B-schools accepting CAT score contemplate alternative admission criteria

opinion poll.jpg Concerned with the events surrounding the conduct of CAT 2009, many business schools that accept the CAT score for their admissions are on alert and some are already contemplating alternative criteria for their 2010 admission season. We spoke to some of the directors of such b-schools and realised that an alternate action plan, although not very evident, is in the offing.

Taking a stand, Dr CS Venkata Ratnam, Director, International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi told PaGaLGuY, “We might have our own test” for admission in the absence of corrective action by the CAT authorities.

Said Shweta Chhabra, Academic Manager at SP Jain Center for Management, Dubai, “Although a decision is still to be taken by the management, we might make it compulsory for CAT 2009 candidates to take our internal aptitude test and might treat them as candidates without a score.” Note that SP Jain Dubai also accepts GMAT scores, will accept the CAT 2008 score and also has its own internal aptitude test apart from the CAT scores.

Prof Sudeep S Kumar, Associate Professor and Admissions Coordinator of TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal (TAPMI), thinks that the moment a test is distributed over a certain period of time, ‘normalization suffers’. This combined with the way the things are managed might make the management at TAPMI ‘reduce the weightage’ given to the CAT score. According to him, a candidate’s marks in graduation and other aspects will play a significant role in his admission to the institute.

At Institute of Financial Management and Research (IFMR), Chennai, the group discussion and personal interview may be made stricter to screen candidates whose luck had more than its fair chance in their CAT scores, according to Prof S Ganapathy, Head of Placements and External relations. The institute can also use XAT scores as a standby for such a scenario.

At many institutes, the role played by the CAT is that of a cut-off score, the remaining levels of the selection process taking care of selecting the right candidates. For example, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) which conduct their own test ‘MICAT’ apart from the CAT and GMAT scores. Director Prof Ashok Ranchhod said,”MICA already uses a three stage admission process: Stage 1 or Entry point: CAT/GMAT; stage 2: MICA’s internal examination MICAT and stage 3 is GD/PI. As we do not rely solely on CAT for admission purposes, the fiasco will not have any major impact in terms of MICA’s selection process. The only effect forecast might be a slight rescheduling of timelines if necessary.”

Prof T N Swaminathan, Director-Admissions at the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai too thinks CAT is just a cut-off score and their admission process which consists of recommendation letters, essays and stress on past academic record will help them select the best candidates.

In the whole mess, there are institutes who do not have an alternative plan to accepting CAT scores as according to them, CAT will still be a fair test after all. C Gopalakrishnan, Director, Institute of Management, Nirma University, said he believed in the CAT while Prof Suresh Ghai, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research thought that the percentage of the problems was too small to be considered a problem. He too stressed that the CAT was just a cut-off parameter and that the institute will strengthen their own internal criterion for admissions to get the most suitable candidates.

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today	#101 December 09, 2009, 10:00 am @anjani …. hahahahah … thats amazing …. @soumitro ….probably u wd like to mail the iim director again with this news
WTF ??	#102 December 09, 2009, 10:06 am I suggest the IIMs do the following frm nxt yr … Invite appln. to their respective programmes like this time .Instead of holding a farce exam like this , hold a “lucky draw” to choose say some 5000 guys (givin weightage to other things also) . doin this will not produce any worser result than what we are goin to see on 22nd , on the other hand students will be spared the unnecessary headache (& heartache) and IIMs too will not have to waste any money or give stupid explanations for failures. And , the best part is no pretense , nobody can thump his chest and say he has got through on merit .This will also solve the “logistical” problems faced by them in paper pencil tests.
surrealist	#103 December 09, 2009, 10:17 am LOL @ wtf??
