Tests after CAT at each B-School: Which MBA colleges have Essay & GD as part of admission process

There are various evaluation tests which an MBA aspirant has to undergo before getting admission to a College in India. Apart from written tests such as CAT, MBA colleges conduct different tests such as  Essay Writing , Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Group Interview, Group task etc as part of their admission process.


Below is an analysis of admission process & types of admission tests conducted by various MBA colleges in India.
College
GD?
Essay?
Other Test/Comments
IIM-A
No
Yes
Essay writing & Personal Interview(PI)
IIM-B
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-C
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
IIM-L
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
IIM-I
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-K
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Rohtak
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Raipur
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Tiruchirapalli
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Kashipur
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Udaipur
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
IIM-Ranchi
No
Yes
Essay writing & PI
XLRI(BM)
No
Yes
Candidates are asked to write an essay after XAT exam. There is only PI & no GD 
XLRI(PMIR/HRM)
Yes
Yes
Candidates are asked to write an essay after XAT exam. There is PI as well as GD 
NITIE
Yes
No
GD and PI
FMS
Yes
No
GD and PI
SP Jain
No
Yes
Along with essay writing and a case study candidates have to appear in an unique Group Interview
XIM-B
Yes
No
Candidates are asked to write an essay after XAT exam. There is PI as well as GD 
IIFT
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
MDI
Yes
No
GD and PI
IMT
No
No
Written communication test based on a business case study and PI
IMI
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
SJMSOM 
Yes
No
Business Case based GD & PI
JBIMS 
Yes
No
GD and PI
NMIMS 
Yes
No
GD and PI
Welingkar 
Yes
No
GD, PI and Psychometric Test
Symbiosis
Yes
No
GD and PI
IRMA
Yes
No
Apart from GD & PI,  Group task is there where aspirants have to discuss/debate on a case study as a team
KJ Somaiya
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
Alliance(ABA)
No
No
Sainath Education Trust Aptitude Test and Oral Presentation 
TAPMI
Yes
Yes
Apart from GD/PI, there is a Director's Interview round
FORE
Yes
Yes
Essay writing, GD & PI
IIT Mumbai
Yes
No
GD followed by PI


Note: Even IIT Delhi doesn't have essay writing, instead it has GD followed by PI


Also Read following recommended posts:
=> Shortlisting criteria of various IIMs
=> Tips to decide which B-Schools Form to fill : Must Read
=> Cut-off percentile for Top 50 B-Schools


Labels:Admission process of MBA Colleges, Essay Writing , Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Group
Interview, Group task, Essay writing MBA College,  GD which mba colleges, Essay which mba colleges, MBA colleges essay writing, MBA colleges GD

Group Discussion (GD) replaced with Essay Writing

In last few years many MBA colleges including some of the IIMs have scrapped Group Discussion from their assessment process. In most of these cases MBA colleges have replaced GDs with essay writing. Students are given fixed amount of time to write essay on any topic. The essay topics are related to the current political, economic and business scenario or on topics such as sports and those that require more creative thinking. 


For instance people who got calls from IIM Bangalore in 2011 where alloted 30 minutes to write an essay. Out of these 30 mins, 10mins were alloted for preparation & organizing your thoughts and the remaining 20 mins were for writing the essasy. Though there was no world limit however only one side of paper was given to write the essays. The essay topics at IIM B where from  current affairs, economy, social responsibility, sports etc.


According to experts, the B-Schools have done this as writing skills are often an important part of the MBA course and it will allow them to analyse a student's thought process. The students will also be questioned on their essays during the interview. Written tests are a also big part of the selection process in most foreign B-schools. 
Below are some of the apparent reasons why written test is being preferred over GD:
a. In GDs, many students are not able to prove themselves because everyone tries to speak at the same time and score more than others. However, in essay writing, we come to know about an individual’s perspectives on important and varied issues. Here, everyone stands at par without being dominated by those who speak out loud.
b.The written essay test probes the candidate on various elements such as analytical skills, reasoning and decision-making abilities — all of which are critical skills in the repertoire of managers/leaders.


On the other hand a GD being totally dynamic & unpredictable has its advantages too. A Group discussion helps people in showcasing their logical and thinking ability and also in exhibiting their listening skills.  GDs are very much close to actual corporate world board meetings where a member has to constantly apply his brain to convince people and answer logically to their queries; both of which requires dynamic thought process and good listening ability. Though a GD can be biased and in favour of those who are aggressive but this can be avoided by improving the process instead of completely removing it.

Coming Up next...
=> How to tackle Essay writing for MBA schools
=> Past years essay topics & essay topics for practice
=> List of Colleges where Essay writing is part of assessment process 


Please post your comments/feedback below

NCERT Mathematics Books for Download for MBA Exams

NCERT Mathematics books are good reference for MBA aspirants to brush up the basics for Quantitative ability section.
Note: These books are for people with non mathematics background or who are pretty weak in Mathematics

Note: Not all topics from 11th & 12th standard are relevant for CAT & other MBA exams. Please read only selected topics from these books. Find out  such topics at below link:
=> Common Mathematics topics for Quantitative Ability 

No FMS exam this year, FMS Test is replaced with CAT

Source: FMS.edu
DU has officially scrapped the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) entrance tests for 2011 and replaced it with the Common Admission Test (CAT). The reason given for this major change by the University is that it was:
“severely strained by the burden of the exams conducted, on a national level, by other departments”. FMS exams have existed for past 40 years. 


