How did I change my verbal scores in just 1 one month before CAT???

Like most of the situations, even this can be handled.. Here is what I did..

* I accepted that my accuracy in english is pathetic and I cant do much about it.. My accuracy was in the range of 50-60%.. So, I tried to maximize the number of questions I attempt.

* I used to attempt english last in my mock exams. Any section you attempt last, you might not do upto to your potential.. As such, it is difficult to score in english.. Having it last.. makes it even worse.. So I decided to attempt english first.. I gave 1 hour for english.. I try to attempt all the questions.. But in CAT 2007, I attempted 20 questions (because my 1 hour was up)

* I started focussing more on Reading Comprehension. The best thing about Reading Comprehension is that the answer is already there in the paper.. You should only trust your abilities to read.. I wasnt doing too well in Reading Comprehension before.. This was because, I used to rush through passages.. At the end of the day speed doesnt make sense.. Read the passage as if you are reading some news paper article.. Read it at pace which you can understand.. Dont move to the next paragraph, without understanding a given paragraph fully.. It might sound funny.. But if you profile your time, you will realize that you will spend 2-3 minutes extra.. Thats all.. And this will be made up when you answer questions..

* Read 3 articles a day.. And more than reading, write down 3 sentences summary about the article.. Re-read the article and check out if your summary is good enough.. If not modify your summary.. If you can do this with a companion, it will be very good.. As you will get points, which you would have missed out.. This exercise certainly has rewards.. But it will take time for you to see the impact on your performance.. It is a long term process.

* Also, when you are asked for summary of the passage, please dont mark the answer without reading the starting and the ending lines of each of the paragraph..

* Above all this, handle your verbal section patiently.. Give yourself enough breathing time.. Answer the verbal section, without looking at the watch every 2 minutes..

All the best!!

ps: CAT strategies are not one size fit all.. So.. Try this, and find out if the method works for you..

A lots of us want to get into IIM Bangalore.. There is so much about getting to A B or C.. Its a dream!! People slog for it for years… But today, I have a very special guest, Manas Garg! Manas, is also one among 250,000 people who took CAT 2007 with a dream of making it to the IIMs.. But when he got a lonely call from IIM Bangalore, he rejected the offer to attend the interview.. Manas has given some of his thoughts about why he rejected the call in this episode of Coffee With Experts.. Today, when a lot of us are gha-gha about making into IIMs, without even having any idea about why they want to be there.. This interview could be an eye-opener..
Its my pleasure to invite Manas Garg!

Coffee With Manas Garg!

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
MG: Manas Garg

Me: Hi Manas, First of all – Let me tell you.. You have taken a gutsy decision. When did you take the decision to pursue CAT/MBA? And more imporantly when did you decide to reject the call?
MG: It was in the final year, after working for Spider Club.. I realized that I throughly enjoyed working independently. I felt that entrepreneurship was my goal.. and thus an MBA seemed to the right thing to do. However, I was never completely convinced about this idea, and I kept getting second thoughts all the time. It was only after the results were out and I got the call from IIM Bangalore that I finally decided that I’d reject the call.

Me: Just to add context to this discussion, what was your cat percentiles, how many calls did you get.. Can you share these details..
MG: I had 98.5 percentile, and got just one call – from IIM-B. I attempted very few questions in the English section and my percentile in that section (apparently my strongest) turned out to be just 83. I was expecting calls from other IIMs but definitely not IIM-B. Getting the B call was a pleasant surprise.

Me: Where was the mismatch… You were enthusiastic at one point and suddenly u decided no after getting call.. Why did you change your decision.
MG: After getting the call, I spoke to a lot of people – people studying at IIM-B, people studying in ISB and people with commendable experience in the tech sector. The common things that came out of my discussions were as follows:

• IIMs are not a good place if you want to go into a tech company after your MBA. People in IIM love finance, economics and dream of Investment banks and Consultancy firms. I’d be a mismatch – I dream about technology all the time!

• Most engineers who join IIMs do it mainly ‘coz they have had enough of coding. I still haven’t – Again – I’d be the odd one out.

• After two years in such an environment, I’d lose touch with technology – and everyone agreed that it would be hard to get back into hardcore tech.

• It is not a do-or-die situation for me as yet. I can always go do an MBA later if i want to. Why hurry things up? I’m all of 22 years old.

To top it all, I love my job. I love the workplace, I love the kind of work I’m getting and I love the people I’m working with. As you can see, I have enough reason not to go for an MBA just now. I have described the reasons in detail and had a debate with my friends on my blog here – http://manasg.com/2008/03/25/mba/

Me: Now that you have thought a lot about MBA in India.. What are the pros and the cons of it.. (According to you!)
MG: MBA is more than the glamorous profession people in school or college look up to. The entry is difficult, and upto an extent, random too. Once in the institute, you need to work very hard. What we did for our engineering is nothing compared to the hard work an MBA course demands. And finally, the high paying jobs one gets after the MBA are also taxing – they don’t really leave you with time to relax.

MBA courses in India are highly inclined towards finance, and there are hardly any reputed MBA courses with focus on technology or entrepreneurship.

