The Hindu : More changes likely in Common Admission Test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 17, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

More changes likely in Common Admission Test

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore May 16. Hundreds of students in Bangalore, like others across the country, are getting ready to face the CAT (common admission test) for the six Indian institutes of management and other top B-schools.

"Many changes were expected in CAT last year and when the test takes place in the last week of November this year, candidates can expect more changes. They should be sound in the fundamentals of management," says R.Rangarajan Iyengar, founder of Scholar's League, the Bangalore-based organisation (ph: 3564320 or 3563306) which has been coaching IIM aspirants for several years now.

Mr. Rangarajan, a graduate of IIM Lucknow, says many students try to study on the basis of patterns they believe are found in the question papers of the past four years. The papers broadly cover verbal ability, reading comprehension, quantitative ability (problem solving), and data interpretation.

"The actual paper may differ in contents, and even in time limit and performance in group discussions may be given more weightage this time," he says.

The CAT usually has six to eight passages in the reading comprehension section with an overall length of around 50,000 words and 50 questions to answer in 30 minutes. But, this too could vary. To prepare for this, students should begin reading the editorials and edit page articles in business and general newspapers. Speed of reading alone will not be enough and they should get into the habit of taking notes and then writing a summary of the articles.

The test in verbal ability is another section where students should prepare well ahead. Good reasoning skills are important, he says.

The CAT bulletin says that an effort will be made to select a batch of candidates from diverse academic backgrounds. The selection will be a two-stage process. After the written round, a short-list is drawn up for the group discussion (GD) and personal interview (PI). The CAT score is one of the inputs used in short-listing candidates. Other inputs are past academic background and achievements and post-degree experience.

The final short-list is based on a weighted score where each institute independently decides the scores to be given to various areas based on their own priorities and needs. The IIM, Bangalore, has stated that the final selection will be based on all the above criteria and performances in GD and PI, a written summary, and three letters of reference. "The need for changes in CAT is not known but there were indications since 1999. To have a batch of students with diverse backgrounds, the IIMs were even contemplating new sections such as personal essays,'' says Mr. Rangarajan.

The CAT bulletin is the best indicator of changes and the selection process of IIMs. There is some uncertainty this year about the written round.

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More changes likely in Common Admission Test