower। While we are not too concerned about our percentiles any more and our own careers insulated from the vagaries of the CAT, the percentiles of thousands of others suddenly become that much more important. While IMS has been sending students to the IIMs by the hundreds every year for over 29 years now, every CAT is a fresh new challenge. The butterflies are back in our stomachs every winters - have we trained our students well enough, have the new changes we incorporated this year been right, have we prepared our students to face the pressure of the percentile game? This year is a bit more exciting since we launched a brand new pedagogy - the ICAP ( Interlinked concepts and applied pedagogy) for the Common Admission Test training programme. The basic idea was simple - the CAT keeps changing, our students should be prepared for any eventuality. Though it was launched only in July and the first proper test will be in November 2007, we did give our 2006 students a few ICAP booster classes. With an interesting case-study based teaching method and the cartoon characters Kittu and Mittu to simplify your mathematics learnings, ICAP is a quantum leap. But the CAT is the real test. Let's see what the students tell us this evening and tomorrow.

*****

Post script:

Reports from my marketing team out in the field covering the 56 CAT centres in Delhi/NCR indicate that there are close to 30,000 students writing the test this year in the national capital region. It's only getting tougher..

Reproductions from my columns in the Education Times - 5

2006-11-18T20:49:00.000+05:30

Question:
Post the CAT, one is not left with too much time for preparations for the GD & Interviews. Should I start right away then?

Answer:
You are right about the lack of time for preparations for GD & Interview after the CAT. Plus you will in all likelihood also preparing for some of the other entrance tests. What you could do now for the second stage of the selection process is:
1. Regulary read at least one English newspaper and one Business daily. It is however preferable to read two general dailies as this will help you get different points of views on the same topic. Often the GDs & Interviews are not so much a direct test of your knowledge like a quiz, but a place to voice your opinions on matters of national & global matters, specially from the world of business. Whatever views you may hold forth, if you could back it up with substantial reasoning, is highly appreciated. In the GDs you might face counter-questions on points you raised. Even though you may not agree with the opinions of one of the newspapers, but one of the other participants may do. In such a scenario, tackling his/her arguments will be easier if you have a good idea about the other opinion(s).
Must read:
- Page 1
- Editorials
- Edit Page columns
- Business Pages
- Sports Page/s
- News n articles from areas which you may have mentioned as your areas of interest

2. Swap some of the sit-coms that you are watching with News channels. TV can be a good source of passive information acquisition. If you are not very comfortable reading your Economic Times, you may start off with one of the business channels. Choose any one that you may fancy.

3. Do a quick run through lots of political and business magazines. Spend time on areas which you may think are likely gd/interview topics. Formulating a list of such topics is not very difficult. Take help from friends and classmates.

Reproductions from my columns in the Education Times - 4

2006-11-09T00:14:00.001+05:30

Q. I started my prepration for the CAT only a month back, whereas everyone else seems to have started way back. Do I stand any chance?
( Sanghamitra Mishra, Dibrugarh )

A. While 6 months is the ideal time needed for preparation for the CAT, it's not a given because of the nature and components of the test. The CAT tests you on concepts you acquired at school, from Classes 6th to 11th. So there are hardly any new knowledge areas that you need to cover. What changes is the way you are tested, so the questions are different from what you would have answered at school. Another important aspect is the inter-linkage of concepts - you sometimes have to use more than one concepts to arrive at the solution. The CAT is a elimination test for the country's top management schools, and as such it tries to find out whether you are fit enough to be a manager. Maths & English are only tools, and therefore the difficulty level of the questions, while constantly increasing over the years, isn't really the highest and that's why you still have a chance.