iimmaterial	#104 December 09, 2009, 10:55 am check http://telegraphindia.com/1091209/jsp/nation/story_11841021.jspthis
xyz	#105 December 09, 2009, 10:57 am @anjani.. do you really think somebody who designed the system wud be so insane/mad/idiot as to have an error in the code that marks the correct answers to the questions automatically .. u have professional IT guys working on the code/alog of such systems .. use some common sense before gossip mongering ..
caterpilar	#106 December 09, 2009, 11:09 am @njani is right…….. I too have heard of this from Bhuvneshwar, point is there is no proof.
gadhon ka sardar	#107 December 09, 2009, 11:13 am If wat anjani says is true, disautomatically implies we hv d topper @ 100%…….DAMN ye IIM’s kar kyaa rahe hain, kis videshi agency ko contract ded iyaa, India me s/w engg.’s ki kamee hai kyaa ?????????
peogrip	#108 December 09, 2009, 11:26 am “Systems marked correct answers to the questions automatically” What a bullshit non sense. This is only rumor, don’t believe it. The virus don’t have the intelligence to answer the questions, nor IIM’s have provided answers to Prometric , they have only given 20 set of questions that’s it. Surprised to see people believing in such stories.
Max payene	#109 December 09, 2009, 11:43 am It seems that some minister’s son is planning to get into the IIM’s!
Ajab Gajab	#110 December 09, 2009, 11:47 am @gadhon ka sardar – Are bhai agat india ko contract de dete to pata nahi kya hota …. yahan ke 90% IT professionals CAT dete hain aur agar wahi paper ka code likhenge to ….. ha ha ….. select * answers from Question_Paper where roll_number = “my_roll_number”
@njani	#111 December 09, 2009, 11:57 am @peogrip.. Pal, you have proper right to term it a rumor.. I would also love to do the same. I dont have evidence, nor I have seen the candidate marking 60 questions… But “Jahan Dhuaan hai wahan aag bhi hai”.(wrf: caterpilar, Bhuvaneshwar) Anyways all the best for XAT
peogrip	#112 December 09, 2009, 12:12 pm LOL @ Ajab Gajab. also Delete from Answer_Bank where roll_number ‘my_roll_no’ . So you are the only one to top CAT.
rajuambat	#113 December 09, 2009, 12:13 pm Aaaaaaarrrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhh…. x-(
peogrip	#114 December 09, 2009, 12:14 pm sorry PG didn’t accept not equal to mark. Writing again Delete from Answer_Bank where roll_number not in (‘my_roll_no’) .
suman	#115 December 09, 2009, 12:17 pm I would blame the coaching centres also for the fiasco. They didn’t the train the students in the online format even after taking so much. Now like every body else they are pointing fingers at IMM
suman	#116 December 09, 2009, 12:19 pm Did coaching centres do their job? Most student didn’t have a clue about the new format
raghavbadiger	#117 December 09, 2009, 12:46 pm I am very happy about TOI as it is carrying lead article or at least an article in city page on CAT almost everyday.
Roar	#118 December 09, 2009, 1:01 pm @suman: Coaching centres did more than enough ya. I took online mock cats of two leading test-prep institutes and their user interface was exactly in accordance with prometric guidelines and what we got on the final day. I didnt feel like im seeing an alien screen in the real cat. Nonetheless i faced a server crash. THAT was freaky. Crap like that never happened in the mocks! Students who didnt have a clue bout the new format probably didn’t sign up or register for the online mocks.
raghavbadiger	#119 December 09, 2009, 1:12 pm @Roar….U R rt. Training institutes did well as their performance has implications on their popularity and student population. .
sudhanshubhatt	#120 December 09, 2009, 1:28 pm It happens only in India, where fools do the mismanagement of affairs for Institutes of such high prestige. IIM’s can only tout for the most difficult admission entrance inapropos to Harwards & Stanfords of the world, but this incident proves that the education imparted is simply theoretical and no where matches to the quality and efficacy of these world leaders.
gadhon ka sardar	#121 December 09, 2009, 1:29 pm y blame d coaching centres dey provided us d best interface, d fault rests solely on d IIM’s ………..
