Expectations leap at easier CAT
Around 1.75 Lakh Hopefuls Test Their Skills For 1,500 Seats At Six IIMs
THE new CAT’s out of the bag, and here is the first impression: less questions, more time, and one more option per question; tougher paper on English and relatively easier one on data interpretation; four marks for every right answer, and a minus one for a wrong one. Thus went a Sunday that could launch more than a thousand — well, there are about 1,500 seats across the six IIMs — corner-room careers as around 1.75 lakh aspirants took the common admission test 2006. Overall, as ET correspondents who fanned out across the country and some who took the exams found out, CAT 2006 was a pleasant surprise. To begin with, as compared to last year, the total number of questions went down from 90 to 75 while the exam duration had been increased by 30 minutes. Around 1.75 lakh students had applied for the CAT this year, but IIM officials refused to hazard a guess on how many actually took the test. IIM-Bangalore chairperson (admissions) Prof Subhabrata Das told ET, “The entire process across the country went off well without an incident.” Sure, Prof Das felt it was too early to take stock of the final number of candidates. According to sources at the CAT centres throughout 23 cities, there was a 90-95% attendance. Anyone who is confident of scoring more than 100 marks — of the total 300 — stands a good chance to get a call for the next round. But as some coaching agencies felt, increased competition this year may push that surety point to nudge the 120-mark level. “On an average, the best students attempted 45-48 of the total 75 questions,” CAT coaching institute Career Launcher India director Arindam Lahiri said. Like every year, this time too, the format was modified. Aspirants happy with new format Says Career Forum chairperson Sujata Khanna, “Every year, the CAT has a surprise. This year, it has been the increase in the number of marks per question, and a reduction in the number of questions.” Adds a spokesperson for Indiatimes Mindscape Test Centre, “If CAT 2005 was the toughest CAT ever, students were treated to a pleasant surprise at CAT 2006.” Aspirants appeared happy with the new format. “Increased time and reduced number of questions allowed us to spend more time on each section. However, there were less questions to choose from this year,” said CAT aspirant Punita Chada. Some experts felt there were ambiguities in the question paper, especially in the English and problem-solving sections. “Different people might have different right answers to the same question,” said Manek Daruwala, director of Ahmedabad-based coaching institute TIME. “The question paper speaks of changing global requirements. While the new-age managers are expected to understand basic mathematics, they are expected to be more fluent in English,” Lahiri added. “Mathematics and data interpretation was up for grabs,” said a student of Mathematics from St Stephen’s College who took the CAT. This was neither an exclusive response nor something that is only expected of a student of Mathematics (Hons). The two sections on maths and logic really came as relief for CATters with a background in economics, mathematics or even history or English. “The English section was unexpectedly difficult,” said Mehak Sagar, a third-year Economics (Hons) student from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi. In English, with the added factor of increase in options that demanded more thinking, the options were also puzzling enough with the differential between them being microscopic. “Some options were also ambiguous,” said Mehak.
Around 1.75 Lakh Hopefuls Test Their Skills For 1,500 Seats At Six IIMs
THE new CAT’s out of the bag, and here is the first impression: less questions, more time, and one more option per question; tougher paper on English and relatively easier one on data interpretation; four marks for every right answer, and a minus one for a wrong one. Thus went a Sunday that could launch more than a thousand — well, there are about 1,500 seats across the six IIMs — corner-room careers as around 1.75 lakh aspirants took the common admission test 2006. Overall, as ET correspondents who fanned out across the country and some who took the exams found out, CAT 2006 was a pleasant surprise. To begin with, as compared to last year, the total number of questions went down from 90 to 75 while the exam duration had been increased by 30 minutes. Around 1.75 lakh students had applied for the CAT this year, but IIM officials refused to hazard a guess on how many actually took the test. IIM-Bangalore chairperson (admissions) Prof Subhabrata Das told ET, “The entire process across the country went off well without an incident.” Sure, Prof Das felt it was too early to take stock of the final number of candidates. According to sources at the CAT centres throughout 23 cities, there was a 90-95% attendance. Anyone who is confident of scoring more than 100 marks — of the total 300 — stands a good chance to get a call for the next round. But as some coaching agencies felt, increased competition this year may push that surety point to nudge the 120-mark level. “On an average, the best students attempted 45-48 of the total 75 questions,” CAT coaching institute Career Launcher India director Arindam Lahiri said. Like every year, this time too, the format was modified. Aspirants happy with new format Says Career Forum chairperson Sujata Khanna, “Every year, the CAT has a surprise. This year, it has been the increase in the number of marks per question, and a reduction in the number of questions.” Adds a spokesperson for Indiatimes Mindscape Test Centre, “If CAT 2005 was the toughest CAT ever, students were treated to a pleasant surprise at CAT 2006.” Aspirants appeared happy with the new format. “Increased time and reduced number of questions allowed us to spend more time on each section. However, there were less questions to choose from this year,” said CAT aspirant Punita Chada. Some experts felt there were ambiguities in the question paper, especially in the English and problem-solving sections. “Different people might have different right answers to the same question,” said Manek Daruwala, director of Ahmedabad-based coaching institute TIME. “The question paper speaks of changing global requirements. While the new-age managers are expected to understand basic mathematics, they are expected to be more fluent in English,” Lahiri added. “Mathematics and data interpretation was up for grabs,” said a student of Mathematics from St Stephen’s College who took the CAT. This was neither an exclusive response nor something that is only expected of a student of Mathematics (Hons). The two sections on maths and logic really came as relief for CATters with a background in economics, mathematics or even history or English. “The English section was unexpectedly difficult,” said Mehak Sagar, a third-year Economics (Hons) student from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi. In English, with the added factor of increase in options that demanded more thinking, the options were also puzzling enough with the differential between them being microscopic. “Some options were also ambiguous,” said Mehak.
source: economic times
No comments:
Post a Comment