IIM Websites....for the MBA dream of India!

A note on the links given & added info for aspirants!

2010-09-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Do not read/try to understand everything & every links here in 1 go, it would surely cause indigestion! Try eating slowly...patience is the key...! :)

...many of you might not know most of these links. I have included them because all of them serve a different purposes. For those who do not have the time to go thru the links to find out more, just a quick note on the same:

The 'A-list' is a must go-thru list. In that, PG - short for Pagalguy is a must. It is huge, with more than 3,39,000+ registered users & few lakh vistors/month (as on date), you have immense info on ur hand on almost everything relevant. Also you could sign up for their free question-a-day for Maths, DI etc- which would be extremely good & tough questions which gives u a very good grounding (note- a first user of the site might not always find the site very useful, since it is too deep. Re-visit it, u will realise its use as you progress across the stages in preparation- especially when it comes to the GD & Interview stages-PG is the best place for you to meet up fellow aspirants). It also has sign-up for free SMS B-School Notification updates (SMS "BEGIN MBA" to 56070 to start receiving the alerts), B-School Apply function & various other resources- check them all out for yourself.

MBA Universe, MBA paradise & Sharetermpapers might be more useful for those who are undergoing the course or have passed out (though info useful for aspirants are also in these sites).
Jam Mag is pioneered by Rashmi Bansal who is the Editor and Publisher of this popular youth magazine (JAM - Just Another Magazine). She is very balanced in her views unlike most of her other IIM compatriates (offence meant!) and gives plenty of insightful articles useful for B-School aspirants. For example, the follo link gives a comparison among coaching institutes, which is relatively useful- only problem is that the article is slightly outdated & some of the info contained has changed, but still it is useful.
Again the follo article about IIPM forced IIPM to moderate some elements of its blatant ads.

In Solidgyan, you can freely enroll for some parts of the course & can even do previous cat papers online for free as timed tests. Total Gadha has a downloadable collection of previous cat papers + lot of good articles. Urpercentile's free CAT Hurdles are a must for ppl who might be weak in some of those areas & needs some basics & easy to medium level of questions to handle under each topic http://urpercentile.com/Hurdle.htm . Subscribe to their free Yahoogroup to get access to all CAT Hurdles. Tenaday has ppl like Devashish Chakravarty who was a 100 percentile scorer in CAT 2004 and 2006 who has graduated from IIM A, TestFunda has a lot of very useful material from various 100 percentilers over the years & lot of free online test, freely downloadable software for Test taking & study. TCY online which was in the 'B-list' in the last year has moved to the 'A-list' due to its provision of a large number of free online tests which would prove useful for aspirants in the new CAT Online era.

The 'B-List' gives you some of the older stalwarts. Among the B-List, Ascent is not that much high in the radars of the coaching institutes roll-call, but their site has good free content & hence i have included the same. TIME & CL have been ruling the roost, though IMS is the oldie, which has been loosing ground steadily in the past. It is quite obvious that all the old-timers have understood that they need to scale up & hence have ventured into B-schools & Schools- IMS started with Praxis, the B-School, while CL started with Schools first & very recently launched a B-School. But among these 3, TIME seems to have the best results (audited by KPMG), maximum number of students preparing all-India & the best All-India Test series- AIMCATs (in terms of popularity among test-takers). All these players have geared themselves up for the first online version of CAT, CAT-2009, taking place from Nov 28th, 2009.

Coming back to the B-List, the oldies are proven & time tested. They give a lot of info for free & does lot of good & more systematic work especially just after CAT in bringing out the answer keys & solutions (though CAT English key is always a stumbling block for them). They do give a lot of info abt other B-School tests & analysis & previous papers as well as info abt B-schools. Career Forum also gives a comparitive list of previous B-School rankings .Some of these sites allow you to sign up for free for accessing few resources, so do check them out.

Students have to be wary abt 1 aspect: Lot of your coaching at these old-gaurds are oriented towards the CAT.
All AIMCATs (TIME), SIMCATs (IMS), Mock CATs (CL) & PracCATs (PT) which you take week after week till Nov, is oriented towards CAT (since most of these institutes are dominated by guys from the IIMs- do a head count if you have a doubt!) And do keep in mind that the IIMs will only be able to absorb around 1750 of the more than 3 lakh CAT aspirants. Thank God that there are more that 90 institutes that take the CAT score, but just because these institutes take the CAT scores, they need not be good, and i know for a fact that many of these institutes are not even close to many other institutes available only thru other entrance tests. And again there is no gaurantee that multiple IIM calls can get you into the IIMs as I myself have experianced in the past. So the students have to get themselves oriented for the other exams also during their preparation, even if the respective coaching institute gives emphasis to it or not.
Most institutes tell their students that if they do well in CAT, they are gauranteed to do well for other exams. This need not hold true for everyone.
I have taught in IMS for multiple years & been the CAT dept head at the head office of TIME & has noted that CAT & the other exams are different ball games, if we observe the calls that many students get. For CAT, with increasingly difficult questions & greater time alloted per questions (since there are only 75 questions), the key is accuracy, while for most of the other papers, though you might be 100% accurate, you might not make a call since you need lot of speed, since most of these other institutes will give much lesser calls & you will have to be among the top few performers in India to be assured of a call. Since you as a student gets geared to the CAT pattern every sunday for all the mock tests, week after week, it is difficult to change gears all of sudden November onwards. So it is upto the students to orient themselves properly, a bit earlier.

Now coming to the 'C-List'. This is a list which i have arranged in the aphabetical order, so that there is no controversy over who comes first or second. Some of these sites are better than the others, so it is upto the aspirants to go thru them in detail & decide on which one you would stick on to. Each of them has something unique, for example, catalyst4cat.com is a site run by Munira Lokhandwala, an IIMC Alumnus for personalized CAT coaching. She has worked in the past as CAT Product Head and Faculty at IMS & CL and scored 99.99%ile in CAT 2004, 100%ile in CAT 2005, 99.99%ile in CAT 2006, 100%ile in CAT 2007 & 100%ile in CAT 2008 (Rank number 1 in india- 290/356 marks), Though the site does not have much content, those interested in personal coaching of the elitest order might find it useful. So the 'C-List' has to be your take.

1 last word: I have seen many students write/prepare for MAT just because they feel CAT is very difficult. But unfortunately there are just 5-10 institutes under MAT that are worth the while of the aspirant & they would do much better if they write CAT (151 non-IIMs taking CAT score this year) or XAT (60+ institutes taking XAT score) & other independent exams & apply to the better institutes affiliated to each (the CAT & XAT affiliated institutes are almost always better than the MAT affilated institutes!). Then there are also independent institutes like IRMA (my alma mater), Symbiosis, IIFT, FMS, Jamanlal Bajaj etc which are also very good institutes which have separate exams. Among these institutes they can absorb around 1000 students.

Also keep in mind that however good 1 person is, he or she can only go to 1 institute. So, ultimately it is a filtering process & some of the students who got even 75 percentile in CAT or XAT will get a better institute to choose from than someone who gets 90 percentile for MAT. I thought of adding this 1 last bit since i have seen many students writing only MAT due to fear & avoiding all other exams- That is a mistake- Do not do it!

So all the best to you, MBA aspirant.
-------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: The info which i have provided is based on my experiance & background knowledge which may or may not be complete. So in case you have certain reservations against few of them, kindly let me know the same with reliable info that would help me get convinced otherwise. I am open to correction, if it is due.

NOTE: Dear B-School aspirant, do not ask me things & info without doing some homework first. Go through the links & get clarifications from multiple sources before you ask. If you ask me for things that are already clarified in these links given, I will not answer you. I am into lot of things & have opened this to help you in your preparation, to the extent possible & I am not obliged to answer your every query. Any B-school aspirant should be willing to do some work & I expect the same from you.

P.S: This is a free service & no one is authorised by the author to collect anything in cash or kind from anyone in this regard.

Regards,
Aju John. :)

IRMA-2009 analysis, cut-offs etc+ Get ready for all ensuing exams!

2009-11-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

Dear students,

The MBA tests for 2009-10 have kicked off officially with IRMA happening on 9th Nov, previous Sunday. From now on, you will find a host of exams happening & all of you get busy with last minute prep, tests, GDs & interviews. Hence get serious- this is your last chance for it & start putting in your best efforts.