peogrip	#122 December 09, 2009, 1:35 pm @sudhanshubhatt , Really? Won’t you go into IIM’s given a chance this year? Don’t try to compare Indian education with others. We Indians do not need to imitate every bit of westernization. What IIM’s are doing are best, except this very incident of CAT 2009 fiasco though.
raghavbadiger	#123 December 09, 2009, 1:52 pm @sudhanshubhatt Lets not get cynical here. Mr.Deodhar is not IIM. Lets wait some more time. @peogrip I second you thought..
pencil	#124 December 09, 2009, 1:54 pm It seems their question bank of twenty slots have exhausted,,,,,so now they are busy sorting out the questions from CAT previous yrs and examination guide to coaching….Once the question paper is ready, they will start the test window again for the remaining candidates…. PUYS>>> this time CAT has more than 20 papers , 2 already added on the extended day…not sure whteher that was addiition or reprition..any clue ..who have given the test on that day… Still 20 + questions paper for exam…IIMs ..you are gr8…hats off. !!
Shashank	#125 December 09, 2009, 2:07 pm @anjani: If what you said is true, its disgusting ! Those who think that a problem like pre-marked answers is not possible, let me inform you that it is very believable. The answers are already stored in the database and a slight modification in the script can cause the radio buttons to appear checked for default values(answers). If some people can get to see testing software without the timer, some people getting their tests with answers marked is also possible. it has nothing to do with the virus. It is all due to flawed coding with no beta-testing.
soumitro	#126 December 09, 2009, 2:10 pm @anjani:i think it’s possible.it happened with me once i was giving CL(Unproc Mocks).
pencil	#127 December 09, 2009, 2:15 pm @anjani…. wat a stupid thing..how cud that be possible….. @shashank …… Do u really believe such thing..i know IIms were at the worst..and everything is going against them….. But how cud all the answers be pre marked….i dont know technicality…as i am not an Er. ..but that cud really happene…. I still think it is just a rumour…but this year anything can happen…. TRULY LUCKY GAl , She will be the topper…..with 100 %….
Saurabh bashera	#128 December 09, 2009, 2:47 pm If u r born in India, than u must accept IIMs as the best Career option…Here evry guy Who knw abt MBA got a dream of getting Into IIMs… But this time they have really hurted the spirits of many aspirants…They must seriously think abt it coz when it comes to career..nobody wants to compromise…. Regards….
Attila123	#129 December 09, 2009, 3:09 pm LOL… Now a more competitive XAT after al this fiasco.
jaituteja	#130 December 09, 2009, 3:14 pm Hey guys look at this. . . http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/indian-institute-of-management-prometric-c295960.html
polpot	#131 December 09, 2009, 3:25 pm Pencil “Still 20 + questions paper for exam…IIMs ..you are gr8…hats off. !!” Everything you’ve said till now leads me to believe that you’re here just to wind up people. It is quite a well accepted fact that the exams were botched up due to negligence. Since a lot of people’s careers are based on this, they are bound to get frustrated. If you think you’re being the “voice of reason,” you’re wrong. Its coming off as quite the opposite.
Gy3	#132 December 09, 2009, 3:58 pm IIM’s reputation is at stake! If even B schools are planning to ignore CAT scores, then IIM directors are in a crucial stage. Better they plan a retest and keep up the reputation.
