13 must do things to crack GD-PI-WAT round of Top MBA Colleges
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 5 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
Group discussion (GD), Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT) are an integral part of the MBA/PGDM admission process. It is crucial to how to communicate and express yourself in front of a group or a panel of experts in a GD or an interview.
Over the last few years, most of the top B-schools have started to conduct Essay Writing instead of Group Discussion. In the Writing Ability Test or Essay Writing too one has to be communicate their thoughts and opinions in a clear and concise manner. Many other top MBA colleges still conduct the GD round, which is an effective method of assessing a candidate's ability to hold a conversation and convince a group of people. So, to pursue MBA from a Tier 1 or Tier 2 college, one should not only focus on the entrance exam preparation but all WAT-GD/PI preparation.
Admission process of IIMs and top MBA colleges begin from January onwards. So candidates must start preparing for WAT/GD and PI as soon as CAT exam is conducted. Shiksha brings to you 13 must-do things to crack GD-PI-WAT rounds of top MBA colleges in India.
- 13 Must-Do Things to Crack GD-PI-WAT
- MBA Group Discussion
- Written Ability Test
13 Must-Do Things to Crack GD-PI-WAT
MBA Personal Interview (PI)
1. It is okay to say ‘I don't know' in an MBA interview, instead of answering a question without any knowledge about the topic (read bluffing). Be humble and state that you don't have much knowledge of the topic.
2. Here’s the classic opening question in a PI – ‘Tell me something about yourself’. Answer to this question usually leads to the next question. Typically, one should talk very briefly about family, education, career goals, hobbies, and interests. Do not talk a lot about the past. Briefly refer to education, life journey, and future plans.
3. Another common question is, ‘Why do you want to do an MBA?’ Answer such questions keeping in mind the holistic development you’ll get during MBA and acquisition of skills for life long success in personal and domestic space. Remember, post an MBA, one lands a job in corporate organisation where there are opportunities of rapid career growth along with high monetary returns. But at the same time, management as a career, is also a challenging profession.
4. One more common interview question is – ‘Where do you see yourself five years from now?’ While answering this, focus on skills development, increased responsibility while highlighting your goals as achievements. But do not say I want to become VP or General Manager or something similar.
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MBA Group Discussion
5. For preparation of GD topics read extensively so that you don't fall short of knowledge on current affairs. You must have complete information on political, economic, social and Science & Tech issues of the recent times. Read current affairs and business magazines. Watch documentaries on important events and occurrences in India and abroad.
6. Enter the group discussion at the right point i.e. when others are taking a small pause or have completed their point which you can counter or elaborate upon. Be loud and assertive but be polite in explaining your points.
7. It is not necessary to arrive at a consensus during a GD. Candidates can have different opinions but what is important is concluding the discussion with convincing points put forth in a civil manner.
8. Do not try to prove others wrong in a GD. Just remember it is not a debate but a group discussion and everyone has the right to their opinion.
9. While participating in a GD, focus on the following:
- Content
- Team approach
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills
- Analytical & logical reasoning
10. Ensure participation by showing maturity and putting up relevant points. Build your arguments with facts, figures and situations. Keep a logical approach throughout the GD. It becomes easy to build on other's arguments and conclude.
Also Read: 200+ Trending GD Topics for MBA
Written Ability Test
11. WAT topics can be as abstract as ‘describe the colour blue and pink’ or more substantiative like 'hard work or smart work' to something more focused on current trends. So keep reading the news, latest social trends and articles on India’s growth stories. Read philosophical books and articles. Do not forget to read editorial sections of newspapers daily.
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12. This essay writing round tests the candidate’s written ability, knowledge of the topic, understanding of the topic and clarity of thoughts. So, practice writing short essays with a proper- beginning, middle and end. Practice how to put your thoughts in a words in logical and lucid manner.
13. While preparing for the WAT or the essay round, refer to available textbooks and guides. But the daily practice is the key here.
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Yes, CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of the candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.
In the last one month before the CAT exam, candidates must start focusing on the most important topics. These may include strong and weak areas. Practice sample questions from these topics and do not start any new topic. Here's what to do in the last month of CAT preparation:
· Attempt CAT mock tests regularly and anaylse your performance. Spend time on filling the gaps.
· Practice time management through time bound practice sessions and mock tests
· Attend online study groups for problem solving and doubt clearing sessions.
· Keep revising key concepts and formulas of CAT. Have a daily session of 2 hours for revision only.
· Solve previous years' question papers to understand the trends of past years and work on topics that appear most frequently.
· Attempt official IIM CAT mock test to know the expected CAT 2025 exam pattern
· Focus on your health. It is very important to stay healthy in this phase so that your study time is not affected. Sleep well and take breaks from study to indulge in a hobby or a recreational activity to relax.
Yes, it is possible to prepare for CAT exam with mock tests only if you have appeared for the exam previously and have complete control on the topics included in the CAT syllabus. But if you are a first timer, you need to first complete the syllabus, understand each and every topic and then practice CAT mock tests to crack the exam.
The best way to prepare for DILR section is through practice. Before starting the preparation, aspirants should be accustomed to the question types by going through previous years’ question papers and solving those. Since there is not much conceptual understanding required in this section, practice is the key to excel in this area.
Some of the most popular books on DILR section that you can refer are How to Prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit Sinha, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Pearson, to name a few.
CAT DILR is all about practice. So, you need to practice a lot of questions from DILR to be able to master it. This section of CAT is equally divided into 10 questions each on DI and LR. The Data Interpretation questions are based on Mathematical tables, bars, pie charts, etc. so you need to work on it alongside Quantitative Aptitude. Learn some basic rules of tables, bars, pie charts as well as some basic rules of mathematical calculations. If you can read the data correctly, you can solve the CAT questions. However, to be able to solve questions quickly and accurately, you need to practice a good number of sample questions and mock tests.
For Logical Reasoning, you will have to depend totally on practice tests and exercises. The CAT LR questions are mostly based on series, number system, coding-decoding, family tree, circular patterns, blood relations, etc. So, you need to practice a lot of questions on these to be able to solve them in the exam. Go through CAT previous year question papers to know the type of questions are asked and practice them.
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CAT is a speed based test which is designed to assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.