CAT 2009- ‘Mis’-Management

So after months of preparation and anticipation, CAT 2009 finally took place. Students were eager as well as apprehensive about new exam format. Things did go wrong to some extent. Students had to suffer because of new format and poor execution. There were issues like old CAT questions, cancelled exams, waiting for endless hours, poor handling by invigilators and what not! Many students have complained of getting less time for exam and some other, definitely the luckier ones got extra time. There seemed to have no back-up plan and this severely affected career prospect of many bright students. This was not just a one-off case but found across several centres.

Students have much to complain because of this royal mess done to them. Prior to exam, students were promised user-friendly and flexible exam pattern but things really went haywire. IIM management and Prometric deserve all the flak bestowed to them by media and affected students and their parents. Another bad aspect was inadequate knowledge possessed by incompetent invigilators. They were just not aware of all the rules, procedures and even conduct.

Students and their family members had to wait for endless hours at exam centres. Many places, exams were cancelled and imagine the plight of students coming from far-flung areas. It would be a real disaster for students who could not take exam due to technical glitches. One interesting observation was difficulty level faced by different students. Some founds really easy questions whereas others found it too tough. Overall, it was not a very pleasant experience for students however they need to maintain their cool and calm and remain in positive frame of mind. Life always gives options.

CAT 2009: Stay Motivated

CAT is just three weeks ago and this will be the last one in the series of preparatory articles. Almost three lakh students will be taking the mother of all management exams. The stress factor is palpable because of factors like performance, anxiety, targets, expectations and of course exam. The preparation phase is almost complete all that remains to be done is to tie the loose ends. Now the focus shifts on revision and enhancing confidence levels. Students now need to take care of mental aspect of the preparation and should also know how to manage stress management.

Remember, exam preparation is just one aspect of the process. What is also important is your confidence level without which nothing concrete can really materialize. The trick lies in avoiding the normal mistakes and remaining confident. Keep your composure intact. Stress can have adverse effect even on most bright students. Try to remain fresh as fatigue in the last stages of preparation can undo all the hard work of months. The changed format this year might make you apprehensive but remember, you have worked really hard and old format or new, if the preparation is right, you are bound to perform well.

If your motivation level is high, half the battle is won. Remember your past successes and every once in a while indulge in some honest introspection. Always look at the bigger picture ignoring the trivialities. Taking control of the situation is very important. Try having a to-do list that should contain only the most important activities. Prepare well and don’t compare your preparation level and methods with others. Always measure your progress with a neutral view. Relax your senses and be joyful. Last but not the least, sleep properly and take a day off if things seem too stressful.

CAT: Timely Tips

Among the sections covered in the CAT, DI (Data Interpretation) is a tricky one. But it is also a high scoring one and chances of improvement are quite high. Just for clarification, the prime difference between Math and DI is the ways of solving the sums. If you intend to improve drastically in DI then focus on calculation part. Many students have tried help of Vedic Math and it has done wonders to them in calculation part. The key is in knowing that, one does not need to give accurate answers in CAT. Choose the one from the options that is closest to the answer. This will save time and unnecessary calculations.

Many aspirants have used one ideal method for solving DI questions and that is to do all the calculation in the mind without taking the help of pen and pencil. This will make your mind come up with new solutions and speed will be additional benefit.

DI section also covers Logic part. If you intend to improve your logic section then try to solve puzzles because that is going to improve your skills greatly. One has to be very systematic while solving logics. The toughest section often found by students is Verbal one. It takes time to master this section. The best way to approach this problem is by reading regularly and thoroughly. It is not hard to improve your reading speed. All it needs is practice and regularity and you are there! Finally, remain focused and motivated and success is bound to touch your feet.

CAT: Suggestions for Preparation

We discussed the importance of devising new methods in the previous post. To continue with the series, let’s talk of some other ways of preparing you to best of your optimum capacity. One potentially idea is to think like your faculty and be forthcoming in sharing your ideas and views. So why faculty? That’s because a faculty always comes up with new ways of solving papers that have not been thought by the students. So when you start thinking like your professor while solving any problem you are bound to have value addition to the knowledge you already possess. Furthermore, you can share your solutions with your class mates.

