MICAT-I 2017: Exam analysis by MBA expert Tarun Malik

MICAT Round I was held on December 11, 2016 at various centers across the country. The second round of the entrance exam for admission to MICA's PGP programme, will be held on February 12, 2017. For those who are planning to appear in the second round, here’s an analysis of the first round, which should help to prepare better.

MICAT-I analysis by MBA expert Tarun Malik, Edmyt

A breeze after CAT!

This analysis is very different from other analyses (except that of NMAT) as it may enable you to make amends-if need be-just 63 days down the line with MICAT 2 on February 12.           

After a 2-minute typing test, the first task --Descriptive Test (DT)- had 4 questions. Three questions were related to the topic" Expert-Opinion is critical for geo-political developments" and the fourth one expected test takers to create a story on the basis of 4 given pictures after arranging these pictures in a sequence. All 4 questions were to be completed in 35 minutes. One needed to be a good time keeper in order to do justice to all the 4 questions. Many MICAT takers spent too much time on the first three questions thus were left with very less time for the fourth one.

Ideally, the first 3 questions should have been completed in 20 minutes to spare 15 minutes for something as abstract as story creation. One had to write- 

1. Three points in favour of the topic

2. Three points against it and

3. A conclusion in around 200 words expressing a clear stand in – a neutral opinion was not accepted.

4. The final task was a story that had to be written in around 300 words. Pictures  given were:

• E-scrap of old keyboards
• Two boys playing on a bench
• A room full of books (up to the ceiling)
• Underwater shot of a turtle

Though DT appears before the sections on Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability (VA), General Awareness (GA), and Divergent-Convergent Reasoning (DCR), DT will be evaluated only for those candidates who clear Sectional Cutoffs in each of QA, VA, GA and DCR.

The test also had a 35 question Psychometric Test to be completed in 25 minutes. One needed to be extremely careful here as in order to stand a chance in the overall selection process all 35 questions had to be attempted. Time management was critical as there were 10 questions which expected you to arrange your 6 preferences. This section should NOT be taken lightly at all.

The last part of the test had 102 questions to be attempted in an hour and 45 minutes. This was the only section with negative marking (-0.25 for each incorrect answer). Most questions on this section were doable, though Quantitative Aptitude had at least 10 questions which were good enough to be part of QA Section of CAT 2016. The difficulty level of this section was a surprise for many.

The General Awareness section, too, was mostly doable and had a healthy mixture of questions from all walks of life. The Reasoning section was easier in comparison to some of the previous MICATs mostly because of relatively easy "clue" questions. Most of the words on the Verbal Ability section were easy to deal with, with an exception of 'truculent'.

About 10% people will be selected for the next round and we expect an overall cutoff of 62-65.

The sectional cutoff looks to be in the vicinity of the following:

• DCR: 9-10
• VA: 15-16
• GA: 6-7
• QA: 7-8

The result of MICAT-I will be declared on December 19, 2016. Those students who are not quite there should keep in mind that the application process for MICAT 2nd round starts on January 3. You have 63 days to get even.

Those who are worrying about their CAT scores adversely impacting MICA prospects also have something to cheer about – CAT scores count for only 2% weight in the process.

All The Best!!!

About the Author: Tarun Malik has been active in the TestPrep industry for more than a decade and a half. He has worked with some of the known TestPrep companies in past helping 100s of students for MBA and Law entrance exams. He has also helped a number of students in their SAT/ACT preparations (Tarun has been a perfect scorer-800/800-on SAT as well) He was a 100 %iler in QA of CAT 2014. Tarun, now, heads the MBA TestPrep at Edmyt.