Me: Microsoft gives a good Pay package for software engineer.. How much did money factor play a role in you decision.. even if it played a small role?
MG: I’d be lying if I say money did not pay a role. Had I been earning much lesser than what I’m just now, maybe this decision would have been tougher for me. Microsoft is an amazing place to work. The work environment, unlike most other tech companies, is very relaxed. However, relaxed definitely does not mean it is not challenging. The combination of good work, good work environment and good compensation is very satisfying. Also, I learn a lot everyday at work – there are always new things to do.

Me: What does your bold decision mean.. No MBA or No Indian MBA? What are the other options that you are looking for? Are you thinking of MS/Phd? Or MBA abroad.
MG: My decision does not mean no MBA. As of now, I’m enjoying my work as a developer at Microsoft, and don’t want to do anything to spoil it. If I feel that I’m done with technology (which is highly unlikely), I’d have no option but to go for an MBA. To put things in perspective, entrepreneurship has always been my dream, and I’ll do anything that is required to achieve it.

Me: Where do you see yourself 5 years down the line?
MG: I’m not sure if I can answer this truthfully – so I’ll skip it.

Me: What is the message that you would like to give to juniors in NIT Trichy.. And to all the other CAT aspirants & MBA aspirants?
MG: All I’d like to say is that don’t get caught in the rat race. Introspect, think and find out what you really want to do. College is a great time to figure out your passion. If you come out of college with a set goal, life will be much easier. Most of us have no idea about the job we’re going to take up – and consequently have no concrete plans for the future. Set a goal for yourself that you want to achieve in this lifetime – everything else is only the path leading to it. MBA or CAT is only one small piece in the whole jigsaw puzzle.

Me: What do you think about CWS initiative? What do you like about it.. Do suggest areas of improvements also..
MG: Sundar’s passion for his blog is really commendable. Even though he goes around telling every time there is a new post, I think it is only because he wants to share what he has discovered. I’m sure Sundar’s blog will soon be counted in India’s best blogs. I’m a regular reader of his blog and am so happy that he asked me to appear on his blog!

Me: Manas, its my pleasure to host you as well! All the best for your future.

For previous episodes of Coffee With Experts – Click here

Reservations is one of the hot topics on Lunch table these days. It has created immense anxiety in IIM aspirants.

CWS took the initiative to listen to what people in the other side of the table think about it! Here is the transcript of Neharika Vohra’s (An IIM Ahemadabad Faculty) exclusive interview to Coffee With Sundar!

Coffee With Neharika Vohra – IIMA Faculty
Me: Sundar Rajan G S
NV: Neharika Vohra

Me: First of all, thank you very much maam for accepting this short interview.
Me: Since the decision about reservation/quota is already made, I dont want to talk much about it. Instead, I want to talk about future and whats in store ahead.

Me: There is so much worry about the impact of this decision on quality of education in IIMs. What is your stance on this? Is this quota going to impact the quality? Why or Why not?
NV: I do not think that quota is going to affect quality so much. I think it will be upto us to work with the students, bring them upto speed, allow them to learn, and help them to find the best fit in terms of their career. We have done this for the last 40 years with other groups and I do not see why it will affect now.

Me: What should educational institutions do to accommodate these extra 27% students apart from building hostels and class rooms etc? What are the steps required for scaling up? How long would it take? Is 3 years enough?
NV: In addition to building hostels I think we need to look at program design, setting up the right social infrastructure, have sensitivity training for the various stakeholders of our institute. The physical infrastructure will take time. The psychological work does not need so much time… it needs readiness and the will to implement.

Me: Irrespective of whether people agree for reservations or not, there is one thing which people agree – removing the creamy layer! Great move! But dont you think it is very difficult to do this check? People start producing fake income certificates etc? How do you think this rule is going to be enforced?
NV: I think the check is difficult but not impossible. There are various interesting ways. For example in a school in the Middle East, full fee waiver is offered to students whose parents work as labourers etc. The school also checks the passports of these children and family members to find out how many times do they travel! I think if we wish to check there are many ways in which this can be done.

Me: If there is some one who is made scape-goat in the whole process.. they are the students who are waiting for results. I agree that IIMs cant do much about the results when creamy layer criteria was added to the OBC reservations.. But alteast, they can give notifications like “Results cant be expected in the next 3 days etc”. This will atleast relieve a lot of tension.. Do you think IIMs could have done a better job in handling the issue or did the IIMs do all it can do?
NV: I cant speak about all the IIMs. However, I think IIMA has been worried and sensitive. They have been working with the necessary groups to ensure that we are not giving the wrong information and we can publish the results as early as possible. We recognize the pain the students must be feeling.

Me: Final question, What is your take on allowing private sector to education? What are its pros and cons.
NV: This is a big question. I think private sector is not bad news for education. However, we need good regulatory framework for it to not hurt the students.

Me: Thank you so much maam for sparing your time. I hope this will calm down the nerves of aspirants. And also to people who have been cribbing about the quality issue. Again, Thanks a lot maam.

For previous episodes of Coffee With Experts – Click here.