A MIXED BAG ....

With more money pumped in then probably the annual budgets of many small
countries, the Elections to the five states were for many a trailer for many political
pundits of the events to unfold in the 2014 General Elections. With the overwhelmingly
poor performance of the Grand Old Party - Congress , in all states except Manipur and
the resurgence of the BJP In Goa And good performances in Punjab & Uttarakhand,
The questions arises that what exactly can one synopsize from the domination of the
most populous state of the country by regional satraps like Mulayam Singh and Mayawati.
Its an omnious sign that the two biggest and idealogically strong parties are slugging it out
for the third and fourth place in a state which has given maximum Prime Ministers to
the country. Moments To Ponder ....

Re-Emergence & De-Emergence ??

Comparing The Performances Of The Indian National Cricket & Hockey Teams In
The Past Fortnight Or So Throws Light On The Varied Approaches Being Followed
By The Two Sets Of 11 Men Out On The Field. While The Men In Blue Have Become
Plain And Simple Complacent While Resting On Their Laurels , The Men In White
With The Sticks Played Their Heart Out While Ensuring That The National Pride
In The National Game Was Restored By Qualifying For The London Olympics.
This Proves That Constant re-generation Of Competencies Is A Must To Ensure
Consistent Productivity And Efficiency ......

The End Of An Era......

For a generation brought up on a heavy dose of Delhi Belly and Rock star, the soft melody of "main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya" maybe a faint memory but nobody can probably ever shake of the nostalgia evoked by the original swashbuckler - Dev Anand. Very few are aware that his performance in "Guide" was voted as one of the 10 all time best performances of all times by
the Hollywood Producers Guild. Kaala Pani , Johnny Mera Naam , Hare Rama Hare Krishna were just a few of his cult hits. Such was the adoration he commanded that for the past 20 years , inspite of failing to deliver a hit , he was continuously funded by several wealthy NRI fans of his so that Dev saab could die with his boots on. Forever Young Forever Remembered , An Icon , A Legend ....

The Increasing Relevance Of Extempore .....

It has been noticed in this year`s Campus Drives that the emphasis given to Extempore Based Rounds has immensely increased thus giving a clear indication that it is going to be one of the most vital ingredients of a candidates screening in the future. The realization of the same , at an early stage , can help a student fare much better in the actual recruitment drive.Thus , from the first year itself {of whatever vocation} , start speaking correct grammar , enrich your vocabulary and improve your fluency.......

The Magnitude Of The Power Of The Net .......

10559954 - The official number of hits on YOUTUBE in a week on the latest craze "Why This Kolaveri Di". The sheer magnitude of the Internet has taken an otherwise Normal song to International heights.

TRENDS AT CAMPUS - AN OVERVIEW !!!!

Ever since the arrival of the first Campus this season on the 9th of July {AMDOCS}, some patterns have been visible in the methodolgy of conduction of the Campus drives. An innovation in the past couple of years introduced by Companies like CSC is the Emphasis on Extempore {in the CSC drive they term it as JAM - Just A Minute} whereby the ability to spontaneously express oneself as well as command over communication is tested. The importance of the Technical round has increased especially in context of Companies like TATA MOTORS {One of our students successfully cleared a 78 minute Technical + 26 minute HR round}. The IT Honchos - TCS , INFY , WIPRO , ACCENTURE have toughened their Aptitude Tests a bit on the whole while a few have given direct clearance to the Top 5 of Every branch for a direct Personal Interview.

Chnages in CAT pattern - Cosmetic. Period.

So here was a "Jor Ka Jhatka" that the CAT convenor for the year seems to have given the MBA aspirants. A harmless interview on this year's cat -the proverbial "dheere se lage". I am referring to the changes in CAT-11 unveiled recently.

But is it really "Jor Ka Jhatka"? Not really. Here is why.

Ok !! Lets focus on similarities

** CAT remains a computer based test. :-) Well it would not have been otherwise. Would it?

** It still has 60 Questions. So no surprises there.

** It stays an objective type questions on Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. So if you have been preparing for CAT - relax you are still on the right track.

** In fact, they have announced 5 extra minutes (thats after they added 15 min to the historical time of two hours, two years back). It is now a 140 Min. test.

So what is the bombshell about? Here are the changes and their implications

** The test now comes in a two sections package - instead of three sections earlier.

So instead of three sections of 20 qs. each you will now face two sections of 30 Qs. each. Doesn't make a bit of a difference - does it? You have exactly the same number of questions as earlier and roughly the same time (in fact more).

** The two sections now are Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation (QA & DI) and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VA & LR).

This should mean that in terms of design what has been done is that the earlier section of Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) has been divided into two halves (approx. 10 qs from each section) & each of them has been merged with the other two, respectively. If this interpretation is right, there is hardly any change from the earlier pattern.

** The two sections will now be TIMED sections. You will get exactly 70 minutes to negotiate each section.
Now for a person preparing for CAT and wishes to take a balanced show at it - this also does not make much of a difference. Think about it - if you have been preparing for last year's CAT pattern - you were most probably following a strategy of giving each of the three sections 45 min each. so what would you do if you were told that there will be now two sections of 30 qs. each. You would distribute the time of the third section equally among the other two. The timed sections are equivalent to you following the same strategy by default. That's all.

So then - does this new patter makes any difference at all? Yes, it does. Here is my take.
It takes the sheen away from those performers who used to take uneven time for these sections. There are a few students who try and cut down time from one section and give more time to one other section to maximise their scores. They will feel the heat as there strategy has been killed.

At a macro level - this change should help non-engineers as most engineers try and finish off the language section quicker so that, they can spend more time with the mathematical sections. This helps them score better overall. This may not be possible now.

But honestly, I think even this is not true anymore. From the time CAT became a computer based test, it provides an average of two minutes per question - which is fairly comfortable time to attack a test of the level that CAT is. So any additional time given to a section does not really mean better score in that section.

So friends, I think the changes in the CAT should rattle only those performers who carry this fact in the mind that it has changed. Otherwise the changes appear only cosmetic. Stay focussed. All the very best.