First of all Hearty Congratulations to those who cracked it and hard luck to those who got cracked by it... Its none other than the The Common Admission Test (CAT) which is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance test for the management programmes of its six business schools and is considered (it really is...) the toughest exam to crack through after the prestigious IIT-JEE exam for engineering entrance to the Indian Institutes of Technology. Somehow the common words (II) in both of these have always struck a mesmerizing academic challenge to students in India with respect to their graduation and post graduation.More than 200,000 (230,000 in the year 2007) students compete for about 1500 seats in the IIMs. This makes the IIMs even more selective than all the Ivy League Universities. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also cross the equally stringent hurdles of a group discussion and an individual interview. Hence, graduates all over the country always die to cross that 99 %tile hurdle so that one day they can earn hefty pay scales as investment banker and what not.
The CAT is one of the world's most demanding entrance examinations for any graduate institute. The test taker is expected to excel in arithmetical problem solving, geometry, statistics, data interpretation, logical reasoning in solving complex puzzles, and English Language skills. The test is held on the third Sunday of November for a duration of two and a half hours and everyone gets ready for the final take with his pencils, eraser and sharp mind on this day to bell the CAT.
It is neither expected, nor possible, that all the questions be answered, so the CAT also tests the candidates' ability to prioritise under pressure: a quality necessary in the competitive environment of IIMs' courses. And I experienced the trauma that is CAT, on 18th November last year. Why am I blogging about this stuff? Because the results are out. And I flunked... big time... But no worries. They allow you to give it more than once, and if you work somewhere in between, its said that its even better. So even those who flunked it are optimistic of a better future, thus making true of the words from Geeta, "Jo hota hai acche ke liye hi hota hai" (Whatever happens, happens for good).
Sometimes, I wonder how the trend of the Y-generation has shifted to management education, without actually realizing the importance of the same, irrespective of the judgement whether they actually have the orientation to excel in this chosen field, since the diversity in the aptitude of different people is very well known. Its the latest "rat-race" in education sector, which is being exploited by the ever rising coaching institutes which promise you a birth in IIMs with its last year's record and impeccable faculty stats etc. Its always better for a person to first plan his career in a systematic way and then try to achieve his post graduation in the desired field.
Basically, being an engineer, our lot is divided into five types :
a) the techno geeks : These opt for GATE and GRE to pursue M.Tech and M.S. respectively, and are the true technologists, who find the love in the discipline that they "engineered" themselves in. Honestly speaking, after 4 years of drudgery, these students must get a bravery award just for "carrying on" !!
b) the management kids : They are kids because I think its really silly to get into a "B-School" just after completing your graduation and without any exposure to absolutely any kind of business environment, wherein you can interact with the system and apply your know-how accordingly. Of course, the only force of attraction these days towards MBA as a fresher is the amount of green bucks that you earn and it would be dishonest of me to say that I would turn one down if I had got a call from a super B-School.
c) Job Crackers : These are usually toppers who dominate the placement scene from the word go and might figure in the earlier two categories too. Some of the exceptions, might sneak through the tight filter, but then its all about presenting (correctly) what you know and hiding (efficiently) what you don't. So I have always felt that peaking in this category isn't really a smart indicator of your brilliance, talent or the amount of grey matter in your cranium.
d) The Win-all league : No Comments on this category because I am ideologically against the existence of such people. But this being my blog, I must at least give the reason for my fury against these "envy-of-all" candidates : you just can't have it all, spare some for others too !!
e) The alternatives : Somehow these are the real champs of life. Some of them open up their own business venture. Some of them might end up earning money for doing what they like to do the most. Some of them go on to a really bizarre career like adventure tourism or music development etc but at least they do what they like. Indeed, you get one shot and you gotta hit it spot on.
To end this crap on a rather lighter note, let me show you how education might ruin the simplicity of human life. Consider this sample (which is fictitious of course and copied from orkut :-)), GRE and CAT aspirants tune up their verbal skills that ultimately its useless for the common soul.
NORMAL PERSON : People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
GRE scholar : Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting perilous projectiles.
GRE scholar : Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minim.
NORMAL PERSON : All that glitters is not gold.
GRE scholar : All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.
NORMAL PERSON : Beggars are not choosers.
GRE scholar : Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.
NORMAL PERSON : Dead men tell no tales.
GRE scholar : Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.
Hope you had a good laugh with your dictionary reading this awesome stuff. Click here to post your comments and views on entrance exams like CAT and JEE. Many love them and many sulk about them. What about you ??
P.S.: Please pardon me if the article went off the track in between, but I don't know what exactly I was writing on... hehe...
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5 comments:
well put.. and so true.. humurous too... i completely agree with suyash's thoughts over the issue... good work... keep it up...
People succeed only by putting in the required effort either in education, business or politics. One may have his likes and dislikes but has to select the area of his work from what the market offers.
There is no reason to despair if you tried and did not succeed in JEE or CAT. If you developed the habit of putting in right effort you can compete with them once again and beat them one day. Today Hindustan Lever's CEO is not an IIM man. There are many more CEOs who came from other B Schools. They are competing with the right effort today.
No doubt you can relax when you want and work when you want. Don't expect the result for the period you are relaxing.
Good job, dude!
One should get exposure to the 'real business' environment before entering a B-school. However, if you ever get exposure to 'real business' environment, you won't think you need to attend any b-school (my personal opinion).
Beware that the typical IT job won't give you exposure to anything related to 'business'. All you will do (and you might realize it in year or two) is follow instructions from your manager/client. So take my free gyaan - join a startup if you want to know what business is like.
All said & done, learn Murphy's, Petersons' & Parkinsons' laws. Once you understand & experience them, you'll be better than any MBA in the world.
Cheers! :)
ps: I don't see your blog being updated regularly. Do something about it.
that was a good one dude
people should really have a market oriented environment before enetering any b-school.and those categories of people you have mentioned is simply awesome.
this one is gud...although u copied it so u dont deserve any accolades... but ok..ur just a copying fella..i get dat
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