hitwicket	#133 December 09, 2009, 4:07 pm @jaituteja this is just the begining bro …. wait and watch what happens next… it will turn into a complete chaos (yes .. more than what we witnessed)…. today’s TOI also mentions that IIM’s should conduct a paper pencil retest asap before the HRD Ministry forces them to do so , in which case their reputation will be tarnished (if anything is left) I do not understand why is this clandestine way of handling things being adopted …. when you have taken close 35 crores from normal middle class students … u definitely owe them an explanation let alone a solution … im sure there are many more PIL’s in the queue …. people just want to wait and listen what the heck are these jokers discussin in their campuses… the moment its unsatisfactory …. u know what happens
dimplepie	#134 December 09, 2009, 6:18 pm I agree, hitwicket! prometric atleast owes an apology to the lakhs of students who underwent such trauma. imagine, we work hard for months preparing for the exam, and this is how serious it is to the test organizers!! there are so many other computer entrance tests and i havent heard of such a disaster…be it ignou, gmat, gre etc. i wish it was a better company conducting the test ya…
sejalsharmaa	#135 December 09, 2009, 6:24 pm Thank god for small mercies…atleast the b-schools are thinking of alt criteria. Otherwise the absoltely unfair CAT was to spoil the aspirations of many of us..wonder that the new criteria would be though! I have other exams also lined up..hope they go well.
aki1990	#136 December 09, 2009, 9:31 pm well..i dun thnk itz still fair to all.. cuz ol dose students hu dun hv gr8 acads or gr8 extra currics or work ex(including meh) bt hv worked hard thinking dat gud percentile in CAT vl do most of da job vl hv no chance of goin thru if da institutes vl further reduce da weightage to CAT score.. our dream of doin mba 4m a top college vl b shattered.. jus bcoz sumbudy hs nt been able 2 do his best in school nd college level doesnt mean dey r nt capable of doin mba 4m TOP instis… i feel pretty disheartened afta seeing ol dis.. i dun hv a bad academic record bt ws nt among da meritholders.. i hv been in da range of 70-80… bt den dere r many hu dun evn hv dis much percentages.. dun dey deserve a gud college.. shld dere hard work dat dey hv put in preparin fo CAT jus go 2 waste… i dunno wotz gonna happen dis year.. GOD help us!!
aki1990	#137 December 09, 2009, 9:35 pm @dimplepue.. well prometric only conducts gre,gmat etc.. so cnt say whtr dere is n e bettr company.. bt yaa.. i agree wid u.. dey hv messed it up bigtym here in INDIA.. nd jus apologising wont do.. a simple apology cnt make up fo ol da hard work da thousands of students hv put in… jus 2 c.. dis kind of a CAT..!!
aki1990	#138 December 09, 2009, 9:36 pm @dimplepie.. well prometric only conducts gre,gmat etc.. so cnt say whtr dere is n e bettr company.. bt yaa.. i agree wid u.. dey hv messed it up bigtym here in INDIA.. nd jus apologising wont do.. a simple apology cnt make up fo ol da hard work da thousands of students hv put in… jus 2 c.. dis kind of a CAT..!!
Stupid Common Man	#139 December 09, 2009, 9:51 pm Will we send them Flower Buke in Bulk. And write Get well Soon. Sab Bimaar ho Gayele hain.
pencil	#140 December 09, 2009, 10:54 pm @stupid… IIM has switch over to E Age…. and u r still on flowers and bouquet… Better send them E greeting wishing them “GET WELL SOON”….
Disgruntled	#141 December 10, 2009, 1:33 am http://certification.about.com/b/2009/09/07/oracle-dumps-prometric.htm
Disgruntled	#142 December 10, 2009, 1:43 am http://certification.about.com/b/2009/09/07/oracle-dumps-prometric.htm Mind u, this news posting was from september 09.Wonder how come the cool dudes at IIM dint see the loss of market share prometric had been going through.
Disgruntled	#143 December 10, 2009, 1:49 am http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Prometric-will-get-Rs-870-per-candidate-from-CAT-comm–Minister/552040/ 2,50,000 X 870->21,75,00,000 Hmmmm,thats a lot of money,n yet they dint have contingency plans in place?If i was running prometric,i would hav put a lucrative exam like CAT on the highest priority cause it would gimme lotsa revenue as well as would look really good on my portfolio.
