MBA entrance exams Archives - PRAQTISE - India's most fun, adaptive and personalized online preparation platform for MBA entrance tests like CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, IIFT, etc.

How to prepare for different MBA entrance exams?

Praqtise — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:21:15 +0000

Anuj is an employee at one of the best IT companies in India. However, he wanted to transition from an engineer’s job to a management job. So, he decided to take up MBA. He spoke to Mahesh, one of his friends, about this. Mahesh’s brother is preparing for MBA entrance exams. Their conversation was as follows:

Anuj: I quit my job a week ago to devote my attention to preparing for entrance exams.

Mahesh: That’s a good decision. It would have been difficult to work and then study.

Anuj: I might have ended in the situation of a jack of all trades, master of none.

Mahesh: So now, for what all exams do you intend to appear?

Anuj: CAT, I guess.

Mahesh: Why just CAT? My brother is appearing for other exams as well.

Anuj: What other exams?

Mahesh: Well, he said, IIFT, SNAP, XAT, CMAT and few others.

Anuj: Oh, I have heard of them. But I don’t know how to prepare for them. Are they any different from CAT?

Most top B-schools in India have their individual testing criterion, while many colleges accept admission based on various standardised tests. But if you are planning to get into one of the top Management Schools then you have to prepare for multiple MBA entrance exams. Though Anuj’s situation may not be the situation for many candidates, but the question remains the same. How to prepare separately yet simultaneously for different MBA entrance exams? We have compiled comprehensive information and tips for various exams in this article. You can use this article as a guide while preparing for exams.

CAT 2016

Common admission test (CAT) is a test conducted by the IIMs each year. Cracking the CAT can get you admission into IIMs and many other top B-schools.

Praqtical Fact file: CAT 2016 exam structure

Section	Number of Questions
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	34
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)	32
Quantitative Ability	34

This year, CAT exam pattern has included non-MCQ questions. This means that the candidates must work strenuously to understand the basic concepts. Since the section duration is 1 hour, students must maintain speed and accuracy. Preparing per section and taking the mock test for CAT could be the best way to prepare for the exam.

Practical Fact file: CAT 2016 exam pattern

Aspects	Details
Duration of the Test	3 hours
Total Number of Sections	3
Sectional Duration	1 hour
Total Number of Questions	100

XAT 2016

XAT is Xavier Aptitude test is conducted by Xavier Association of Management Institutes. This test score is accepted by many B-school across India. Here, along with the standard sections of Quant and DI, VA and LR, you have to focus on the preparation for sections such as Decision Making, Essay Writing, and General Awareness.

Praqtical Fact file: XAT exam structure

Section	No. of question	Duration
Decision making	25	140 min
Verbal and logic ability	30
Quantitative ability and data interpretation	36
Essay and general awareness		35 min

The Decision Making section tests your interpretation skills and logic. These kinds of questions require a logical approach and a clear understanding of the situation. The Decision Making section is a combination of RC and LR, so, proper practice of these two sections might help as well. Solving previous years’ papers can also help.

In the essay writing section, the topics are usually abstract in nature, and you must relate it to a subject of relevance. Reading skills are the best way to prepare for Essay Writing. The more you read, the more you would know the current issues and relate it to your topic. Exercise writing an essay of 200-300 words each day to be familiar with the habit of writing using a pen and paper.

IIFT 2017

IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) offer numerous programs, especially in International Trade & Business. The exam is held in an offline format. The duration of exam will be 2 hours, but the number of sections may vary. Last year, three sections were incorporated.

English comprehension
General knowledge and awareness
Logical reasoning and quantitative analysis

IIFT is an examination which allocates differential marks per question to each section. There is a penalty of 1/3^rd marks for each wrong answer. This year, the experts are expecting that three sections will be included in IIFT MBA 2017. The English section requires applicants to have good knowledge of the language. The questions may include RC, verbal reasoning, para-jumbles, vocabulary based question, etc. Thus, the thorough practice of the language and different type of questions is necessary.

For the GK and awareness section, an applicant must be abreast with current affairs and static GK. Reading the newspaper regularly along with specialised magazines and blogs can help. The questions can be broadly based on international trade, sports, economy, politics, etc. The QA and logical reasoning section is similar to that of CAT. However, the length and level of difficulty of questions might vary. Conceptual clarity and practice of previous years’ papers might come in handy.

