Well, it was going to be a historic day for all those aspirants attempting to bell the CAT on Nov 28. CAT was going to join an elite group of examinations across the world which is conducted electronically. CAT is an event, an event of something as big a nature as a film festival, at least for a major percentage of Indian youth, if not everyone. The very name CAT synonymies a completely suited professional with a laptop in his hand yapping around in a language which most of management graduates call the “Management Language”. Of course its English, however, it suffers from an overdose of words like STRATEGY, ECONOMY, ENTREPRENUERSHIP, UPSIDE, TOPLINE, BOTTOMLINE…. And the like. Other things that come to mind when CAT is pronounced are huge bank balances, a job at a MNC, a luxurious Mercedes Benz to drive, a villa/bungalow for a house. Wow!!!! That just gave me Goosebumps. While these statements may be extra-large and opulent, most of the aspirants have dreams/aspirations that are more or less closer to these. While those entering the pedestals of IIMs, ISB, MDI and the other elite B-Schools definitely own the right to dream of this, other College students may downgrade their aspirations a bit.
So, just imagine the horror in the minds of these hardly 20 year olds when they are going to take CAT electronically and that too when it is being conducted so the first time. Well, believe me CAT is a horror for anyone who writes it. While making it electronic doesn’t really add 2 horns and a trunk to the CAT but it does give some jitters on the planning to be done attempting questions which is so very important in CAT.
Now add that horror with that of finding out that the CAT servers blacked out and the aspirant being told “Dude, you can go home. We will let you know when the server is up.” I would have definitely tried to strangle out the guy who tells me this. WHY? Well that is something that hinges on the fact that CAT is such a trying exam that it puts a good amount of pressure. The pressure is not ‘cos of the preparation required, the toughness of the question paper, the subjects dealt with in the question paper. It’s ‘cos of the need to perform. Since, CAT depends on how well the other guy performs, and you can never know how well the other guy can perform, you end up putting enough pressure on yourselves to make it a difficult test. I read in a newspaper that an estimated 2.46 lakh guys/girls are going to take this test this time. That is astounding by any standards. I remember figures of 50000 for the IIT JEE tests during my school days which was considered huge during those days. Seems like the focus has just shifted to CAT now. CAT is no longer a need for people interested in management alone, it is synonymous with a high flying job and lots of money, a need for anyone of any generation. So, irrespective of a guy being from backgrounds like engineering, sciences, medicine, law any guy can go for MBA. The competition is huge and you need to stay in the front to stay alive.
Now, add to these problems, other constraints like you have parents who want to showcase your MBA more than you yourself, friends/cousins who have already added MIT/ Harvard/ Kellogg’s to their resumes, a job which is leading you nowhere and a not-so-good boss.
Now that more or less makes it a do or die situation.
Let’s add some more variables to this equation. CAT’s question paper has some discrepancies almost every other year. From what I know, each of the IIMs alternates between them the preparation of CAT question paper. It’s quite a confidential process. However, still papers get leaked. It happened in 2004 I guess and it was a huge loss of face for the premier institution. There also have been problems like some questions not being appropriate with wrong answer choices and lack of additional data etc. all of this further adds to prevalent pressure on the aspirants.
So, let’s sum all of this and enter into the shoes of a CAT aspirant and let’s assume that you have reached the CAT center. You are in front of the designated desktop. You stare at the computer. It just stays blank. You start the machine. It starts up. You are given a user id and password to log into the machine. You log into the machine. You are asked to open a link and you open it. It asks for the next user id password for the test. The examiner shouts from one end not to start the test as there is still some time for the start. Some intelligent idiots in attempting to get some brownie points try to log in, in spite of the examiner’s warnings. You see him/ her and get a bit more tensed. Now the pressure slowly gets into the head. You have to change our plans. You are in a hurry to answer as much questions as possible. The clock slowly inches towards the start time. By then you see the guy logged into the machine and typing away something. Someone has tried to log in and has found that the password is not correct. The examiner growls at him and asks him to get out of the class. That adds to the tension in the room. That’s when someone shouts that it’s time to start. You look at the clock in disbelief and start typing frantically the user id and password. The progress bar in the internet explorer is not moving at all. Then it at last starts elongating but it’s extremely slow. You see that other guys are typing and doing some scribbling in their rough papers. You look back at the monitor and find that the question paper hasn’t come on yet. Some others are trying to login again. You too do the same. You try to login again too and the same state prevails. You grow wild, angry, disgusted, and sad. That’s when someone shouts that he is not able to login. You look back at the monitor and it says “ODBC device driver not found. XXXXX exception thrown”. That’s the wickedest thing your computer could do at that moment. I bet I would have seen to it that the desktop is broken down in at least 1 million pieces. That’s when the beans are slowly spilled out. You find that everyone is having the same problem. The whole class erupts that no one is able to login to the test. You join the chorus in a mix of relief and anger.
