Life After Cat

The CAT ’09 is yet to end, infact some unlucky souls have to wait till Jan third week to appear for the test. CAT in many ways is connected to so many lifes..People from IIMs who work through out the year to make it a satisfying experience for others..The students who slog and prepare themselves for the test to make it to the IIMs…The numerous coaching centers for whom the test is their daily bread and butter. So when a test like CAT gets delayed its heartbreaking for the aspirants, who might have waited for this day their whole life. I hope that irrespective of the fact whether the student is still left to take the test…He/She has to enjoy the New Year…Because as they say “Life is what happens to you, when you were busy making other plans.”



Wishing you all a Happy New Year….!

When the CAT failed the mouse test

The Common Admission Test (CAT) has always been more than an entrance exam in India. It is not only the medium of securing admission into the seven premium IIMs but also the parameter on which hundreds of other business schools in India choose its students.

This year however, the tale was a little different as the IIMs decided to give up the traditional paper based format and announced that it will conduct the first ever computer-based CAT in India, making CAT 2009 an exam that was long awaited. But all this wasn’t to be, on 28^th November 2009, as the first set of students strutted their stuff and entered for what looked to be the turning point in the higher education process in India, hell broke loose. The news quickly spread that in 30 centres across 9 cities, the CAT server has crashed. Although not every centre faced problems, but those who did reported of wide ranging problems such as screens going blank in the middle of the exam, not being able to see the images properly, not being able to exit the exam.

In the aftermath of the CAT debacle, it was the students that found themselves to be the most harshly done by. As if the stress of a big exam like the CAT wasn’t enough, students are now dealing with cancellations, reschedules and delays. One such incidence is recollected by the first time CAT taker who traveled to Chennai to take the test, “My experience is nothing short of a disaster, first I had to struggle past the numerous people standing there and waited for almost an hour, after being sorted into four batches, the server of my particular batch crashed. Now I am asked to keep checking the site regularly to be informed of the re-scheduled appointment later”.

“There is a feeling of panic and restlessness in the students, after all it is a biggest day of their educational life, but the key is to not letting this mishap hinder their future and they should go for the rescheduled test and not miss it for any reason”, said Laksmi Singh, COO, IMS, a leading management entrance training institute. She also stated that following 5 simple steps could ease the burden of students dealing with reschedules and help them concentrate on their studies in this panic stricken time:

1. Students should (if possible) visit their respective test centers at least a day in advance so that they do not need to search for the test centre on the day of their test.

2. Ensure that they reach at least two hours before the scheduled test as specified by the test taking authorities. Some students were not allowed to take the test for not being able to reach the centre on time.

3. Carry as little as you can to the test centers, since you will not be allowed to carry mobiles, bags, even wallets into the testing room.

4. Access your e-mail and registered mobile number regularly for regular updates from the CAT authorities.

5. Students must see the tutorial on the day of the test before beginning the actual test.

Of course students can follow the necessary steps and go ahead with the CAT but the trauma will be long remembered. In the country where technology is rapidly becoming the way of life, a simple computer based test could have been more organized and well planned but overall it should have been more thought through. And in a typical Indian fashion the blame game has also begin for something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Apart from the usual routine of enquiries being set on who is responsible for technical failures and reports being demanded, some have even gone to an extent to call the debacle a national shame. But the real question remains that will the CAT remain online or the traditional paper-based that has worked for so long will be retained. The poll conducted by IMS show shocking results that students want the ease of paper and pencil back as more than 71% students voted it in its favor http://www.imsindia.com/CAT2009/polls.htm . The jury is still out on this one and we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Dreams....

Again!!!...Again it happened....yes, I could see the "GATE" the shining "GATE", Beyond that "GATE" there is life which i always wanted be in , A life for which i have been dreaming about...Yes: Its THE "IIMs"...for me its INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MY LIFE ......The dream of my life happened to me again...happened to me again.....I hope ...noo.. Iam Sure ...it will be a Reality....

Todays Menu.....IRMA Curry with GK on the "Rocks".....

IRMA (8th November)...The first hurdle of my journey to MBA comes to me on ma b'day .. ..... IRMA is quite easy...... But G.K as a section gives me a headache... started with mugging up questions (1000's of them) GK/GA .But soon realized it wasn't working...Had no clue on how to crack this section ?????...Was very scared, Coz I alwayz knew this section can brighten up my prospects to get a good b-school ......IMS suggested me of GQuest and friends gave me an advice to regularly visit different forums.(Pagal guy..and many more) along with my daily preparation from GQuest @IMS www.imsindia.com/GQ .....Thanks to the exam specific material @IMS and juntas @ Pagal guy(official GK thread and Irma Thread) i feel myself much more comfortable with this headache of mine........Juntas @ Pagal guy, @ Cool avenues and many more ensures that every piece of relevant information is provided to the individual....with exam date approcahing iam sure GQuest@IMS and Info@Pagal Guy along with my daily preparation can be my best bet for GK......


A special thanks to amit praksh @ Pagal guy who helped me with relevant answers to questions: specific to IRMA
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/prep-resources/44816-irma-issues-of-social-concerns-13.html#post1715098

"BILLLIIIIIIII is BACK"

wow...again its back .....this time with a bigger bang than previous years...The" Billliiiii" is on the net this time, Haunting students with anxiety and nightmares.. I my self can feel the buzz , the hype and the race for IIMs and Top B-school in India.To start with i must thank IMS Learning resources for helping me out with my preparation......The journey to" Bell the CAT" started in JAN 2009 when i enrolled for CAT Classic @ IMS. Started with Basics of Quant and Verbal for 2 months and Then slowly started practicing tests given by IMS(trust me :It helps).Now iam at a stage where iam done with my studies and waiting to have a GO at the "Billlliiiii".