Praqtical fact file: Last year’s IIFT exam pattern

Section	No. of Questions	Marking Scheme
Data Interpretation	19	1
RC	16	0.75
Quantitative Ability	25	1
Logical Reasoning	20	0.75
General awareness	28	0.5
Verbal Ability	20	0.75

SNAP 2016

Symbiosis National Aptitude Test is a national-level test organised by Symbiosis International University. It is 2.5-hour paper-pen based exam.

Praqtise fact file: SNAP 2016 exam pattern

Name of Sections	No. of questions	Total Marks
General English: Reading Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Verbal Ability	40	40
Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency	40	40
Current Affairs (of last two years)	30	30
Analytical & Logical Reasoning	40	40
Total	150	150

In SNAP, the candidate gets +1 and -0.25 of the marks for each correct and incorrect answer respectively. The candidates can refer to the previous years’ papers, model papers, practice papers, etc. for getting comfortable with the exam pattern of SNAP. The English section of the paper is like CAT. However, the level of difficulty might vary. Along with this, the candidates must also practice their verbal reasoning and ability skills.

In the Quant, DI, and data sufficiency section, the candidates’ mathematical and data sufficiency skills are tested. This section covers topics such as Arithmetic, Geometry, and Business Mathematics. Thus, the candidates must polish their formulas and concepts to be quick in mental calculations.

For the current affair section, one must be aware of current issues in India and the world. The candidates must follow newspapers and yearbooks to prepare for this section. In SNAP, the Analytical & Logical Reasoning section is the most important one. This section consists of questions that test the candidates’ analytical and logical skills. Thorough knowledge of basic concepts and the practice is the best way to tackle this section.

NMAT

Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test is conducted by GMAC. The NMAT test scores are widely accepted in numerous colleges across India. The duration of this test is 2 hours and the total number of questions to be answered is 120. The sectional details of the exam are as follows:

Serial Number	Sections	Number of Questions	Time Allotted (in minutes)
1	Language Skills	32	22
2	Quantitative Skills	48	60
3	Logical Reasoning	40	38
Total		120	120

This test basically aims to assess the basic knowledge of the aspirants and their problem-solving skills. The test has 3 sections. The first section tests the student’s language skills, in other words the fluency, proficiency and reading skills. This section consists of 32 questions to be answered within 22 minutes.

The second section, Quantitative Skills, aims to test the mathematical skills of the candidates. It consists of 48 questions, and the time allotted is 60 minutes. This sections requires the students to mathematically skilled, and to be able to perform calculations without a calculator.

The third section, Logical Reasoning, tests students on their reasoning skills. There are 40 questions in this section, which are to be answered within 38 minutes.

Other MBA Entrance Exams

The other entrance exams, namely CMAT, MAT, ATMA and IBSAT are of a similar pattern. If you are well-prepared for CAT and XAT, you can appear for these tests. Apart from CMAT and MAT, which have sections of General Awareness, the other exams have standard sections of Quant, Verbal Ability and Reasoning. The difficulty level is much lower than CAT or XAT.

Apart from these, most of the states in India conduct state-wise entrance examinations for MBA. These entrance examinations are usually a lot easier than entrance examinations like CAT, XAT, NMAT, etc. For each of these exams, it is a must to have conceptual clarity. You must read a lot as all exams have a dedicated VA section. Take multiple mock tests for getting familiar with the pattern. Taking mock tests help the candidates prepare their strategy for the final examination.

Praqtical look:

As stated above, conceptual clarity, reading and practice are the key to getting a good score in any exam. Apart from these, the candidates’ confidence and dedication can further their chances of securing admission to the best B-school.

Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.

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Top MBA colleges in India that do not accept the CAT score

Praqtise — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 23:44:14 +0000

“CAT or no CAT?”

A boy named Manoj was in the final year of his graduation. A B.A. student from Loyola College in Ahmedabad, he wanted to do an MBA in HR after graduation from one of the top MBA colleges in India.

He spoke about his ambition to Ashwin, who was his senior from Loyola. Ashwin after completing his MBA in Finance from IIM-Calcutta and was now working with JP Morgan Chase as a Senior Analyst.

Manoj: “I am studying really hard for CAT, I hope I’m able to get into one of the IIMs.”

Ashwin: “Why are you restricting yourself to thinking just about the IIMs? You do realise that some of the best HR colleges are not even IIMs, and they have their own entrance tests.

