CAT 2014 versus IIFT 2015, know the difference to prepare well

This article will provide you a detailed comparison between both CAT 2014 exam & IIFT 2015 exam in terms of exam pattern, test dates, test pattern, syllabus, Marking scheme, results, etc along with tips on how to prepare for both the exams simultaneously.

The buzz around MBA exams is on a high since the announcement of CAT 2014 exam.

While CAT 2014 exam is regarded as the most popular exam in terms of number of registration, and is accepted by the 13 IIMs and several Top B-schools; there is another important MBA entrance exam which scores high marks over other exams in terms of seat: registration ratio. This is IIFT 2015 exam for admission to IIFT Delhi and IIFT Kolkata campus only.

This article will provide you a detailed comparison between both CAT 2014 & IIFT 2015 in terms of exam pattern, test dates, test pattern, syllabus, Marking scheme, results, etc along with tips on how to prepare for both the exams simultaneously.

CAT 2014 exam has gone through various changes while IIFT 2015 exam will be on the same pattern as last year barring the change in the number of questions.

Key differences between CAT 2014 vs IIFT 2015

1. Mode of Exam: CAT 2014 exam is an online test while IIFT 2015 exam will be a paper pencil test.

2. Date of Exam:  CAT exam is scheduled to be held on only 2-days this time i.e. on Saturday, November 16, 2014 and Saturday, November 22, 2014.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), another highly ranked dream B school will conduct the entrance test for its most sought after 2 years MBA programme in International Business on Sunday, November 23, 2014, for the batch 2015-17.

3. Eligibility: To appear in CAT 2014 exam, every candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree with minimum 50% marks (45% in case of SC/ST/DA) from any recognized university or institution. Candidates appearing for final exam need to submit their proof of qualification before June 30, 2015.

To appear in IIFT 2015 entrance exam, the applicants must possess recognized Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years’ duration, although there is no requirement of minimum percentage of marks.  However in the second phase of admission round profile of a candidate like academic record, work experience, writing skills will play an important role to secure admission in IIFT. 

Candidates appearing for a qualifying examination can also apply subject to submission of proof of requisite qualification by the 7th October 2015.

4. Registration Process:  CAT 2014 has made significant changes in its registration process. Option of offline purchase of CAT voucher has been removed as all the registration will be made online. Also the candidates will now not have the option to choose their own test centre or city. The right to provide the test centre lies in the hands of authority while candidates will provide their top 3 city choices to choose from. The Registration window opens on August 6, 2014 and will close on September 30, 2014.

IIFT has given the facility of application both online as well as off line. However the last date of submission of completed application forms in either mode is September 3, 2014. The last date for obtaining application by post is August 20, 2014. Candidates should retain a photocopy of the completed form and Demand Draft for future reference.

5. Exam Pattern: As per the new changes in CAT 2014 exam, there will be 50 questions each in two sections of CAT exam while the total exam time has been increased to 170 minutes. The CAT 2014 exam Syllabus will remain same though. CAT 2014 exam consists of Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.

There are no fixed number of questions in IIFT 2015 entrance test, their number may go anywhere in the range of 115 to 130. IIFT 2014 consists of multiple choice objective type questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis.

6. Paper Pattern: Unlike last year, CAT 2014 exam will allow candidates to switch from one section to another freely during the test. Thus you have the option to devote less or more time in a particular section as per your choice.

Also this year in CAT 2014 exam, there will be no tutorial before start of examination. Candidates are advised to check and practice the tutorial from the official CAT 2014 website prior to testing date.

IIFT 2015 exam is a conventional paper pencil mode test which will be of two hours duration. There are no fixed number of questions in IIFT 2015 entrance test, their number may go anywhere in the range of 115 to 130. The major difference between CAT & IIFT paper pattern is the presence of General awareness section in IFIT 2015 exam.

7. Marking System:  In IIFT exam, marking system may vary from question to question or from section to section in the range of 0.5 to 1 mark per question. Penalty of one third marks will be awarded for every wrong answer. The candidates therefore have to be careful to avoid this negative marking by choosing the answer options with well calculated thought process.

While in CAT exam, IIMs has not yet announced if there is any change in the marking scheme for CAT 2014 exam or not. As per the last year, 3 marks were given for every correct answer while there was a provision of deducting 1 mark for every incorrect answer.

8. Result date:  CAT 2014 exam results will be announced in the 3rd week of December 2014. CAT 2014 score will be valid till December 31, 2015.
IIFT 2015 exam results are expected to be announced in the month of December 2014.

