The term M.B.A stands for Masters in Business Administration and in this 21st century infotech age, a youngster armed with a degree in business administration occupies a place of pride in the liberalized global village.
Our country boasts of some of the leading B-schools which are recognized the world over with IIM-Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta being premier institutes. The IIMs conduct a CAT (Common Admission Test) as a pre-requisite for admission to various management programmes of the IIMs situated at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kashipur, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Raipur, Rohtak, Shillong, Tiruchirappali and Udaipur.
The post-graduate programme in management (PGP) seats are filled based on the results of the above examination. Besides this, a lot of non-IIM member institutions that have registered to avail of C.A.T scores can be found on the following website: www.iimcat.ac.in.
Scores are restricted only for admission to IIMs and non-IIM member institutions. IIMs have no role in the selection process of non-IIM institutions.
In Goa, Goa Institute of Management at Sanquelim and Department of Management Studies (Goa University) consider CAT scores for selection of candidates. A candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent (45%) in case of candidates belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and differently abled (DA) appearing for the final year bachelor’s degree or equivalent examination. Those who have completed requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.
If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally only if he/she submits a certificate latest by June 30 of the respective year from registrar/principal of the college/institute to that effect. Prospective candidates must obtain a valid and unique email account and a phone number throughout the selection process.
Reservations are available as per government of India requirements of 15% SC, 7.5 % ST and 27% (non-creamy layer of OBC). A candidate can appear for CAT exam only once during the two day testing window (4 sessions) in a year. The registration fee is prescribed for various categories of candidates. The window for registration opens normally during the first week of August every year and closes by the end of September .
The CAT exam is conducted in nearly 100 cities all over the country, the details of which can be found on the website in mid-October. This exam is also valid for fellow programme in management (FPM) (equivalent to Phd) of several IIMs.
The CAT exam comprises of general english, intelligence and reasoning comprehension, basic numeracy and data interpretation. A candidates CAT score will be made available on the website and results are declared during the third week of December.
Each IIM then shortlists candidates for the second stage of selection which may be independent of each other. The process may include written ability tests, group discussions, personal interviews, etc. Performance in the CAT exam, however, is an important component in the admission process.
IIMs may also use previous academic performance of candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in shortlisting and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes academic rating cut-offs and the weightage allotted to evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs.
The group discussions are also vital. Here, the examiner does not act as a leader, but rather as a silent observer. It is here that the candidate is called upon to prove his mettle among his equals, who incidentally are also his competitors and emerge as the leader, successfully. Remember you may not get a second chance to create a first impression.
