All about the CAT and the IIMs

About six weeks back, it was placement season across the six IIMs and other business schools. And, needless to say, the Indian media had nothing else to talk about, write about and interview the "experts" about! Pick up any newspaper, it was full of news and articles about the number of jobs on offer, the upbeat mood among the students, what the IIM directors had to say about the same etc etc. The television channels were busy interviewing students who landed jobs with the heftiest pay packages. The hype, as is always the case, died down with time.

Going a few months back, the media was equally fascinated by the pattern change in CAT 2005. Aspirants were asked to comment on how they felt about the paper, and when no aspirants could be caught hold of, the focus shifted to their worried parents who had nothing much to say apart from "Hum to bass yahi chahte hain ki humare bachche ko kisi prakar ki takleef na ho". Arre, aunties and uncles, bina takleef ke thori na IIMs mein admission hoga.

Anyways, the fact remains that the IIMs have been hyped by the media to an extent that makes the hallowed portals seem more distant and coveted than they actually are. True, almost 1.80 lakh aspirants vie for around 1300 seats, but the hype is doing more bad than good. The more serious of the aspirants are too confused and the vision in their minds too hazy, more often than not. I feel qualified enough to comment on this issue as I have been a part of the bandwagon for almost 2 years. Now that I have got into IIM-Lucknow, I feel motivated enough to write this post.

Having spoken about the media hype surrounding the CAT n the IIMs, lets bring into limelight the professional coaching institutes.

The coaching institutes (I am quite sure you are aware of the major players in the league) have a plethora of programmes for the aspirants - the 1 year ones, 6 month ones, the test series, to name just a few. The aspirants have joined, are joining, and will continue to join programmes that suit their requirements, but I shall not rule out the possibility of the more ignorant ones being beguiled.

I am not saying that the institutes are doing any sort of dis-service. Rather, joining a classroom course for CAT preparation helps one in two ways: one, it brings about a discpline in the preparation regime with classes scheduled on a weekly basis, and two, participants get to interact with a number of others from diverse educational and social backgrounds and this interaction does help, makes one more aware, balanced and mature. (obviously, any positive change is subject to the person's open-mindedness).

However, irrespective of what and how one is taught at these institutes, I feel no one can and no one should take a decision for you. CAT is a 2-hour exam and you have to decide for yourself how are you going to handle it! Strategy, tips n tricks, examination temperament, all these things may sound important to some, and not so to others, but you decide for yourself what you want to do and how you want to do it? Every individual has a different capability level, a different way of studying and learning. So, whilst the mentors at these institutes may be able to guide you in your quest, they can't chalk out a proper regime or strategy for you. And talking about strategies and regimes, many people are not that organised, so the very concept of a planned strategy is alien to them. The key lies in understanding the fact it is you yourself who has to walk the path, so how you are gonna walk it is also purely you call!!