Go Bruins!! Its LA next..

A warm hello to all my readers and apologies for a long absence from this space. I really wish I could have been more frequent over here.

Lets start with an update first. A thread which started with a casual suggestion by a friend to look outside India for MBA is finally approaching its logical end. Yes, with all the excitement that I can possibly muster in words, I am happy to announce that I shall be joining UCLA Anderson this fall as an MBA candidate. Although, the admission decision arrived a lot earlier, but weighing on between different options took some time.

Be it the GMAT, the essays or the admissions interview, the MBA admissions process can be daunting and possibly intimidating experience. Therefore, It was a great relief to have taken it to a happy conclusion. Now that I know the pain of the process and how perilous it can be for starters, I would be happy to provide help to the aspiring MBAs out there reading this post. I am just an email away :).

With less than two months remaining into the start of classes, I also realize that I need to prepare myself for this transition from a working professional to a student. Besides the absence of monthly pay-slips, it also mandates me to study. During undergrad, this was something which occupied my priority list briefly during the semester exams. However, with this 150K course, I wonder whether I can afford to give it a miss. Assignments,quizzes and surveys have already started accumulating in my inbox and I believe this is only going to increase in coming days.

On a different note , I have been in Melbourne for last four months and the winter here has been a pleasant break from the heat that is baking northern India. What it also means is that I am not taking the Mother of all Vacations which I had planned to take before starting my MBA.
Without making this post longer, I would end it now with a promise to write more often than has been the case. Looking forward to be in the Hollywood city soon!!

Exclusive Gifts for Solitary Reaper Readers!!!

Happy News for Solitary Reaper readers who also happen to be interested in pursuing their MBA.

Based on some of the articles on this blog, Stacy Blackman Consulting has decided to award two of my readers free copies of their book Branding Guide .
Worth USD 30, this book is a very useful resource on how to position yourself before the adcom. It includes some of the exercises that SBC go through with its admissions consulting clients when it begins working with them. I personally find it very useful on how to put forward your unique Brand before the Adcom.
So, if you are really interested in pursuing your MBA in near future and believe this book can help you, do leave your comments in not more than hundred words as to why do you think, this book can assist you in this process. Please do it before Wednesday so that I can get your copies ready by Thursday :)


Happy Reading!!

CAT 2009: A Tasty Dish gone Stale

A lot has been made of the technical glitches in the CAT,2009, of the students who could not appear for the test on a given day.I however, think that there is more to CAT,2009 than just the technical glitches.
I believe that IIMs will ensure that everyone eligible appears for the test though on a different date. And some technical issues were to be expected. Afterall, it was first such exercise, where such a large number of candidates appeared for a test on a given day. Not even the best of test taking agencies could have guaranteed a hassle free CAT.
So lets bear with it, the technical aspect. Hopefully, next year onwards it will be much more smoother than this. My concern lies somewhere else, on the test pattern,their contents and the motives behind them.

When IIMs announced a reduction in number of questions with no such cut in the time allotted, everyone expected the questions to be of a quality atleast at par with a level similar to previous years.Cometh the 27th November, and the mysterious CAT surprises everyone with its turns.The questions turned out to be much easier than expected and add to that the repeated questions from previous years,it was even more.I have heard many candidates attempting even all the 60.Though there have been such instances where questions were much tougher,but they can be discounted as exceptions only. On a broad level,everyone agrees that questions were easier and the percentage of attempted questions has been much higher than previous years.What does that mean for students and for IIMs?

For students it means that many more students are going to clear the sectional and overall cutoffs and even if someone clears all the cutoffs they cant be sure of calls.For IIMs, it means that they have a much larger pool of qualified candidates to choose from for the calls.Probably, here comes in the picture,additional factors which all of a sudden have assumed disproportionately high importance because written exam is no more the distinguishing criteria among applicants. These factors are your work-ex, 10th-12th Marks, and Undergrad Academics. This changed scenario also serves a dual purpose for IIMs which are :

1. They are no more going to be answerable as to why someone who has cleared all the cutoffs and blah blah was not given a call. They can hand pick candidates for the calls with whatever criteria they think is favorable to them. Even RTI can't come to the rescue of students this time.