Many students prefer to study in groups. This helps them in understanding things better because several minds are at work together. Here also, you should try to study with someone who is better than you. That way you might come across new ideas and methods. You should also try to explain what you have understood because when you explain things your won concepts become much clearer to you.

Math and logic section trouble a lot of students. But to their respite, there is a simple way out and that is solving different types of puzzles. The thing with puzzle is they are not solved in a fixed way and you have to come up with some innovative way to solve them. Ultimately that helps your thinking ability. Sudoku could be one of the ways to start with.

CAT: Devising New Methods

So, you are all set to bell the CAT! Its less than 3 months and by this time, your preparation must be going in full vigor. Aspirants’ preparing seriously for CAT must have got command over the basics and would have probably started to take test series. Now, after the initial excitement of tests peters down, you might have noticed that you get a certain percentile in each test. Of course, there is bound to have some improvement since you are also preparing, but what if the percentile get stuck in a certain region? Study harder? Go back to books?

Well, yes, that goes without saying but what else? One can always try new methods. One of the first methods that you can try is to analyze the previously solved papers. Concepts are already clear in your mind so focus should be now on devising new methods. The trick is not be satisfied with your initial high score. Complacency is often root cause of underperformance in final exam and having said that it makes sense to go back to the study table and think of new ways to solve your papers.

Practice is fin but it can also block your way from devising new methods. Mind adjusts itself to the way you allow it. The point to be noted here is the method you are following must be followed by thousand other students so your advantage is almost nullified. In the light of such possibility, it makes sense to think of new ideas that will give you edge over others.

CAT 2009- Examination Details

It was in April 2009 when IIMs first announced that CAT 2009 would be a computer based test. Students were eager to know the exact dates and schedule of the exam. Now, to the comfort of students, IIM Ahmedabad has finally announced the dates for CAT 2009. The prestigious college has also declared the other relevant information students have been seeking since the April announcement. This article will cover important announcements that are crucial for the students.

August 30, 2009 is the date when CAT Advertisement will appear in leading newspapers across the country. Unlike previous years, this year candidates need not buy the bulky CAT bulletin. Instead, all they have to do is to get a scratch voucher from the designated bank branches and thereafter register online for CAT 2009. One can get the vouchers from the designated bank branches from Wednesday, September 9, 2009. Forms will also be available at some associate outlets of the banks. The last date of sale is Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Candidates can begin to register online for CAT 2009 from Wednesday, September 9, 2009. The online registration start and end dates coincide with beginning and end of sale of vouchers. If you are worried about how to register online then leave aside all the worries as the instructions for online registration are given in the voucher. All the subsequent details will be available on CAT website. The going green movement will be greatly benefitted by CAT 2009 online system. The CAT written exam will be held during the period Saturday, November 28, 2009 - Monday, December 7, 2009. Candidates can choose the test date, session and even venue across thirty centres. Wish you all the luck for mother of all management exams.

MBA in International Business from IIFT

MBA aspirants would vouch for the quality and name of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi. The college has a great reputation build over the years. One of the best management schools in India, IIFT has kept giving India Inc great managers and entrepreneurs. Placement record has remained exceptional over the years. IIFT has invited applications for MBA (International Business) degree programme to be conducted at New Delhi and Kolkata. The course duration is of two years.

The eligibility criterion is a recognized bachelor's degree of minimum 3 years' duration in any discipline. Students who are appearing for final year of exam can also apply subject to submission of proof of requisite qualification by October 7, 2010. The entrance exam will consist of four stages of written test, group discussion, interview and essay writing. Written test will be held on Sunday, November 22, 2009 between 10 am and 12 noon at different centers. Names of the centers are Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Visakhapatnam.