Finally you get to hear “Dude, you can go home. We will let you know when the server is up.”
So, the war is going to be replayed again. You go home not knowing what just happened.
Well, to make some things clear here,
All the incidents and characters and desktops and emotions and words are purely a figment of my imagination piecing together some of my experiences as a CAT aspirant combined with my empathies and sympathies towards this much tormented group of CAT aspirants. Any relation/ resemblance to character, incident, desktops, emotions, words is/ are purely coincidental.
When the stakes are so high, I bet there is a huge responsibility on the authorities to make sure things go on smoothly. It really doesn’t matter how much is spent for making this a success. If you got to call the Army, Navy and Air Force to ensure smooth operations, you better do it. It’s the lives and aspirations of millions of young guys and gals at stake, some of whom have the potential to change the fortunes of our nation. Many leading researchers and analysts declare that India is one of the hottest places because of the huge young population here. If we deny the opportunity these guys deserve, we are making a grave mistake. There may be 100s of problems in terms of infrastructure, politics, society and terrorism but our greatest strengths lie in these guys.
Anyways till our old guys at the helm of affairs get their way through this whole mess, I got a piece of advice for my CAT fellas.
Guys and gals let me tell you CAT is all about how well you handle pressure. It really doesn’t matter how hard the question paper is. CAT is all about scoring well in all the sections; so, you better play to strengths and don’t worry about the weak parts. I bet such fundas are already broadcasted in the CAT coaching centers. So all you got to do when you go for the exam is enjoy that time. You should be watching at least 2 movies the day before the test; you can take out your boy/ girl friend out to the nearest disco and have a blast but do make sure you get enough sleep before the test, plan a trip to some exotic place after the test, donate your CAT materials to the next gen CAT aspirants before the test.
When I took this test I scored 88 and 74 percentile respectively during the first 2 attempts. I made it into a B school (not the elite ones of course) based on the 88 percentile and took the test again while doing my MBA. This time I did not even prepare. I had enough things to do in my B School. So I went completely unprepared for the test. I scored a 98 percentile that time. Well, I won’t suggest a complete lack of preparation but I definitely would suggest a completely uncluttered mind to make sure that you BELL THE FAMED CAT.
So, just imagine the horror in the minds of these hardly 20 year olds when they are going to take CAT electronically and that too when it is being conducted so the first time. Well, believe me CAT is a horror for anyone who writes it. While making it electronic doesn’t really add 2 horns and a trunk to the CAT but it does give some jitters on the planning to be done attempting questions which is so very important in CAT.
Now add that horror with that of finding out that the CAT servers blacked out and the aspirant being told “Dude, you can go home. We will let you know when the server is up.” I would have definitely tried to strangle out the guy who tells me this. WHY? Well that is something that hinges on the fact that CAT is such a trying exam that it puts a good amount of pressure. The pressure is not ‘cos of the preparation required, the toughness of the question paper, the subjects dealt with in the question paper. It’s ‘cos of the need to perform. Since, CAT depends on how well the other guy performs, and you can never know how well the other guy can perform, you end up putting enough pressure on yourselves to make it a difficult test. I read in a newspaper that an estimated 2.46 lakh guys/girls are going to take this test this time. That is astounding by any standards. I remember figures of 50000 for the IIT JEE tests during my school days which was considered huge during those days. Seems like the focus has just shifted to CAT now. CAT is no longer a need for people interested in management alone, it is synonymous with a high flying job and lots of money, a need for anyone of any generation. So, irrespective of a guy being from backgrounds like engineering, sciences, medicine, law any guy can go for MBA. The competition is huge and you need to stay in the front to stay alive.
Now, add to these problems, other constraints like you have parents who want to showcase your MBA more than you yourself, friends/cousins who have already added MIT/ Harvard/ Kellogg’s to their resumes, a job which is leading you nowhere and a not-so-good boss.