Tips to Prepare well for CAT 2014 & IIFT 2015 Exams:

-  Except General Awareness, other sections are similar in CAT & IIFT exam. Hence, candidates are advised to spare time for GD section too during their CAT preparations to score well in IIFT 2015 exams.

- IIFT exam might have more question than CAT exam. With just two hours to solve aprrox. 135 questions, the choice of questions and speed plays a key role in cracking the exam. Thus, candidates are advised to focus on speed along with accuracy while preparing for IIFT 2015 exam.

- In IIFT exam, marking system may vary from question to question or from section to section. Hence, candidates must be careful and keep a check on the number of questions they have solved.

-Expert on Verbal Ability Prof S K Agarwal advises the CAT and IIFT aspirants to prepare simultaneously on such topics also that do not appear in CAT but make their presence in IIFT like Proverbs, Figures of speech, one word substitution. Besides regular preparation on topics of General Awareness is very important for IIFT entrance. Those who plan to appear in IIFT entrance should not forget this.

To know all about the changes in CAT 2014 exam, Click on our below updated stories:

CAT 2014 exam updates: 10 Big changes in this year CAT 2014 exam

Impact of changes in CAT 2014 Registration process; how to register for CAT 2014 exam

Normalization issue was not behind CAT 2014 changes: Dr. Rohit Kapoor, CAT 2014 Convener

MT Consultants and Network

Education Marketing is becoming a big challenge with supply exceeding demand in private education space. MT Consultants and Network has brought a very good marketing solution. For details, check

www.mtconsultants.biz
http://www.mtconsultants.biz/services/education_marketing

How to write well worded essay in 15 minutes for IIM Admission 2014

Unlike essay writing in XAT, Written Ability Test is not a part of CAT on line computer based test. IIMs and other B schools individually put the candidate to take this test in time duration from 15 to 30 minutes.The expectation is to understand the topic in accordance with its key words and form the piece of writing in a logical and coherent manner. It accounts for 10 to 20 percentage points in final admission round.Candidates may expect questions in their Personal Interview round out of their written essay.

Also Read: Role of Essay writing in IIMs Admission process

Written Ability Test: Time is limited

Good writing requires dedication and concentration, and time. While you have former two at your disposal the latter (time) is limited- so it has be managed in the best professional way. Your essay may be the first one, in middle order or may be the last to be examined by the designated examiner. Unless you have something different and interesting to write-how do you expect him to read it the way you want? Essay must not turn into a nightmare of confused paragraphs and differing styles that sometimes is not even properly read by the examiner. You have to practice writing with a thoughtful writing-style.

What could be the subjects for WAT Topics?

Topics in WAT are mostly based on current affairs, socio political happenings, business and economics, International affairs, philosophy. Recent trends show that IIMs are gradually focussing more on Socio-political or socio economic aspects in choosing the topics for WAT.

Click below to score high marks in GD PI WAT process of B schools for Admission 2014 

Is there any syllabus for WAT?

Since WAT topics have no fixed syllabus, candidates can be asked to write on any topic under the Sun. The most important aspect of WAT is how do you the approach the topic as it is going to test your knowledge and understanding with your way of presentation. Following few points are very much needed to write a good essay in limited time period.

You can’t write without Knowing the key terms

Every subject has its terminology. A candidate is supposed to know the same to the standard that is expected from a well educated person whatever the topic could be.

Examples of topics on Economy- Inefficiency of public distribution system; Privatisation of Economy; Capitalism vs. socialism; Financial crisis; Budget; Disinvestment in PSUs; Role of Public Private Partnership; Fiscal and Monetary policy; Economic growth in India Vs China and others- need the understanding of economic terms to base your thought process with no ambiguity.

Also Read: IIMs WAT process: Key Economic terms to score high in Essay round

You are supposed to know the key terms like Public sector and Private sector; What’s budget, its key components, difference between deficit and surplus, revenue and expenditure; what’s the difference between Fiscal and Monetary policy, who formulates and implements them; tools like progressive taxation, CRR, Bank rate, Repo rate, SLR.

Examples of Topics on Politics    

How can we make youth politically more active; Women's Reservation Bill; Ban politicians with criminal records from contesting elections; Pre election opinion polls; crumbling Democracy; Presidential vs Parliamentary democracy. 

Before proceeding to write, think whether you are aware what are the ingredients of Women reservation bill; what are pre election polls or exit polls-are they prevalent in our country? What stuff do you have in your mind? Whether you are aware about the different forms of Government in a democratic system else how would you rate any of them better or worse?

