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Getting a good score in CAT is just half the battle won, as all premier institutes assign an almost equal weightage to the written ability test and the CAT interview for admitting candidates. Team ET offers tips from faculty members and successful candidates on how one can tackle them.

Brush up General Info:

It is crucial to have a grip on current affairs and general knowledge for the written ability test (WAT). A student at IIM Indore, for instance,was asked to write an essay on whether sex education should be introduced in the school curriculum

Back up Facts:

Interview panelists look for the ability to back your arguments rationally, factually and consistently. A candidate from Bihar recalled some figures on crime control rates and medical aid to prove things had improved in the state. "I could substantiate my arguments with facts," says the candidate, now at IIM Bangalore.

Know your Subject:

Interviewers may quiz you on basic topics and if you fail to reply, it doesn't show you in good light, says Manek Daruwala, founder-director, TIME.

Have a Roadmap:

It's important to have a plan for your future in place. "I received an interview call from IIM Indore two years ago, but did not fare well as I did not sound serious enough about applying for an MBA," says the IIM-B student.

Talk about your Work:

Questions to students often revolve around work experience and behavioral science. "IIM-A faculty believes that if a student has work experience, he can learn better," says IIM-A admission committee chairperson Prof Arnab Laha.

Source: The Economic Times

About 60,000 students would be appearing for Common Admission Test (CAT)-2012 starting Thursday. Examinations will be held from October 11 to November 6 in different slots. In Hyderabad, the examinations will be conducted in three centres while only one centre has been allotted to Vizag. A total of 2.15 lakh students are expected to appear for the test from across the country.

The centres allotted for CAT in the city include Teegala Krishna Reddy College of Engineering and Technology at Meerpet, Saroornagar, MLR Institute of Technology at Dundigal, Qutbullapur, and Prometric Testing Private Limited on Road No.2, Banjara Hills. In Vizag, the only test centre is at Viswanadha Institute of Technology and Management, Anadapuram. The CAT-2012 will have two sections, namely Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning, spanned across 140 minutes.

On Tuesday, CAT experts said that there could be a few surprises in store in the examination this year. However, IIM-Kozhikode, the institute which is conducting the test, has already announced that there will not be any change in the pattern of the test. "The candidates should make sure that they have all the required documents for ID proof. Last year several students were sent back as they could not produce proper ID proofs," said Ramnath Kanakadandi, CAT coordinator, TIME coaching centre. "Like every year, candidates will have to manage their time well," A R K S Srinivas, director of Vista Mind, a coaching centre for CAT said.

The number of CAT applicants from the city has gone up considerably when compared to previous years. In 2011, around 50,000 candidates had appeared for the examination from state. A total of 2.1 lakh students are expected to write the examination across the country this year, a 4% increase in the number of candidates as last year's figure was at 2.05 lakh.

The rise is attributed to more number of working professionals opting for CAT-2012. B Tech graduates looking for management careers still comprise the largest chunk of CAT aspirants. The number of girls appearing for the test has also gone up marginally. While in 2011, girl students comprised 27% of the total number of candidates opting for CAT from AP, the figure is at 28% this year. CAT is held for admissions to 13 IIMs and about 150 B-schools in the country. The result is expected to be announced on January 9, 2013.

Source: Times of India

In a record, 172 management schools other than IIMs have subscribed to Common Admission Test (CAT) scores this year. In 2011, the number stood close to 130. A total of 2.14 lakh aspirants have registered for the 21-day long computer-based test that will begin from October 11. CAT 2012 is being coordinated by IIM-Kozhikode.

There has been a gradual increase in the number of non-IIM institutions using CAT scores despite the dwindling number of applicants since the last three years. In fact, the trend gained momentum in 2011 when six IITs, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University and Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, among others subscribed to the scores.

This year has also witnessed a marginal increase of 4.39% in the number of CAT takers. Last year, 2.05 lakh candidates registered for the exam while 2008 recorded the highest number of registrations with 2.76 lakh students applying. However, in 2010, the figure slipped to 2 lakh.

"The slight increase in the number of applicants this year is a positive indication that postgraduate management programmes at IIMs and other B-schools that accept CAT scores still offer an attractive future to many aspirants. We are yet to analyze the factors that have contributed to the growth of institutions as well as candidates," said professor S S S Kumar, convenor of CAT 2012 .

Like previous years, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune are the cities where maximum number of candidates are scheduled to take the admission test. "National Capital Region has recorded the highest number of registrations," said Kumar.