Now that more or less makes it a do or die situation.
Let’s add some more variables to this equation. CAT’s question paper has some discrepancies almost every other year. From what I know, each of the IIMs alternates between them the preparation of CAT question paper. It’s quite a confidential process. However, still papers get leaked. It happened in 2004 I guess and it was a huge loss of face for the premier institution. There also have been problems like some questions not being appropriate with wrong answer choices and lack of additional data etc. all of this further adds to prevalent pressure on the aspirants.
So, let’s sum all of this and enter into the shoes of a CAT aspirant and let’s assume that you have reached the CAT center. You are in front of the designated desktop. You stare at the computer. It just stays blank. You start the machine. It starts up. You are given a user id and password to log into the machine. You log into the machine. You are asked to open a link and you open it. It asks for the next user id password for the test. The examiner shouts from one end not to start the test as there is still some time for the start. Some intelligent idiots in attempting to get some brownie points try to log in, in spite of the examiner’s warnings. You see him/ her and get a bit more tensed. Now the pressure slowly gets into the head. You have to change our plans. You are in a hurry to answer as much questions as possible. The clock slowly inches towards the start time. By then you see the guy logged into the machine and typing away something. Someone has tried to log in and has found that the password is not correct. The examiner growls at him and asks him to get out of the class. That adds to the tension in the room. That’s when someone shouts that it’s time to start. You look at the clock in disbelief and start typing frantically the user id and password. The progress bar in the internet explorer is not moving at all. Then it at last starts elongating but it’s extremely slow. You see that other guys are typing and doing some scribbling in their rough papers. You look back at the monitor and find that the question paper hasn’t come on yet. Some others are trying to login again. You too do the same. You try to login again too and the same state prevails. You grow wild, angry, disgusted, and sad. That’s when someone shouts that he is not able to login. You look back at the monitor and it says “ODBC device driver not found. XXXXX exception thrown”. That’s the wickedest thing your computer could do at that moment. I bet I would have seen to it that the desktop is broken down in at least 1 million pieces. That’s when the beans are slowly spilled out. You find that everyone is having the same problem. The whole class erupts that no one is able to login to the test. You join the chorus in a mix of relief and anger.
Finally you get to hear “Dude, you can go home. We will let you know when the server is up.”
So, the war is going to be replayed again. You go home not knowing what just happened.
Well, to make some things clear here,
All the incidents and characters and desktops and emotions and words are purely a figment of my imagination piecing together some of my experiences as a CAT aspirant combined with my empathies and sympathies towards this much tormented group of CAT aspirants. Any relation/ resemblance to character, incident, desktops, emotions, words is/ are purely coincidental.
When the stakes are so high, I bet there is a huge responsibility on the authorities to make sure things go on smoothly. It really doesn’t matter how much is spent for making this a success. If you got to call the Army, Navy and Air Force to ensure smooth operations, you better do it. It’s the lives and aspirations of millions of young guys and gals at stake, some of whom have the potential to change the fortunes of our nation. Many leading researchers and analysts declare that India is one of the hottest places because of the huge young population here. If we deny the opportunity these guys deserve, we are making a grave mistake. There may be 100s of problems in terms of infrastructure, politics, society and terrorism but our greatest strengths lie in these guys.
Anyways till our old guys at the helm of affairs get their way through this whole mess, I got a piece of advice for my CAT fellas.
Guys and gals let me tell you CAT is all about how well you handle pressure. It really doesn’t matter how hard the question paper is. CAT is all about scoring well in all the sections; so, you better play to strengths and don’t worry about the weak parts. I bet such fundas are already broadcasted in the CAT coaching centers. So all you got to do when you go for the exam is enjoy that time. You should be watching at least 2 movies the day before the test; you can take out your boy/ girl friend out to the nearest disco and have a blast but do make sure you get enough sleep before the test, plan a trip to some exotic place after the test, donate your CAT materials to the next gen CAT aspirants before the test.
When I took this test I scored 88 and 74 percentile respectively during the first 2 attempts. I made it into a B school (not the elite ones of course) based on the 88 percentile and took the test again while doing my MBA. This time I did not even prepare. I had enough things to do in my B School. So I went completely unprepared for the test. I scored a 98 percentile that time. Well, I won’t suggest a complete lack of preparation but I definitely would suggest a completely uncluttered mind to make sure that you BELL THE FAMED CAT.
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