Examples of Topics on Social issues

Corporate social responsibility; Portraying women in advertisements show gender bias; Social media is a waste of time; Role of women in social change; Society bears the brunt of terrorism.

The need is to know what could be the relation between corporate sector and society in general; how the gender does bias is depicted in picture and in language; where does terrorism hit the social well being, how does it grow, what can society do to nip the menace in bud.

Make the understanding clear

There can be hundreds of such issues and you may be asked to write an essay on any one of them. But one thing is clear, if you know the key words, have an understanding of their application, you may write well. The need will be to follow the undernoted writing tips.

Key writing tips to improve the score 

Final admission depends on WAT and PI round to a great extent as the weightage to this round is more than the CAT percentile. If an essay is written with a clear and coherent flow of thought with rich contents, it may get the candidate through the last round of admission process. The crucial role, this essay writing plays, is the candidate’s ability to face the Board and answer the penetrating questions based on whatever was expressed in the essay.

Also read: How to increase your WAT score

Click below to score high marks in GD PI WAT process of B schools for Admission 2014

Following are the Ingredients that you should possess before writing the essay

a. Good command over the topic/subject
b. Clear and Coherent flow of thought
c. Ability to recollect the facts and examples, and insert them at the appropriate place

d. Ability to write effectively with correct use of grammar, spelling and punctuation in good handwriting

How to begin, form the body and conclude

a. Give a few seconds to outline what you are going to write

b.Practice well before the WAT day to write in paragraphs

c. One paragraph should have one idea gradually moving forward to concluding part

d. Begin with what you are going to write in the essay; introduce well; explain well in the body of the essay which is the main idea and should have good subject knowledge; conclude with logic on whatever you have already written

Last but not the least

a. Before moving forward to write, read the direction attentively

b. Words like Analyse, describe, narrate, discuss, comment, examine, critically examine have different meaning and the essay is to be written accordingly. Understand the words and give due weightage to them.

c. Avoid using abbreviations, slangs and write complete words and sentences.

d. Quotations/citations should have acknowledgements else don’t use them

e.Write appropriate vocabulary words in simple and crisp language. Avoid using idioms and phrases if you are not well versed with them

f. Don’t write anything superfluous which you may not be able to explain in your PI round

Quick Preparation tips for WAT 2014

a. Read articles on contemporary social, economic, political, national and international issues

b. Read the Newspaper editorials, specific articles by distinguished people to have a clear and unambiguous flow of thought.

c. WAT topics on MBAUniverse.com site may prove to be a great help

d. Books containing short essays on current topics can be another source of preparation.

e. More practice only can build your confidence since writing is hard work for the new and experienced writer alike. With a lot of practice, you’ll eventually get to that more confident place.

f. Read something basic, not directly in your field of expertise. There’s a host of journals and most fields have journals that are considered very good in their field. Reading good literature in general is essential to re-training your brain to good English construction and style.

g. Your reader is your examiner so think twice before writing anything irrelevant. Avoid stretching too far your ideas and incorporate necessary figures, data, terms and concepts, if you understand them well
Much like drawing or playing a musical instrument- you may learn the art of writing in a short time and before the WAT day. So don’t wait, begin today.

MBA in Software Enterprise Management at CDAC, Noida

CDAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) , Noida has invited applications for admissions to its MBA in Software Enterprise Management(SEM) Programme.To be eligible for the programme, which is affiliated to GGS Indraprastha University, aspirants must have completed their B.E / B.Tech with minimum 60 % marks.
Individuals who have cleared MCA with minimum 60 % marks are also eligible and anyone with an M.Sc degree in Electronics, IT, or CS can apply too.
Admission to this programmes will be made on the basis of the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2014 which will be conducted on May 25, 2014. The last date for application submission is April 10, 2014.
Total fee: Rs.75000/-
Number of seats:

Category	% Of Seats	Number of Seats
SC	15	09
ST	7.5	05
DEF	5	03
PH	3	02
GEN		41
TOTAL		60

QS World University Rankings 2014 lists IIT courses in Global Top 50

According to the QS World University Rankings (by Subject) 2014, four Indian Universities rank in the global top 50 institutes in at-least one of the 30 disciplines included under the ranking.
Acquiring the highest position in India, IIT Delhi grabbed the 42nd rank in electrical engineering, while IIT Bombay bagged the 49th and 50^th position in electrical and civil engineering respectively. IIT Madras ranked 49th in civil engineering.
IIT - B is the only institute to have made it to the top 200 institutes in any of the five arts and humanities disciplines, besides being ranked in the 151-200 grouping for linguistics.
Besides the premier IITs, non-IITs too made its presence felt with the Indian Institute of Science(IISc) being ranked 46th in materials science. Suprisingly, no course from any Indian institute made it to the list of arts, humanities and social sciences.
At the global level, Harvard emerged as the best all-round institution, thus, ranking first in 11 of the 30 disciplines and defeating its local rival MIT.

