Eligibility : The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST)]
Conducted by : IIM
Colleges accepting the CAT score :
IIM-A,B,C,L,K,I,Ranchi,Shillong,Rohtak (Hariana)
IMT - Ghaziabad { cut-off : above 94 percentile,IMT does not consider sectional cut-off but only over all cut-off}
IMT Nagpur { cut-off : above 89 percentile,IMT does not consider sectional cut-off but only over all cut-off}
BIM-Trichy
TAPMI - Manipal
IIFM
MDI - Gurgaon {cut-off : over all above 96 percentile and also sectional cut-offs}
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
NITIE (for information on cut-offs and fees visit the following post : http://engquizzitive.blogspot.com/2010/09/nitie-national-institute-of-industrial.html )
Examination date : 27th Oct to 24th Nov (online - Computer Based Test)
Note : Last date for Sale of CAT Vouchers : 4th October 2010
Last date for CAT Registration: 7th October 2010
Paper Pattern of the previous years
CAT 2008 (paper pencil)Duration : 150 mins
No. of sections : 3
No. of Questions : 90
Marking : 1Q - 4 marks
Negative marking : 1/4th
No. of options : 5
Sections : Verbal (40 Q) : VA (20Q) : Fill in the blanks (double blanks),Multiple usage,Substitution questions and grammar based;RC (20Q) : 4 passages (5 Q per passage)
Quant (25Q) : number systems,SICI,percentages,speed maths,ratio proportion,time and distance
LDI (25Q) : logic based table,bar graph,logic based caselet,calculation based caselet
CAT 2009 (online) [CAT happened over a period of 10 days with 2 slots every day so there were in all 20 slots with 20 different paper patterns ; the level of difficulty also varied from slot to slot]
Duration : 150 mins (15 mins : compulsory tutorial + 135 mins actual test time)
No. of sections : 3
No. of questions : 60
No. of options : 5
Marking :
Negative Marking :
Sections : Verbal (20Q) : PJ,PC,Usage based questions,FIB,grammar based ; RC (10Q) : 3/2 passages
Quant (20Q)
LDI (20Q)
Changes in CAT 2009 post CAT
- GD was replaced by an essay writing section at some IIMs
- The pre-interview form gave way to a statement of purpose at many of the IIMs (IIM-B)
- The IIMs for the first time declared their selection criterion (wherein apart from the CAT score , academic performance and work experience were also given importance while selecting a candidate for PI)
XAT
XAT is an exam conducted by XLRI-Jamshedpur and the XAT score is accepted by the following institutes :
XLRI-Jamshedpur
XIM-Bhubaneshwar
Goa Institute of Management
S.P.Jain Institute of Management
Wellingkar Institute of Management
Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA)
BIM (Bangalore)
Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR)
Examination date : 2nd Jan 2011
Paper pattern of the previous years
XAT 2008
No. of questions : 120
No. of sections : 3
Marking Scheme : 1 mark/question
Negative marking : *1/4 for first 6 wrong answers and 1/2 thereafter
No. of choices: 5
Duration : 120 mins + 20mins (essay)
Sections : Verbal (38Q) [Fill in the blanks,Para Jumbles]+ 4 passages [5Q]
Quant (44Q) [all areas in quant] + DI (4sets) + DS (arithmetic type)
Logic (38Q) [6 puzzles] + decision making (3)
Essay writing (20 mins ) after the examination
XAT 2009
No. of questions : 120
No. of sections : 3
Marking Scheme : 1 mark/question
Negative marking : 1/4th
No. of choices: 5
Duration : 120 mins + 20mins (essay)
Sections : Verbal (35Q) [grammar,Para Jumbles,analogy and caselet]+ 6 passages
Quant [all areas in quant] + DI (4sets) + DS (arithmetic type)
Logic :5 puzzles + decision making (3)
Essay writing : Topic : The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of riches,the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries
XAT 2010
No. of questions : 120
No. of sections : 3
Marking Scheme : 1 mark/question
Negative marking : 0.20 M for first 5 incorrect answers in each section and 0.25 for each incorrect thereafter
No. of choices: 5
Duration : 120 mins + 20mins (essay)
Section : Verbal (31Q) [grammar,Para Jumbles,analogy,Fact Inference and Judgement]+ 4 passages
Quant (40Q) [all areas in quant] + DI (3sets)
Logic (30Q)
Essay writing : Topic : Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need but not every man's greed.