Manoj: “Wow! How could I be so ignorant? Please tell me more!”

Ashwin: “XLRI and TISS are perhaps the most coveted colleges for HR. You need to pass XAT for getting into XLRI; similarly, TISS would require you to go through TISSNET.”

Ashwin had appeared for many exams like XAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT, IRMA, etc. Ashwin told Manoj that preparing for these exams wasn’t easy. It did require a lot of hard work and dedication. Manoj was inspired and started for preparing for other examinations.

Thinking beyond CAT

Many students face the same dilemma. Is appearing for CAT the only way to get admission in MBA colleges? Are there no colleges that do not accept CAT score?

This article comes as a relief for those students who fear that the CAT exam is the only gateway to MBA. There are many MBA entrance exams apart from CAT, for which a student can appear for to get into a good B-school. However, there are also business schools that accept candidates irrespective of whether they have appeared for CAT or not. Here is a list of the some of the top MBA colleges in India that do not accept the CAT score:

1)XLRI, Jamshedpur

XLRI offers Post Graduate Diploma in Management in fields like Business Human Resource and General Management. XLRI shortlists students by their score in Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT). The candidate also has to submit an essay within 20 minutes after the completion of the competitive exam. After the candidate is shortlisted based on his XAT score, he has to appear for either PI or GD and PI both, based on the field he chooses to do PGDM. XAT will take place on on 8^th January’17 for the 2017 intake.

2) NMIMS

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies is one of the top MBA colleges in India. It offers MBA in Pharmaceutical Management, Capital Market, Banking, Human Resource, etc. To get into NMIMS, a candidate needs to clear NMAT. A candidate can attempt NMAT up to 3 times to better his scores. NMAT doesn’t have negative marking. The final merit list is prepared based on the NMAT Score, Written Test marks (as applicable), Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Presentation (as applicable) and work experience. The test taking window for NMAT 2016 is 75 days long, from 7th October to 20 December.

3) Symbiosis International University

Symbiosis International University has 11 colleges spread over Pune, Bengaluru, Nashik, Hyderabad and Noida. These colleges offer MBA in Marketing, Human Resource, Finance and Operations. To get into Symbiosis colleges, a candidate needs to go through SNAP. SNAP is usually organised in the month of December, and this year, it is going to be conducted on 18^th December. General awareness business scenarios and current affairs make up almost 20% of SNAP. After the students are selected based on the SNAP score, they appear for GD and then PI.

4)MICA, Ahmedabad

Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad offers PGDM in Communications, Fellow Program in Management – Communications and many other Post Certificate programs. Candidates who want to get admission in MICA need to give CAT, GMAT or XAT along with MICAT. MICAT tests students in areas such as Divergent Thinking Abilities, Written Communication Abilities and General Awareness about contemporary social and business issues, including areas relevant to media, marketing, advertising & current affairs and Analytical & Verbal Abilities. MICAT-I is on December 11, 2016 and MICAT II on Februrary 12, 2017.

5) IIFT

IIFT was established by the Government of India in 1963. It is one of the top MBA colleges in India with its flagship course in International Business. IIFT has its institutes in Delhi and Kolkata. It offers MBA course in International Business. The exam that a candidate needs to clear to become a part of the institute is curated by the business school itself. The exam has a special General Knowledge section, which contains around 26 questions. After the IIFT exam, students are shortlisted to write an essay, baed on which they are shortlisted for GD and PI. This year, the IIFT examination date is set as 27^th November, 2016.

6) IRMA, Anand

Institute of Rural Management, Anand was established in 1979. It is amongst the top institutes of India that offer programs in Rural Management. IRMA accepts scores of both CAT and XAT for the admission. Apart from CAT and XAT, the candidate has to appear for Issues of Social Concern test. Based on the CAT/ XAT score, Issues of Social Concern test, group activity and personal interview, a candidate is selected. The date for IRMA test is 12^th February 2017.

7) Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

TISS is one of the top MBA colleges in India for HR studies. Their unique focus means that they test candidates in a different way, beginning with TISSNET. Admission into TISS is on the basis of the TISSNET score and subsequent GD/PI rounds. TISSNET 2017 is scheduled on January 7, 2017. As per the Institute website, negative marking will not apply for TISSNET 2017.