Vids	#144 December 10, 2009, 7:51 am If the IIM’s open another window now for those unlukcy candidates who were not been able to give the test…wont those students have an added advantage over the “lucky ones who were able to give their tests” as now the question types and format and pattern is practically out…???
vinod.gandhi	#145 December 10, 2009, 1:16 pm i do understand the pain of all,who couldnot write exam this year due to technical problems.Some students couldnot find dates,however some faced system problems.some found wrong answers marked in review. But at the same time,being a Software professional,I havenot faced any issue as such. Infact paper was so easy and it decreased the CAT level.we should all be happy that by this means,we could have managed more,as it gives us such a easy exam. Be positive and try to manage the problem.I dont think B schools should really opt for this option (alternative exams and all) CAT has some relevent and one should not forget it. Regards, Vinod Gandhi
Tiger3	#146 December 10, 2009, 3:17 pm IIMs and CAT are no more prestigious. So people stop worrying about CAT’09 and go ahead with the preparation for really competitive examinations like XAT, FMS, MAT… It is better to be in institutes like XLRI, SP Jain…
cdcmba	#147 December 10, 2009, 4:41 pm @ Gandhi. I Appreciate your love with ethics and your belief in CAT09.Voices like your and more are just gonna become louder as Jan 22 nears.. As far as being a techie/non-techie is concerned let me tell you that you would have got a big “ZERO” regarding the technical knowledge of the software that was used by Prometric to test u and me in those 2.15 hours(variable ). This had been designed for a novice and incidentally it also appears that its been designed by a novice too..:) I am confidently typing this beacause I am involved in a project developing a testing software for a leading European univ and the standards set their are not even comparable to what u and me have seen in CAT. Going online is amazing , all thumbs up, but not @ the expense of even a single candidate.. This did not happen in CAT09.. I believe IIMs are using time as a degrading factor. They wanna kill any views against them thru this. and culture ideas like yours in their favor.. The test was simply unfair in many ways. and no level of solace would put it off!!!
sejalsharmaa	#148 December 10, 2009, 5:48 pm i completely agree cdcmba…well said! making the test comp based was a good decision..bt, managing it thsi way was crap, they cant take students for granted. blaming it on virus n stuff is only a face saving tacktic. not expected from the likes of IIMs!
buntysujal	#149 December 10, 2009, 6:11 pm right! considering wot we hv gone thru and how unfair the test was, its nice to hear that b-schools are thinking of alt criteria. but then, if they give more weightage to acad scores that mite not be very fair either..one prometric messed it up, and lakhs of students are paying for it
shashank	#150 December 10, 2009, 6:24 pm @pencil Of course i believe this instance. I am a programmer myself, and i know what all can happen if the things go wrong. As i said before, I am not surprised to hear that a pre marked paper did appear. The answers options are in the database and the correct answer is pre-determined. So, an tweak in the script can make the radio buttons get marked by default. But here, the point is whether the test was credible ? At my center in Chandigarh, I saw a guy copy the entire paper from his friend sitting next to him. I was furious inside, but I knew I couldn’t do anything. I was left heart-broken to find an undeserving candidate choose the easy way. If he gets selected, a deserving candidate is bound to lose a seat. And this was not an isolated case. People looked to be on a cheating-spree !! i mean WTF !!
ayneil85	#151 December 10, 2009, 6:47 pm all those who are not satisfied with CBT CAT the way its been conducted coupled with own experiences please fill the form in http://www.catiim.in website contact us link with their names n cat ids.for last one week aspirants are filling the form.. link was given n shared here also but as IIM N PROMETRIC is collecting data now after so called successful conclusion of cat yesterday 8 dec ..its high time those who havent filled it and want to do..to execute it ASAP..fill with genuine details n about problems faced wd test part questions.. clarity of graphs..ppl gettin more time .. keeping in mind all this fill it.there is a news final decision would be taken 2-3 days 4m nw after collecting all data and complains.if the number of complains reaches more than ten thousand there is chance for a retest.. so act accordingly and immediately …to all who arent satisfied in any way and want a retest…if already filled plzzz ignore ds msg ..pass this to ur frnds..cheers
Tiger3	#152 December 10, 2009, 7:11 pm I’ve done my Test well. The conduct at our testing site was very good. Except for the wrong and missing questions in DI and LR my test went well. But considering the repetition of questions over slot and people getting extra time I’m very disappointed and disheartened. Of course IIMs will make sure with their vigorous in take procedures that only eligible candidates enter IN. But what about the eligible candidates who are left out in the competition. Even our Indian legislation is designed in a way such that though 100 criminals escape not a single innocent be punished. This CBT may punish a lot.