Application dates for Ashoka University’s Young India Fellowship ends on Feb 28

Applications are invited for Young India Fellowship (YIF) class of 2014 -2015, the flagship postgraduate programme of Ashoka University. The programme is a one-year multidisciplinary post-graduate programme. It is run in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, Carleton College and Sciences Po. The last date to apply is February 28, 2014.
The programme aims to select bright students from diverse disciplines and offers them opportunities to learn collaboratively, integrate new perspectives in class and practice them in the field by working on live projects and solving real problems.
The much-hyped Ashoka University will start its first session in June, 2014.
Important Dates

Last date to apply	Feb 28, 2014
In-person interviews for applicants	1st Mar-30th Apr 2014
Classes commence on	June 2014

YIF alumni have been successfully placed across sectors in leading organisations such as McKinsey & Company, Amnesty International, Boston Consulting Group,Genpact, World Bank and Cipla, etc.

Eligibility

The YIF programme is open to all Indian citizens* with:

• A recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree;
• No more than three years of work experience;
• Applicants who are 28 years of age or less on 31st May, 2014;

“The Fellowship promotes diversity and applicants from all areas of specialisation are encouraged to apply,” stated a release from the university.

YIF will offer full and partial scholarships to successful applicants.

Click here to apply to the programme. For more information about YIF, visit http://www.youngindiafellowship.com.

XLRI 2014 admission exclusive: Candidate questioned on cricket

XLRI Jamshedpur has commenced with the second stage of MBA admission to Business Management and Human Resource Management (HRM) programmes. Candidates who have secured more than the cut-off in the two courses are being called in various centres across the country.
To know what kind of questions and group exercises are being held this year, we caught with a candidate who was called for HRM interview on February 20, 2014. This person has scored 92 percentile in XAT (Xaviers Aptitude Test). The candidate recently completed BTech Civil Engineering and has joined a prominent construction firm.
According to this person, “My group had ten members. But one guy failed to show up while another guy missed his GD. After initial rounds of introductions among participants, the procedure started at 2:50pm.”
Read the exclusive detail of GD and interview in first person account:
Case-based GD/Group Exercise
Topic: ‘Show your Aadhaar Card Unique Identification number’
Situation: Government has created the Aadhaar Card system. Some states have gone ahead and made it mandatory for availing various benefits and services. Since there are various other cards, the Centre doesn’t want states to make Aadhaar card mandatory. Other cards should have equal weightage. So now the government has moved to the Supreme Court (SC). What should SC consider first while giving a decision?
(This was followed by seven statements)
Time: 3 minutes to give rankings/points to the seven statements; 20 minutes for group exercise; and 20 seconds to each candidate in the group to verbally summarise the entire exercise at the end.
We were given the above case study, followed by seven sentences (points). We had to give ranks to each sentence in order of priority of the situation. We could also add one more sentence – eighth point – if required.
First, we had to give ranks to the sentences in 15 seconds. Then, the group had to discuss, give common ranks to the seven sentences through consensus. It was a very nice and calm discussion. The participants discussed and brainstormed over it for sometime before arriving to a conclusion.
Except for the first and last points in my list, all the other five points were same as that of the group rank.

