Students’ Speak: Skills matter more than a college

By: Kandarp Patel

In this article, Kandarp discusses how a low score in CAT is not the end of the road for any aspirant. Ultimately, it is not the scores but skill, knowledge and talent are what will secure your future.

CAT 2019 Result is out. I am hoping that you have scored well. Even if you did not score well, don’t worry much. In this article, we will discuss all the best possible options and solutions with low scores.

As per the situation, there would be two things in your mind.

1. To take a drop and try to score best next year
2. Is there any good option if you have a low score?

If you are ready to work hard for one more year and you are mentally strong that you will be able to score best in next year or you can give your best in next year, so I will definitely suggest you devote one more year for the preparation. There are many examples of the students who had not performed well in the first attempt and cracked CAT with good scores in the second attempt.

But also keep one thing in mind that the risk also increases somehow. I am not saying that you can’t do well, but the thing is that you should think of every situation and risk and then take your decision wisely in order to avoid future problems.

If you are planning to take a drop then please try to do a job or some part-time work along with the preparation which can also help in some aspects.

Now let’s see some good options if you have a low or average score.

Good college options with 70 percentile cut off:

1. BITS Pilani - Birla Institute of Technology and Science
2. Welingkar Institute of Management (WE School), Mumbai
3. Nirma University
4. Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore
5. Management Development Institute, Murshidabad
6. ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad
7. IIFM - Indian Institute of Forest Management
8. LIBA - Loyola Institute of Business Administration
9. SIES College of Management Studies
10. NIT Trichy - National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NITT)
11. ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai
12. IISWBM - Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management

Good college options with 60 - 70 percentile cut off:

1. VIT University - Vellore Institute of Technology
2. IMT Nagpur - Institute of Management Technology
3. IMT Hyderabad - Institute of Management Technology
4. Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Institute for Management Development
5. BIMTECH - Birla Institute of Management Technology
6. AIMS Institutes
7. N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research
8. ITM University, Gwalior
9. Tezpur University - TEZU
10. Thiagarajar School of Management

Good college options with 50 - 60 percentile cut off:

1. Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
2. SSN School of Management
3. Rajagiri Business School
4. Lingayas Vidyapeeth
5. SKCT - Sri Krishna College of Technology
6. IPE Hyderabad - Institute of Public Enterprise
7. Army Institute of Management and Technology
8. Jaipuria Noida - Jaipuria Institute of Management (JIM)

The Return on Investment (ROI) of the above-mentioned colleges varies between 0.5 to 2.25.

Note: Above mentioned college lists and ROI are based on previous year cut offs and placement records respectively.

After knowing these options, now there would be two mindsets. First one would be no compromising with the colleges and going for a drop, and second, would be to get into some decent college rather than devoting one year for preparation. Make your decision wisely considering each and every factors and possibility.

And remember one thing, college is not everything for a secure future. The ultimate thing for a secure future is your skills, knowledge, talent etc. If you are having the best management skills, you will definitely have a good and secure future.

About the Author:

Kandarp Patel is a student at Nirma University, Ahemdabad, pursuing Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (final year). He is also a campus representative with Shiksha.com since 2016.