The three later stages of GD, Interview and Essay Writing will be held during January/February at Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. The last date for sale of prospectus by post is 20th August 2009 whereas last date for sale of prospectus across the counter at IIFT is 3rd September 2009. If one wishes to apply online, then website address is http://www.iift.edu/i.

For further information, one can contact at following address and phone number.

Shri Gaurav Gulati,

Admission Officer

IIFT, B-21,

Qutab Institutional Area,

New Delhi-110016,

Tel: 011-26857908, 26965124,

Fax: 26966568

Email: admissions@iift.ac.in

Web site: www.iift.edu

Preparing Basics

Last post talked about onset of CAT 2009. Let’s try to dwell upon what needs to be done in coming months. One thing that requires urgent attention and is perhaps the most important part is focusing on the basics. How about mathematics? Beginning with old multiplication tables, it would not be a bad idea to learn and practice multiplication tables all over again. This will help in improving speed and we all know how vital speed factor is overall mathematics section. The speed factor often gives you an edge over your other competitors. Good number calculation skills are also helpful in data interpretation section.

Vocabulary section has remained a real pain for lots of students. The prime reason is lack of preparation and planning coupled with wrong perception about VA being the toughest section. But this problem has one easy solution and that is going back to reading habit. Reading has two benefits; one it gives you the sheer joy of reading and second, it enhances your comprehension skills as well. The last basic focus should be on interpreting data. Most of the students are very fond of cricket and soccer matches and they are very much aware of score sheet. The trick is how do you manage to interpret the data? If you do that effectively then you will have good DI basic in your hand. To sum it up, try to optimize all your resources and clear all your concepts.

CAT 2009

June has almost ended and its high time students from all over India start preparing for Common Admission Test (CAT). One of the toughest competitive examinations in world in world, CAT exam is undertaken to get admissions into prestigious Indian Institute of Management. There is one major change this time. Exam will be going online this year and that will prove to be a big difference compared to previous years. Not many things are clear from students’ perspectives like, length of the paper, format of the exam and difficulty level etc. But more than anything, students should keep this fact in mind that just 4-5 months is left for getting your concepts right.

Whatever is the format of the exam, one thing is pretty certain. I am referring to subjects of the paper. The underlying subjects will remain the same irrespective of the length and format. Few things that any management exam will ask you are, aptitude, stress management and time management skills. As far as subjects are concerned, students must start giving appropriate attention to Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative aptitude and Data interpretation. One common scenario is students mastering all these subjects but lacking in terms of stress management and time management. The reason is late preparation and inadequate practice. Just being good at subjects won’t serve the purpose. One needs to master other mental and psychological aspects also. Students are earnestly requested to start preparation as soon as possible. We will talk about particular subjects in next post.

MBA from Harvard

Doing MBA from a reputed institution is a dream come true for many students and if institute in question is Harvard then one does not really think of any other option. When it comes to MBA institutions nothing is bigger than Harvard. The institute represents excellence, quality and exceptional intelligence. Most of the CEOs in Fortune-500 companies are Harvard Business School alumni. The college offers the best placement and going by the latest available figure the base salary this is in range of $105,000. An astonishing percentage of 50 achieved 6 figure salaries notwithstanding the signing amount and performance bonuses. If we include those figures the salary could easily increase to double.

Let’s share some information about Harvard. The batch size last year was 880. The basic criteria for admission include apart from academic performance and work experience, ambition, intelligence and talent. Students normally have exception extra-curricular experiences and achievements in addition to strong academic background.

Students willing to join Harvard have basically 3 options of Double MBA, C.A Expressway and Plain Vanilla Graduation. If one is willing to join MBA course then best suggestion is to finish MBA from India (preferably IIMs) then work for 2-3 years in a reputed firm and then apply there. Yes, it will be double MBA but think of the career prospects once you are done with Harvard. Completing C.A form India with some relevant work experience is your gateway to Harvard. Last option is of doing graduation from India then getting some significant work experience and finally applying to Harvard. All said and done, Harvard is a great symbol of excellence and career advancement. Plan properly and make the next great move in your career.

