Mail on CAT preparation

I received a mail from a close family friend as follows. Edited to protect privacy.

Dear Pradeep

X is doing his final year (2008 to 2009) in ECE, from PSG Kovai.

Kindly advise what he should do next and guide him to also to be successful.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Y

My reply. May be beneficial to few.

Dear Uncle,

It is the right time for him. He can do the following:

1. First is to get a feel whether he wants to do an MBA. There are many who are interested in MS from US/MTech from IISc. He would know better. MS must not be done just with the idea of entering into US. If he genuinely wants to work in the technical sector, he needs to do one. GATE is a good exam to join IISc in India for MTech. But he has to secure in the AIR top 10-200 (depending on the course) to secure a seat at IISc. Its not as tough as it seems. Dedicated efforts can get him there.

2. In case he feels MBA is something he wants to do, for e.g. he gets interested reading Economic Times or news related to business etc, then he can look at an MBA. He need not close GRE/GATE as options. But its better to decide earlier whether he wants to pursue a technical career or pursue a career in business related fields.

3. There is again the question of whether he actually is interested in higher studies. But then, I wont attack it here. He is in final year and will have an idea about these.

4. I am now assuming he is interested in an Indian MBA from one of the top 10 institutes and proceeding further.

5. The CAT'08 exam would be held in Nov 2nd week sunday. This has been the norm.

6. IIMs, SPJAIN, NITIE, FMS, XLRI, MDI Gurgaon, IIFT, IIT Bombay are some of the good colleges (in no particular order.)

7. He first has to get some books from some of his class mates/college mates at PSG. There will always be a bunch of people preparing for CAT seriously in the final year and who would have joined come classes

8. He has to join a Mock CAT series from one of the leading instis. 3 of the famous coaching centres conducting these are TIME, IMS, Career Launcher. I would advice to join TIME test series. If possible, better to join 2 test series if the time does not overlap.

9. Its important to understand where he stands in these tests based on his natural intelligence. There is no need that everyone from PSG/NITT/Anna will do well in these tests. But the chances are definitely higher since the students supposedly belong to better colleges.

10. He must average out in 4-5 tests and understand where he stands. That is judged thru percentiles. Percentile means what percentage of students did you beat. If one secures 99 %ile, then he belongs to the top 1%age of the test takers.

General guidelines (consistent performance is assumed) -

a. 98%ile and above in TIME test series with 95%ile + in each section (there are usually 3 sections) : Good score and student is already ready to get into IIMs. He has to just work harder and work on his strategy to perfect it

b. 95-98%ile or 98%ile+ but problems with 1 section -> Potential definitely there to get into IIMs. Hardwork is necessary and if he works hard can start touching 98+ scores. Identification of weak areas is crucial.

c. 90-95%ile -> Okayish scores. Definitely needs to work very hard for IIMs. More hardwork and dedication needed to crack it. Must improve on weak areas.

d. Less than 90%iles -> Less scores. Not easy. Though many have done it through hardwork. A lot of hardwork and genuine introspection needed whether he is capable of scoring a 98+. Else, need to apply to many other colleges if MBA is needed. IIMs are tough, but definitely nothing is impossible.

11. When starting to prepare, its normal for people to be in class 'd' as above and move on slowly to class 'a' with preparation and hardwork. Class 'a' means chances of conversion are very high. But luck plays a crucial role too. Its a 150 min test and every mark counts.

12. Not to get de motivated by low scores initially. It happens to everyone.

13. Read newspapers daily and keep track of whats happening around. Better to be smart and well read. Not to crack CAT, generally its high time one develops those qualities before entering corporate world. It will keep him in good stead.

14. For getting calls from all 6 IIMs, I think a score of 99.5%ile overall and a 96%ile+ in each section would be appropriate. Though people with lesser scores also get calls from fewer IIMs. Very few get calls for less than 98.5%ile. Sectional cut-offs are "extremely important". No point in scoring 99.90%ile overall with a less than 90%ile in one section. Probably no IIM will call him.

15. He would know what the 3 sections are etc from his class mates.

Once he gets IIM calls, we can discuss about Group Discussion/Personal Interviews etc. Good reading habits will help him there.

I hope it was helpful. Everyone will give many advices and "paths to get into IIMs" and all. Over a period of time, I guess he will become intelligent enough to develop his own methodology for this test.

Finally, many have a bad day in these tests. His intelligence need not be judged by this test. Its not a perfect test to measure that. There is too much of randomness involved in it.

All the best for him. He can contact me when any help is needed. Its important to give CAT'08 to understand where he stands.