This year the IRMA paper was easy, hence the cut-offs would be higher. According to T.I.M.E's analysis:

	Expected Cut-Off
	IRMA	XIMB - RM
English Comprehension	20-24	16-18
Quantitative Ability	22-26	16-18
Analytical Reasoning	20-24	15-16
Issues of Social Concern	13-17	13-17
Overall Cut-off	86-90	74-78

You can follow the entire article at: http://www.time4education.com/IRMA-2009%20Analysis.htm

You can know how other test takers fared at:

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/other-exams-xat-fms-jmet/42856-irma-anand-2009-entrance-test-124.html

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/other-exams-xat-fms-jmet/45702-irma-entrance-examination-2009-question-24.html

Regards,

Aju John.

Urgent Info for all students!!! - CAT 2009 registration, re-fund, all issues etc.!!!

2009-09-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

FIRST THING FIRST- CAT REGISTRATION GETS OVER BY OCTOBER 1ST- AFTER THAT, U CANNOT REGISTER, CANNOT EDIT, CANNOT RE-SCHEDULE NOTHING!!! - in case you do not do it in another couple of days, nobody including the IIMs will be able to help you!!! This is the last call to any of you who might not have registered till now!!!

CAT application Edit function is working, editing the application form will not affect your admit card, you can go ahead & edit form in case some detail is wrong, once the window closes on Oct 1st- you cannot edit anymore!!! hence do it all as quickly as possible- if there is a need!!!

I am clarifying a lot of other things you have asked in this 1 mail:

1. Sept MAT based institutes & Cut-off- find an XL file i have attached with this mail & go thru same

2. About exam notifications:

on a regular basis go through: http://www.time4education.com/disp_notification1.asp?tid=1 & http://notifications.pagalguy.com - To get these alerts as SMS on your mobile for FREE, sms 'START MBA' to '9845298452'

3. Which all institutes under CAT, XAT & details regarding each including deadlines:

XAT- http://www.time4education.com/Institutes_xat.asp - click on institute name- it is a link which will take you to site where u will get more info

CAT- http://catiim.in/non_iim_institute.html - click on institute name- it is a link which will take you to site where u will get more info

4. i'm a final year student/ SC/ST/NC-OBC candidate and i have applied for cat. Do i need to send certificate ...before the exam or we have to submit it at the time of gd-pi?: - this question clearly shows that you have taken the basic effort of reading through basic instructions laid out in http://catiim.in site!!!

This info is specifically answered in http://catiim.in/selection_process.html & http://catiim.in/cat_eligibility.html - i quote: If a candidate is short-listed for interviews by any IIM, he/she has to comply with the following eligibility verification:....A candidate must show original mark sheets and submit photocopies to prove his/her eligibility at the time of interview, If short-listed for interview, SC, ST, NC-OBC, and DA candidates must show the original caste/class/disability certificate and submit a photocopy at the time of interview, If short-listed for interview, candidates appearing for the final bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification examination must show an original certificate from...

5. I am getting lot of queries of the following format: Did not get admit card, forgot username & password- how to contact prometric etc. Frankly speaking few queries are bordering on to silliness- how to make email ID, can you get me re-fund of CAT voucher etc. In fact i have posted couple of such messages i have recieved from students to the mailing list- 3 of them are as follows:

1. Dear Sir,

Sub : Requisition for Admit card for CAT Exam

Ref : My Batch Code :C9..

I had registered for the CAT Exam but I have not yet received the admit card. Kindly send me as early as possible.

Answer: We are not IIMs or prometric!!! Kindly contact them!

2. I also want to know the details regarding the catiim application money that if it is refundable or not.i also wanted my money back.if it is refundable kindly requesting to inform me also.

Answer: Check out: http://catiim.in/catregistration_updated.html - scroll down to part where second voucher is written!

3. am didn't rec the admitted card.i register it one week early.yet no rec the card.what.do at present i cann,t access my account.what i do

In case you are not able to access your account:

1. trying logging in using various combinations of user ID & password

2. In case you can login, click on a link which says- "re-send admit card" (in case of visually disabled candidates, such a link will not be there, for everyone else, such a link will be there. Visually disabled candidates should contact prometric to get the admit card sent to their email ID)- in case u are a normal candidate & u do not see this link, that means that u have not registered for a test date yet. Look for the option of registering again.

3. Contact Promtric by phone: 1-800-103-9293

4. Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus - go to this link & sent a mail from there

For heavens sake:

1. do not forget your Username (it should be something you should be able to remember)

2. do not forget your password (it should be something you should be able to remember)

3. Do not forget the location of the paper in which you had written down your user name & password

4. Do not loose your voucher & voucher number

5. Give only a valid Email ID that you use! (& don't make any spelling mistakes!!!)

6. Give your name - as in SSLC certificate - put your name, not your friends name!!!

7. Dont forget your SSLC, +2, Degree marks

8. Dont forget to select- 'non-iim institutes'

9. Learn how to login & check email!!!

10. Don't wait for doing every step above till Oct 1st has passed!!!!!!!!!- DO IT ASAP

NOTE: IF THE ABOVE 10 GOLDEN RULES ARE BROKEN, THE IIMS WILL HAPPILY ELIMINATE YOU FROM THE PROCESS ALONG WITH THE 50,000+ OTHER APPLICANTS WHO COMMIT ONE OR MORE OF THE SAME ERRORS

MOST IMPORTANT RULE TO FOLLOW: THOU SHALL READ ALL MAILS SENT TO THE MAILING LIST, ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT MAILS LIKE THIS!!!

Contact details of Prometric once & for all: by phone: 1-800-103-9293 , by mail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus - go to this link & sent a mail from there

Pasting below an important article from: http://www.time4education.com/points_to_remember.htm

12 Points to remember for CAT2009

This note is a gist of what the IIMs have specified in the CAT2009 notification and the data available on the CATIIM website. Please visit www.catiim.in for the complete details.

Download the CAT Registration Instructions and go through the CAT FAQs thoroughly

Ensure that you download the CAT Registration Instructions and take a printout to help with the Registration process. The registration Instructions are available at http://content.catiim.in/pdf/registration_inst.pdf. The FAQs available at http://www.catiim.in/faq.html will answer your queries and you should go through it thoroughly before you start the process.

Buy the CAT voucher immediately

The CAT2009 Vouchers will be on sale at AXIS bank branches from Wednesday, 9^th September, 2009. The list of AXIS bank branches where the Vouchers are being sold is available at http://www.catiim.in/buy_voucher.html. Buy the CAT Voucher as soon as possible. Do not wait till the last day to buy the vouchers! SC and ST candidates must show a copy of their SC/ST certificates at the time of obtaining the CAT 2009 voucher from the Axis bank branches.

Buy the CAT Voucher in your name as it appears in your School Leaving certificate

The name on the pay-in-slip (when you buy the voucher from the bank) SHOULD match with the name appearing on your School-leaving certificate. If the name has been changed due to events such as marriage, the candidate must show the relevant documents such as a marriage certificate and submit a photocopy at the time of the test, interview and at the time of joining the programme. Ensure that you buy the CAT Voucher personally and do not delegate it to someone. In case you do delegate this to someone ensure that you write down your name as it appears in your School leaving certificate and give it to the person buying the form on your behalf so that NO mistake is made in buying the form.

Complete your Online Registration immediately

The Online registration starts on 9^th September 2009 and ends on 1^st October 2009. You can choose a test date, test slot and test centre from the 30 centres across India subject to availability. Read the registration instructions given on the website www.catiim.in carefully. Please review your data prior to submission as NO changes to the application data will be permitted after it is submitted. Once the candidate profile has been successfully submitted, a copy of your Candidate Profile will be sent to you via email within 24 hours. In case you do not receive an email, check the SPAM folders first. If, for some reason, you do not receive a Candidate Profile email or you need another copy, you will need to login to www.catiim.in, revisit registration link and choose Resend Application. The registration is completely an online process. You do not need to send any documents/certificates to the IIMs'.

Schedule your Test Slot and date immediately

Once your Candidate Profile has been successfully submitted, you should continue the Test Scheduling process to schedule an appointment to take CAT. You will be asked to choose a site and you will be provided with dates and time slots available at that site. Since the slots are allotted on a first come first serve basis, ensure that you do not tarry in registering and booking your test slot otherwise you will not get a test centre/time slot/test date of your choice. Please note that:

The CAT can be given on any day from 28^th November 2009 to 7^th December 2009. There will be two sessions each day – one at 10 a.m. and one at 3:30 p.m. For the first slot students need to check in by 8:30AM and for the second slot students need to check in by 2:00PM.

You can appear for CAT 2009 only ONCE. It will be deemed a fraudulent activity if one attempts to appear for CAT2009 more than once. Admit cards and picture IDs of the candidates will be checked, and candidate pictures and biometric information will also be captured at the test venue.