Meanwhile, the admission test which is known for springing up surprises has nothing new to offer this year. "IIMs are pretty much moving towards standardizing CAT and hence no surprises are expected this year. Speed and strategy are not major issues any longer. What is important is to remain calm and not to make basic mistakes. In relative terms, it still remains a tough test. Also, the selection process has become more transparent now. Eight years ago, we didn't know how much we scored. IIMs are now looking for people who fit their requirements rather than toppers," said director MBAGuru and IIM-Kolkata alumnus, Deekshant Sahrawat.

Source: Times of India

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), which regulates the profession of cost accountancy in the country, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala government for offering a certificate in accounting technician (CAT) course to higher secondary school students in Kerala.

Senior ICAI western region member Deepak Marne told TOI here on Friday, "The CAT course is aimed at enabling the students to gain employability skills in the area of accounting by the time they leave their higher secondary school studies." '

Amit Apte, ICAI's central council member, will head the CAT course initiative.

The government of Kerala has launched a path-breaking initiative called 'Additional skill acquisition programme' to equip the higher secondary as well as undergraduate students from arts, science and commerce streams with employ ability skills and to creat a pool of skilled youth, he said.

The programme covers 140 higher secondary schools and 40 government colleges across Kerala in the initial phase of its implementation, he added. As part of the initiative, the ICAI had offered a scheme of value added courses in accountancy for the higher secondary students, he said.

Marne said, "The MoU was signed recently by ICAI president Rakesh Singh, on behalf of the institute, and representatives of the Kerala government."

Source: Times of India

Getting into a management institute is easy, any B-school aspirant will tell. The challenge is to secure a job after graduating. Now, an MBA education blog and a testing agency have surveyed and found that only one in five MBAs is employable.

The survey conducted in tier-2 B-schools found that a lot of correction was required with regard to the manner in which classroom teaching was conducted.

Students were checked for their skills in verbal ability, quantitative ability and reasoning. in this pre-recruitment survey.

The survey architects tested 2,264 candidates in 29 cities (an average of 80 students in each city). The top 25 management institutes of India, including the IIMs, were not covered. in this survey.

The overall average percentage score obtained by MBAs in verbal and quantitative ability and reasoning was 52.58%, 41.17% and 37.51% respectively.

"Considering that the elements of the reasoning test (deductive logic, data sufficiency, spatial reasoning, and analytical reasoning) are crucial to making sound management decisions, this is a result which warrants closer attention," the analysis of the result noted.

This is not the first time such a survey has been held. In 2007, a similar survey had placed the employ ability index at 25%. Since then the number of business schools in India has risen four-fold from 2006-07 from 94,704 to 3.5 lakh colleges today.

"Questions are asked about the talent coming out of MBA colleges, and whether they create a workforce responsive to the needs of the economy, like understanding of business and on-the-feet thinking. So, decision-making skills are being valued more than ever," says Amit Agnihotri, chairman of MBAUniverse.com, one of the agencies that conducted the survey.

The pass-through rates were calculated based on the pre-decided cut-off for each test that are at par with the average cut-off scores decided by companies in their recruitment exercises.

The threshold cut-off scores used in verbal ability, quantitative ability and reasoning were 45%, 35% and 40% respectively.

Source: Times of India

University Name: Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode

Exam: IIM, Kozhikode Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012

Programmes: Post-graduate and Fellow Programs in management courses

Eligibility:

1. The candidate must hold a Bachelor's Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Differently Abled (DA) (It may also referred to as Persons with Disability (PWD) category)], awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
2. Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if he/she submits a certificate latest by June 30, 2013 from the Principal/Registrar of his/her College/Institute (issued on or before June 30, 2013) stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.

For details and information on eligibility, please click here.

Reservation:

15% - Scheduled Caste (SC)
7½% - Scheduled Tribe (ST)
27% - Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates belonging to the "non-creamy" layer.
3% - Differently Abled (DA)

How to apply:

1. Click here to apply online and Register
2. Click here to buy the scratch voucher from selected branches of Axis Bank
3. Before registering and scheduling for your test, the candidates are required to purchase a CAT 2012 voucher from any of the selected Axis Bank branches between July 30, 2012 and September 17, 2012. Interested candidates can register from July 30, 2012 to September 19, 2012.

Selection process:

IIM shortlists candidates for second stage of selection which may be independent of each other. The process may include Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI). Performance in CAT2012 examination is an important component in the admission process.

Paper pattern:

1. The duration of the test is 2 hours and 35 minutes including initial 15 minute tutorial.
2. The test comprises two sections that are separately timed
3. The first section is 1) Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 2) second section is Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.
4. Both of the sections will be 1 hour and 10 minutes (i.e. 70 minutes). There will be 30 questions in each section.
5. The candidate cannot end the first section before 70 minutes are up. However, he/she can end the second section before 70 minutes are up.

