IIFT 2015 test pattern

Entrance test to MBA programme in IIFT session 2015 will be held in a single day across the country on November 23, 2014. It will be a (MCQ) multiple choice question type examination. The test is supposed to have 4 parts - English comprehension in two sections; Quantitative Ability; Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation and General Awareness.
Any section can be clubbed with other section but the aspirants are required to qualify each one of them. Number of questions in IIFT are not fixed and may vary anywhere between 120 to 130. IIFT 2015 will have a unique feature of varying marking system in the range of 0.5 to 1. Penalty of one fourth negative marking is also very important to remember before going to finalise your answer option.

5 Key areas to prepare
What could be the expected types and number of questions on each topic in English Comprehension in IIFT entrance test is definitely a tricky question answer to which is difficult to anticipate.  However, going by the past pattern we can anticipate following number of questions on 5 important topics. Out of total 128 questions English Comprehension in IIFT 2013 had 36 questions based on various topics in English Grammar and comprehension.

1. Questions based on grammatical errors
Conceptual clarity on fundamentals of grammar and tenses in IIFT 2015 entrance exam is very important. There may be questions on error corrections like rewriting of sentences and/or paragraphs as per the correct sequence; identifying the grammatically correct sentences with right sequence of words. These questions could be based on core grammar usage like Articles, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs, Tenses, Subject verb agreement, Usage on conditionals, Reported speech, Active passive, modifiers.
Types of questions could be- fill in the blanks; correction in wrong usage in sentences; Incorrect usage of phrasal verbs; misplaced modifiers. You should first understand the concept and then practice more such questions to get a high score in IIFT.
There were 4-6 questions based on fundamentals in English comprehension section in IIFT 2013 Entrance test.

2. Jumbled sentences
Jumbled paragraphs also form the part of English comprehension and 2-4 questions may be found in the examination.  The aspirants should practice more on random type of sentences. When you proceed to practice them, please remember to find out the connectors among the sentences like ‘It’ ‘those’, ‘these’, ‘this’, ‘who’, ‘as’ – giving the clue to connect them with other sentences.  Such words as connectors to the earlier sentences make the task of forming a coherent paragraph easy as they are used in place of certain nouns which form the beginning of paragraph and sentences.
There were 2 questions in IIFT 2013 on this topic and in 2014 the number is expected to be more than this.

3. Reading Comprehension
IIFT 2013 had 16 questions based on 4 passages of 800 words each. When you practice the RC do read the passage/article fairly quickly to get the general idea. Read again, if possible, a little slowly so as to understand the details.
Write a summary in your own words neatly and precisely. Make a chart on time consumed in reading and writing the summary of the passage. Check whether the time is getting reduced day by day. Go for versatile reading on different topics since you may or may not get the passages of your interest in the examination. Regular reading of important articles by eminent writers, editorials in news papers and periodicals definitely is a great help in preparation for this module.

4. Core Vocabulary usage
Aspirants should remember that IIFT entrance test is a mix of CAT and XAT. There can be more than 5 questions on  core vocabulary usage like similar relationship of words (analogy); one word substitution; fill in the blanks in 4-5 sentences with correct words/phrasal verbs/vocabulary words;  synonyms / antonyms. While CAT places questions on contextual usage, IIFT may ask you the questions in basic language form.  The need therefore is to learn, recall the words and practice them, read more and write correctly spelt words.  Fill in the blanks are based on rich vocabulary words, more practice on such type of questions will definitely help.
There were 4-6 questions based on Vocabulary usage in IIFT 2013

5. Figures of speech
IIFT never forgets to ask questions on usage of Figures of speech like simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, hyperbole and apostrophe. Question types, most likely to appear in the forthcoming IIFT entrance test are expected to contain the Figures of speech in sentences and aspirants have to pick them out.  It is advisable to practice around 20-25 important figures of speech, understand their key words that help to identify them.

Besides, the aspirants are expected to have fair knowledge of phrasal verbs, idioms, similar sounding and confusing words. Aspirants must pronounce them and write them to have the practice beforehand. Ten minutes a day from now on will empower you with good amount of learning on them.

Time management in IIFT; the most important part
You may have less than one minute per question as against in CAT where you have approximately 3 minutes per question so you should carry forward your preparation and practice keeping in view of this factor. Numbers of questions in IIFT are more than 125 where the time allotted to solve the entire question paper is 120 minutes. You have to solve, choose the right answer option and mark the same on OMR sheet by darkening the circle.  Any slip in selecting the circle or losing on time may be disastrous to your score, please remember. Another suggestion is to get over your weaknesses as soon as possible and improve your strong areas further.

CAT Toppers on How to Prepare for Quantitative Section of CAT Exam:-

1. Ankur Khanna: I started my Preparation in July when I used to devote 15 hours a day to CAT preparation. My Strategy was to improve my accuracy and then capitalize on my strong part i.e. Quant. I used to study nearly 18-19 hours a day during the last few days. Solve all the questions that you come across. Join at least 2 mock series and practice lots of online stuff available free of cost. You can never be sure of being 100% prepared at any point of time and there is always some scope for improvement.
My strategy was to attempt only those questions for which I am 110% sure. Slightest of doubt, and I will leave that question unmarked. This strategy worked for me and I managed to score 98.90%ile in Quant with 21 attempts.

2. Arshpreet Singh: I cracked CAT 2012 with an overall 99.97 percentile and secured admission to IIM Ahmedabad. I scored 99.05 percentile in Quant & DI section. The toughest section for me was the QA+DI section. I started my self-preparation for CAT 3 months before the actual date. So, I devoted around 3 hours a day on studying the concepts and solving exercises related to them. The ideal duration for study should be around 2 hours a day if you start early with around 3-4 hours on weekends for the online mock tests and their analysis. So, around 15 hours a week for the preparation is ideal. I practiced a lot of question sets in DI to improve my speed as well as to gain much needed confidence. I made sure that every set I attempted was time bound. I devoted ample time in analyzing my mistakes after the mocks.