A list of all sites where the CAT can be given will be available online at www.catiim.in from 9^th September 2009. You should review the list and identify sites where you would like to take the test. This will be useful during scheduling process in case your first choice for test venue/site is unavailable.

Read the instructions for scheduling a test slot carefully.

There is NO advantage / disadvantage in taking the test on the first / last days. Book the test based on the availability and your convenience.

You can reschedule your Test Date/Test Slot/Test Centre till the end of the registration period i.e. 1^st October.

To reschedule the date of the test, login and choose "Reschedule an Appointment". Once you have rescheduled the test, you will receive a new admit card. Take a print out of the Admit card. There is NO fee for rescheduling.

Ensure you have a valid Email ID

Prospective candidates must maintain a valid email account throughout the selection process. If you do not have a valid email ID then create one immediately. Keep the email password confidential. Check the SPAM folder regularly. Some email providers might classify the message(s) as SPAM. Add the email address to your address book to AVOID this problem.

Ensure that you have a VALID Photo ID

All candidates are required to have a Valid Photo ID to enable them to enter the Test Venue and take CAT2009. Candidates will not be permitted to take the test if photo identification and Admit Card are not presented. If you DO NOT have a valid Photo ID then apply for one immediately. The following constitute a valid Photo ID:

Driver's license

Passport

PAN Card

Voter ID

College ID

Employee identification card

Notarized Affidavit with Photo, Signature, Date of Birth and Residential Address

Retain all documents

Please ensure that you retain all your documents pertaining to the CAT Voucher and Online registration. The documents to be retained are:

Copy of the bank pay-in-slip used to buy the CAT Voucher

CAT Voucher

Candidate Profile (take a printout from the email sent to you after registration)

CAT Admit Card

Reach Test Venue atleast 2 hrs in advance with relevant documents

You have to report to the Test Venue at least two hours prior to the test time. Candidates will need to bring their CAT 2009 Admit Card (In case you had rescheduled your test, you need to bring the latest Admit card), voucher, a valid document as proof of SC/ST eligibility (if applicable) and one photo-identification to the test centre. Acceptable forms of photo identification are Driver's license, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID, College ID, Employee identification card, or a notarized Affidavit with Photo, Signature, Date of Birth and Residential Address. If you are a candidate belonging to the SC/ST category then you need to bring a valid document as proof of your SC/ST eligibility. Without proper documentation, you may not be permitted to take the test.

Do not carry any personal items to the test venue

You are NOT permitted to carry any personal items to the test centre, including but not limited to wrist-watch, pen, cell phones, calculators, etc. There will be NO breaks in the test. At the test venue, each candidate will be seated at a desk with a computer terminal and he/she will be provided with a scratch paper for calculations. After the test is over, the candidate must leave the scratch paper at the desk. Rough work cannot be done on any other paper/sheet, as nothing will be allowed inside the testing room. You are NOT permitted to take anything out of the testing room.

Keep track of the important dates

Note down the important dates like date of sale of CAT Vouchers, last date of registration, test dates, date of release of results etc. This will ensure that you do not miss out on important events. Some of the key dates are given below:

Commencement of Sale of CAT Vouchers: 9^th September, 2009

Last date of Sale of CAT Vouchers: 1^st October, 2009

Commencement of Registration on www.catiim.in : 9^th September, 2009

Last date of Registration on www.catiim.in : 1^st October, 2009

Scheduling Window: 9^th September,2009 – 1^st October, 2009

Re-Scheduling Window: 9^th September,2009 – 1^st October, 2009

CAT2009 Test Date: 28^th November, 2009 to 7^th December, 2009

CAT 2009 results: 22^nd January, 2010

Resolution of queries and Support from Prometric

The FAQs, IVRS and online instructions are designed to enable self-service. You are requested to use these tools which can guide you through the entire process and help answer most of your queries. In case you are still facing issues, then CAT Candidate Care Support is available by phone and email. Phone: 1-800-103-9293 Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus Phone support availability: September 9 to October 1, 2009 - 9AM to 6:00 PM from Monday to Saturday Webmail support availability: Webmail support will be available from the beginning of registration till candidates receive their score reports. Queries, received by webmail, will be responded to within 48 business hours.

Latest info related to issues in application filling!!!- important!

2009-09-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I have been answering calls after calls all night am also inundated by emails- all related to online registration issues. In case of global B-Schools especially US B-Schools, you are allowed to change/edit your details even after you have entered them once- within the window. Unfortunately the ones provided for CAT is the variety where no edits are enabled except for re-scheduling of the slots- hence most of the issues. All the issues that you are facing are similarly faced by many others across India. Hence i would recommend that you go through some of those, and take decisions on your own to the extent possible. Ensure that you have run out of options before you call us. For the same i am giving you some resources in terms of certain observations, and certain links. Do take effort in going through the links, it will clear a lot if not all aspects.

Gaurav has pointed out certain observations of his which are important for test registration, which can be read below. The same is narrated in an article from PG which i am pasting below. Read through the same as well as comments made by users- it will echo each of the problems you have been facing:

Glitch in CAT 2009 online registration may lay your voucher waste

There is a glaring mistake in the online registration process of CAT 2009 that might, in the worst case, lay waste your Rs 1,400 voucher and make you buy a new voucher and re-register. However, there is no need to panic; according to Prof Satish Deodhar from IIM-Ahmedabad, the IIMs are in talks with Prometric and a final solution to the problem will be declared by tomorrow evening.
Even though the IIMs require you to enter your HSC and SSC scores as admission criteria, the CAT online registration process that opened up on September 9 will not throw up an error if you forget to enter those scores in the Educational Qualifications section of the form. The system will happily complete your registration process and send you an admit card, even though you did not enter this vital information. Eventually your CAT score, however good, will be of no use because the IIMs need your HSC and SSC scores during GD shortlisting, which would have been absent from your profile, leading to automatic disqualification from the IIMs.
Why are we saying that you may forget to enter your HSC and SSC scores? It is because the user interface of the online registration system is not designed to place stress on this important step. On the first day of the registration, a lot of CAT aspirants on PaGaLGuY have reported forgetting to enter their school-level scores. All these users thought that they had to enter their highest educational qualification in the section of concern, and not all educational qualifications. The system does not allow one to go back and enter these scores again.
If you have not filled the CAT online form yet, this article is a heads-up for caution. Make sure you do not make this mistake.
If you have filled the CAT online form and have made this mistake, all may not be lost yet. According to CAT 2009 Convenor Prof Satish Deodhar, talks are on with Prometric and a possible solution would be announced by tomorrow. So in case you were planning to rush to buy another voucher, hold it and wait for what they have to say.
I'd like to add a remark here. To be fair to Prometric+IIMs, the system does say 'Select all that apply' in educational qualification section, implying that one has to click all educational milestones in their life and enter the respective scores. However, from a Human-Computer Interaction or Interaction Design point of view, this is very bad design. Human behaviour with computers is a separate science altogether and plays by its own rules. On a paper-based form, the IIMs can get away with putting stern rules and punishing those who do not abide by them. But what works on paper does not work on computers. I wonder if Prometric ran rigorous usability tests on this form, because if they had done it with a sufficient number of users, this error in the user interface would have exposed itself.
Furthermore, if the eligibility for a management degree includes having passed HSC and SSC, the CAT 2009 online application form should not allow submission until these fields are completed.
Added later: Here are two features that ought to have been in the user interface:

Error-checking before submission: If the candidate hasn't completed fields that form the minimum eligibility criteria of the IIMs, he shouldn't be allowed to submit the form.

Review details page before form submission: Show a summary of all information entered by the candidate before making the final submission. Allow editing at summary level. This will allow people to realize any mistakes or omissions they might have made and let them correct them.

The following pictures will explain the problem better.

The educational qualifications section in CAT 2009 online registration might make you assume that you have to enter only your highest/latest qualification (below).

Instead, what you should do is first check all educational levels that you have, and then enter scores for each level (below).

In case you forget to enter these details, you will not be allowed to enter them later.
To read the article in the original location: http://www.pagalguy.com/2009/09/glitch-in-online-registration-for-cat-2009/
Other imp links you can go through are:
CAT 2009 - Registration | First Hand Experience Tutorial- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/44092-cat-2009-registration-first-hand.html#post1656862
[2009] CAT 2009 Online Notification out, Application related queries- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/43793-2009-cat-2009-online-notification.html
CAT Query Center- FAQs regarding CAT 2009 online and other Exams- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/41045-cat-query-center-faqs-regarding.html
CAT 2009 Slot Booking Preferences- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/44077-cat-2009-slot-booking-preferences.html#post1656312
SC/ST,OBC & PH students queries and discussion for CAT 2009 & other Exams - http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/37031-sc-st-obc-ph-students.html
Regards,
Aju John.