2. As is known since time immemorial, such institutions as IITs and IIMs have openly expressed their dislike of coaching institutes who prepare students for the competitive exams. With easier questions,they are reducing the dependency of students on coaching institutes. The questions are easy(10th-12th standard at best) and time is ample,what do you need coaching for? Even if someone finishes the paper in 1.5 hrs with the help of a coaching institute,he wont get better marks than someone who finishes the paper in 135 minutes without a coaching.

Once the attention from IT aspects of CAT subsidies , these questions are bound to erupt which are much more important for candidates and the IIMs.Some of my friends feel, its not the same exam that used to invoke a sense of excitement and anxiety.
CAT 2009 is stale and boring compared to the previous versions which were famous for their unexpected behaviour.They feel with such questions,the dignity of this prestigious exam has been compromised.There were days, when IIMs could challenge the government on even small interferences and people supported them.Now, almost daily, you can read headlines with someone, somewhere criticsing IIMs and Prometric. A time to introspect for everyone and yeah may be for them too, the so called hallowed institutes of Management.

CAT 2009-The Starry Days

I dont know how to put it, but I cant resist it . Astrology has always been close to my heart and I love doing a bit of experimentation with it . This is another of my attempts at the same .

As I already mentioned in a previous post of mine, the 10 day window for CAT,2009 does allow stars to play a part and ppl like me who are believers in astrology,if given a chance would pick an astrologically ausipicious day for the exam.

Below is an attempt to provide you with the most favourable day according to your moon signs for the purpose of CAT in the given duration i.e. 27th November - 07th December. The principles, I have applied all correspond to vedic astrology and signs\rashis mentioned here are Moon Signs . In case you dont know what your moon sign is,you can enter your birth details here and find out your rashi(It has nothing to do with Priyanka chopra's upcoming muvi,'what's your rashi'[:)]).
Now let's quickly get down to the business :

Aries\Mesha : Any of the sundays i.e 29th November or 06th december will be good for you. However,if given a chance choose the later one.

Taurus\Vrishabha : Auspicious days are : 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th december. The one on 2nd december will suit you the most .

Gemini\Mithun : Stars want you to face the opening deliveries :). Choose anyone from 27th or 28th November.

Cancer\Karka : Auspicious days are : 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th december. The morning session of 7th will suit you the best.

Leo\Simha : The majestic of all signs. Choose any date starting from 29th november uptil 2nd december and fortune will favour you. However,best one is 2nd December.

Virgo\Kanya : Choose any one from 1st, 2nd 6th or 7th december . The one on 2nd december is best for you.

Libra\Tula : Three days full of fortune all equally blessed, 4th, 6th or 7th december.

Scorpio\Vrischik : Of all the signs,you people are particularly blessed in the given 10 day window. Opt anyone from 27th nov, 28th nov ,1st dec or 2nd dec . 1st december ,tuesday will be good for you. However,avoid the afternoon session on 1st december.

Sagittarius\Dhanu : Just two days, but power packed ones: 29th and 30 th november. 29th is preferable .

Capricorn\Makar : 29th November to 2nd december,choose from among them. second day of december should be preferred if given a chance

Aquarius\Kumbh : Similar to capricorn .

Pisces\Meena : Stars have given you more options to choose from in November 27th and 28th and in December, 1st,2nd,6th or 7th. Choose anyone from these. Howver, 6th december and morning session of 1st should be preferred over others.

The above is just a broad picture for the twelve zodiacs. Individual charts are likely to give a better result. However, in case you dont want to go into complicacies of individual charts(yeah,it is complex),above dates are good pointers.

CAT,Jyotish and Timing

So the ever elluding Billi has taken a giant leap and goes cyber.I'm happy..really..not because I'm very comfortable with computer based tests,I have appeared for none so far.The thing that makes this nerd happy is now I have a little flexibility with which I can choose a date based based upon planetary combinations.
I know what you are thinking,that one who's to depend upon his stars for CAT is hardly worth it.Point taken,but here is my take...

Timing being the common thread between CAT and Astrology,the 10 day window is bound to give astrologers a hectic schedule.And I believe,just as we see during marriage season,a particular day being more auspicious and hence traffic busier.In the same way,stars in the sky will decide to a large extent, how many geeks bang their head infront of the monitor on a particular day.