3. Aayush Agarwal: I being from a commerce background, realized that I am at a slight disadvantage in quants. For candidates who feel that they are weak in QA section, focus on arithmetic, maintain accuracy, try to improve your score in logic driven sections like DI and LR. Also, try to work with options. You can solve at least 3-4 questions by using unconventional methods.
On testing day, I made it a point to be as accurate as possible leaving out random guesses. In Section 1, I did not waste much time on any particular question and moved on to next question whenever I would get stuck. I attempted all the questions of DI since it was my strong area. In QA, if you are not sure of solving a question by conventional methods, try unconventional ones like working with the options.

4. Sumedha Deogharia: As I was a fresher, I used to study for two hours in the morning.  I used to study for another 2 hours after college.  A total of 5-6 hours of effective study per day would do the magic!! I used to take a day off and enjoy myself during the weekends so that I could start the next week with renewed energy.
One good piece of advice for CAT 2014 aspirants from my side is that you should practice a lot; only practice can make you perfect and improve your accuracy. Take as many mock tests as you can. Come out with a proper analysis of your performance after each mock test and try to find out weaknesses and strengths. Work very hard if you want to bell the CAT this year itself!
On the testing day, I knew that there was no individual cut-off for QA & DI separately. So, when I found out that the DI questions were difficult and needed rigorous calculations, I thought of doing them in the last. First, I solved all the questions in the QA section and then started with the DI questions where I was successful in solving one out of them and scored 99.35%ile in my Quant section of CAT 2012.

5. Debjit Nag: I scored 99.97 %ile in CAT 2012 and also secured final admission offers from 10 top B-schools including 9 IIMs and FMS Delhi, presently a student of 2013-15 PGP batch of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. My percentile in QA-DI was 99.82 and the same for VA-LR was 99.79. Focus on accuracy on the D-Day. Lack of accuracy is penalized heavily in CAT. Maintain your composure and you will definitely do well. Initially I used to attach too much value to mock tests. Later, I realized that those were just mocks and started to invest more time in self-improvement by targeting weak areas one after another. I studied regularly for 2-3 hours on weekdays and 5-6 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. This used to include time spent in mock tests and thereafter the analysis of the same.

6. Ishika Ray: I was advised by my teacher to follow a simple rule-Solve, Mark, Skip.
As soon as you see a question take any one of the three actions: solve it-if you are confident, mark it-if you think you can solve but need some time to work on it, skip-when you know that this cannot be solved by you. This strategy really worked for me!
DI, arithmetic and modern maths was my strength so I tried attempting these questions first. I never spent more than 2 mins in any question; if I found difficulty in solving a particular question, I marked it and came back to it later. Accuracy was my strategy in the test room. If I had even 1% doubt with any answer, I skipped it. I attempted only 13 maths questions in QA in CAT 2013 and was confident that all were correct.

7. Siddhant Gupta: I scored 98.67 percentile in CAT 2011 and joined IIM Raipur. I started preparation in the third year of my graduation. Educational websites bridged the gap between me and the CAT syllabi. I consulted my seniors and a few educationalists to guide me. I always preferred systematic study with a rough time table in mind. My primary strategy was to bring accuracy with less number of questions and then to analyze productive questions i.e. questions which take less time and fetch more marks. Consequently, my focus shifted to bringing speed with accuracy.
The overall strategy changed to maximizing sectionals instead of managing time. This required a change in the selection criteria of questions. To deal with such situations, one has to be a smart analyzer, optimistic and of course hard working. Practice is a must for quantitative ability and data interpretation. With practice, confidence and a few tests, the focus should shift to understanding of the pattern of questions. Questions requiring less time should be selected first and others should be attempted later. A thorough knowledge of one’s own strengths and weaknesses can be of great help.

8. Parag Poddar: I scored 99.65 percentile in CAT 2011 and took admission in IIM Indore. I started with brushing up basic concepts and formulae for each chapter and supplemented my preparation by taking chapter-wise mock tests. This was followed by thorough analysis of each section and the mistakes made. The solutions to all the problems helped me find alternate and easier ways of solving problems. The tool of preparation through tests helped me gain speed and structure strategies of taking the test.
Online tests and surfing articles regularly made me adept to the habit of reading from computer and helped me concentrate better during my tests. Regular tests and analysis is the best way to identify one’s weakness and improve on them. Regular practice tests and problem solving were an integral part of my preparations for quantitative ability and data interpretation.  I used to discuss problems with my friends who were enrolled in coaching institutes, solve puzzles and read newspapers regularly

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General Awareness: Expert tips on how to prepare for CMAT General Awareness

CMAT Sep 2014
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General Awareness will play the same role in pushing up your merit position in CMAT as other sections can do. In this article Prof S K Agarwal, expert on CMAT preparation shares the importance of General Awareness and key tips to prepare this module

There will be 25 questions based on General Awareness in CMAT in the form of MCQs and each correct answer will award 4 marks.

Questions on General Awareness in CMAT Sep 2014 examination will be placed to test the knowledge and IQ of the MBA/PGDM aspirants. A well educated person is expected to have at least a good knowledge of national and international affairs taking place. In this article Prof S K Agarwal, expert on CMAT preparation shares the importance of General Awareness and key tips to prepare this module

An average human being is affected, in many ways, with the events going on in the country or in the world; in the business, finance, political or social life.  The world of sports, cinema and the various awards associated to them has been the key interest areas-where questions are framed in CMAT.  Literary world of authors-their works, famous personalities, inventions and discoveries, important events, revolutions that changed the world scenario are loved by the examination paper setters when they prepare a set of questions on conventional General Awareness.

How important is General Awareness in CMAT
There will be 25 questions based on General Awareness in CMAT in the form of MCQs (Multiple Choice questions). Every correct answer will award you 4 marks improving your score and awarding you higher place in merit. Since there is no sectional cut off in CMAT and all the 4 sections have equal number of questions, General Awareness will play the same role in pushing up your merit position in CMAT as other sections can do.