----- Original Message -----

From: Gaurav Mittal

To: Aju John T.I.M.E. Cochin

Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 7:33 PM

Subject: Re: [cat2009cochin] NOTE: prometric clarification over phone: Re: 2 issues related to application filling!- important instructions!

Actually when u register, the option says that u've to CHECK ALL THAT APPLY. The options given while scrolling are HSC, SSC, Bachelor's degree (incomplete and completed) and professional degree (inter and final). So, all the check boxes from hsc, ssc and degree must be checked. Only then the boxes to enter the marks appear on the screen. (i was doing the same mistake of checking only the degree box, but then with a more careful thought, i realised that hsc and ssc also need to be checked) Same thing is for applying for interview... One has to select all the options and then select individual cities for each IIM. At the same time, the prometric site has a cut off wrt. time. hence, if u use a lot of time, it will again take u back to login page, upon entering the details, where u would have to re-enter the details again. I had to do this twice. another friend of mine had to do it 3-4 times to finally register with them.

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM, aju varghese <ajuinjesus@gmail.com> wrote:

On both issues given below, the option of buying a voucher and applying again is the instruction few students got when they called Prometric help-line number in the morning. But it seems that lot of complaints have come to Prometric till now- especially about 10th & 12th mark option not being visible- and to one of the students who called during evening, it was conveyed that they will rectify the issue in 2 days time & that the student does not have to buy an additional voucher.
Hence we recommend that if you are having an issue with anything related to filling up the application form, make use of the official channels before you spend any additional money: that is; phone them in person: 1-800-103-9293 mailing them @ Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus Regards, Aju John.
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 4:30 PM, aju varghese wrote:
Dear student,
apart from issues related to email & admit card not recieved and not able to do test registration due to network congestion, there are 2 specific issues that have come to notice till now- which needs your attention:
1. Missing out to fill 10th, 12th marks
2. Applying for PGDSEM even if you are ineligible for the test (http://pgsem.iimb.ernet.in/index.html )

In both cases, students are getting some error or the other & when they have tried contacting the helpline, they have been told to buy another voucher & to re-register. Students who have tried it out are able to register without error. This is already mentioned in : http://www.catiim.in/faq.html#two_19 - i quote: ..."
19. If I have made any mistakes. while registering for CAT 2009, can I make changes later to rectify? If you make mistakes while entering the application data, you will need to buy a new voucher and re-register yourself. However, rescheduling is allowed where you can choose a different test center, date and time of your test, of course, subject to availability. Note: If you re-register or re-schedule, you must carry the most recent admit card and attend the most recent test session.
Hence right now this is the way forward as per the instruction. But you have the following options also to explore:
CAT Candidate Care Support is available by phone and email. Phone: 1-800-103-9293 Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus Phone support availability: September 9 to October 1, 2009 - 9AM to 6:00 PM from Monday to Saturday Webmail support availability: Webmail support will be available from the beginning of registration till candidates receive their score reports. Queries, received by webmail, will be responded to within 48 business hours.

Regards,
Aju John.

2 CAT Admit cards recieved-2 diff locations!- What to be done

2009-09-22T11:41:00.002-07:00

Dear students,

there is a new error that has surfaced! Few students who had registered for Cochin have recieved 1 more admit card for another location on the same date. The Cochin admit card comes first followed by the new location admit card after few more days.

In fact after one of our students had got such an admit card, she recieved a phone call today telling her that she cannot be given Cochin since there are no slots for Cochin on that particular day (though she had already recieved an admit card with a booked slot). The caller identified as someone speaking on behalf of testing authorities & said that which location does she prefer among Kozhikode or Bangalore since there was no slot available in Cochin- she insisted that she wanted to have Cochin itself and that she already had booked & got conformation for Cochin and she needs to get the same only & not any other location. The person replied that she will have to call the helpline number & mail the contact form and tell the same.
We do not know the exact reason as to why this should be happening, but in case you have recieved any such re-located Admit cards, we recommend that you do the following:

Log on to the website using your username & password
Click on 'Re-send admit card'
check the venue in the latest mail that you recieve
In case it is the venue you do not want, call the helpline in person at toll free number: 1-800-103-9293 and insist that you need the original timing & slot that you got
Mail them @ Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus - copy paste the Admit Card-mail you got Prometric and state categorically that you do not want that slot to be changed under any circumstances
In case anyone calls up (from side of CAT authorities) asking that you have to change your originally alloted venue, tell them categorically that you are not willing to change the originally alloted slot & venue
Convey the above to any other T.I.M.E. student who might be facing the same issue.

Regards,
Aju John.

Latest notifications, Online Chat Schedule, how to prepare for the Online CAT, Demo Video from IIMs!

2009-09-22T11:41:00.001-07:00

Dear students,
The latest notifications, including XAT can be viewed at: http://www.time4education.com/disp_notification1.asp?tid=1

Take note: There is a separate fee for XAT (the exam) & for applying to XLRI (the institute) - XAT is a very important exam since its score is taken by 60+ institutes, similarly CAT is taken by 151 non-IIM institutes. So do not worry about the difficulty level of these exams, lot of great institutes are alligned with these two exams, hence make sure you apply to both.

Online chat schedule:

For real-time clarifications of your doubts, we have an online chat facility. Most of your queries might have already been answered in previous chats- to have a look at the archives, go to: http://www.time4education.com/chatapp/chatarchives.asp . The latest schedule of chats to come is: http://www.time4education.com/chatapp/chatschedule.asp . List is pasted below:

Date

Time

Topic

05/09/2009 6:30PM-7:30PM

Preparation tips for Quantitative

09/09/2009

6:30PM-7:30PM

CAT Notification related Queries

12/09/2009

6:30PM-7:30PM

Preparation tips for Verbal

16/09/2009

6:30PM-7:30PM

Which B-Schools to apply to?

19/09/2009

6:30PM-7:30PM

Test Taking Strategies - AIMCAT

23/09/2009	6:30PM-7:30PM	Preparation tips for Data Interpretation

26/09/2009 6:30PM-7:30PM- Which B-Schools to apply to?

30/09/2009 6:30PM-7:30PM

- AIMCAT – Discuss all your preparation related issues

Logon at the right time to the TIME site to participate live on chat.

Demo video from the IIMs: - on how to fill up the CAT application form can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT

There is an excellent article on 'Preparation Plan for Computer Based CAT 2009' available at: http://www.time4education.com/preparation_plan_for_CBT_CAT2009.htm . It is a very useful article that helps you cope up with the online AVATAR of CAT. Ensure that you go through the same.

Regards,
Aju John.

FPM-14

2009-09-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 28-04-2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by noelatwork

Hi John,

May i know the reason why u decided not to attend IIML FPM interview.. If i am right, you had a Fin call there..

NoeL

..the time i applied for FPM first, i had the 1st pref as HR & 2nd pref as Finance- and i had calls for Finance & HR, wherever i had applied for Finance also (except IIMB-which did not give me a call)...

the first interview i attended was at IIMA; got to spend around 3 days with my 3 seniors from IRMA doing FPM there, met other ppl doing FPM there, talked & asked lot of queries, met other aspirants & talked to them- outcome: i decided that FPM is a committment & the area of FPM is a committment for life. I better do it only in my area of 1st choice - HR&OB; and not in any other area, just for the sake of getting into a particular institute! (that is, some want to get into IIMA whether they r the best in the area of their choice or not- and if they do not get the area of their choice & manage to get in at some other area- still they wud join- just b'cause it is IIMA)...

so i decided- i will only attend the HR & OB area interviews + will only try for the institutes where HR&OB area is a preferred area (i did not want to chase around for good faculty outside- just b'cause the best r not available at the institute where i am enrolled!)....+ i also tried to understand the method of teaching, faculty profiles, consulting, MDP's & research conducted in my area of pref at the various institutes- and also how much i wud fit in that particular place...

hence after the IIMA i'view...i decided to go only for XLRI too this year & that too only for HR & OB areas, based on my above analysis....

...for I am crucified with Him...
---------------------------------
My site: http://ajuinjesus.info
Aggregation of all links for CAT/MBA aspirants: http://cat-iim.blogspot.com
Connecting you with Global B-Schools- aspirant hunt . com

FPM-13

2009-09-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 22-04-2008, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john@cross

Cong @tushar...!
i wud give my take....
John.... P.S: will the above qualify for publication in a peer-reviewed journal somewhere?