Whether you start early or late, you should give ample time to the basics. Quite a bit of dust settles in in the intervening years - maths formulae need to be re-memorised,
your grammar might need some brushing-up and you of course then need to do some old-fashioned practising on the questions. I am assuming you have spent your time so far on your fundamentals. If you are still on it, don't panic and rush into testing yourself on full-length tests. The wiser strategy would be to be thorough on the basics and only then attempting the tests, even if that means you have time for only a fewer tests. Remember that it's more important to get the best out of a few tests than writing tests endlessly. You may refer to previous week's CAT Countdown for more on post test-analysis. ( In case you can't locate the newspaper, you can check it out at www.timesofindia.com/e-paper)

The CAT is the most important of them all, but you have quite a few other options available as well. XAT, FMS, SNAP & JMET will take place later and you will have more time for preparation for these important tests. If you have 2+ years of work-experience you can also consider writing the GMAT. Besides b-schools abroad, some Indian B-schools viz. ISB, MDI, MICA etc. also accept GMAT scores.

Reproductions from my columns in the Education Times - 3

2006-11-09T00:12:00.001+05:30

Q. Post the CAT, one is not left with too much time for preparations for the GD & Interviews. Should I start right away then?

Answer:
You are right about the lack of time for preparations for GD & Interview after the CAT. Plus you will in all likelihood also preparing for some of the other entrance tests. What you could do now for the second stage of the selection process is:
1. Regulary read at least one English newspaper and one Business daily. It is however preferable to read two general dailies as this will help you get different points of views on the same topic. Often the GDs & Interviews are not so much a direct test of your knowledge like a quiz, but a place to voice your opinions on matters of national & global matters, specially from the world of business. Whatever views you may hold forth, if you could back it up with substantial reasoning, is highly appreciated. In the GDs you might face counter-questions on points you raised. Even though you may not agree with the opinions of one of the newspapers, but one of the other participants may do. In such a scenario, tackling his/her arguments will be easier if you have a good idea about the other opinion(s).
Must read:
- Page 1
- Editorials
- Edit Page columns
- Business Pages
- Sports Page/s
- News n articles from areas which you may have mentioned as your areas of interest

2. Swap some of the sit-coms that you are watching with News channels. TV can be a good source of passive information acquisition. If you are not very comfortable reading your Economic Times, you may start off with one of the business channels. Choose any one that you may fancy.

3. Do a quick run through lots of political and business magazines. Spend time on areas which you may think are likely gd/interview topics. Formulating a list of such topics is not very difficult. Take help from friends and classmates.

Reproductions from my columns in the Education Times - 2

2006-11-09T00:09:00.000+05:30

Q. I am confident about the Maths section, but I have been struggling with my English. (Have fared badly in Reading Comprehension in the SimCATs). How should I divide the allotted time across sections?

A: It’s quite a tempting idea to allocate more time to your weaker section/s but not necessarily the most appropriate. Remember the cut-offs will be decided based on an equal-time-allocation scenario. The best solution to your problem is also the most traditional one – work harder on your reading comprehension, experiment with 2-3 different tactics depending on your chief problem area – accuracy or speed. You still have over 45 days to go before CAT and it’s sufficient to sort out the problem.

Reproductions from my columns in the Education Times - 1

2006-11-08T23:53:00.000+05:30

Question:
To get a call from a top b-school, I need atleast 90 percentile with sectional cut-offs as well. However, I have been consistently struggling between 70 and 80 percentiles. What can I do in the remaining time?
( Arjun Arya, Dehradun)

Answer:
Most students reach a peak-performance level in the late September-October period. However, this peak maybe a function of your knowledge and knowledge-appication levels and not the final summit. If you seemed to have hit such a plateau, spend some time analysing your past performances. Often students tend to not attempt or make mistakes in questions from a common topic. For example, you will find that you have been avoiding pie-charts regularly or have been getting lots of questions from permuations & combinations wrong. Now your task is to select and work on 1-2 such areas, so that you have a new knowledge-area to score from. These are a few additional tips for you, but use them cautiously, and only if it suits your particular requirement.

1. To attempt these additional questions, you will need to find out some additional time as well. This can only come by reducing the time you have been taking to answer the other questions. So while analysing your past papers, you need to look out for the questions which have been eating up too much time. You need to find out faster ways to solve them or weed out some if needed.

2. An average student attempts 3 out of 5 RC passages. Try and see if you can run through passage 4 or 5 very quickly after reading the questions first. Your objective is to answer only the easiest 2 questions. Experiment with these a few times before you try it out in the real world. If it's not working for you, you will be better off avoiding this tactic