The importance becomes more prominent when there are certain confusing names, events and the aspirants tend to forget the exact description which means you may not be so good to manage the future affairs with this weakness. For example difference among the abbreviations like G-8, D-8, G-15, G-20, NATO, OAS,  OPEC,  OAPEC, OECD, OIC, APEC, ADB, ASEAN, EEC, EU, EFTA, SAARC, WCC, WTO, should be well understood and remembered in context so that you may not forget the same in the testing room.
Corporate top brasses like Mr Ratan Tata, a house hold name, who is known for his sharp memory in remembering and recalling the names of thousands of employees of his company and his natural instinct to call the each employee by his name filled the heart of his subordinates with pride which always worked as a booster for more dedicated working.

How to prepare for CMAT General Awareness
All the Candidates, in one or the other way, are enriching their General Knowledge on the topics they like and are inclined to. The need is to understand the basics “How and what to prepare to improve the General Awareness”.  
In fact, study of any subject is not as vast as the study of General Knowledge or as you put it General Awareness. But on the other hand, the best part on preparation for this section is that you do not need any special skill set as required for Quant and Verbal. What you need is your inclination and interest in regular reading of books and periodicals.
You might remember there are certain events that leave some bitter-sweet memories and leave a permanent mark in your memory. Similarly if you read the stuff with interest you will surely remember it.
You are still left with 2 months to CMAT Sep 2014. Rest assured you can prepare, revise and groom the General Awareness very well during this period, if you could attend and follow the below given preparation tips.
-The time for crawling preparation is over and the need is to shed the human nature of waking up at the eleventh hour.
-Two months are sufficient to prepare, revise, refresh well in this area. The tips to various areas of preparation are appended.  You are required to meticulously follow the guided path and rest assured- if you do it, you will succeed.    
-The Division – Before beginning to go for preparing the General Knowledge, you may divide the General Knowledge section in four parts  - A. Conventional   B. Business, Finance & Economy based   C. Current Affairs India (Political, Social, Sports, Films, awards etc.)  D. International (personalities-past & Present, global events etc.)
-Each part has to be given due weightage.  Conventional GK-available in books; Current GK- based on current reading of newspapers and periodicals;  Business & Economics GK -for example changes in Fiscal and monetary policy, CRR, Repo Rate, Devaluation and up valuation of Rupee.   Please remember current GK-whether Business, national and international has an on-going preparation method and thorough reading of the newspaper only can keep you updated.
 Stuff to read
1.Conventional –Good books on GK are available in the market and may be considered the best to prepare in a short time like Manorama Year Book, General Knowledge refresher, General Knowledge by S. Chand & Co. and so on. Devote a few minutes every day and try to learn this type of GK as much as possible. You may even mug it up-if you can but better way will be to relate one event to the personality, it will help you to prepare more than one question in a single reading. You may have questions based on the topics like Authors of the books, Historical facts & events, Personalities, places, questions  based on inventions, discoveries and Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc

2. Business, Finance & Economy –This is one of the most favorite sections of GK that appear in the CMAT entrance examinations. Business and finance oriented General Knowledge improves your understanding of economic environment, strengthening your IQ and making you better equipped to face the Group discussions and Personal Interviews.  Try to cover hot topics in Business, Finance and Economy. Going through them will help you to prepare better for your forthcoming CMAT examination. Following tips will be a great help to you-
i) Please read whatever stuff is available on such topics as you may confront these questions in different manner like ‘ What is the current CRR’,  ‘Difference between CRR & SLR’ ‘ Instruments for money control’, “The authority that can change the Bank Rate of the Country” , ‘Which is the petroleum product from which subsidy has been fully withdrawn’, ‘Budget speech of the President marks the beginning or the conclusion of budget session’ ‘ Where the budget is presented first in Loksabha or RajyaSabha’, ‘Which company is not included in the NAVRATNA companies of India’ and so on.
ii) Regularly read the business, economy page of newspapers like The Times of India, The Economic Times periodicals like The week, India Today, The Economist – mark the striking events, read editorials and other articles analyzing various national and international events. Year books, purchased by you, will also be a good help in the preparation.

3. Current Affairs – India - Put more emphasis on last few years’ events in the country – Important changes, Events like Cricket World Cup, Victory at Lords after 28 years, Recent announcements by Government, Commonwealth games, creations of additional states, appointments – Private and Public sector, awards etc.   Global happenings that mark their impacts in the country must be well read.  Although there is no syllabus for GK, you must brush up whatever you have read. Draw a quick plan to revise and learn.
Regular reading of the national events in the newspapers like The Hindu and the above mentioned ones will be quite advantageous. You need to spend around 15 minutes a day to it and one event will link you to another. Read the associated events as they are also the probable questions.

4. International -   Answers to Questions based on International affairs sometimes are difficult to distinguish due to the close similarity in names, cities, figures etc. So the important part is to find out some key word in the articles wherefrom you learn and prepare the GK.
Put more emphasis on last decade events and global happenings like global depression, mutiny in certain countries, economic swings that made impact on Indian Economy, Appointments – like the second term of Obama as the President of America- his core international policies that may impact our Country, All about Malaysian Planes who were Lost and Shot in one year, their names, air route, what happened.

Probable Questions
Following are a few indicative GK questions for CMAT Sep 2014.  Aspirants are advised to move on to prepare more and more questions on all the topics

Set of Questions
1. Monetary policy of the country is decided by the
1. Ministry of Finance – Government of India
2. Group of Nationalized and commercial banks of the country
3. Reserve Bank of India
4. Government of India in consultation with leading corporate groups

2. Increasing the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) will –
1. Expand the money supply in the country
2. Contract the money supply in the economy
3. Neither expand nor contract the supply of money
4. The term is not related to Money supply but the demand of cash

3. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is-
1. Direct credit provider to Individuals in Rural areas
2. Rural Bulk credit provider and functions as a refinancing institution
3. Provides seasonal credit to farmers only
4. Provides credit to Rural housing only
                             
4. Special Drawing Rights (SDR) defined and maintained by
a) World Bank
b) IMF
c) Federal Reserve
d) European Central Bank            
5. Gilt edged market refers to
a) Government securities
b) FII
c) Bullion market
d) None of these                
6. Where is the headquarter of Green peace
a) Paris
b) New York
c) Madrid
d) Amsterdam              
7. Regional Rural Banks were given freedom to fix rate of interest from which year
a) 1996
b) 1999
c) 2003
d) 2007
             