For all the skeptics out there, some references for my theories:

The follo appears originally at: PHD Comics: What is... The Thesis?

Note: any resemblance of the above to a well-know movie (and the 'real' world of an FPM stud) is intentional

John....

FPM-12

2009-09-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 21-04-2008, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_agarwal03

I too got admit into Finance and control FPM IIM B. I wanna do P.Hd but sometimes gets apprehensive on realising tht it's 4 yrs--- do suggest what's ur take on it. Rajiv

Cong @tushar...!
i wud give my take, but i request ppl showing up here, who are in a position to comment/contribute; to do so, plz puys, all who asked around, do contribute back...dont forget ur alma matter yet...

Finance & control is a gud area, and i think there is a guy called narayanaswamy or something who is reputed for finance in IIMB (just confirm it!)...the general market for finance is on the high, financial products are always in the offing, foriegn banks wud be turning up soon & the market is getting ready for a churn. So in short, finance as a field is booming across B-Schools and is a sought after area by many and it is a field within mgmt disciplines, where theory is as important as practice...

But, there are some questions u or any FPM aspirant shud ask themselves:
Am i looking for FPM for getting into the job market in finance area after sometime?

If the answer is yes- u shud search whether the FPM's in finance are sought after by the recruiter & the work profile that u r aiming for (i do not know that, u will have to search it out for urself)...

My gut feeling is that some financial back end research will surely be done by finance powered firms, but do they prefer an FPM over the CA's, ICWAI's, CS's, CFA's, CPA's, CMA's, MBA's in finance from top institutes et.al...this is a pretty important thing to consider before 1 decides on investing 4 years or more; we do not want to regret during the years at FPM or later....so better check out the facts, ask around friends/contacts in firms of ur choice, check out what past FPM passouts are doing, is it in consonance with what u want to do?

Are you looking for an FPM to learn Finance so that u wud like to maybe work in the area for sometime & later turn to academics, since u have some interest in academics or wud like to turn to it after some time? - in that case, FPM might be an option for u, but make up ur mind before u take the final decision....

from what i have learned from talking to many FPM ppl and faculty at the top B-Schools in person: (by FPM ppl i refer to my seniors from IRMA who have in the past done their FPM from the IIM's & 4 of them who are doing their FPM right now- 3 in IIMA & 1 in IIMC + by faculty, my seniors from IRMA who are Prof's at the IIM's & XL right now....i have also interacted with lot of other FPMers in IIMs & XL & IIT & aspirants in the past few months in person & over the mail & over phone...so, i think the follo observations have some truth in them!):

FPM is primary designed to prepare ppl for mgmt faculty positions: the course design, the research rigour is designed to turn u into a researcher who gets to love doing original research. The basic design of the course is:

the 1st year u do the course work with the PGP's,
the 2nd year u take some electives in ur area of choice & do some advanced research courses, and do a lot of literature survey...mind u, this is LOT OF LITERATURE SURVEY!!! - ask around to believe the sheer quantum...
at the end of 2nd year & beginning of 3rd yr u have to write area qualification exam & clear it
the 3rd year u start on ur topic, identifying area of research, preli work in the same....
4th year u do the research work, data collection, analysis....
........thesis defence....report....final awarding....!

now dont expect the FPM to get over on dot at the end of the 4th yr like the MBA at the end of 2 yrs, ask around & u will discover that 4 years is the exception rather than the norm! there are very exceptional few who complete the whole process in 4 years! there are lot of re-working & frustruation that u wud have to go thru at each stage of the FPM program and so due to valid reasons, the date get extended....the average time would be nearer to 5 years than 4 years to complete the entire process if u take the reality into consideration.

Now given that the above is the reality (ask around, download & read the FPM broshures, course requirement details etc before u believe what i told above!), 1 shud be ready & fully prepared before they venture into this step.

I will tell u some of the usual happenings/reason for some of the drop-outs the institutes see every yr: (the things said below wud be more applicable to ppl who wanted an MBA, but since they did not get the same, settled for FPM- no offence meant, it is the truth!):

The aspirant is initially enamored at the brand image and is overjoyed to be at 1 of the most sought-after places, but once u r inside the place, it soon wears off- time limit- 6 months max!....
Slowly reality begins to set in, u wud still get a high whenever u meet someone outside/family re-unions etc., but only u wud know the reality, and that too, u wud only know once u r inside for a reasonable period of time...
Believe me, FPM is not the flagship course at the IIM's & the other top places in India & research is not that gr8 an area of focus in the top institutes in India- for the general student community or even for the faculty (what i said is the sad truth, which is rarely spoken- but if someone wants evidence, look at the International research output/publications by the top mgmt institutes in India & compare it with the research output of IISC or JNU- let alone the top mgmt institutes in the world!- i am not saying that the indian mgmt institutes dont produce research material for international peer reviewed journals- but the quantum is unbelievably meagre in comparison)....reason is research & publication is an ardous route, whereas the top mgmt institutes attract lot of consulting & training options and when those areas are concentrated at, research suffers!

Plz understand that FPM students are primarily research students- so, if the focus of the institute is not research, the primary parties to suffer wud be them- explains the low research grants, scholarships etc that are available in Indian mgmt institutes vis-a-vis those abroad...

The reality is again that unfortunately (most of) the PGP students do not consider the FPM ppl to be their equals let alone superiors; i am sure there are exceptions, but not the norm...the same attitude would be visible from some other quarters also & the FPM student shud be willing & prepared to fight it out in the grades & other arenas that he/she is as good as any other...and also show a greater level of maturity...after all they are Research Scholars !

The first 2 years would generally pass quickly with ur PGP batchmates, suddenly the placement season sets in, the mood starts to change...the PGP's are suddenly busy preparing for the interviews....they are not available till the fight is over! .....finally they emerge with salaries that might move any human being, however strong/determined he/she professes to be (believe me, it even moves some of the profs )....if u r someone who wanted MBA but ended up taking FPM, this wud be the time reality will bite u the deepest! if u dont agree with me now, come here to this thread & re-read it after 2 years, and see what u think of it....i know it is a bit sad, but sometimes reality bites!

But does that mean that such a person wud not be able to survive? not so!
now here there are 2 categories of ppl:

1 category who are absolute freshers, who are pretty young- they would do a calculation- and realise that they have not lost too much time, they would be still able to start out their careers at 25 etc & still climb the ladder & catch up with these same guyz later! so they tuck down their disappointment, takes a firm resolve to persevere & from then on...they would be more focussed....
2nd category- who came in after some work, who suddenly realise that they had plunged into this in the midst of a crucial period in their career (this would be especially ominous if u are not yet married! ) - u suddenly realise that some of the best years are passing by & one wonders, even if 1 goes back to the job market, will they be able to survive- they wud have lost some of their vigour & dynamism after 2-3 years of free food & slow 'research' pace, compared to the hectic work pace they were used to! - these might the ppl more susceptable to jumping out of the course...since a sudden desp feeling dawns and there is an urge to do something about it before things become too late....
there is 1 more catergory of ppl who would have both young & oldies in it and who realise that maybe they have made a mistake if looked at in certain ways, but decide that they will persist anyhow....this would be the majority category- but they wud have had some heartburn to deal with, but they will swallow the bitter pill & live with it...

....all types of ppl might join the FPM with divergent tastes, but at the end of the 3rd & 4th year the following transformations take place:

knowingly or unknowingly u become research oriented and gets an academic bend of mind...
you learn to swallow ur pride & live with some regrets...till it does not matter that much...
you start writing, attending reseach gatherings, starts liking MAGGY noodles , learning to live with meagre resources, starts becoming philosophical et. al (to identify such a state- if u notice that ur friends have started avoiding u or ur gf complains that u r speaking too much... et.al -more symptoms have been identified- for expert analysis, consult Ph.D comics!!! )
you become slightly less ambitious, you mature, you walk slowly, dont shave that frequently, sheds hep cloths & take a liking to less flashy stuff, start enjoying light music & old songs to hi-fi heart-throbing bollywood beats... (if u r reading it now & can identify with what i say, i would vouch that u r already a researcher or a Ph.D student -else- beware! u might become 1 very soon... :laugh....

