I don't know if its the right place to post this message, but seeing the mass confusion that seems to prevail in the minds of not only aspiring students, but also of those who have been selected in some of the colleges, i thought of summarizing my experience for CAT preparation, the GD/WAT/PI experience and finally the conclusions i drew about some of the colleges. So here goes:-
1)For CAT preparation, bear in mind that the test itself is now designed with equal time allotted to each section so you can breathe a little breath of relief. I myself have given both the earlier version where all the sections were to be solved in the same time period hence putting the responsibility of time-management on you and the latest version where you are given fixed time for solving quant. and DI in one paper and reasoning and VA in the second paper.
2)Start preparing for CAT from the get go but don't ever prioritize CAT prep. over you studies if you are a fresher. For the employed junta, don't ever leave your job simply for CAT prep, as it gives a very very bad impression
.
3)Personally i have found that the Quant and DI section is easier to score as compared to verbal and reasoning, but that could be just me. All in all, do prepare all the sections equally well. I have actually met people having %ile like 99.XX in one section and ~40 in the other hence basically sealing their fate.
4)Don't w8 around for the CAT results to come out to start preparing. Everyone has some idea about the neighborhood in which their score is gonna come, if not their %ile. Do try and predict your scores, and compare these with the cutoffs of different colleges for the last two years. This will give you an idea as to which college might actually be interesting in you once the score comes.
5)Do a thorough research on the colleges in which you want to go to and the colleges which you think might seriously consider you for the admission based on your profile.
6)The CAT result is announced 2-3 months after the exam, but the interview calls start coming in 20 days after the results. Get ahead of the race by dedicating those 2-3 months for:
a. Identifying which colleges are best suited for you according to your profile.
b. The individual needs and wants of each college, as they vary vastly from one college to other.
c. Preparing yourself for the needs and wants of the individual colleges, for this is the last free time you will get before your interview season starts.
7)Once the results are announced
and the calls come pouring in, :grin:
: the stress period starts.:shock::shock::shock:
.
One minor point of note is that always try to avoid interview conflicts in the first place. If you can't, always be polite while requesting for interview date change.
9)Now from my experience i have somehow formed opinions about some of the colleges whose interview i attended. I would like to apologize in advance if these opinions hurt the sensitivities of any college or its alum in particular and anyone else on the pagalguy community in particular. I would also like to reaffirm that these are my opinions and they are liable to be contradicted by other people's opinion because of difference in our perspective. The forum members are requested to never take various individuals' as the last word on any matter:nono:.
Some general opinions about the B-Schools that i formed are:
*)IIMs are looking for students having gud academics all over, since such students are hard to find in reserved category pool.
*)It doesn't matter if you have extra curricular activities or not. They don't judge category people on that parameter that much. If you have them, well and good, and if you don't doesn't matter that much.
*)No one might officially tell you this, but a high CAT %ile goes a long way in redeeming you in the eyes of the interviewer.
*)A famous misconception is that engg. face unwarranted hostility during the selection process. While the interview panel will in all probability grill you on the question of "Why MBA after B.TEch./B.E." yet it is not a reflection of their bias against you, but simply a way of measuring your preparedness. While this year IIMA has set a higher cutoff of marks for engg. as compared to non-engg., but once you get the interview call, the only thing that matters is your performance thereon after and nothing else.
Some points related to individua colleges are:
*)IIMA not only looks for excellent academic career throughout but having job experience also helps a lot.
*)IIMB might a little lenient on your academics, but they love people having minimum 1.5 yrs job-ex.
*)IIMC might be the only college that might forgo your average or below average academic scores but they need you to be really good at quantitative aptitude.My advice to you is to start preparing all your maths core and related courses from class 10th to bachelor's thoroughly, as they will definitely grill you on those courses if nothing else.Having a high CAT %ile also helps a lot.
*)IIML migt be a little tough to crack for freshers as they want people with lots of work-ex. but i also know freshers who have gotten into lucknow. Still even if you have less work ex. then make up for it by getting yourself acquainted with not only the basic terminology of finance and business but you should also get familiar with the actual working of the industry.
*)I can't mention anything about SPJ, XLRI, MDI Gudgaon as i didn't opt for those colleges.
*)FMS is the only college that has a very well defined w8age for everything. Since FMS has scrapped its own exam and started considering CAT scores only from this year afterwards, if you have a very high score in CAT, you have a very good chance of getting through. But the GD/Extempore/PI also play equally important roles. Being the only college to have an extempore in its selection process it is advisable to prepare intensively for Ext. as it carries equal w8age when compared with GD/PI.
*)IIMKs criteria is a little harder to predict, but it might also be one of the few A-list B-school that's somewhat easier to get into. They look for some kind of diversity in your profile, but they also give weightage to CAT%ile, 10th 12th and undergrad marks. There WAT was also the lengthiest one with 45 minutes allotment, so u might want to practice your writing skills more thoroughly for this one, as you won't get away by simply putting random words in the essay this time
. Apart from that, in the interview they usually ask you about yourself and from your job and academics only.
*)IIFT conducts a separate entrance exam. But the only thing you need to prepare for IIFT separately is GK . The rest of the syllabus is almost similar to that of CAT. It is also a very specialized college so match the college profile with your priorities beforehand only.
*)IIM I is going through a rough patch right now but still is a very prestigious college. They simply look for your CAT %ile specially among other things.
*)IIM Shillong lays too much stress on academics and might be your best chance if you have low CAT %ile but good acads overall. Their interview also revolves around your Bachelor specialization hence easier to prepare for if you actually studied in your bachelor degree.
*)IIM Ranchi, even though counted among the new IIMs, has carved a unique place for itself in the B-school rankings under the guidance of IIMC. Its growing very rapidly, and predictions are, i will start giving IIMK competition in the next 5 years. There PGDHRM course also has a rejection ratio of 30-35:1 so there's that. Gud thing is, if you have strong grasp over your Bachelor courses you might sail through the interview right into IIMR. Bad thing is people rarely have that grasp .
*)The other five IIMs also lay too much importance over the CAT %ile so aim and prepare accordingly.
*)The IITs' MBA program are also good but while going for the IITs and NIT MBA programs make sure to compare the placement scenario of each college. Sometimes a college's location helps a lot in its placement process so you might want to consider that too.
I hope that i didn't offend anybody while writing this post and that it might clear some of the doubts in the minds of the forum people.
Cheers and ATB for your future.