8. Anil Kakodkar committee is related to...
a) Airlines safety
b) Nuclear reactors
c) Sugar pricing
d) Railway modernization                                
9. Which of the following regulates the commodities trading market?
a) SEBI
b) Forward Markets Commission
c) RBI
d) IRDA                    
 10. Softbank is a mobile operator of which country
a) China
b) Norway
c) Japan
d) Singapore                                      

Important note
No doubt the pressure becomes more when the examination is at hand; so have a balanced approach.  Too much of mugging or burning mid-night oil may not be so effective  as you may get confused or may forget whatever you learnt last night.  It is better to revise the items that you have already studied and keep pace to keep you up-to-date.
Since examination paper must have been prepared, at least a fortnight before the examination date, you may eliminate such events which take place a fortnight or so prior to examination date.

 Answers
1. (c)  Reserve Bank of India
2. (b) Contract the money supply in the economy
3. ( b) Rural Bulk credit provider and functions as a refinancing institution
4. (b) IMF
5. (a) Government securities
6. (d) Amsterdam
7. (a) 1996
8. (d) Railway modernization
9.  (b) Forward markets commission
10. (c) Japan

How to prepare for different MBA Exams, Plan your expenses

MBA Exams 2014-15:

MBAUniverse.com 

For all MBA aspirants eyeing Admission 2015, this article will help you plan your schedule for different MBA exam preparations and also tips from Experts and Toppers on how to prepare for MBA exams 2014-15

With around more than half a dozen MBA entrance exams in the country, aspirants sometimes are grilled with various doubts and queries such as:

- Should I register for all the MBA exams?

- Do I have to take coaching for each MBA exam?

- Should I give online Exams or paper pencil test?

- Which exam to prepare first?

This and many more doubts linger in the minds of MBA aspirants preparing for MBA entrance exams.

For all MBA aspirants eyeing Admission 2015, this article will help you plan your schedule for different MBA exam preparations and also tips from Experts and Toppers on how to prepare.

IIFT 2014, NMAT 2014, CMAT September 2014, MAT Sep 2014 and IBSAT 2014 have already announced their registration and exam dates while CAT 2014, XAT 2015 and SNAP 2014 exam dates will be announced soon.

Following is the detailed calendar of various top MBA exams along with their Application deadlines, exam dates, Mode of Exam and Result Date.

MBA Exams 2014-15 Calendar

Exam Name	Application Deadline	Exam Date	Mode of Exam	Result date
CAT 2014 Exam*	First week of August, 2014 till last week of September 2014.	October 2014	Online	Second week of January, 2015
XAT 2015 Exam*	2nd week of August to last week of November	January 4, 2015	Paper Pencil	January 31, 2015
IIFT 2014 Exam	September 3, 2014	November 23, 2014	Paper pencil	NA
NMAT 2014 Exam	September 24, 2014	October 7 - December 20, 2014	Online	January 22, 2015
SNAP 2014 Exam*	September, 2014 till November 2014	December  2014	Paper Pencil	January 2015
CMAT  September 2014	August 25, 2014	September 25 to 29, 2014	Online	October 30, 2015
IBSAT 2014	December 1, 2014	December 10 to 31, 2014	Online	January 19, 2015
MAT 2014	August 23, 2014	September 7 & September 13, 2014	Paper Based Test & Online Both	September 2014

* Yet to be officially announced. Based on previous years assumption.

CAT 2014 exam:

IIM Indore is yet to announce the Application and exam schedule of CAT 2014 exam. CAT 2014 exam registration is expected to be announced from first week of August to last week of September.

XAT 2015 exam:

Entrance exam conducted by XLRI is usually held on first Sunday of January every year. The official announcement is yet to be out but the XAT 2014 registrations are expected to start from 2nd week of August to last week of November.

For Any query on XAT 2015 exam, Click below to get the Official Answer from representatives:

IIFT 2014 Exam:

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has announced the schedule for conducting its National Level Admission Test for MBA (IB) batch 2015-17 courses at its Delhi and Kolkata campuses. The test is proposed to be conducted on Sunday, November 23, 2014 in 20 major cities across the country. The last date of submission of completed application forms in either mode is September 3, 2014.

IIFT MBA(IB) admission 2015 entrance test is  a paper pencil mode multiple choice objective type written test (in English). It generally consists of questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis.

Test will be conducted on Nov 23, 2014 with duration of 2 hours from 10 AM to 12 noon.

NMAT 2015 Exam:

SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), India’s leading private University has announced NMIMS Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) 2015registration open for admissions in its School of Business Management for academic session 2015-17.

For Admissions in NMIMS full-time Management Programs at Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad campus, applicants shall be able to take online NMAT 2015 test in a window period of almost one and a half month from 07th October to 20th December 2014. The last date of registration for NMAT 2015 is 24th September, 2014.
For more details on NMAT 2015 exam, 

SNAP 2014 exam:

SNAP is proposed to be held sometime in December 2014. The entrance test is conducted for MBA admission in 13 Symbiosis B schools offering various management courses. 

Registration for SNAP is expected to open sometime in the month of September, 2014 and may continue till November 2014.  SNAP is a paper pen and Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) based examination of two hours duration.

The test comprises 180 questions divided in 4 sections of Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension; General Knowledge and Current Affairs; Quantitative Ability and data interpretation; Analytical and Logical Ability. Maximum marks are 180 and there is a provision of 25% negative marking for wrong answers.

Connect with SIBM Bangalore Admission Team

CMAT Sep 2014 exam:

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced the schedule for conducting First National Level Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) to select suitable students for admission in management programmes for academic year 2015-16.

According to AICTE the candidates will be given two opportunities to appear in CMAT for admission session commencing in 2015; first in September, 2014 and Second in February, 2015. The better of two scores will be used for admission for PGDM/MBA batch 2015-17.