The PI
Before the interview, we were asked to fill a questionnaire and write about ‘some peak experiences in our life – either failure or success’. There were related questions on it such as, ‘Who all were affected by this decision?’ and so on. I love playing cricket and wrote about it.
I was sixth candidate in the group to go in for the interview. About 20 minutes were given to each candidate. There were three people in the interview panel. They were also moderating the group exercise. It looked like they were institute professors, but I am not very sure. Two panellists were asking me questions, while the third person was just observing.
One of the panellists called my name and asked me to come in. In went in and tried to close the door. But somehow, the door couldn’t close properly.
Q: Close the door properly, please.
A: (I closed the door.)
Q: Why do you think there is confidentiality in interviews? Why are they held behind closed doors? People are asking for transparency. What is your say on this?
A: (The interview had commenced even before I could sit! Since I had unintentionally left the door open, I chose to speak on the transparency part only.)
It is a good idea to have transparency during interviews. The idea to keep interviews confidential fails since students go out and discuss what is happening inside. Apart from the first candidate, everyone knows what questions are being asked and how is the mood inside. Later on, students also go and post their experiences on social media. Next year, people will come more prepared.
Rather, holding the interview in an open room is better. For instance, in Jamia Milia Islamia (for engineering and diploma admissions), interviews are conducted in a batch of four to five candidates. A question is thrown open to all the candidates. They can also ask specific questions to a candidate too in such a set-up. Once a point or answer has been discussed, other candidates have the pressure to give better replies or come up with new points. That's a different kind of a challenge.
Q: (Agreed to my point) This is the most interesting profile we have got so far. You have written a lot on cricket. You have mentioned about your college league. Explain, how did that work out?
A: Ok...
Q: (Another interviewer abruptly interpreted) Just a minute.
A: (I thought they wanted to take a pause and stopped replying.)
Q: No, explain about the entire process in just a minute.
A: Oh, ok. (I spoke about our college tournament which is based on the lines of IPL, including auctions. But there is no monetary exchange involved.)
Q: But how did you manage everything without money?
A: Instead of money, we had point-system. Every candidate had some points and based on that, they were selected in different teams. It was quite successful.
Q: Ok, very interesting. So what are your hobbies?
A: Every hobby revolves around cricket. But I like cricket in an active sense, i.e, playing, rather than watching and wasting time. (I wanted to avoid indepth conversations around cricket. But as you can see from the next question, it kind of backfired.)
Q: But what’s the fun of cricket if there is nobody to watch? It will lose all the financial and economic gains.
A:  A few days back, while I was working in office, some of my colleagues took sick leaves to watch an important match of India. Because of that, my work suffered. From that time, I realised one should not waste a lot of time watching it.
Q: Ok, I get your point. It’s based on personal experience.Who is your favourite leg-spinner?
A: Shane Warne.
Q: But what about ... ? (The interviewer started naming some old cricketers, about whom I knew nothing. I don’t even remember the names now.)
A: Sorry, sir. But I have never seen them playing. I can’t comment anything.
Q: So, why Shane Warne?
A: The conditions in which he played are not very favourable to spin bowling. (Explained it further.)
Q: You are a batsman or bowler?
A: Medium-pace bowler.
Q: Tell us how to bowl a reverse swing.
A: (I explained the entire process with actions including details about shiny side, rough side and where the seam should be pointing.)
Q: Talk about different fielding positions.
A: (Answered correctly.)
Q: During GD, why were you trying to dominate the group? You were coming in and out with the points.
A: It was nothing like that. In the seven points I had marked, the very first point wasn’t matching with the group’s view. What I thought could be the starting point, the group thought was a general point. After I understood the other person’s point of view, I backed down. And later on, came back with another point. That was the whole idea. I was never trying to dominate.
Q: Okay. All throughout you have performed consistently and now work with a reputed firm.
A: Thank you, sir.
Q: Is it possible to run a business without taking loan from bank?
A: If somebody can pull it off, then very good. But during business expansions, investment is required and nobody has that much cash lying around. Therefore it becomes important to take loans from bank.
Q: Tell us some unique features of Delhi Metro.
A: (Answered it correctly.)
Q: Tell us something about environment and infrastructure.
A: Whatever we are doing today, it is harming the environment. There’s definitely a cry for sustainable infrastructure so that we don’t harm the world around us.
Q: Do you know about building ratings specific to environment?
A: Sorry, I have not gone through this.
Q: There must be contractual employees in your company. Why aren’t your company making them permanent?
A: (I had no clue about this, but had recently read a related news article on it. So framed an answer accordingly) I don’t know the exact reason but, it could be something like this - If there are more than 100 people, I think the company cannot fire them without government permission. So companies keep the headcount at 99 and hire others on contract.
Q: Do you think a company as big as yours has only 99 people or that it has to take permission to fire somebody?
A: I am not saying, this is the exact reason. But there could be a reason like this.
Q: Okay. The interview is over. Do you want to ask anything?
A: What kind of industry interaction is present in college? I know there is six-month internship. But apart from that, it is mostly bookish or there is a practical approach?
Q: (The interviewers got emotional and all the three panelists started talking at the same time. They spoke about the industry interface of XLRI for about 5 minutes.)
A: Thank you.