[writetotanveer]

So it seems to be finally official!!!

CAT takes a cyber leap, to go online from Nov

This will be a whole new phase in the history of the CAT exam...

And the candidates who adapt the fastest will be the ones who will be the most succesful!

At the best of times cracking the CAT is a daunting task.

With the additional uncertainty of online testing .. it will require a lot of adjustment from aspirants to come out on top....

And this concern is reflecting in the number of queries I am fielding this year about how to tackle the examinations.

All of which made me wonder if I can contribute in any way to the prep of CAT 2009 students ...

A batch that seeems to have a date with not only the CAT but also History!!! To be looked back on as the people who first cracked the online CAT..

Which brings me back actively to the PG forums after a gap of 2 years..

The last that I was active on PG was as a part of the Bol Bachan Losers Team! - 07 team .. Dont go by the name .. !!

Out of a team 18 - 12 or more are top B-Schoolers if I am correct.. studying in BSchools like IIM-C, IIM-B, IIM -L, XLRI,MDI, SPJ,IMT-G, NMIMS, SCMHRD,XIMB, NIRMA among others.. Apart from inspiring many others to follow up on their dreams

..and there are a few others who have not completed their promise yet but I am confident that they will do so in a spectacular fashion in one form or the other...

What BBLT taught me was that there is potential within everybody ..and a little bit of teamwork can help realise that potential...

Just Like (Tanveer's Links : Threads related to CAT 06)TANVEER'S LINKS : THREADS RELATED TO CAT which served to guide aspirants this thread too aims to show the way .. the focus is not on teaching ..there are many more capable threads for that running on PG ( QQAD being a prime example).. the objective of this thread is to clear the confusion that may have arisen due to the new twist in the CAT tale.. and to provide a repository of information for those trying to come to terms with the changing face of the CAT..

This thread will seek to answer the following questions:-

1) Advice on what online resources (in addition to PG ) you can tap to to hone your CAT skills.

2) How do you acclimatise yourself to the online format so that you neutralise the "screen" effect on your exam taking. In fact how do you turn it into an advantage by becoming much better at the screen exam as compared to the rest of the population.

3) Tips on the English section of the CAT

4) To crack CAT 09 what is that 'extra' that you need to do apart from English, Quant and DI..

5) How to maximise the benefits out of the Mock CATS that start off in a month from now.

6) A forum to discuss the answers to the 4 fundamental questions of the CAT GDPI ona case to case basis.

a) Tell me something about yourself?

b) Why do you want to do the MBA

c) Why should we select you?

d) Why have you chosen our Institute?

7) CAT related Resources on PG that you may not be aware of ..

8 ) Any other question that strikes you about CAT 09...??

GOOD LUCK WITH CAT '09

THE JOURNEY BEGINS...

Regards
Tanveer

[writetotanveer]

PM in response to the first post about CAT going online:

I am feeling like banging my head, I have never taken any online exams and frankly I am not comfortable with it..I like the paper pencil one itself. Now I am reconsidering whether I should take CAT or not?? Really miserably bad new for me..!


Something similar might be going on in the minds of many others..


The decision to take the CAT is not just an end itself ..

it is a decision that extends to ...

excelling while competing with the best inside BSchools ..

it is a commitment to achieve goals given a set of resources inside the corporate world..

in short to be a great manager no matter what the situation..


thus whether the CAT is a CBT or a paper - pencil test should not affect your attitude or self -belief..

What needs to change is the approach you use to tame the CAT..

obviously your speed is going to suffer to some extent in a screen based exam..and your focus hould be in trying to minimise that deceleration in speed as far as possible..

also keep in mind that the same situation is faced by everyone else in your peer group ..

so if you are able to establish a comfort level with the screen..you can actually turn this to your advantage...

after all you will spend the better part of B-School and Corporate Life absorbing data from the screen of a computer ..

So why should you expect the CAT to be any different..?

The change in strategy should be focused towards analysing those online resources that will help you achieve this goal ( to be discussed in the next post)

Regards
Tanveer

[IIM maniac]

Ahaa Nice to see Tanveer back here..I know in 2006-2007 season it was the name i observed many times on PG. Well, i would also like to add my few cents here.

When i heard the offcial news of CAT going online from 09 itself, for few mins i was really taken aback. Indeed once i thought why i should appear for IIM monopolised CAT? Well, as rightly said by tanveer, what is gonna matter is how quickly we adopt to the new approach and strategise accordingly. Online thing has leveled the field for everyone. Earlier we used to say that CAT repeaters have advantage over others as they have already been there and done that. They know what approach to follow and what not. Now this advantage is of no use. Everyone has to start from scratch. However, there are a few confusion that exits but let them get cleared by their time. So the key is, everyone is at base 0, start changing attitude towards 09 CAT and success will surely be there..

Meanwhile, i have a question to Tanveer, Do you think Mock CAT season will be same as it used to be in paper pencil CAT patter? For. e.g. From Pune itself, there used to be around 2k people appearing for AIMCATs, how will they make sure of the arrangements this time? Should students look for other online places for exams say GMAT Prep CDs?

