Updated on Jan 17, 2020 12:15 IST
Every exam is tough and it's the basic eligibility criteria before you get into an interview round or directly to the college. As it's said, one ought to fail and learn to reach greater heights. It's just another test and a phase which will pass on, dealing with failure is not so tough if you don't drown yourself in pressure.

By: Athira Anand

Every exam is tough and it's the basic eligibility criteria before you get into an interview round or directly to the college. As it's said, one ought to fail and learn to reach greater heights. It's just another test and a phase which will pass on, dealing with failure is not so tough if you don't drown yourself in pressure.

The first step to deal with failure is to keep calm and understand that efforts were not upto the mark. The second step is to prepare for the best keeping in mind the mistakes that you made already. The third and final step is to give it the best shot. Shortlisting colleges is not so easy as it seems, but to do that, we need to know which course are we looking for.

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There are different exams like HSEE, KUAT, and many others, some of them also offer social science courses. It's always better not to target only one college and, but also opt for other colleges with similar courses. Another point to keep in mind is to check the difficulty level and prepare likewise. Say if we consider CAT and CMAT, the former is tougher as compared to the latter.

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It's good to prepare as if it's the last exam. Referring to previous years' papers, cross-checking if the questions are repetitive, aiming to attempt maximum questions are among the few checklists one should always have in mind. Since there is no shortcut in getting into a good college, it is always necessary and goes without saying that practice is the only way to get it done. There are a few effective ways given below by which you can increase your score:

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  • Build your own strategy to finish the exam on time, this can be done by introspection and also by doing a few mocks. 
  • Keeping notes to refer to and when required is another way to get good scores. 
  • Give preference to subjects which you're not sure of and make sure you learn as you move along your preparing schedule.
  • Fundamentals should always be clear because that will always determine the way you approach a question. 
  • It's always good to change strategy for learning if you feel that it's not working or achievability is less. 
  • Always keep a backup plan before charting your studying schedule and keep track of what you've done and what's left, this will definitely help in knowing in which area more time has to be spent. 

Last but not least, there is nothing in this world which is not achievable with hard work, it's the only way to crack the score you need. The tips above will always add a cherry on the cake.

About the Author:

Athira Anand

Athira Anand is pursuing PGDM in Infrastructure Management from Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management. She is a civil engineer and passionate about techno commercial sector.

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Answered 3 days ago

Yes. IIMB does require the CAT exam, but the rest of the top B-schools in Bangalore also take in candidates through the state-level CET, ie, the Karnataka PGCET exam, or through MAT or CMAT. 

Top B-schools in Bangalore without CAT  

Cutoffs Required

Alliance University Karnataka PGCET Cutoff

26690

Presidency University Karnataka PGCET Cutoff

29592

Note: All info. is from official sites and can change.  

S

Syed Aquib Ur Rahman

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 4 days ago

IIM Calcutta has only mentioned accepting GMAT score for admission into EMBA courses.

However, CAT is commonly accepted by other similar institutes for both MBA and MBAEx courses. Thus, candidates are advised to ask admission desk for confirmation on this question.

S

Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 4 days ago

It is not possible to determine a candidate's admission in IIM Calcutta MBA course through CAT score alone. In Stage 1, a score 85% in CAT will be enough for a general category candidate to be selected for PI+WAT admission stage.

Final admission cutoffs are based on many factors other than CAT score.

S

Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 4 days ago

No, IIM Calcutta cannot get into MBA courses without appearing CAT first. CAT is a mandatory entrance exam and it is conducted every year for admissions into all MBA courses offered by this institute.

However, candidates who are applying for MBAEx course will be required to appear in GMAT for admissi

...Read more

S

Saurabh Khanduri

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

To get a seat at IFMR Chennai, students have to first appear for any one of the entrance exams accepted by the institute for the MBA/PGDM course admission. CAT, XAT, NMAT, CMAT, Andhra Pradesh ICET, IPAMT and SAT India are the entrance exams accepted by this institute for admission to the management

...Read more

N

Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

No, you cannot use the CAT score for direct admission to the MBA/PGDM course at this university. 

You would need to first appear for the CAT entrance exam, and then get shortlisted for the PI and or GD rounds to be considered for a seat. Since the CAT cutoff is not released publicly, the closest esti

...Read more

N

Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

The Vishwakarma University CAT cutoff 2025 was released for admission to the MBA/PGDM course for the All India quota. 

For the General AI category, the estimated Vishwakarma University MBA cutoff 2025 was 50. Students who gained this percentile are then eligible to enter the second round of admission

...Read more

N

Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

The National Institute of Bank Management Cutoff 2026 for General AI category in CAT exam is 80.

R

Rakshit Prabhakar

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

No, you cannot use the CAT exam result for direct admission to the MBA/PGDM course at AIMS Institutes, Bangalore.

The college accepts the CAT, XAT and MAT exam results for admission to the management programme. Students have to first attain the qualifying cutoff percentiles and then sit in the select

...Read more

N

Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 6 days ago

Candidates applying for admission in MBA at IIM Raipur should have qualified the CAT exam. Check below the application fee of CAT:

  • INR 2,300 for general category students
  • INR 1,150 for SC/ST/PwD students

R

Raj Priya

Contributor-Level 10