The CAT exam

The CAT exam

  Management is the ultimate career choice of every successful person. 

Imagine ten years as a program analyst (in a software company) or a

technical supervisor (in a core industry.)  You have to constantly upgrade

your coding or technical skills in order to continue working.  An

engineering graduate can't move up the higher echelons in his organisation

unless he is the boss' son or he is extraordinary.  So for all you smart

people here, we suggest management to be your next step forward in your

life's progress.

  Management as a career option has received a great impetus from the

numerous success stories of several Indians who have made it big at the

international scene.  You now get dollar salaries by studying in India. 

Indra Nooyi (an ex-Madras resident) now next to the CEO in PepsiCo

International was an IIM-C graduate.  Rajat Gupta (another IIM alumnus) is

now the head of McKinsey (international operations.)  Indian managers

are now in great demand.  Unlike the software scene where Indians serve

as cheap labour, Indian managers go up the rungs quickly and are paid

as equal as, if not more than, their foreign counterparts.

  Management institutes traditionally charge the sky for an MBA.  But

thankfully in India the IIMs have merit as the only criterion for

admission.  They have several need-based loans and scholarships, which ensure

no deserving student is denied a management education for want of

money.  The annual fee in the IIMs works out to one lakh Indian rupees,

which is very moderate for an MBA.

  If the initials IIM puzzle you, well, IIM stands for Indian Institute

of Management.  It is the most prestigious place for management

admission and its reputation is as high as the IITs. If you regret having

failed to clear the JEE, you have come to the right place now.  Currently

there are six IIMs, the most famous being the ones at Ahmedabad,

Bangalore and Calcutta (ABC in that order.)  Other significant management

institutes are XLRI at Jamshedpur, FMS at Delhi, MDI at Gurgaon and

Symbiosis at Pune.  An international management school Indian School of

Business has started admissions from 2001 at its campus in Hyderabad.  Its

annual fee is just nine lakh Indian rupees.

  Admissions to these institutes normally happen in three stages - a

written test, a GD (Group Discussion) and an interview.  In case of the

IIMs, the Common Admission Test (CAT) serves as the qualifying written

test.  Other institutes have their own written tests, which you can get

to know when you are in your final year.  The next two stages are

individually conducted for every institute in case your name is in the

prestigious shortlists.

  The written tests generally test your vocabulary, math and analytical

skills just as in the GRE.  The only difference is the level of

difficulty.  Consider the CAT where you have to answer nearly 175 questions in

two hours.  The questions are not as simple as in TNPCEE and ensure

that you have to put your mind as well as your pen to work.  CAT basically

tests if your fundas are proper.  Ensure that your fundas are okay. 

You need not mug any wordlist.  Just brush up your grammar and class X

math.  Solving puzzles in standard books or reasoning problems in

Barron's or any good GRE book can work upon logic. 

  Preparation could normally be done in your final year.  Get hold of

some old question papers or if possible join a coaching class.  Attempt

at least ten model papers before going for the actual test.   For those

who feel not so good at your fundas, please start working now.  CAT is

purely class X stuff except that you need exceptionally high speed and

aptitude.  So go through CAT model papers to have a feel of the various

sections and your comfort levels in them.  The GD checks fluency in

English and effective communication skills.  The interview merely targets

your attitude.  Remember to wear your attitude everywhere!  Let fortune

smile upon you for a great management career!