Once u have gone thru the above process, it is sort of irreversible, the FPM process has succeeded! Now even if u go to the corporate, u wud not find it very much to ur liking...somehow u wud want to work in the research wing of the firm...though they try to put u elsewhere....u wud find that things are not as scientific/methodical/analytical as u wud like it to be...and 2 things happen:

either u decide and reconsile urself to the reality of the world Vs the ideal research world which u saw during ur FPM days where u debated endlessly over the acuracy of some useless data/info....and wud get ready to adjust & accomodate to the corporate world- this person would be a wise person, who would be very patient (after dealing with 4-6 years of torture (read FPM!) ) , would be very understanding, would be able to make very wise looking presentations & speeches (punchuated with pertinent pauses & modulations- honed by his/her FPM training), would be able to adjust to any conditions without complaining (u know after what! )....and would stay committed to the firm inspite of umpteen number of valid & invalid reasons for moving out of the firm (& i guess u know where he/she got the staying power from...) ...ideally he/she wud make excellent CEO material, only if they learn to be more assertive & dynamic (which they forgot during FPM) in the course of their new career- if so, they would ultimately become the head of the firm (or somewhere close...).
But the majority wud get frustruated after sometime & they would crave for the ingrained perfection (like the perfection of that logistic curve the thesis guide kicked forcefully into their brain...) ), they would long for the peaceful and serene atmosphere at the B-Schools....the silent libraries, the celebrations, the Maggy noodles, the wiling away & chit-chatting & gyan giving that they did in the past....! this would go on and will start gaining momemtum slowly...till they would start seeing visions of the same...suddenly 1 fine day it happens! :idea: Eureka! :idea::idea::idea:

how would i like to have ppl (students) lining up outside my cabin waiting for my 1 node of approval, how i would like to enjoy peace & quiet (like what i observed in my profs), how i would like to finally enjoy family life & would like to have time for my wife & children :huh: , how i would like to enjoy listening to intellectual discussions & debates for hours together....:bigear: - it all adds up! :idea: I SHOULD BECOME A FACULTY! i should go back, i am made for this (or was moulded into this across the 5-6 years )...ya, maybe i will get lesser money, and i might hate myself for it, but i think- that is what i am, what i would like to be

SO THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
See where u wud fit in, decide where u wud like to go & ur priorities for life before u venture in, or if u feel that u cud venture a try anyhow & can come out after sometime, do try it out- but in that case come out before u r 'Converted' by the process! or before it is too late.....:laugh:

The above is written for myself & for all the present & future generations of FPM aspirants to help them in their thought process....but do remember, convincing urself is 1 thing, convincing ur dear & near ones is a totally different story! u wud be logical, they might not; u might be converted by the 'Thesis' & the 'Process'- but they are in the 'real' world- and outside the 'influence' they wud like money & luxuries & pleasure like all those who are exposed to the 'normal' world- in fact they might not enjoy ur philosophical musings and might say that u have changed for the worse & is giving gyan without being asked for it (in case u see the same in me, u know that i am almost in the state even right now!- and if u r also the same, u r an ideal FPM candidate )

Disclaimers:

The above things do not apply to normal Ph.D's- that u can do in 2 yrs time, without much heartburn, from a relatively good place! if anyone who wants to do FPM, just to do a doctorate to help u get into a teaching job and is not ready for enduring 'torture'- kindly look at the Ph.D option- it is good enuf!
The above things are copyrighted by me and is a new form of writing- mixing reality with fiction with musings with catharsis (u wonder at times who is speaking about whom! ) - u can quote it, with suitable credits!
You cannot hold me liable for incurring heartache & lose for acting upon the above write-up...

John.... P.S: will the above qualify for publication in a peer-reviewed journal somewhere?

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-11

2009-09-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 19-04-2008, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord_Aragon

Hi Puys,

----------
I have pitched in all I could have apropos my profile and doubts, please
pour in your suggestions and experiences to elucidate on the grey area i am headed into...

Lord_Aragon....

@L_A,
expecting to hear abt ur i'view exp & RAT as promised, later in this thread!

Abt the things u asked, whether u shud opt for the option or not:
My opinion: you shud not take it up- if u r looking at the return in terms of money.

Reasons:

I am sure you would be making a lot more if u even stick with your present job, with additional exp 4 years down the line...
i saw that u scored 98.81 percentile in CAT (yaar, give these details + other calls/options u have when u r asking some opinion! - i had to hunt around for ur info before posting this! + what happened with ur Mah-CET results?) , with 99.94 perc in the Verbal section- my take is, u wud score real gud in GMAT, since ur verbal skills wud help u to score good in the verbal section of GMAT- believe me, i am speaking from exp!, and u wud do good in the maths section of GMAT-since it is easy- take the GMAT, apply to some good schools, with ur profile & acads & scores & testi, u will get into a top-notch B-School & start minting money from the 2nd year onwards...
another option wud be, with ur profile to look at IIMA PGPX, XL GMP or ISB MBA- 1 year options, all of which are getting huge offers & if u try them next year, i am sure u wud make thru 1 of those....
main reason: I am sad that lot of ppl are trying for FPM since they r looking for it as a backdoor entry to the IIMs, which is ridiculous, since PGP & FPM are 2 diff ball games. Talk to those who have done their FPM's & they will tell u why! There are others who have done the same & left the course in frustruation, i have already heard of very many cases already, and when i went to XL, i met 1 guy who had left his FPM at IIMA & joined for the 1 year GMP program at XL and passed out this year!

I mean to say the following to all FPM aspirants: The point is, Doctoral programs are diff, and if u r not looking for a career in teaching or research, after 1 year, u will find the going tough (if u dont believe me, check out: Piled Higher and Deeper- most of it is true!).
Does that mean, there is no money at the end of the pot? There is, - that wud then depend on how good international publications/research/consulting/training u have- but none of those who are doing FPM wud advice u to join the FPM program for the money. I wud go on to say that, only if one is an absolute fresher, who is sure that he/she will not make it to the IIM's no matter what/how many tries & is desp to get the tag, cud venture to join, since he/she is only 20/21 when they join & will pass out at 25/26- to a good career option, at a higher level- this wud be especially true in areas like finance, but not so much in some of the other areas!

1 point 1 shud speak for in favor of FPM at IIMB- i hear that it is the best place in the country for Inf. Sys. (plz verify the same!), so if that is the area u r looking for & FPM is ur choice, the only place u shud be looking for in India shud be IIMB, among the IIM's....

So @L_A, i have tried to answer u + some of the others who are looking for the FPM option also. But as usual, std disclaimers apply (this is my personal opinion & u shud shop around for more options before finalizing...!) :angel:

This guy: Anurag Jain - Doctoral Student at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, (IIMB) is an FPM from IIMB in IS and u cud ask around for more ppl like him....

Regards,
John....

FPM-10

2009-09-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 14-04-2008, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pappala

So how did the interviews went in IIMB.

Post your experiences guys, These will be very useful for us in the lucknow as well.

Puys,
i guess u ppl might be playing it safe by not speaking on the i'view exp before the results are out.
Understandable, but do pen in the info after the results are out. If we got help and asked for help before we went in for i'views, it is basic courtesy to contribute back, and i am sure you will all do that, once you are cleared...just reminding...:wink:
But if possible, as pappala mentioned above, try to put in the basic details since IIML is also asking candidates for the RAT (they have not called it by the same name, but along with the i'view call letter, it is told that: ..."as the selection process involve a written test followed by PI, you have to come prepared to stay for 2 days...."

Anyways, my XL i'view is over, i will be posting it in the other XL related thread also. It would be good if some of the others also post their XL experiances.

Basic info: 49 ppl called for all areas (in full-time FPM)

Couple of things i liked about the XL ppl:
-The interview content was much more pertinent than the IIMA interview- specific to FPM & no irrelevant stuff asked...
-Only area specific ppl in the interview panel (that was not the case with my IIMA interview), so all could ask me pertinent questions & understand the specifics
-They readily re-funded the journey money to all candidates at the spot (i am yet to recieve any money from IIMA authorities- 1 month after the interview!)...
-Food was free 3 times a day + tea for all candidates (not so at IIMA)

the above points might not be so gr8, but just couple of things i noticed different...

Type of questions:

Offered me some eatables, said i already had them (in the common room for the interviewees, we already had tea & some snacks)
Introduce yourself
Why FPM?
Why HR? (that was the area i opted for)
Any specific area in HR you have identified for research?
About my work exp
Few basic questions on statistics from 1 of the panel members- answered that well... (asked to connect it with real life situations- did it to satisfaction)
Few advanced questions on statistics from another of the panel members- did not answer it that well, though answered to some extent...:-|
1 very prominent member of the panel asked what areas in Maths i could handle questions from (so as to ask me some questions on the same), i told him the areas, but he did not ask me anything...