Ameya

[writetotanveer]

Originally Posted by IIM maniac

Meanwhile, i have a question to Tanveer, Do you think Mock CAT season will be same as it used to be in paper pencil CAT patter? For. e.g. From Pune itself, there used to be around 2k people appearing for AIMCATs, how will they make sure of the arrangements this time? Should students look for other online places for exams say GMAT Prep CDs?

Ameya

I am not sure what exactly the different Institutes have in mind..but logistically speaking ..at least the first 2-3 months upto July probably - it would remain PP..as that much time might be required to get the logistics and infrastructure to be put in place and ..also its only when the CAT prospectus comes out that things will be clearer as to the mode in which the CAT will be held..and then only will the different instis be able to execute their Mock CAT plans..That is why it is very important for CAT aspirants to try to become monitor friendly asap..rather than wait for guidance from the Instis..RegardsTanveer

[rockon4cat]

Nice that this matter has come up quickly on PG, as "CAT online" will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the nature of preparation needed.

Today morning itself some of us were having a discussion on the same, and it was pretty clear that previous experience would definitely be a far lesser advantage than it used to be earlier. Nonetheless, I believe that it wont be a total loss for those appearing for the 2nd/3rd/... time.

What matters is the way in which the exam is structured. The intent of the IIMs to change the process would play an important role here. The intent can be :
a) To do away with the huge logistics requirements
b) To align it to GMAT/GRE etc etc in terms of the nature of questions

If its only a, then the change in the nature of questions would only be limited to the limitations of online exams w.r.t pencil-paper exams. For example, in VA/RC section, passages have to be small, as longer passages would need more scrolling. Similarly in DI section, huge tables will have to be avoided as calculations become very difficult when they are not done right next to the table.

If its only b, GMAT test takers and others of the like would definitely have a headstart. The nature of questions are different. But personally, I would like to believe that this is not the intent of IIMs as the CAT exam as it is currently(in terms of questions/structure) is very well suited for the situation where 3lac students apply for 3000 seats in top-10 bschools(1:100 ratio?)

Maybe the IIM guys have both a and b on their minds. Whatever it is, they should come out with more info asap.

As of now, some of the most important questions are :
1) What kind of a test would it be? would it be an adaptive test(like GMAT, GRE), or would it be exactly same as the pencil-paper, but in an e-format?

2) How would the test actually look like? Maybe they should share a sample like the GMATPrep softwares available.

3) How would they make sure that tests taken on different days are almost the same difficulty level? (I highlighted almost here because there is no way all papers can be of the same level. Can any human, including the CAT paper setters, take all tests and get the exact same scores in all three sections? Its impossible)

Tanveer/Puys, any concrete info about the new format would be most welcome. Please share. Thanks in advance

[deedhnd]

Some pointers regarding CAT 09 and onwards

-Computer Based Test (CBT) like GRE,TOEFL etc

-The test will be conducted in a window of about ten days sometime at the end of the calendar year
So usual 2nd sunday of Nov gets a thumbs down.End of calender year means December (month in which lotsa other MBA entrance exams are conducted).So its interesting to see how other exams date are affected.

-CBT CAT will be a candidatefriendly test in terms of flexibility in the selection of test date, ease of registration process,better physical environment and test experience, and enhanced security in terms of biometric identification of candidates and video monitoring.
No more filling up tedious 2 page full forms and less chances of forging and cheating.

This is the official press release by IIMB regarding CAT 09 and onwards

[akshay_blitz]

I was dejected to say the least, on hearing the news of CAT 09 going online. But then I realized my folly !
Our preparation must not falter, at this time it is irrelevant whether the test is online or Pencil-Paper based, over the next couple of days, hopefully the dust will subside, come july and the mock season !

Ab chaahey CAT computer par ho yaa mobile phone par, CAT tou phhodna hee hai !

PS: Remember, its not the percentage that fetches you the calls, its the percentile you get !

Cheers
--A

[sushantgupta]

One thing that needs to be seen is whether
CAT will be an Adaptive Test like GMAT ..i.e.. simple ques first and then the difficulty level increases ..and you can't see the whole paper at one time.
Or
it will be the usual CAT paper just in E paper format.
The Tieup of IIM has been with PROmetric -ETS...and to make it equally difficult for all..i think a GMAT type pattern would be more Apt..
but a huge disadvantage for those who are tuned to conventional Pencil-paper based tests.

[IIM maniac]

Originally Posted by akshay_blitz

Ab chaahey CAT computer par ho yaa mobile phone par, CAT tou phhodna hee hai !

Now thats what is an attitude..Gr8 going mate....may be IIM surely will think over the mobile version of CAT, this will reduce the infra. cost, logistic etc etc. Just download a .CAB file or .SIS file, install and get the exam. haha..Idea seems good..

Ameya

[targetcat2008]

This year all CAT test takers will suffer.

We are now experimental batch for the IIM's.

If it fails then sit for another round of CAT by March - april 2010.

Why could the IIM's not do a test run and then try it out next year.

Why play around with the lives of 3 lakh cat test takers.