TISS
Tata Institute of Social Siences conducts an entrance exam for its various post graduate programmes.Here is a list of few programmes offered by TISS :Social Work SW
Counselling CL
Human Resources Management & Labour Relations HR
Health Administration HE
Hospital Administration HO
Examination Date : December 12,2010
Previous year's paper pattern
TISS 2009
Duration:
Part-I ( 45 mins)
Part-II (60 mins)
No. of Questions : Part-I (50Q) / Part-II (75Q)
Marking : Part-I (1 mark) / Part-II (not mentioned)
Negative marking : no negative marking
No. of options : 4 and 5
Part - I : Quant (15Q) / Language (20Q)/Awareness of general and social issues (15Q)
Part-II: DI/DS/RC/Business knowledge and foundation of management [the second part depends on the course a candidate applies to]
TISS 2010
As per the official website this year's TISS entrance exam would also be on the lines of TISS-2009.
Part -I is common for all the courses would consisit of 50 questions (Quant (15Q) / Language (20Q)/Awareness of general and social issues (15Q))
Part-II would depend on the course a student is applying to.
Part-II can include essay writing,reading comprehension,general knowledge,solving caselets (where a situation is given and questions and a candidate is expected to answer questions based on the same.
eg. of a caselet
Sunita is a 13 year old Adivasi girl from a tea garden in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The tea garden where Sunita’s mother worked as a labourer has been closed for the past one year. The family has been struggling with limited resources and barely able to sustain themselves. Sunita’s father died four years back. He fought an unsuccessfulbattle with cancer. Sunita’s two younger brothers Chhotka and Hari were too young to be left alone while her mother went out to work in the quarry. So Sunita stopped going to school to take care of her younger siblings and would keep looking for odd jobs to help with the family situation.
A distant Mama (maternal uncle) of Sunita visits the family and tells her mother that in recent months, the cases of kidnapping of young girls has increased and gives a few examples. Sunita’s uncle also adds that since Sunita has now grown up, she is also vulnerable. He then informs Sunita’s mother that he has found a groom in Haryana who has 20 acres of land and is very rich. And that he would take care of Sunita well. Moreover, he tells her that the person is not asking for any dowry. Instead, he will only pay for the marriage expenses. Sunita’s mother accepts this offer happily. The marriage is fixed for the next week in a nearby temple.
Based on the above caselet answer the following questions.
1. List the problems you consider important in the above situation. (50 words)
2. Explain your understanding of the problems you have identified. (50 words)
3. What would you do in a situation like this and why? (50 words)
4. What do you believe should be done to bring about change in situations like this?(50 words)
Essay Writing (for both XAT and TISS) : Essay writing : The basics of essay writing can be found on this link : http://engquizzitive.blogspot.com/2010/09/tissxat-essay-writing.html
A few sample essay topics are as follows :
Poverty is a major cause of disability.
Children with disabilities should preferably be educated in special schools.
Societal reactions are more disabling than the impairment itself.
Relevance of board examination in students’ learning
Importance of libraries in education
Role of schools in promoting democratic values
Sample essay - 1
Did God make Man – or Vice Versa?
to others, the idols they worship in temples and churches. To still others, He is an almighty being who helps them in times of trouble. To me, God is my belief, which acts as a guiding force in my life.Arguing the existence of God is like the proverbial chicken-and-egg debate. From a historical perspective, man named any force he could not conquer “GOD” (Generator, Operator, Destroyer).Thus he worshipped the sun, the oceans, the mountains. In many countries people worshipped their source of livelihood - like the fishermen who prays to the sea, the farmer who worships his land.
As populations grew, so too did the need for a “common” God, a standardised system of prayer.This, combined with man’s need for power, and his tendency towards fanaticism, gave rise to the concept of religion. Who is to say whether the precepts that Jesus originally taught and that which is followed today by Christians worldwide is the same? Who knows the truth behind the Bhagwad Gita? Nevertheless, we follow them blindly. They act as a binding force and guide us like a light in darkness.
Tragically, the same religion that unites, can divide too. The world’s most barbaric acts, wars and events have happened in the name of religion: Christianity vs Islam as witness the crusades; the Spanish Inquisition, Hinduism vs Islam as in the India-Pakistan divide, the Israel-Palestine conflict.We have been fighting in the name of religion, killing people in the name of religion or pseudoreligious causes – the massacre of millions of Jews by Hitler, or the Hindus killed by Muslims and vice versa during the Godhra riots, and the Babri Masjid demolition.
Still, these things do not prevent us from believing in a force, a power beyond ourselves that pervades all forms of life. Hundreds of Pakistanis live in the hope that one day they will get their life back. It is this faith in a better tomorrow that has helped Iraq survive the American attacks. It is faith that keeps the fire of life kindling in our hearts and helps us to rise above material things.