So, one doesn’t necessary have to give CAT to get into a top B-school in India. So, do you think Manoj will be able to get into one of the best B-schools in India without giving CAT? Let us know in the comments section below.

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MBA Entrance Exams – The need for variety in your preparation to get success.

Praqtise — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 11:08:54 +0000

Let’s take a look at what students think is the best way to tackle MBA entrance exams.

“Guys, I think constant preparation for 6 hours a day, 2 hours for each section for a year will take me to the desired percentile,” Ashish said.

“True, but I think only practice would not be enough. We have to add variety in our preparation such as different approaches to paper solving, balancing between speed and accuracy, etc.” Bhaskar replied.

“According to me, we have to plan our preparation for each section, but if we can maximise our score in our focus area, we can expect the desired result. We should try to identify our strengths and weaknesses and allocate weight accordingly.” Chandresh remarked.

From the above conversation, we can make out that no particular strategy suits all the students for every MBA Exam.

PRAQTISE Fact File:

Exam	General Awareness Weightage
IIFT	23%
SNAP	29%
CMAT	25%
MAT	25%

Preparation for CAT

CAT is one of the most significant MBA exams. You have to plan very systematically for CAT. You have to identify the strongest and the weakest section as difficulty levels may vary from section to section. It may happen that your most substantial section may be the toughest one and the most vulnerable may be the easiest. So, there is a constant need to add variety to your preparation style for success. We have provided a few examples below to add variety to your training.

First, you may fix a weekly schedule. You may provide a fixed number of hours to each section. On the last day of the week, you can revise the topics you prepared throughout the week.

Second, you can prepare one section for a week and another section in the next week. You should not study only one section for a long duration. CAT tests your ability to apply knowledge. The syllabus has interlinked concepts across sections. Something you learn in DI may help you in solving a QA based question. Hence, one should try to have a balanced preparation plan.

You can prepare a chapter or a few number of chapters at a time and take a sectional test to scale your progress. It is necessary to revisit the test once it is over and reattempt the questions that you did not solve.

Third, you can prepare all the topics from all the three sections. Once you have covered the entire CAT syllabus, you can start taking mock tests. You can use various approaches such starting off with a different part of the paper (QA/VA/DI) each time. Please keep in mind that in CAT 2016 you will get only 60 minutes for each section.

Preparation for non-CAT MBA entrance exams

There are many MBA entrance exams other than CAT. These tests differ from CAT in many ways. So, you need to change your preparation style if you are targeting b-schools other than IIMs. Here also, variety in training plays a vital role in success.

First, many MBA entrance exams such as IIFT, MICAT, SNAP, MAT, CMAT have an additional section for General Awareness. It has an average weight of 1/4^th of the total marks which cannot be ignored. G.A. cannot be learned overnight so you have to read every day to be comfortable with it. Hence, you can study the other three subjects, but you must cultivate the habit of reading a daily or a magazine every day. You can take regular sectional tests when you start reading static and business G.A.

Second, as these MBA entrance exams have a different exam pattern, you can take a few mock SNAP, mock MAT, mock IIFT, mock MICAT, etc. Few of these are still pen and paper format tests and so taking such mock tests every month will be helpful.

Third, the difficulty level of the questions of these MBA entrance exams may also vary from CAT. Hence, you can solve the questions from other competitive exams such as IBPS, RRB, RBI, SBI, UPSC, etc. to become comfortable with more diverse types of questions.

Fourth, there are few exams which have specific requirements. For example, XAT has essay writing so students can practice writing an essay every week. Social issues, political issues and any current affairs are ideal points to start practice.

A PRAQTICAL Look: How reading can transform your life?

MBA entrance exams are a great opportunity for one to get into the habit of reading. One does not have to read things from the syllabus, rather it is necessary to relax and do some casual reading.

Reading newspapers, magazines and books enriches your thought process. It is the best way to develop a seasoned and matured perspective. Reading not only enhances your vocabulary but also magnifies your chances of sailing through the RC section.

The only challenge here is to read the right things. While popular novels and mainstream newspapers seem to be an obvious choice, the true objective is to go beyond your comfort zone. Pick out publications that use sophisticated English and provide dense amounts of information. Read novels that talk about serious or abstract topics, subjects that you would generally not read about. Treat it as an opportunity to enhance your understanding of the world.

Have you included reading and general awareness in your preparation plan? Do you think that it helps improve the overall performance? Please let us know in the comments.

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