Vicky	#153 December 10, 2009, 7:28 pm If this does happen, it means the entire MBA test centre business will also need an overhaul. Time they shook themselves and evolved as well. Came across an insightful and similar thought in a funny blog: http://paaprichaat.blogspot.com/2009/12/testing-time-for-test-centres.html
sanish	#154 December 10, 2009, 8:57 pm apology mail from Prometric Dear Candidate, At Prometric our first commitment is to provide every candidate with an excellent exam experience. To us, that means establishing a fair test environment and creating an exam that allows all candidates to demonstrate their true capabilities. Due to technical difficulties at a few centres some of you were unable to take the 2009 Common Admission Test (CAT). We know how important this test is to you, and we regret the circumstances that occurred this year. The administration of the exam may have fallen short of your expectations, as it did ours. We empathize with the candidates who have not been able to complete the test despite the rescheduling efforts and extension of the testing period. To date, we have been able to contact and reschedule exams for more than 17,000 affected candidates, and majority of them have since completed their test. We are in the process of identifying candidates who may have experienced pre-mature termination of the test, or were unable to test within the testing window, and we will contact them to schedule a retake. Please note that we are conducting a rigorous forensic analysis to ensure that every test result is valid and appropriate. Our work will not be done until our review of the situation is complete, the problems are identified, a plan is in place to ensure they don’t happen again, every candidate has taken the CAT, and all of the results are validated. Thank you for registering for, and being part of the historic launch of the computer-based CAT. Computer-based testing has a transformative impact on education by expanding access, enhancing the test development process and making results more representative of a student’s capabilities. For the more than 2.15 lakh candidates who have successfully completed their exams, we would like to say congratulations on being among the first test-takers of the computer-based CAT. This is a transition year for the CAT and we appreciate the patience you have shown. We understand that some of you may have had a less-than-satisfactory experience and again, we apologize. Every issue that has occurred has been noted and will form the basis of an improvement plan. To your parents, we would like to assure them that we will conduct a thorough review and ensure that every candidate has been given an equal opportunity for the CAT. We wish each and every one of you all the best and thank you once again for being part of the CAT 2009. Sincerely, CAT Candidate Care Support Prometric Testing Pvt. Ltd. http://www.prometric.com/iim-cat/contactus
Disgruntled	#155 December 11, 2009, 12:05 am Hmmm,I better work hard for XAT,cause there’s no way am joining hypocritical institutes which expect humility from candidates during personal interview round and when they need to drop their ego and do the right thing(conduct retest),they walk around with their noses in the exosphere.I know for sure that in a fair test,I would hav cracked CAT(might even now,but dont care a ****),they’ve certainly lost one good candidate,n am sure I wont be the only one.Many candidates will rethink their decision to join IIM’s cause we all know the placement of 2012 batch will certainly not be good.Naturally the companies will look at 2012 batch with cynicism.Oh n I wud like to tell all the candidates who’ve worked hard,dont care bout cat09.Its the students that makes the institute,not the other way round.Its their loss, not ours.