Important dates:

1. Sale of vouchers: July 30, 2012 to September 17, 2012.
2. Date of test: October 11, 2012 to November 06, 2012.
3. Declaration of Results: January 09, 2013.

Contact Numbers: Tel. 1-800-102-2256

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: http://www.catiim.in/contact_us.html

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) authorities are toying with the idea of conducting Common Admission Test (CAT) on a global scale from next year.

It is not yet clear whether students who appear for CAT held abroad would get admission to IIMs or the score would be valid only for admission to B-schools in their own countries.

During a meeting held in the city on Tuesday, IIM directors explored ways and means to make CAT more relevant to the market.

Debashis Chatterjee, director, IIM-Kozhikode, said: "We are in the preliminary stage of thinking. And it is our collective thinking that will shape the future decisions."

IIM authorities feel CAT should go international. There was a consensus the CAT in its present format focuses on quantitative ability and data interpretation, besides verbal ability and logical reasoning of a candidate, and doesn't test an individual's managerial orientation, and this needs to change, the sources added.

Source: Times of India

The Cuttack bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday imposed a stay on the Indian Police Services Limited Competitive Examination (LCE) 2012, which was scheduled on May 20.

The CAT bench gave the direction in response to a batch of petitions filed by state police officers praying to quash the examination, which was introduced by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) this year.

Some DSP-rank police officers of Odisha had filed petitions, alleging that the "limited exam" conducted by UPSC to overcome shortage of IPS officers in the country will affect their careers. The petitioners alleged the exam would block promotion quota of Odisha Police Service (OPS) officers to IPS rank. Many of the DSP rank officers would not be able to appear the exam due to age limit constraints, they said. The petitioners alleged the exam was "arbitrary" and urged CAT to quash it.

Adjudicating the petitions, CAT had issued notice to the Union ministry of home affairs to file its reply to the matter but it did not respond. "CAT had issued notice to the centre government to file its reply but there was no response. The CAT heard the matter in detail and imposed a stay on the exam," said Aditya Das, the petitioners' counsel.

Recruitment to IPS is done through competitive examination from open market conducted by UPSC and promotion of state police service officers. While two-third of the vacancies is filled up through direct recruitment, the remaining is supposed to be filled up through the State Promotion Quota (SPQ). Last year, the Centre, with a view to overcome shortage of IPS officers and paucity of training facilities, decided to introduce a third method of recruitment by holding a 'Limited Competitive Examination (LCE)', in which only assistant commandants of central para-military forces (CPMF), captain and major or equivalent rank officers of defence services and deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of state police service having five years' experience and aged 35 years or less can appear.

"There being no direct recruitment of DSPs (stopped since 1976) in Odisha, there is no scope for recruitment from the state police into IPS through LCE. By the time sub-inspectors in the state reach the rank of DSP, they invariably cross the age of 35, which means they would never be eligible to appear for LCE," a police officer said.

Source: Times of India

Applications are invited for admission to Two Year Full Time MBA Program at Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras

Eligibility

The minimum academic qualifications to apply for admission to the MBA program at IIT Madras are as follows:

1) B.E./B.Tech. (or equivalent) with First Class (or equivalent) from a recognized Institution or University
2) A Masters degree with First Class (or equivalent) in any discipline from a recognized Institution or University.
3) Final year students (of the above-mentioned program) are also eligible to apply.

Sponsored Candidates:

1. Candidates must have a minimum work experience of two years in the sponsoring organization. Applicants with a valid, good score in national level entrance tests such as CAT/XAT/MAT or equivalent would be preferred.
2. Non-Resident Indian and Foreign Nationals should have minimum qualification with good score in GMAT.

How To Apply

Application is available online through http://www.doms.iitm.ac.in

Institute: Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Science and Technology.

Programmes: 2- year full time residential Master of Business administration (MBA)

PRIST Tamilnadu Eligibility Criteria

Graduate from any discipline with 50% marks from recognized universities / Institution. Students in final semester can also apply.

Application Procedure for PRIST Tamilnadu :

Admission to this program will be on the basis of performance in the Entrance Test conducted by PRIST University. However candidate with valid score in GMAT, CAT, MAT, XAT, ATMA, and TANCET also can apply. Shortlisted candidates will be called for group discussion and personal interview and the selection will be made.

How to apply:

Draw a DD of Rs. 500 in favour of PRIST University, payable at Thanjavur and send it along with the completed application form to the address mentioned below.

Important dates:

Application deadline: April 30, 2012

Entrance Test: May 27, 2012

Website: http://www.prist.ac.in/