Where did this faith come from? Who made this faith? If not man, than who? Who created God? If not man, then who? At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether we have an immediate answer to these questions. The burning issue really is: can we apply the limited faith, our limited knowledge of this unseen force to live better lives, personally and collectively? If we can answer Yes, then how does it matter whether He made us or whether we made Him!
IIFT
IIFT is an exam conducted by Indian Institute of Foriegn trade for its two year MBA programme in foreign tradeEligibility: Recognized Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years duration in any discipline
Colleges that accept IIFT score : only IIFT-Delhi
Examination date : 28th Nov,2010 (paper pencil test)
Paper pattern
IIFT - 2009
Duration : 120 mins
No. of Questions: 122
No. of sections: 4
No. of options: 4
Marking: 0.4 to 1.0
Negative Marking: 1/4 th
Sections : VA (40Q) : vocab,grammar,para jumbles;no. of passages : 4 (19Q)
Quant (28Q) : Permutation combination,probability,geometry,mensuration,time and distance
Logic and DI : DI (19Q) , Logic (15Q)
GK (20Q) : each question carried 0.4 marks
The level of difficulty of IIFT is at par with that of CAT.The only section one has to be careful about is the GK section.
GK section in IIFT
The areas tested : current affairs,business affairs and static GK
Sources that might help in the preparation of this section:
Competiton Sucess review year book (for GK)
Pearson year manual (for GK)
Penguin year book (compiled Dereik O'Brien) for Business awareness
TIME magazine for current affairs
GK book provided to you in the first set will help you with some tests on GK (I would also be posting a few GK quizzes on this blog)
Read newspapers and magazines on regular basis to get a hang of GK
FMS - 2010
FMS is an exam conducted by Faculty of Management Studies,New Delhi for its two year MBA programme
Eligibility: Recognized Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years duration in any discipline
Colleges that accept FMS score : only FMS Delhi
Examination date : 5th Dec,2010 (paper pencil test)
Paper pattern of the previous years\
FMS - 2008
Duration : 120 mins
No. of Sections :4
No. of Questions : 175
No. of options :4
Marking : 1 mark
Negative marking: 1/4th
Sections : Verbal (35Q) : vocab and analogy
RC (40 Q) : 8 passages
Quant (50Q) : geometry,mensuration,cordinate geometry
Logic (50Q) : cubes,blood relations
FMS 2009
Duration : 120 mins
No. of Sections :4
No. of Questions : 175
No. of options :4
Marking : 1 mark
Negative marking: 1/4th
Sections : Verbal (42 Q) : vocab,grammar (parts of speech)
RC (35 Q) : 7 passages
Quant (49 Q) : quant and DI
Logic (49 Q) : critical and analytical reasoning
FMS 2010
Duration : 120 mins
No. of Sections :4
No. of Questions : 175
No. of options :4
Marking : 1 mark
Negative marking: 1/4th
Sections : Verbal (50 Q) : vocab,idioms,figures of speech,usage based questions
RC : FMS broke all records for lengthy passages : 1 passage ran into 4 to 5 pages with 24 questions
Quant (50 Q) : no DI , higher mathematics ,maxima and minima
Logic (50 Q) : DS type questions , vocab based questions
Quant and Logic in FMS is at par with the Quant and DI in CAT and hence a CAT aspirant need not worry much about the same.
How to prepare for FMS?
The Achille's heel in FMS would be the RC and the verbal section.
Verbal section is vocab centric with unusual phrases
Reading comprehension being a seperate section a student cannot leave it and to add to his/her woes FMS passages are lengthy and require careful reading.
The following few links can help you for online reading of passages required for FMS :
http://www.magportal.com/ (for diverse topics)
http://cafezika.blogspot.com/2009/11/reading-comprehension_1236.html ( for few online lengthy passages)
I would be soon posting a quiz on figures of speech and roots which FMS has a liking for on this blog.Will also post the link for the same on this page.
FMS vocab : http://engquizzitive.blogspot.com/2010/09/engquizzitive-28-vocab-fms-answers.html
FMS Statement of Purpose :
Question : 'Discuss your career goals and state in about 150 words how being at FMS can help achieve these'
To help you guys write the SOP I have uploaded two sample SOP on the following links :
http://engquizzitive.blogspot.com/2010/09/statement-of-purpose-sample-i.html
http://engquizzitive.blogspot.com/2010/09/statement-of-purpose-sample-ii.html
If you need help in editing the SOP please mail it to me [swapnila@time4education.com]
All the best !!!!