AICTE has opened the online registration window for CMAT Sep 2014 today on July 3, 2014. The registration window will remain open till August 25, 2014. CMAT 2015-16 first test will be held in 62 cities all across India in a 5 day test window from September 25 to 29, 2014.

There will be 2 test sessions of 3 hours each on every day; the first one will be from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM and the second one will be from 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM.

For Latest updates on CMAT Sep 2014 exam, Click below:

IBSAT 2014 exam:

ICFAI Group comprising IBS Business Schools has announced the dates for IBSAT (IBS Aptitude Test) 2014 for admission to various management programmes in the session beginning 2015. IBS was established in 1995 and has 9 campuses in India.

Registration for IBSAT opened on July 15, 2014 and will continue till December 1, 2014. IBSAT is proposed to be conducted in 22 days test window beginning from December 10 to December 31, 2014 across the country.

IBSAT 2014 will be an online computer based test to be conducted at 100 test centers across India.  This test scores the applicant’s ability in quantitative techniques, data interpretation, data adequacy, vocabulary, analytical reasoning and reading comprehension. The duration of test is expected to be of 2 hours with 125 questions.

MAT Sep 2014:

AIMA MAT September 2014 registration will end on August 23, 2014. MAT Sep 2014 will be held both in paper pencil and Online Mode on September 7, 2014 and September 13, 2014. MAT Sep 2014 Results is expected to be out on the last week of September 2014.

Tips from Experts and Toppers: 

CAT Topper Sneha Mittal, Says:

Once you prepare well for an examination like CAT, others are much easier, but that doesn't means they don't need enough time and preparation. For example,

CMAT : For CMAT, you need to keep your GK finely tuned. You cannot prepare that in a day or two. So keep that in mind while you prepare for CAT, Read newspapers daily, and stay updated with the current affairs.

XAT : Practice essay writing on a regular basis. As XAT has an essay writing section which makes a huge difference in the final selection. Also, as XAT has Maths on a tougher side, do not panic when you are unable to solve the questions. Please do not attempt if you are unable to solve any question. Even a score of 5-10 will get you 90 percentile in XAT. Prepare for the other sections by seeing the previous year papers.

NMAT : Utilizing and planning your time and attempt strategy is important here. Appear for a lot of mock tests, and develop a strategy as to how you should go about it, and which section you should choose first. Next, make sure you attempt all the questions. Keep the last 2 minutes for randomly attempting the unattempted questions. This is because NMAT does not have any negative marking, so there's no harm in attempting.

CET : Appear for a lot of mock tests. See the solutions and solve the previous year papers. This will help you know which questions are too difficult to solve and hence should be left or attempted randomly (no negative marking here also). Try to speed up by giving mock tests.

CAT Topper Anubhav Kunnel Says:

Well, to be honest, CAT and XAT are 2 totally different tests. CAT is a time challenging test. You need to identify the easier questions at the beginning itself and also try to maintain a good accuracy. On the other hand, XAT may appear relatively tougher at first. The key is to attempt only the questions you are sure of. This is the reason you can get a 99 percentile in XAT even if you attempt barely 40% of the questions with a good accuracy
For CAT,I practiced a lot and improved my speed. I focused mainly on the DI section and LR section. I scored as much as possible in these 2 sections. I was a bit wary of the RCs and so attempted very carefully.
For XAT, the decision making section was a bit of a problem for me. So, in the run up to the exam, I concentrated mainly on this section only. Also, all the major exams would be finished by the time of XAT..So, the preparation you have done for CAT will suffice. The only extra thing you need to concentrate on is the Decision Making section because XLRI puts a lot of emphasis on this section.

CAT Topper Aayush Agarwal Says:

One should always prepare for CAT 1st hand. There is ample time between CAT and other exams to gear yourself up accordingly.

The major difference between CAT and IIFT & XAT is that while CAT is a Computer Based Test, IIFT & XAT are paper pencil based.

Also, the amount of time you get for each question is far less in IIFT & XAT than CAT (where you get approx 2 minutes per question).

Best way to prepare for IIFT, XAT, SNAP and NMAT is by giving the respective mock tests. These tests throw up some questions which are different in format from CAT. You can refer to "A modern approach to Verbal Reasoning ' by RS Agarwal for practicing those types of questions.

CAT Expert Mr. S.K. Agarwal says: It will be better for the MBA aspirants to choose the best entrance tests in 2014. While CMAT, CAT, NMAT, SNAP will be on line tests, IIFT will be paper pencil mode. Except CAT almost all the MBA entrance tests have inserted a testing section on General Awareness which should also be prepared along with other Quant, Verbal, Di & LR topics. MBA aspirants should choose at least 2 on line and 2 paper pencil mode tests. CMAT Sep 2014 may or may not be attempted as CAT scores are also accepted by the B schools who accept CMAT scores. Besides, you have the opportunity to appear in the second CMAT in Feb 2015 which will give you the same opportunity as CMAT Sep 2014.
 

How to do well in the Group Discussion

gourav

The Group Discussion stage forms an integral part of the admission process to most IIMs. It tests you on several aspects. The Group Discussion is an excellent platform for you to showcase your communication skills, reasoning ability, ability to be a team player and also your leadership qualities. All of these are essential in order to be a good manager.

The weightage that the Group Discussion carries in your final admission decision is also significant, ranging from 15-20%. More importantly, the Group Discussion is your first opportunity to make an impression on the panel that will be interviewing you later. First impressions always count, and you don’t want the panel to have any negative preconceived notions about you.

The Group Discussion can follow any of several formats. Usually, the groups are of 8-11 people. The topic is given at the start. At this point, the panel may ask you to write on the topic for 5-10 minutes and then discuss it, or to gather your thoughts for a couple of minutes and then start. In either case, there is absolutely no excuse for not carrying a pen and paper into the Group Discussion room. If you are required to start after a couple of minutes, quickly jot down some points that seem relevant to you. Concentrate on thinking of as many points as you can at this point instead of trying to frame the points in your best language. If you have more time, you can present the points in a more coherent fashion. However, remember that substance is always more important than style. This does not, of course, mean that you should write abbreviations, sms-language, or use poor grammar, but there is no point in being unnecessarily verbose.

