A March towards top B-schools: Most Important Management Entrance Tests

Are you too in the league of students trying to get through top Management institutes? Are you too trying your best to crack most important management entrance tests? If ‘yes' is your reply then you need to pause and look no further. Bygone are the days when pen and pencils used to dominate examination table. With coming of technology, academic sector too has undergone plethora of change. Today, with major management tests undergoing restructuring of pattern, computer-based examinations have pushed the good old ink and lead writing form crawling at the backseat.

Bell the CAT

Lakhs of students take CAT exam each year, aspiring to bell the same. However, only few, diligent, succeed in their resolve. With passage of time, education sector too has undergone degrees of change and IIM's are a prime example of this. This year, IIM's yet again came up with another change: for the well-known CAT test, students need to tackle only 2 sections with 30 number of question's each with a time limit of 75 minutes respectively. Following the lines of the same, the 6 nascent IIM's too have brought in certain changes. Instead of the good old GD round, they have decided to conduct a Personal interview round and a written test.

Moreover, with IIT's scarping their JMET format and FMS too doing away with its entrance exam, CAT has impecabbly occupied the centre stage. Also, since MICA too has announced its decision of enrolling students solely on the basis of CAT score, its stakes have surged high. Thus, students willing to fulfill their dreams of entering an MBA institute should certainly not forget to bell the CAT as one of the most important management entrance tests.

Just ‘XAT'tack

One of the most challenging yet popular entrance exams, XAT 2011, is conducted by XLRI. More than 70 top B-schools admit students on the basis of their XAT score. Institutes like SP Jain institute of Management and Research (Mumbai), XIM (Bhubaneswar) and Goa Institute of Management give high priority to the XAT exam. This year, the benchmark set by XAT was pretty high in comparison with previous year papers. The numbers of questions asked were 101, same as earlier and were divided into 3 parts. For every wrong answer, there was negative marking i.e. one-fourth of total marks. The division of marks varied from 1 to 5 per question. Sections like quantitative ability and data interpretation, and analytical ability and decision making were said to be more time-consuming and complex than previous year.

The other segment, verbal ability and logical reasoning carried 34 questions and 69 marks, and was touted as the easiest in the entire exam. Students were even expected to tackle new sections on grammar and vocabulary. A 20 minute essay of 1 page was too included in XAT format, to enable student's exhibit their language skills.

Unlock the door towards IIFT

If you're a student willing to get through a prestigious international business institute, a cut above the rest then Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi (IIFT) is the place to be. One of the most sought after, hot property institutes, IIFT has always been a premium academy with high repute attached to its name. Since IIFT is an independent academy, it conducts its own entrance examination.

Featuring in the league of one of the most important management entrance tests, IIFT is held in the fourth week of November with a combination of both easy and difficult questions. Last year a total of 135 questions were asked and there was a provision for deduction of marks i.e. for every wrong answer students lost out on one-third of total marks.

A segment of paper chiefly focuses on general knowledge and current affairs in order to evaluate students on basis of their awareness and day to day knowledge and skills. The test was allegedly lengthy by nature.

Soar high with MAT

Conducted 4 times a year, Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a much revered gateway to a top B-school. In the 2010, students who took this exam were given an option of taking same via either computer-based system or via regular pen and paper form. It had 5 segments with 200 questions, assessing students on basis of:

• Critical reasoning
• Mathematical skills
• Data analysis and sufficiency
• Language comparison
• General awareness

Though, students must keep in mind that several institutes don't accept GK scores, nevertheless they need not panic.

Youngsters willing to beckon the management sphere must keep in mind that irrespective of the fact that the what the level of toughness for Management exams may be, the skills required shall persist to remain the same. A good hold over fundamental of quant, clear understanding of numerical data, decent familiarity with English language along with adept reading habits and good focus upon analytical questions is all what an individual need to focus on while planning to crack any of the above, most important management entrance tests.

Source: Priyanka Wali (Shiksha Team)