Placement Scenario- 2009

Placement scene at numerous business schools definitely had a different color this time. Blame it on recession or collapse of some of the highest paying financial giants but most of the top colleges witnessed a drop or two in the average salary received. The situation of private enterprises can be summed up one word; cautious. So who takes the cake this year and who hogs the limelight? Well, the good, old Indian PSUs and government banks have provided that much needed support to the final placement at India’s premier colleges. For example, PSU recruited more than 65 students in the just concluded campus placement at IIM Lucknow. If we compare this figure to last few years then that’s definitely a giant leap as far as numbers are concerned.

Indian public sector units (PSUs) and especially ‘Navratnas’ have played a savior act in this year’s placement. Companies like SAIL, BHEL, ONGC, Coal India, SIDBI, NTPC, GAIL, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda etc have played a crucial role in selecting bright students from reputed management schools.

Compare the situation with last year when just a handful of PSU visited campus and they too returned empty-handed because of lack of interest shown by students. In one year, everything has changed. Now students are opting for job security than fancy pay packages and glamorous locations. One distinct change was that, very few students even at IIMs, got multiple offers. Few students also opted out of placement to start their own ventures. Overall, things have been better than what was expected.

IIM-B - Placement

This year placement scenario has been less than impressive. Unlike other years, hype normally associated with IIM placement was definitely missing. If we talk about statistics, total 97 companies participated in IIM-Bangalore placement season and all of 250 students got placed. Every year placements taking place at India’s premier institutes IIMs generated lot of hype and hoopla but this time scenario was slightly different and quite.

Because of economic recession and doomed fate of some of the top notch financial giants, placement was expected to be low profile. However, the point of concern was how IIMs would fare. Tier-II colleges were expected to face hard times. The big change witnessed this year was increased participation of public sector enterprises instead of regular private sector giants. Talking about IIM-B placement, it was never a question of how many students will be placed. Rather, the question weighing on everyone’s mind were what will be the average salary offered and how many offered students get.

Unlike previous years, this time participating companies dictated the terms and students also preferred to join an Indian firm in the country rather than going abroad. Last year the number of participating companies was 66 whereas this time the figure notched 97 because of the extra precaution taken by placement committee. Officially, there is no mention of average salary offered but sources reveal it has significantly come down. Investment banks were expectedly absent this time around. Sector wise, 25 percent of the batch landed jobs in consulting firms followed by 29 percent in financial firms and 16 percent in marketing. Overall despite the downturn prevailing all around, things were not that bad.

Thing to Do During the Interview

• Maintain your focus and get rid of all the worries roaming in your mind.
• Make sure to smile at opportune time and not unnecessarily.
• Never ever get indulged in rambling ragas. The panel wants answers to the point and you must aim to provide that.
• Don’t make the mistake of keeping your phone on. It is recommended to switch off your cell before interview starts.
• It pays to be expressive. Candidates with stammering or mumbling nature tend to have slim chances so better try to talk in a slow but crisp manner.
• Eye contact is very important factor because it shows your confidence level.
• Arguments should be avoided. Polite responses are expected and appreciated.
• Successful candidates also try to remain forthright and direct. Beating around the bush won’t fetch you good results.
• Make sure to introduce yourself clearly. Better to state clearly your first and last name.
• Before answering the question, take your own time to understand the question properly.
• The panel does not look at your speed while you reply rather its about how effectively you reply.
• Don’t ever lie in an interview. It’s a fundamental truth that must be followed.
• There are few times when you don’t know the answer so instead of making any wild guess, better admit that you don’t know the answer.
• It’s a bad manner to badmouth or blame anyone during an interview.
• At the end of the interview, when you are asked to question, if any try to ask intelligent and relevant questions. Also make a point to express your keen desire in joining the job.
  