Group Discussion topics are of three types. The topic may be a social or political issue that the panel wants you to discuss e.g. climate change. It may also take the form of a case where you are required to think for a protagonist and decide on an appropriate course of action. Finally, it may be a completely abstract topic such as “Orange”. A common variation in Group Discussions occurs when the panel asks you to select by consensus a topic to be discussed (without giving you any options), or asks you to choose between two topics the one you wish to discuss as a group. Remember that you are being judged even during the process of reaching a decision. Never assume that the Group Discussion has not begun because a topic has not been selected. Every word you speak in the Group Discussion room is on the record, as GDs are meant to simulate corporate meetings which are always painfully formal discussions in the real world.

There are some tactics that I used during my IIM GDs, which helped me a great deal. They are:

Pretend like it’s real: In a real corporate meeting, you need to treat everyone with respect and also win their respect in order to bring everyone around to your point of view. There are several things that you simply cannot do in a real meeting that I find people do during Group Discussions, such as putting someone else down or using a casual tone of voice. Pretending like it’s a real meeting will automatically make you more alert and less prone to making mistakes during the GD.

Treat everyone with respect: An important attribute you will be judged on is whether you are a team player or not. Being disdainful will therefore not help you. Be polite when dealing with opposing points of view. Try to explain with logical reasons why a person is incorrect, no matter how outrageous his line of reasoning is. Also, never ever tell someone that he is wrong. Use softer phrases like ‘That’s interesting but another point of view would be…’ or ‘That’s true in some cases but I would also like to point out that…’

Don’t panic: The point you were just trying to make was just stolen. The person next to you is shouting down everything you’re saying. Relax. The panel judging you looks at how well you can deal with people and situations. Take a deep breath, compose yourself, think of another point and jump back into the discussion like nothing happened.

Forget what your GD coach taught you: Well, not all of it, but the parts about speaking at least 6-7 times in a 15 minute GD. Every GD is different. You can open your mouth just twice during a GD and end up looking like the best candidate in the room, or make 15 points and still find yourself on the list of rejects. There are no set rules that can be framed about the number of times you should speak. Go with the flow, and do what you feel comfortable doing. Quality and not quantity is what the panel is looking for. Remember though, that to get some points you need to speak at least a couple of times.

Get plenty of practice: The more GDs you practice, the better you get. You can refine your style of speaking as well as your thought process with the aid of practice GDs. Practicing GDs also makes you adept at handling different types of situations and ensures that you’re on top of your game when it counts. Practice both case as well as non-case GDs as you never know what the IIMs will spring on you.

Body Language is important, but not that important: Most GD coaches put undue stress on your body language during a GD. While it is important to look alert during a GD, concentrating on how you look rather than on how you talk will only hamper your chances. Ensure that you do the basics of sitting up straight, looking everyone in the eye while speaking and not being too animated (e.g. waving your arms wildly about). Apart from that, make a genuine effort to listen to people. This will wipe that bored expression off your face, and also stop you from twiddling your pen and staring at your shoes.

Don’t be scared to start: Do not hesitate to be the first one to speak, if you feel that everyone has taken sufficient time to think during the GD. The panel appreciates leadership skills. At the same time, don’t just say any old thing. Be prepared with a coherent opening statement, don’t ramble, and never, ever summarize the topic given to you or start off with sentences like “Dear Friends, we are gathered here at the GD of IIMX to discuss…” This is a formal discussion, and everybody knows why they are there.

Practice role-play: For case GDs, practice writing down the names of the concerned parties and writing points from their points of view. This will help you gain a clearer understanding of the problem and help you channel your thoughts better.

Think before you speak: Needless to say, there is no sense in shouting down someone only to blurt out half a sentence. This creates a bad impression. Mentally prepare at least a couple of sentences that you want to say. If someone cuts you off and prevents you from saying everything you wanted to, hey, at least you tried. The panel will appreciate the effort. Also, concentrate on only one point at a time. Don’t try and touch on multiple points during a single foray into the GD, as chances are that not only will the second point not be heard, it will also be stolen by someone else.

Remember the summary: Many IIMs require you to write a GD summary. Those that don’t usually ask students for an oral summary. This is a great chance to make a good impression on the panel in a safe environment away from the bustle of a GD, as the panel gives their undivided attention to one candidate at a time. Therefore, never lose track of the GD in the rush to speak, and try and always have an overall ‘feel’ of where the discussion is heading.

Read: Finally, it helps to keep abreast of the news of the world and the country. People quoting facts and figures during a GD create a fantastic impression if the figures are accurate and relevant. Even if the figures are slightly inaccurate, as opposed to blatantly ridiculous, they ensure the speaker a chance to be heard, as people usually respect someone who they perceive to have a deeper knowledge of the topic. A person who is well-read can expect to encounter few topics which are alien to him, which is a huge advantage in a GD.
The most important things in a GD are your maturity and confidence. When you speak, take your time. Try and show restraint in everything you do. Finally, if the unthinkable happens and you are confronted with an abstract topic or topic that you know nothing about, listen to what other people are saying for 3-4 minutes. You will pick up enough hints on things to talk about before jumping into the Group Discussion with your own points.