Incidently i was one of the very few candidates who was quizzed on stats!!! :confused:

So that is how it stands...will update u when final results are out. Now that all my i'views are over, me goin to chill it out till results are out... :satisfie: Best of luck to all aspirants for the rest of i'views & results...see yaa...!

John.

FPM-9

2009-09-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 26-03-2008, 11:59 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by harryomharry

@John (yeah its u ...lol)

what extra prepration you did for the IIMA interview?? can you please shed some light on that?
and how much different was the fpm interview from pgp in terms of attitude of the interviewing staff and their seriousness. is it purely like we will be spending so much money on you and you better be the next abdul kalam !! or on a lighter note....

i have a IIML fpm call,
here are acads
10th 82.5 ICSE
12th 85.2 CBSE
B.tech(Computer Science) 70.5 (till 6th semester)
cat 96.79

i m a fresher and want some perspective on what i could expect in my IIML FPM interview(and also test) any inputs from you guys will be highly appreciated

i opted for IT&systems and marketing

....me did no xtra prepn-but maybe u shud:to be on the safer side . I thought things were very apparant, seemingly it is not so!
apart from what i already mentioned, ppl were asked on Statistics- basic stuff + some things on Research methodology.
My feeling is, they are not very particular abt whether u have any teaching/training background or not. If u have a good acad background + good CAT score + can answer basic ques in Stat + quant + Research methods...plus can justify why FPM (i have seen so many freshers get thru) + can justify on ur area of interest & connect it with ur background/what u have done so far + can identify some topic of in ur area of interest + can stand their scrutiny of that topic, ...i think u stand a good chance...

But the above is based on what mine & others exp at IIMA interviews go; dont know if it will hold good for other IIM's! Cant clarify any further since dont know any further....

Regards & Best of luck....

John.

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-8

2009-09-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 26-03-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by ms_v

Class X: 92% (CBSE)
Class XII: 86% (CBSE)
BSc: 89%
MSc: 77%
CAT: 95.82%ile
GMAT: 750
--------------------

A retrospective musing!

(purely fictional, any resemblance to any live or past character is purely imaginary!)

The year '93:
Mummy: son, why r u not studying, 10th exams are on :eh:
son: mummy, who studies nowadays, it is all old fashioned, did Sachin study? u can see all the money he makes...! dont worry...8-)

The year '95:
Mommy: son, i told u last time, u did not do the 10th exams well, at least try to make it up now! :eh::eh::eh:
son: mummy, why again? u know, did it make any difference? i got +2 admission anyways, right!? ...

Circa...Some Year (now dont u try guessing my age ) ...'nyways degree exams...:
News paper article: 'Statistics prove that there is a negative correlation between academic performance & life success'...
Mommy: son, why shud u be reading newspapers? u shud be studying now! Degree exams are around the corner, do u need a repetition of 10th & +2 ?
Son: mummy, do u think any of these scores wud be useful? look at so many...(and goes ahead to quote some successful ppl), do u think they used what they learned in 10th or 12th or degree to use in whatever they did in their business & job? Relax!

Circa 2008...

The following shud be understood thru visual cognition- consider it part of the RAT!

....'07...CAT...%tile ....2008...waiting :confused: more waiting...:confused::confused: more & more & more waiting...:crazyeye::crazyeye:...more of the same: ....
...finally!!! .........:argue:.......:bad-word::bad-word::snipersm::2gunfire:....and........ .:sleepy:...

Moral(s) of the story:

1) do not believe in 'well documented' stories/studies et.al...
2) even if u believe, do not act it out! ...
3) if u act it out, some of those who brought out such studies will make u regret it 1 day!...:eh:
4) one can philosophise anything & everything....if one tries hard enough (it comes with practice)!

Posted by ....Anonymous!

P.S: what does Circa mean!? :eh:

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-7

2009-09-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 21-03-2008, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanand_Deodhar

Hi!
I also do feel that 'creating the next league' of mgmt faculty should be one of priorities for IIMs. However, I have my apperhensions about taking FPM intake as a measure to judge their ideas and priorities behind FPM.
Swan, i agree with what you said,
on the 1 hand, the IIM's might be under pressure to cater to the demand for more ....

mgmt faculty, but in the other hand they have to balance it with their own limitations in infra, faculty time & effort etc + ensure that the quality in in-take as well as output is maintained. The general perception is always that with larger numbers, quality could suffer, which could also be true. So it is a fine balancing act that is needed!

Again, to mentor a new mgmt faculty with a tag is not an easy deal, it is almost like giving birth to a new baby & weaning it and making him/her stand on their own. If we compare the time & effort of mentoring a doctoral student with alternate options like opting for Training, Research & Consulting- the tangible rewards are much higher for the later options. Again there is no guarantee that the Fellow might contribute to Mgmt Education & Research in the long run. So it is a tough call! The workload credit 1 faculty might get for mentoring a doctoral student can be easily offset by Research, by taking an additional paper or by consulting or training. So it is not easy at all!

But then, the fact that majority of the FPM's of yesteryears are Mgmt faculties at most of the institutes in India & abroad or contributing directly or indirectly to the development of the field, while still working in the market- is a testament to the sacrificial effort put in by the IIM & XL faculties of the past, in mentoring them.

The fact of the matter is, at the end of it, though there is money in it (considering the Training, Consulting & Publishing), Academics is a service first & then only a matter of profit/livelihood. At least that is my perception....

But then, perceptions do not matter much, perceptions do change!

Anyways, these are philosophical musings that I am doing here, a matter of vicarious catharsis, whereby we are reconciling the facts of our plans for our future- to the other would-be Doctoral aspirants, who might for many years to come, might visit these same threads (to help with their own thought & decision-making process) & to myself- by talking aloud! And this is especially since there is some more free time, and a couple more days we have to wait for the IIMB results to be out- so that we are clear on how the final picture stands. After that, it will be time for the ensuing interviews.

In case some of you ppl do not know, there are a set of Ph.D comics, which are very enjoyable and to which you will identify, once you have started the Doctoral journey. The link is: Piled Higher and Deeper

Enjoy! ;-)

Regards,
Aju John....

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-6

2009-09-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 20-03-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanand_Deodhar

Hi puys!
@john, thanks for pointing us to the Hindu article. It is very informative.:angel:
Here is another link about pragmatic view which IIMs are adopting towards FPM program IIMs to pool resources for doctoral programme - livemint

Thanks and regards,
Swanand

Thx for the link Swan!

My take on the article:

....Do you notice an inherant contradiction in the article?

The article starts with: ..."Fearing an emerging crisis from a faculty shortage..."
Then it says: ..."Individual IIMs have a faculty strength of around 80..."
Again: ...."“Even as the demand for management education grows, we are not able to concurrently develop our faculty resources to match the requirement..."

So it might seem to me logically that all these should add upto increasing the FPM in-take to address all the above issues in the future.

But! it finally reveals an amazing info: "...The average annual intake of doctoral students is 10-15 students at each campus..."

Invariably, if we each IIM can produce only 10 to 15 FPM's every year (provided every one taken in passes out in due time), among 80 faculty- it can be:

1) The IIM's want to maintain the quality & want to ensure that only the best pass out OR mentoring future Mgmt faculty might not be unfortunately the priority at the IIMs - with the exception of IIMB seeing the efforts that they are taking this year
2) All said and done, Faculty shortage for Mgmt education is here to stay- and the shortage has to be filled by the other Management Ph.D granting institutes of India or Institutes abroad.

But apart from the above, the steps pointed out in the article if taken forward is a wonderful thing & the IIMs deserve the credit for taking the step in the right direction. In the doctoral program, learning is an integral part & each IIMs would have their own speciality. The student gets the bouquet to choose from, and this would help differentiate the IIM FPM since no other group of institutions can give that variety!

Regards,
Aju John...

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-5

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 20-03-2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profootball25

Hey,

In case you want, I can inquire at the FPM office about this.

Thnx Yaar, plz do check out (without aggravating the situation)! I wud surely like to know the logic behind the same. I know more people who had applied to the HR area & had calls from IIMA & other IIM's & XL who have not been short-listed by IIMK, it is not just me! It is just that they have not come out to the open.

The no: of Mgmt institutes are going up every year, the PM has announced 7 more IIM's which i am sure would be coming up in the next 10 years, but where are the faculty? If the existing faculty are not ready to build up a competent line up for the future, who is to blame? The Govt?