Disgruntled	#156 December 11, 2009, 12:14 am @Vicky buddy,the link u’ve pasted here,it seems like this “funny” dude has no idea of the efforts that go into preparin for CAT.He seems to be “cool” by doing his online journalism focussing on different viewpoints,but different just for the sake of different is, honestly, just a waste of quality brain cells…but well the IIM’s will be happy.Wait for some more jokers like this to come along n turn n twist the public viewpoint and then no need to bother wit retest wetest.
Disgruntled	#157 December 11, 2009, 12:30 am Am sure all of us here have shared each other’s stories of unfairness in cat 09.Mayb ur bored with these stories,but here goes one more.My friend n I had our test in the morning session.My friend got a call from his friend a day before the test n got to know a question that appeared on that day.Surprise surprise(or prolly no surprise),the question was repeated.now my friend worked on this question for over 15 minutes at home n then got the answer durin the exam.I dint know the question n under pressure i solved this question in 3 min.Unfair?go ahead say not unfair.Just 1 ques right?Just 15-3->12 minutes adavantage right?Wrong.This “unfortunate” friend of mine had tech glitches(surprise?…blah) wit his system.his paper started after 12:00.Wot did he do in the meantime?walked around the exam hall.and?and he saw a few questions.Nothing much…I still feel i’ll get a better percentile,but seriously,dont care anymore.If a retest isnt conducted,I dont wanna join IIM’s.I dont wanna pay lakhs of rupees n learn being stubborn,thank u very much.XAT 2010,here i come!
anxious. pagal	#158 December 11, 2009, 12:45 am just have a look at this http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/47322-protest-against-cat-2009-sunday.html#post1765088 i think its a good idea.
cdcmba	#159 December 11, 2009, 10:30 am Dear Prometric, Thanks for the email tendering an apology to all of us… After all the chaos and after so many insensible activities in CAT09 could u pls tell me what exactly are you trying to convey thru this well-worded email. Why do you want to win the compassion of our parents in this issue by addressing them. They are more furious than we are..Your database analysis has limitations and you will not be able to address every problem that arose there. You guys from United States gotta understand the Gandhian meaning of the word “FAIR”. Dont you use that in your email which you send us.. And as far IIMs are concerned Thank You Sirs for the excellent managemenet skills you have demonstrated throughout these events. I am very well confident that each and every one of you are aware of the unfairness in CAT09, but you seem to pretend “not guilty” on this by providing inadequate solutions. Let me tell you that I dont have any prestigious degree like you IIM Professors have behind me, but I have God given “common sense” to understand what hapnd in CAT09. This story of CAT is gonna break so many deserving candidates future.. Yes, I know you are telling us to try again in CAT10.. That doesnt need your advice either. Dont you feel ashamed @ having done this Sirs, If this was United States the company by name “Prometric” would have already been sued and forensic analysts would have been searching their offices and not our database.. Shame on you!!!
girish sharma	#160 December 11, 2009, 10:45 am enough of all this things… bottom line is cat is not gonna b cancelled tht is for sure coz if it had to b cancelled it wud had been done by now.. + saw all d things which had been posted above.. here is some more from my side… 1- there r ppl whose exam extended by 2:15.. they kept sitting for 3 hours solving d papers.. 2- there r ppl who gave exam for 2 hours nd in 15 minutes d so calld SERVER CRASH …..nd system hung …they r sitting there solving d questions with a hope if it works they will mark nd if not they wil surely get a 2nd attempt… 3- ppl who claim they CRACKED d paper in 2 hours nd the system failed in d remaning few hours … even those ppl whn given a 2nd chance produced out a FLOP SHOW…. great.. IS THIS THING FAIR ENOUGH for the students getting selected for ANY B SCHOOL in todays date …. but guys talking here wont make any impact until nd unless we dont do anything… ALL D BEST FOR D GUYS GIVING JMET nd XAT.. NJOY nd keep smiling always
Tushar Kodolikar	#161 December 11, 2009, 1:25 pm CAT loses steam, top B-schools to go for new rules http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cat-loses-steam-top-bschools-to-go-for-new-rules/106873-3.html?from=tn
arunleou	#162 December 11, 2009, 3:20 pm CAT has gone to the dogs this time..IIMs value the $40 mn deal with Prometric more than the students…so be it!!…they’ll pay the price…meanwhile u guys better put contingency plans into action….other MBA entrance exams have greater value than CAT this time…make it a point to prove ur worth in those exams…ISB,XLRI,FMS,IIFT,JBIMS,SPJain are the premier institutes this season…the value of NMIMS,Symbiosis,IITs have also increased.. as for CAT re-test, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be happening..2010 is NOT going to be a good yr for the IIMs..wait for the drama to unfold on Jan 22nd…even those who r right now against a re-test will start crying foul..