How to prepare for Verbal Ability

First things first - a change in philosophy Verbal Ability or Reading Comprehension tests your ability to understand The nuances of the written word Identify and differentiate the subtleties of meanings of words Correct syntax, structure and formation of sentences Identify the complex ideas presented in the paragraph and link it to the overall theme As far as the EU section is concerned, over the years CAT has moved from being an English language test to being an English usage test. It implies that few years back, a lot of questions on grammar, vocabulary and fill in the blanks were pretty straightforward. Either you knew the answer in 10 seconds or you didn’t. No amount of deliberation and reasoning would help you if you didn’t know exact meanings of words and core concepts of grammar. Over the last 3 – 4 years, CAT has been laying more emphasis on the contextual understanding of the language. It is not enough to merely mug up 3000 high frequency and high power words as one would do in a GRE scenario. It is also not enough to know a Wren & Martin inside-out or to know all the parts of speech with their rules and exceptions. One needs to understand and appreciate how these rules and words are used in particular contexts. For example the usage of the word - ‘tension’ becomes entirely different in different subjects. It would be a part of quantum mechanics with an entirely different meaning in Physics, be in the context of demand-supply gap in Economics, existential issues in Philosophy, wars in History or emotional stress in Social Psychology. How one understands the word and its application thus depends upon one’s fundamental understanding of the subject matter. Needless to stay, the more one comes across different subject matter, the better he is placed to maximize the chances of understanding complex subject matter during the paper. A man is a product of his habits; is it really true? Yes, we are talking about inculcating, improving and then expanding reading habits here. Let’s begin by comparing two students, A & B, who are preparing for CAT. Student A takes all the preliminary tests, goes through concept notes, takes all the mock tests diligently and sticks to a time schedule till the day of CAT. He is not a voracious reader and doesn’t feel the need to read anything extra. As a regimen, he reads through newspapers daily, an occasional magazine and a rare novel. Student B is not as disciplined as A in taking the tests or undergoing concept notes and skips a few mock tests. Instead he spends a lot of time reading fiction and non-fiction material on variety of topics ranging from biographies, religious and motivational books, philosophy, architecture, fluid mechanics, mountain biking, psephology, Psychiatry, Astronomy, Finance & Economics, Chinese culture, Entertainment & Media, etc. Who do you think has a better chance of clearing the test? Surprisingly it is student B. And the reason is the change in the system of test. Unlike university tests and papers where one needs to revise the entire syllabus and go through last few years’ papers to clear the exam, the English section in CAT has every material ever written in English in the last 250 years to its disposal. As overwhelming as it may sound, it implies that all the literature in English is open to the CAT paper setter to choose from. So how does one maximize ones chances of clearing the cut-off in the EU section? One obvious but humanly impossible task is to end up reading all the literature in the world. A more realistic and do-able solution is to read up some of the best books on as diverse topics as you can. RC Passages, Idea Completion Questions, Multi-blanks, Jumbled Paragraphs etc. have appeared from very diverse areas. So why not read up sufficient amount of material in each area and make yourself atleast less uncomfortable, if not more comfortable when they appear in the paper. Also, when you have read more and read diverse topics, your comfort level and understanding (especially of passages) will shoot up dramatically. This will save valuable time in comprehending very complex data and make you more convinced about the answer that you think is the most appropriate one among the five choices. The crux of the matter presented in the paragraphs above is this – there is no other answer to ensure competence in the EU section than reading extensively, reading a lot and reading diverse subject matter. The more varied books and magazines you read, the more familiar you become with different presentation styles and techniques of sentence formation. Sub-consciously you are also soaking in good forms of English, learning new and unfamiliar words and internalizing the correct forms of grammar. I know what to do, tell me how to do it. It would help to form a reading habit of Editorial page of One daily – Any one from The Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Express, The Telegraph etc. Editorial page of One Finance daily – Anyone from The Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Businessline, etc. Material from any of the international magazines available online – The Economist, Time, Far Eastern Economic Review, Harvard Business Review, Mc Kinsey quarterly, etc. International dailies - Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, etc. Any of the books by Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Dan Brown, Ayn Rand, Richard Bach, Stephen Covey, Adam Smith, Nicolo Machiavelli, Karl Marx, P.G. Woodhouse etc War speeches of Winston Churchill, Letters of Abraham Lincoln, Autobiographies of Andrew Carnegie, Adolf Hitler, Benjamin Franklin, M.K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Writings of Vivekananda etc. Begin somewhere, anywhere with a dedication of about 45 minute a day. As you become more comfortable, you may want to increase your reading time and material and cover all the six areas mentioned above. The idea is to read more and reduce the surprise element in the CAT. Getting the holistic approach Apart from reading extensively, it helps to keep practicing a few questions on verbal everyday. If you are new to the CAT format, you may want to begin with 2 questions a day for the first week (basic level). If you are already comfortable and know the pattern, it would help to push 10 questions a day to begin with (intermediate level). It can be a mix of 1 passage with 5 questions, 3 parajumbles, and 2 Fill in the blank Q. As you become more familiar, move on to other types of questions by the 3rd week – Critical Reasoning, FIJ, Paragraph completion, Multiple blanks, Analogies, etc. The idea is to start from areas which are more comfortable and then move on to areas which are less familiar. With reading on diverse subjects going on simultaneously, one should be in a position to firm the grip on questions type more and more as practice continues. About 3 -4 months before the CAT, you should be able to move to the difficult level of questions in the area. Reading Comprehension is the key As Reading Comprehension forms about 35 to 60 % of the EU section, it is an area where more attention and detailing is called for. You can try different strategies of attacking an RC, after going through the concept chapters provided. For eg. The PQ approach (passage first, then the questions) PQ - Read the entire passage thoroughly first and then read the questions Pscan Q - Skim & Scan through the passage and keep going back and forth with questions and passage 2PQ, 4PQ, 6PQ - Read the first 2 paragraphs, scan all the questions and see what you can answer, then read para 3 & 4, scan the questions and see what you can answer, then read para 5& 6 ….. The QP approach (questions first, then the passage) QP - Read all the questions with their answer options first and then the passage 1QP, 2QP, 3QP, 4QP - Read question 1 with all the options, then go through the entire passage to answer it. Then read question 2, go through the entire passage. Then question 3…… Qstem P - Just read all the question stems, without reading the answer options. Then read the passage and try answering the questions by reading them with the options. Once you have tried these different strategies (recommended minimum of 3 passages with each strategy), identify which strategy you are more comfortable in and which one gives you a lot of difficulty. It is possible that in passages having certain subject matter for eg. Economics, Globalization, Public Policy, you may be comfortable with 1QP, 2QP approach. Whereas in some other topics such as philosophy, literature, you may be very comfortable with the QP approach. Once you have identified your comfort areas, try to solve a few more passages with the frozen strategy and see if your attempts and the number of correct answers go up within the allocated time. Keep reshaping and polishing your strategy based on Length of the passage Familiarity and complexity of the subject matter Number of questions