It is not just IIMK, all the IIMs call very few people for the interviews and take very less effort to ensure that more good people apply- IIMB is the lone exception, and they have been pushing FPM real hard this year & putting extra effort to ensure that more good people apply + have increased all grants, fellowships & financial supports. But if the IIMs are willing to only pay around 10 to 15K for the FPMs as stipend and expect ppl who have multiple options out in the market to earn much more to come for the FPM programs, no wonder the no. of applicants are nowhere near the PGP's. But even among the people who have applied, there are such low no. of calls given, that is even more sad.

To state the case of ICFAI- they have a doctoral program too, the financial aid is:

I Year: Rs.25,000 per month
II and III Years: Rs.27,000 per month
III Year: (under Visiting Scholar Program) US $ 1000-$1500 per month

( Ref. Welcome to the Management Teacher Program® at IBS® )

IIMB has made the best effort this time:

Financial Support:

-Monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 per month
-Up to Rs. 150,000 in contingency support to meet academic expenses
-Rs. 100,000 for participating in conferences abroad
housing allowance of up to Rs. 5,000 per month (inceased to Rs. 8000/month according to:The Hindu : Front Page : After CAT, it is RAT at IIM, Bangalore ) .
-In addition, FPM students have opportunities to work as Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant for which they get paid extra.
-Scholarships are already available + they are trying to add more! -check out the link i have mentioned for more details.

Above ref. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

It is also mentioned in the Hindu article that IIMB plans to double its intake for FPM this year. Whether i am selected or not, i would say that it is a wonderful decision. Put all the effort to ensure that you get more applicants, and double the in-take. The reasons why i say IIMB has put in more effort:

1) they extended the 1st deadline from Nov to Feb 29th whereby lot more people could apply (though as a Nov applicant, this acts against me- more competition, it is better for IIMB!)
2) they advertised the same in many places & sites
3) they sent letters to people who had good percentiles, but had not sent in application forms for the FPM program separately though they had darkened FPM bubble in the CAT application (i have heard only IIMB & IIML doing this)
4) they have allowed ppl to apply without CAT or other standardized scores (which again is disadvantageous for ppl like me who have come thru the CAT route- but good for IIMB-more pool to select from)- but have come up with the alternate route of RAT - research aptitude test- to ensure quality in-take
5) they have come out with press write ups about the FPM & have been trying to tell that they are giving lot of emphasis to FPM
6) they have taken steps to try to increase the incentives for a person to join the program.

Why i am saying all this is because i am a person interested in the future of Mgmt Education in India, the same reason why i decided to pursue academics against other options. But when we look at the scene in India in Doctoral studies, it is a bit sad. Reasons stated above. Anyways, let us hope for the better!

Regards,
Aju John

...for I am crucified with Him...

FPM-4

2009-09-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 10-03-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:
--- Do engineers often go for areas other than CIS/MIS... how do IIMS' look at this?

--- Also you have applied for two areas..how do IIMS' take this...especially if they are unrelated...also are chance s less if one appiles just for a single area.

Originally Posted by chocolat_iim

hey john..thanks for posting....

--- Do engineers often go for areas other than CIS/MIS... how do IIMS' look at this?

--- Also you have applied for two areas..how do IIMS' take this...especially if they are unrelated...also are chance s less if one appiles just for a single area.

--- How much weightage goes to the research topics you propose?

Thanks for all the info in advance

1) Engineers apply for all areas, in fact for the IIMA interview, majority were engineers for all areas- IIMs are nuetral about this, they are just concerned whether the candidate is good or not 2) Applying 2 or 3 areas is ok for the IIMs, in fact ppl do it to increase their chances of getting admitted. I saw ppl applying to unrelated areas. If one attends more interviews, more chances of getting into the institute, as simple as that! 3) No separate weightage for research topic, just that they would ask u abt that topic in detail in ur interview. Regards, Aju John.

FPM-3

2009-09-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 07-03-2008, 07:09 PM
Hey Swanand, where did u get that info abt tentative dates of IIMB?

Ok, 'nyways; 'ms_v': u had asked for type of maths ques,
-equation given & asked to draw/plot it
-differentiation

Dont know what connection the above has with HR & OB!

The unfortunate ppl who attended P&QM (maths area) interview had to listen to some maths ques which they have never heard in their lives, so all those who attended that area felt real bad after the interviews, even some higher maths was asked for ppl for finance area too.

Yep Swanand, me not goin for IIMC. In fact i have emailed them & told them the same, so that they call someone else in my place before the deadline.

Today IIM Indore calls also came, for Behavioural Sciences area (1st choice) & Finance (2nd choice). Not attending that too! (similar to IIMC, here too i emailed them so that they call someone else in my place before the deadline).

I am willing to trade places for IIMC & IIMI for anyone who is willing to skip their interview for Behavioural sciences area! for IIMB, Any takers?

Me want to get into IIMB, the only other places i have decided to attend interview is IIMK & XL (if i get calls!). Location is very important for me due to purely personal considerations.

See u ppl soon.

Regards,
Aju John.

FPM-2

2009-09-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 06-03-2008, 07:49 PM
Hi everyone,
back from the IIMA interviews.

FPM-IIMA interview debrief, OB & HR areas:

Note: I will be putting only the questions & not my answers (some questions follow from the answers that i told them).

OB Interview:

Q. What are u doing now?
Q. Why FPM?
Q. Why IIMA?
Q. Do u mean that u r joining because ur seniors are here or they think it is good?
Q. What do u read?
Q. Why OB?
Q. Not what Rao said, what u say?
Q. just because u see future is going to be good for this alone u want to take it?
Q. What is MBTI, Give us all specifics
Q. can u state 1 instance which proves u r more of heart person?
Q. So do u only think with heart, no head?
Q. describe some projects done
Q. What did u learn from it?
Q. Some maths questions.
End of OB Interview

HR Interview (only half time of OB interview):

Q. Why not FPM at IRMA (since u are an IRMA alumnus)
Q. What is Analytiks
Q. Draw an HR Scorecard on the board (I tried drawing, they asked for more & more specifics)- I cud not proceed beyond a limit since my understanding was limited
Q. Why not development, why HR?
Q. What is your tentative theme/topic for FPM?

So that's it. I dont know how the verdict wud be, did not feel good after both interviews, felt they were too specific on both areas, since i have not worked in both areas, felt i could not answers the specifics satisfactorily!

I would not be going for the IIMC interviews. So in case someone has applied for Behavioural Sciences area & Finance area, that is 1 person lesser!

Would wait for more ppl to post! :-|

Regards,
Aju John.

FPM-1

2009-09-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

Re: Fpm 2008 - 19-02-2008, 05:55 PM
On some of the things reffered to till now in the discussion:

-About the duration, as mentioned by someone else the period is 4 to 5 years-CAT cut-offs for FPM: minimum of 82-83 percentile onwards (for exceptional candidates with research & academics background/pertinent Industry exposure), 92+ percentile for normal candidates. (this is based on few candidates whom i have heard of in the past, might not be the full reality)
-Experiance: if relevant would be given preference, since there would be fresh B.Tech's who want to do FPM, just to get into the IIM's, not because they have a clear focus on Research & Academics. But there are also cases where total freshers have been admitted & they have done a good job during the program & later!

By the way, i recieved an Interview call letter by email today from IIMA for PM&IR area (my background is mentioned earlier in the thread: IRMA MBA graduate, 8 years exp in corporate & education, & gr8 CAT percentile). Surprisingly the interview date is March 4th, which is not too many days away!
From what i heard from ppl doing the program, for the interview it is good if we have identified some area of research/have at least some idea about our area of interest as spelt out in the FPM application to the IIMs. Rest of the questions i think would be related to one's work experiance & project experiances- all to gauge a persons suitability for the program & beyond- since they are making an investment in the person by funding the education & expenses.
That's all for now,
will keep you updated....

Regards & God Bless,
Aju John...

I am ranklisted All-India 2nd & 4th respectively to IIMAhmedabad...!

2008-02-21T04:36:00.000-08:00

I had applied to the FPM of IIMA this year & i have recieved interview calls for both areas i had applied for.
I am 2nd in the all-india rank list for OB area & 4th in the all-india rank list for HR area.
You will find the orginal link from IIMA site here: Link
You can follow the discussion of the same in Pagalguy also: Link
I am posting updates to my personal blog at: Link

UPDATE: Till now i have got interview calls from IIMA, IIMC, IIML, IIMI & XLRI. IIMB results are yet not out.

Regards,
Aju John ....:)