Campus Interview- Basics

Recession has spread its deadly tentacles worldwide. Almost all the industries have been badly affected by the ongoing economic slowdown. Job market could not have remained left in the times of economic turmoil. Job market is definitely witnessing a gloomy scenario. Many people have been given pink slips. In such times, preparing well for job interviews becomes even more important. The campus recruitment has witnessed low salary packages this time. Considering that, candidates must pull up their socks and give their best in job interviews.

Start with mental preparation. Keep yourself fit and alert to tackle any questions. Quite often job interviews take place at short notice so prepare you for such condition. Make sure to have your resume checked thoroughly for any typos. Keep the structure of your resume in an easily readable fashion. Make sure to have skills highlighted apart from adding the relevant experiences. Before embarking on your interview journey, always prepare yourself for the projected self image. Knowing yourself completely is very crucial in making panel members understand you.

Panel members are experienced veterans. So do take notice of your sitting posture, talking style, clothes and face expressions. All these things matter a lot. Always prepare for unexpected things. An interview never turns out to be the way you had planned it. It will also pay well to remember that interview is like a sales pitch and you have to present yourself well. Sell your skills and experiences. All the best.

MBA growth prospects

Today the importance of education has grown multifold. Earlier being a graduate was enough to get a job but today being an MBA has become necessary to increase your job prospects. There is tremendous growth after executive MBA. Since an MBA equips you with so many skill sets and abilities you become good at managing and organizing. MBA teaches you logistics management, financial planning, marketing management, time management and other multi-tasking skills that help in your career growth! It helps you to improve your communication and negotiation techniques
However, growth depends in your capabilities and talents and also on the institute you pass out from. In India, most of the students from IIMs receive heavy salary packages not just because of students there deserve it but also because of the name, goodwill and the credibility that the institute has built over the passing years.

Because of the case study methodology and the intensive project training, students get all round training in every field and every aspect of business. During the course, one also makes in depth reports and presentations which involves a lot of research and analysis. This encourages the student to learn about new strategies and idea generation. Students become able to deal with such pressure which helps them in their growth. It is no wonder that MBA today has become a name that is synonymous to job and placement. Students ate doing their executive MBA only because of the good growth opportunities that they get.

MBA from ICFAI

ICFAI stands for Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. The ICFAI universities are set up at Uttarakhand, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Jharkhand under respective state legislations. It has a number of universities, engineering colleges and business schools and other educational institutes under it.

ICFAI is a premier institute for MBA in India. It is indeed a good career option that a student can opt for. ICFAI also offers distance learning MBA program which is very popular. It is considered to be amongst the best distance learning courses that are offered in the country. It is the only institute in the country that gives the degree of an MBA and not PGDBM (post graduate diploma in business management).

ICFAI offers 2 years, full-time MBA Program through 19 campuses that are setup in different parts of the country. The MBA Program is conducted under the ICFAI University which is located in Uttarakhand. ICFAI Business School also offers Full-time Ph.D. Program and Post Doctoral Fellowship in Management. For executive level programs, ICFAI also offers a one year full-time, campus-based residential executive post graduate level program at Hyderabad.
ICFAI also provides summer internship to all the distance learning MBA students. The classes for this course are held on weekends. There are training sessions that are organized for the students which help them clear their doubts. Adequate study material is provided to the students so that they can learn efficiently. ICFAI is known to provide really good study materials.

Analyzing Case-Studies

Now that you are aware of concept of case studies, let’s get down to analyzing the problem. While discussing the problem make sure to understand the basic problem and the symptoms associated with it. Both are two different things. You need to separate the said problem from its symptoms. Like, in the example of FMCG player, the actual problem could be that the competitors are offering better products and you having secured the largest chunk of the market did not come up with new offerings. Secondly your employees may have been looking for better work environment and pay package that you failed to realize.