CAT has always been associated with a high quotient of luck factor.Those 2:30 Hrs..I can't overstress the important role your luck plays into it.one question incorrect,you are 5 marks down and your percentile drops below cutoff.

Confidence is the another key thing besides luck which draws the line between who made it and who could not.Add to this,going into the exam with the belief that your stars are there to help you can be a great confidence boosters for believers.
Anyways,choosing a particular day from the 10 days window is going to involve different parameters for different set of people.
Students may choose it on weekdays,given they have the flexibility to bunk a few classes.Professionals would go for Sunday as this wud give them some time to relax on saturday and a few like me would add an extra parameter of planetary combinations.


I have already started looking my hora software....Why leave any stone unturned?

The CAT Story..

It was 09:15 AM,dated 9th January,Friday.I was just into the office and logged into the site where they has said CAT results would be published.
Entering....
CAT tr. no:7230475, application no.-******(earlier,it had the exact no. but I changed it after reading abt information security threats :)) and the bang happens...

Quant :50 98.98%ile
DI :33 91.84%ile
Verbal:66 98.78%ile

Overall :149 99.61%ile

Hey, I am expecting something more..there must be some more info as to which IIMs I have got calls from.Is there a mistake? Must be.It's Unbelievable ,there must be a couple of calls.But there wasn't any.Neither at that moment nor in the days to come.

I am still clueless as to what might have gone wrong.One thing was clear, I was a little short in DI,but still it was enough to clear the cutoffs of B,C(PGDCM),L and I(Not to Mention Shillong).
I am trying to look for ways by which I can find out what went wrong.RTI seems one option and am thinking about it.

Aao Billi-Billi khelein..(CAT-2008)

HeHe...time for some serious stuff..
These days I too have became a aspirant for IIM's (courtsey: fatchecks my friends in petroleum industry and mining industry are drawing from their employers)
So here goes a useful article for all such aspirants on how to analyse the mock tests that we undertake so releigiously every sunday morning...

If you hope to attend an IIM, you’ll need to ace each section of CAT 2008. Being exceptionally good in two of the three, while still weak in the other, won’t earn you the much coveted seat you desire.


Analysis of mock CATs

You should obviously take several mock CATs as part of your preparation. You should take them at regular intervals instead of bunching them together in the last fortnight or one month before the exam. Ideally, you should take two mock CATs per week in the last two months. Of course, one of them should be the AIMCAT (All India mock CAT) on a Sunday. This will give you your relative ranking compared to aspirants across the country. The second one could be in the middle of the week, which will allow you to measure yourself against a more intimate group of test-takers.

Taking mock CATs is only one small part of your preparation. After taking any practice test — particularly comprehensive tests like mock CATs — you should spend enough time analysing the results so that you get the maximum value out of the experience. If you spend two and a half hours on the exam, you should spend at least four to five hours on analysis and review. Otherwise, you’ll only get partial value and won’t learn your relative weaknesses and strengths.

After you’ve finished a test and its analysis, you’re still not done. Attempt the questions which you gave a miss the first time through. This should be done without looking at the answer key to check your marks. Set a time limit to do this; it may require two to three hours depending on how many questions you left blank on your first attempt.

Now is the time to check how many of your attempts are right by using the answer key. At this stage, do not look at the solutions with explanations, if they are available in your mock CAT.

Re-attempt all those questions which you answered incorrectly, still without looking at the solutions, to see if you can correctly answer the same now. You will find that you are now able to get a few more questions correct even without looking at the solutions. This is the way to improve your learning. You do not need to set any time limit for this stage. At the end of this stage, there may still be some qusetions that you answer incorrectly.

Also, there is the possibility that you run across a type of question that you just do not know how to solve. For these questions, look at the solutions and review the fundamentals and theory. In the following weeks, be sure to spend time on that area separately.

When your mock CAT results are available to you from your institute (if you are taking coaching), check your section-wise results as well as area-wise results. Focus on your percentile position as well as your All-India rank in each section and in the entire paper as a whole. Discover whether or not you have crossed the cut-off marks in each section — this is important because the IIMs require that you perform well in all the sections.

Also, check for additional marks required in various sections to reach a desired level of All-India rank. Then, fix a target for the next mock CAT that you are going to take.

A planned approach to preparation is a must for the best results. Remember, a systematic approach to exam-taking will ensure that you scale the heights required to get the institute of your choice.