What to do during the CAT

BY gourav


Time: 24 hours before the paper

This is when you should be looking at your books for the last time. It doesn’t matter how much you’re going to study on the last day - none of it is going to go into your head, and you are going to retain none of it. In fact, the more you study, the more you tend to forget. This is because before big exams such as the CAT, there’s absolutely no substitute for being calm and relaxed. If you utilize every last minute cramming, you lose out on something very important – your peace of mind! Things you can do one day before the CAT are to get everything you need for the exam in order, such as your admit card, pencils and erasers, and to try and go to your exam centre to familiarize yourself with the route. People DO go to the wrong centres on CAT day. It happened to me this year, but because I was lucky enough to get there early, I got to the other (correct) centre on time. Apart from that, although it sounds clichéd, try watching a movie, especially a comedy. It helps tremendously. Try and get at least 7 hours of sleep.

Time: 3 hours before the paper

Eat a light breakfast, check all of your stuff, and plan to reach the centre at least an hour before the paper starts. You never know what may go wrong during the journey to the paper, and this is one day when you don’t want to take any chances. Carry a chocolate bar with you – it helps to pass time in case you get there early, and also makes you a little more alert before the paper. Don’t forget to carry a water bottle either.

Time: 15 minutes before the paper

This is when you’ll be allowed into the exam hall. Locate your seat and start filling in all of the necessary forms (attendance sheet(s) mainly) and the OMR sheet. You will have plenty of time to do this, but there’s no sense in slacking now and wasting valuable time later on. Don’t forget to keep your admit card with you. Check and recheck your OMR sheet – if you screw this up, there’s no point in sitting there for the next two and a half hours!

Time: Start of the paper

This is when you are allowed to open your question papers. This is NOT when you start writing your paper. The difference between doing well on your CAT and doing badly lies in the first 2-3 minutes. Please don’t start off with the first question blindly. READ all of the instructions on the question paper very carefully. Familiarize yourself with the pattern of the CAT that year. Set yourself a target number of questions (depending on your speed) that you want to attempt. Then look through the sections and mark the questions that you think you can attempt, and the ones you definitely can’t. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this step. The KEY to giving a good CAT lies in proper selection of questions. It is essential that you spend at least 2 minutes selecting questions you wish to attempt and those you wish to avoid. At this point of time you should also allocate how much time you want to spend on each section.

Time: 3 minutes into the paper

This is when you should take a deep breath and start attempting your paper. Now, there are several strategies that I used during the mock tests and in the actual CAT paper, for attempting questions. These strategies may not work for everyone, and it is very important to keep experimenting with your own strategies until you zero in on one or two which you are confident about. Most importantly, choose flexible strategies. You don’t know which section is going to be intimidating during your CAT paper. Some of the strategies I would recommend are:

Always have a default section which you think you are best at. This is the section with which you will start giving your paper, all things being equal. Only if in your assessment your default section is significantly tougher than the other sections, you should switch to another section.
Always have a backup section, which you need to shift to in case your default section is very tough. This happened to me this year. My default section was Quantitative Ability, but on my initial reading I found it to be a little tricky. I immediately started off with Data Interpretation, and came back to Quantitative Ability later on. By then, because I had finished the rest of the paper and was not under much pressure, QA did not seem as tough as it initially did.
Have a filler section for when you need to take a break from the other sections. Your filler section could be any of the three, as QA and DI are caselet based anyway, and VA has grammar and RC. The idea behind a filler section is to release pressure. We often panic during CAT thinking of the sections in which we have not attempted any questions at all. However, a filler section is a section in which, after every 25-30 minute spell attempting another section, you pick up an RC or a caselet from and solve. It is a tremendous confidence-booster when, after finishing with two sections and flipping to the third, you find that you have already solved 7-8 questions in that section. You should utilize the mocks that you give in identifying which of the three sections is your default section, and also your backup and filler sections.
Try and get an idea of how tough a section is, relative to the other sections. VA sections have been extremely tough for the last couple of years, so there is no sense in wasting time solving every question in order to clear the cut-off. Be confident that the cut-off would be low, and solve only enough questions for you to be confident that you would clear it. On the other hand, since DI sections have been easier, they are worth spending a little extra time on, so that you clear your cut-off and score well overall.
In Verbal Ability, avoid attempting more than two Reading Comprehensions one after another. The reason is that your concentration starts flagging after the first couple of passages, and you invariably make careless errors in the third and fourth passages you attempt, if you are attempting them in succession. Instead, mix it up by doing a little grammar or even another section in between passages, to keep your mind fresh.
In most Data Interpretation caselets and most Reading Comprehension passages, there will be 1-2 questions easier than the others. Make sure you attempt them at the very least, even if you don’t attempt the rest of the question. Conversely, there is no rule that states that every caselet or passage has to be attempted completely (i.e. all questions answered), so don’t waste time doing difficult questions.
Avoid doing Quantitative Ability for long stretches of time, as your concentration starts flagging. Mix up Quantitative Ability with some grammar or some DI caselets.
Keep checking your OMR sheet to ensure that you have shaded the correct circles for the questions that you have answered. Every year some people do badly because they shade in their OMR sheets incorrectly.
Never ever make solving a question a matter of personal pride. Time is your most valuable commodity during the two and a half hours. If you can’t see how to solve a question, leave it immediately. Think of it as a question you could have solved if you had the time, but chose not to. Spending copious amounts of time on a question breaks your rhythm and comes with absolutely no benefit.
Finally, don’t panic. It sounds easy, but it takes practice. This is where your mocks come into the picture. Give enough mocks to get used to exam-like situations. A calm, relaxed mind is paramount. A good way to take a breather and calm yourself down during the paper is to take a minute off to sip some water and re-gather your thoughts.
Time: 2 minutes before the end of the paper

Check your OMR sheet again, and gather all of your things. Prepare to hand in the paper, and then continue solving it. No sense in giving the invigilator the chance to not take your paper by delaying handing it in.