One thing that needs to be kept in mind is whenever you discuss case studies and offer solutions; don’t just stick to one solution. Always come up with alternative solutions. That will show you totally understood the crux of the subject matter and willing to demonstrate every side of each alternative solution. In other words, that will show you are willing to look at all the aspects and think from every possible angle and that’s so vital in business world. You need to present your best foot forward. When you present the alternative solutions also remember to analyze pros and cons associated with each one of the solutions. While trying to come up with the final course of action, you must present the step by step approach. There is no quick fix problem in business world. Everything takes time and proper planning. So present a convincing plan and the necessary steps. Once you are able to do all the above said things, you are come up trumps.

The Concept of Case-Studies

Case studies have always been an integral part of management school curriculum. However, there has been a shift in the selection process of many top class B-schools. Now many management colleges have replaced the Group Discussion (GD) stage with case study analysis in the admission process. The reason behind this change is the view that case studies help institutes in a better way while checking students’ analysis power. In case of case studies, all the candidates are provided with same set of information and after that they are required to analyze it and present their findings. So that way, all the focus shifts to analysis ability of the candidates in stead of prior knowledge of topic given in the GD.

A case study is basically a situation given to the students. The subject matter could be anything including business, politics, current affairs or even sports related. The case studies can be inspired from real life happening or some imaginary condition. To present an example, you are operation head of a particular firm in FMCG sector and due to cut throat competition; you are slowly losing your market share. The entry of new players is also taking away your quality people and sales numbers are witnessing decline. So what would you do in such condition? Now in such condition, you have to perceive yourself in the said position and review the situation and think accordingly. This is the fun part as well as challenging part of solving case studies. Our next part will focus on analyzing and solving the problems of case studies.

MBA in Australia

Australia is a popular educational hub for international students. Indians students aspiring for higher management education have also taken a fancy for MBA Australia programs through distance education. Australia has several quality management schools spread across the length of the continent. Its proximity to rising economies like Malaysia, Singapore, most of the ASEAN nations also make it a comfortable place for management education. In last one decade, Australian B-Schools have emerged as the one of the top priority educational destination along with US and UK. Many renowned Australian colleges consistently managed to come in the top class business schools rankings.

Australian management curriculum is a contemporary mixture of best of Asian and European practices. Australian colleges offer knowledge based on practical practices. Also, being one of the major economies in the world, it offers several wonderful job opportunities to the students. Business study curriculum focuses on team work and interpersonal relationship skills along with communication skills. There are approximately 55 universities in Australia that offer management programs. Most of the MBA programs in Australia is of 16 to 20 months duration.

Some of the famous Australian B-schools are; Melbourne Business School, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, University of Queensland, Deakin Business School, University of Tech Sydney - Business Faculty, Australian Graduate School of Management, University of Western Sydney, University of Melbourne, Curtin Business School, Graduate School of Business - RMIT University etc. The fee for the program is usually in the range of 15000$ to 55000$, depending upon the programs offered and the course duration.

JMET

The JMET or Joint Management Entrance Test took place on December 14, 2008. JMET is held to select candidates for the post-graduate programmes in management offered by the six IITs (Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Chennai and Roorkee) and IISc Bangalore. Almost 37 across India organized the entrance test examination. JMET is one of the toughest management exams in India. The difficulty level of exam is not surprising considering the fact; one is trying to get into topmost engineering institutes. All the six IITs are crème a la crème. The eligibility criteria was Bachelor's degree in any discipline of Engineering or technology or its equivalent or a Master's degree in any discipline from a recognized Institute or University with at least 60 per cent marks.

JMET is quite different from CAT exam in few matters. If we talk section wise then DI section of JMET is not reasoning based as is the case with CAT which is reasoning as well as calculation based. JMET also place strong emphasis on basics of grammar. Vocabulary and punctuation is also checked thoroughly. JMET involves concepts related to higher mathematics which is not the case with CAT exam. JMAT reserves a complete section for reasoning unlike CAT. CAT exam has more stress on RC section but JMET has relatively easy questions in RCs. Passages are also quite short. JMET 2009 was of three hour duration. Earlier exams were of two year duration. The questions were also reduced in comparison to previous year paper.