PAWAN DAGAR	#163 December 12, 2009, 4:21 pm well done PROMETRIC .u people realy have done a great job.i ll give u 99/100 .u realy made us feel the wonderfull environment giving cat.my experience was great giving online cat.u have some pitfalls make them clear away. thumbs up 2 u
Ajitabh	#164 December 12, 2009, 8:58 pm thanx for the post
two face	#165 December 13, 2009, 6:18 am @ PAWAN DAGAR ! bravo give urself a pat on the back.u reflect almost evrybody ‘s opinion except for the 90 percent who took the test.
smartgurl	#166 December 14, 2009, 7:12 pm Hey Pawan! you really think Prometric did a ‘great job’? with all the stress, confusion, chaos, and trauma that candidates had to go thru all over India…how can the exam be fair at all???? i havent heard a single other person who is so much in praise of Prometric…Bravo!
Kapil	#167 December 15, 2009, 11:52 am CAT looses trust among the students. Is this is how a management institute manages an enterence test. Just think about their quality and the skills they provide through their programs.
DEVILISHANGEL	#168 December 17, 2009, 12:08 pm MAKE THEIR RATING FALLS. if you ever participate i any rating, don’t rate iims good. BEGIN TODAY.
devtvm	#169 December 17, 2009, 2:28 pm My exam went well without any technical issues. I was not aware of questions repeating from previous CAT papers and from previous test slots (This means all those smart kids who managed to talk to their friends and get precious questions had a huge advantage). The performance of PROMETRIC is pathetic to say the least.I just asked a prometric guy at the centre hw can i clear an answer.(I read it from PG forums but just to confirm). He said read the tutorial and he cannot comment on it. Conducting a retest would ensure that there is a fair chance for all. d a prometric guy at the centre how can i clear an answer.(I got the answer from PG forums but just to confirm). He asked me to read the tutorial and that he cannot comment on it blah blah.I verified the tutorial again and asked again. No success. Conducting a retest would ensure that there is a fair chance for all. But preparing again, is not fair for some one who put all his efforts… Especially like me, in the midst of all work load at office coming up and have already took enough leaves that I cannot get another round of them easily. I believe CAT09 should be a rejection criteria like that of IIMB,L,S last time and not like IIMA,C,K,I who selected candidates for GDPI based only on CAT score. So the point is, did IIMs need to conduct CAT at all? ACADs/WorkEx would have been enough:)
ZOMBZZ	#170 December 18, 2009, 10:55 am well…going through d whole lot of stuff posted out der…my mind is in a swirl….nw guys sharing my bit….d test was just fine n no problems wer faced at my center in ahmedabad……d new pattern really impressed me…nice work….. but for d brothers out der who wer not lucky enuf….i feel sorry….n wholeheartedly support d view datafter so many allegations d cat shud have bin redone……but the authorities have already VETOed d option….:) so finally comin down to indian tradition…lets wait n watch….:)
anandgupta87	#171 December 19, 2009, 12:48 am hey , i dont think so that ptometric did a good job but i dont agree with the people who saying for the retest, u people dont know about the people hard work lies on it . i would say that conduct the test for those only who got genuine obstacle in the test , that ‘s all !
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