FMS Admission Notification 2011 




Some of the faculty members are concerned with this decision as the feel that the academic value of the exam is being over-looked. “Our format is distinctive from CAT, over 40 per cent of our questions have never been asked in CAT,” said faculty member, Prof J. K Mitra, adding that the exams were scheduled to happen in December and the untimely decision could have negative implications for everyone concerned. “It's a 40-year-old tradition and the FMS exams have always been a bench-mark for other entrance exams. It did not deserve to be scrapped without due notice.”

Students of the institute are also unhappy. “The FMS exams are a legacy that will be lost and totally different from CAT. I personally am against it being scrapped” said Rahul, a second year student.

Inputs on CAT 2011 New Format & Changes


Source: prometric.com
For CAT 2011, Prometric worked closely with the IIMs to develop an exam that tests candidates on two sections – Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. These sections are consistent with the knowledge domains historically assessed by the IIMs and are also aligned with the content areas covered in equivalent global admission examinations that measure performance along similar scales.

Changes introduced this year:
1- Number of Sections: Unlike CAT 2010, which comprised three sections – Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, there will only be two sections this year – Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. This change has enabled us to club sections which require similar cognitive thinking.

2- Number of Questions Per Section: Although each section will have 30 multiple-choice questions, the total number of questions remain at 60, the same as last year.

3- Test Duration: The total time available for completing the test has been increased to 140 minutes (five minutes more than last year). Where candidates were able to allocate more time to a particular section before, they will be given 70 minutes per section this year.

4- Separately Timed Sections: Each section will be timed separately and the on-screen timer will count down from 1 hour 10 minutes (i.e. 70 minutes). Once the time ends for a section, candidates will no longer be allowed to go back to it. Although new in the computer-based version of CAT, IIMs had used this format in some of the earlier paper-and-pencil years. This will enable candidates to focus equally on both sections, and manage their time within any one section rather than across the whole test.

5- Ending the Test: There will be no ‘Quit Test’ button within the first section (Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation) and candidates will need to wait until the allocated time of 70 minutes is up before moving on to the second section. However, if they choose to end their test before the time is up during the second section, candidates may click on the ‘Quit Test’ button from the Review screen at any time. A pop-up box will appear to ask candidates to re-confirm their decision before the test ends.

6- Check-in ProcedureWe have taken the feedback from candidates and reviewed our operational process in order to improve the experience for candidates. Contingent on the continued punctuality of candidates, the check-in procedure will start one-and-a-half hours prior to the scheduled test time instead of the previous two hours.



CAT 2011 Vs CAT 2010

Comparison Area
2010
2011
Number of Sections / Questions

3 sections, 20 questions each

2 sections, 30 questions each

Test Duration

135 minutes

140 minutes (70 minutes per section)

Ability to move between sections

Yes

No

Ability to move between questions

Yes

Yes, only within the same section

Ability to end test

Yes


Yes, only within the second section

15-minute Tutorial

Yes, before the start of the test

Yes, before the start of the test

Reporting Time for Test

2 hours prior to scheduled time

1.5 hours prior to scheduled time

Number of Test Days

20

20

Number of Test Cities

33
36
Number of Bank Branches for voucher purchase

171
201


The change in the number of sections will require candidates to focus equally on both sections and reduce their dependency on their strengths in a particular area. This could help IIMs maintain the diversity of the students that are selected and admitted into the IIMs as well as other B-schools. On the other hand, the timed sections will help candidates with balanced time management by ensuring that they do not spend too much time focusing on a particular section at the expense of doing well in another. With a total time of 140 minutes, candidates essentially have between 2 and 2.5 minutes for each question, so instead of hastening through any section, they should invest proper thinking and rationale to each question. As in past years, there will continue to be negative marking for incorrect answers, so it might pay to leave a question unanswered rather than making a random guess.

Apart from the changes highlighted above, there would be no significant change to the testing interface. Candidates will only be required to use a mouse to click on responses or navigation buttons. No computer skills are required. A 15-minute tutorial will be provided before the start of the test and candidates are strongly advised to take advantage of that. It is important to note that candidates will be required to click their acceptance to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before being allowed to proceed to the test.

In addition, a practice test has been made available on the CAT website www.catiim.in to familiarise candidates with the timed sections, as well as navigation and functionality of the test. While the sample questions in this practice test are not representative of the difficulty level of the CAT, candidates will be able to get a feel of reading questions from a computer screen, scrolling up and down a passage if necessary, selecting, de-selecting and changing their responses, using the Review screen, moving between questions within each section and managing their time with the on-screen timer.

With about two months to go before the start of this year’s testing window (22 October – 18 November 2011), there is plenty of time to focus on preparing well, as well as get comfortable with reading from a computer screen and navigating around with a mouse. None of the changes to the format require a paradigm shift in the way candidates have been preparing for CAT to date. Honest hard work would be the key to doing well, so all the best!