MBA from Singapore

There are numerous B-Schools in India. But when one looks at number of students vying for seats in top business schools, there is definitely lack of adequate number of seats at premier management schools. Quite often, students also look for distance education on foreign shores. It’s a rather wise decision to look for better colleges when one is not able to secure a seat in good colleges in India. Doing MBA from foreign colleges will not only give you better chances of return on investment but also help in getting acquainted with global work environment. Plenty of work opportunities are also available for bright students. One of the favored places for Indian students is Singapore.

Singapore offers several one year management programs and selection is often based on academic records rather than entrance tests. Singapore is major economic centre and it offers wonderful study environment to Indian students. One of the major benefits of completing your MBA from this Asian nation is low cost compared to other preferred nations. The average fee including living costs is in range of 10- 15 Lakhs which is quite good relative to other countries. Singapore boasts of having great educational culture in Asia-Pacific Region with quality management schools.

Students can also work simultaneously along with their studies. One can work 16 hours per week apart from having the opportunity of studying with students from numerous nationalities. Singapore is also known for its economic might so that gives students wonderful chance of getting good job in one among 26,000 companies situated in the country. It is also a safe place in terms of ragging and drugs. So all in all, Singapore offers a wonderful chance to Indian students who want to study abroad.

GMAT and GRE

GMAT and GRE are two established tests for several courses. On a basic level, GMAT is mostly taken for management-related programme, whereas the GRE has a more diversified and broad portfolio of eight graduate school programmes including, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Psychology, Biology, Literature in English and Mathematics. GMAT is the primary test taken by most of the management aspirants. In GMAT examination, analytical skills, verbal and mathematical abilities are measured. One similarity between both tests is the fact that both tests have been created for native English speakers. In other words, foreigners with English not their main subject are clearly at disadvantage in the verbal segment. GRE is tougher in this aspect whereas GMAT examination can still be better handled by students who do not have English as their first language.

GMAT exam does not test your job skills or subjective qualities or business knowledge. The GRE has a wider scope in context of measuring candidate’s quantitative and verbal skills in abstract thinking. GRE also grinds hard in aspects of writing skills, vocab and general subjects. If one does not have good English and writing skills its better to stay away from GRE and would be much more beneficial to stick to GMAT.

One major difference between these two exams is GMAT candidate need to analyze what has been argued but in GRE candidate has to indulge in arguing. GRE is more abstract whereas GMAT is analytical in one word. Candidates should also take intom mind that even with low GMAT score; he or she can be selected if there is something special about him and his application or academics. Because admission process looks at the complete package offered by you including essays, test scores, motivation level and background.

Confusion Regarding Verbal section 2009

One of the surprising changes of CAT 2009 entrance examination was extra weight given to verbal section. Actually, CAT 2008 had only 27 questions in the verbal section whereas this year, the number was increased to 40 questions. Out of 40 questions, 20 questions were on comprehension and 20 questions related to English usage and grammar. Now the big worry is verbal questions are traditionally subject to different interpretations whereas quantitative questions have definite answers. The answers will be released by IIMs in early January but students fear the worst in view of extra weight given to English section. The main fear surrounding the aspirants is this factor might cost them their place in next stage of CAT.

The main problem with different interpretations is though answers might be right in eyes of experts but they need not necessarily considered right as per answer keys of IIMs. Different experts had discussion about this aspect and even they did not agree on right answers. This may lead to confusion and students are keeping their fingers crossed for the result. Different institutes like Time, IMS, and Career Launcher etc also released their answers and even they agree that 9 out of 20 questions had different answers. Needless to say these 9 answers can make it or break it for numerous students.

IIMs are not supposed to come up with explanations when they release the answers keys on January 9. This trend is in vogue since CAT 2006. Let’s hope this dilemma is verbal section does not spoil the party for 2,50,000 candidates who appeared for CAT 2009.