how to use this last month effectively??????

The clock is ticking. Here, it’s no allusion to any biological event; instead the phrase signifies the upcoming CET, 2009. CET is the most awaited and the last MBA entrance exams of the season. The former entrance exams, which probably didn’t turn out to be the platforms for a lot of aspirants to prove themselves, CET remains as their only last chance. Also, many test takers just bank on this particular entrance only.
Clichéd sayings like ‘CET is knocking at your door’ are doing their rounds. So let’s try hitting the nail on the head. To maximise on the remaining time is very crucial. Before going to the ‘how to’ let us understand some basic underlying facts. CET is completely a speed based test. While various other entrance examinations test a candidate’s ability to apply the concepts learnt and reason out with them. The focus is not so much on speed as much as it is on Application and Reasoning. This is exactly the opposite for CET. CET questions cannot be termed as difficult. Though there are a few tricky type questions to differentiate between an average and an intelligent student, the questions in the CET are more based towards solving, which when done intelligently without relying on pure procedure yields a great amount of speed. Usually focussing on practising different types of questions on could give the aspirants a certain amount of edge. Although understanding the basic fundamentals will mark an average student from a real cracker. CET -2008 had 105 reasoning based questions like 30 marks of visual reasoning, questions on verbal reasoning and also analytical reasoning. Trying to at least look at all the 200 questions is imperative. Any question left unseen could leave a candidate filled with remorse later on. As all questions have equal weight age that is 1 mark and since there is a 200 lot to choose from, a good test taker would at least glance through all questions. The focus is not so much on the accuracy as there is no negative marking.
Like the old saying goes ‘practise makes a man perfect’. Now the time should be utilised in just solving n number of papers based on the CET pattern. However not analysing one’s strengths and weaknesses could be very fruitless. Taking a minimum of 1 test a day and maximising on the strengths by taking more number of questions on specific sections would definitely bear results. The aspirants should keep speed as their element. Only solving a variety of questions will help them attain the desired speed. With the rising number of applicants, a cracker will stand out when he can solve maximum number of questions effectively. The trick is not to get stuck to any questions. A strict and disciplined study regime of 6-7 hours would get most of the people through, although concentrating on reasoning types of questions and giving the verbal section and the maths section their due is most essential. Talking about which, the English section had 50 questions where as the maths section had 45 questions.
Last but not the least, a calm, strategic test taker goes a long way and cashing in on the remaining time could see the students cracking. Don’t be inclined towards to ‘DONT’s’ and avoid everything you are asked to avoid.
So let’s get cracking and as time hardens the people who labour hard, let us leave no stones unturned.
All the best!

100 %ile from CL!

Congratulations to Nishant Sinha from Career Launcher, Delhi for scoring a perfect 100 %ile in CAT 2008! You did us proud!

With today being the culmination of an year-long effort, here's wishing the best of luck to all of you! Please do inform your percentile rank and the calls that you get to your mentors at CL. Simply send a reply to this message...

All the best!

Anirudh and other mentors at CL, Pune

The tough have to get going!!!

“When the going gets tough the tough get going”.This hackneyed term has never failed to boost my confidence. There are so many impasse that life poses in front of us but then it is only winners who rise to the occasion and take the challenge. The recent terrorist attack in the country is the best example of the same. The coming together of the entire Indian population to raise its voice against the mass carnage and terrorism shows the undeterred strength of the citizens. Adversities only make us try harder. As small kids whenever we fell down, we never hesitated to stand up again, brush our hands and knees and continue walking. But as we grow older we tend to become more conscious of our surroundings and the small kid in us is suppressed or stopped from standing up after it falls. So does intellect or what we call maturity actually makes us think so much about our failures and make us so conscious of the difficulties that we refuse to look at the light at the end of the tunnel? That is not how a winner leads his life. One who is a winner, always believes that no problem is incorrigible, no trouble or task can ever be bigger than the biggest manifestation of God, MAN. This, I am writing for all my students who are a little disappointed and upset about their performances in the entrance exams so far. With only two major exams left, namely XAT and MH-CET, one should make sure that the morale is higher than ever. It doesn't matter if CAT did not click, the little time that is left should be spent in learning from our mistakes and working harder on our weak areas, instead of taking stock of what has happened so far. Moreover it is going to be the first exam of the new year so all of us can look at it afresh and with a new vigor. All the aspirants should remember that “You can be depressed if you don't succeed but you are doomed if you don't try”. So here's wishing all of you all the success in life.Happy New Year everyone

GD/PI Concept

The first things first — why
B-schools conduct GD/PI when students have already gone through an acid test. Isn’t clearing MBA entrance test enough to show that you are worth it? The simple answer is NO, because B-schools are simply not looking for walking dictionaries or logarithm books. They want candidates who can be trained and polished to be managers. The entrance test is just one stage where they see whether you have basic acumen to understand the course that will be taught during the MBA programme. In that too some parts of personality like ability to take decisions, ability to perform under pressure and analytical and logical thinking are assessed. But in order to get a complete idea of a candidate’s personality, B-schools go through this long process of assessing candidate’s personality.
There can be various ways of assessing an individual’s personality but group discussions and personal interviews are accepted tools to select a student because in a limited time they can give a fair idea to B-schools whether a candidate can become a manager or not. Students may argue that if this is the case, then knowing what B-schools are looking for and presenting yourself accordingly can actually help. Knowing what B-schools are looking for can actually help but not in preparing you for a superficial mask but to help you assess whether you have those traits which B-schools are looking for.
This brings us to other question: are managerial traits natural or can they be acquired? If they are natural, what is the need to do MBA? An MBA course teaches students how to achieve larger goals and it polishes those personality traits. But there are some basic traits that a candidate should have to go through the MBA process and to know that institutes conduct GD/PI.
Group discussion
A group discussion is generally a 20-to-30 minute process whose larger objective is to select those candidates who have the ability to perform in a team. Apart from this, the kind of topic given also helps panelists to know various traits of a candidate’s personality. In most of the GDs you are made to sit in a semi-circle and discuss a given topic. The topic can be as general as ‘Women make better managers’ or as specific as ‘India-US nuclear deal.’ What matters in group discussion is your stand on the topic, your ability to analyse the given topic, your awareness about the topic, and the way you present the topic. One person from the group is asked to introduce the topic, what follows is the discussion and the conclusion. The focus here is more on leadership and decision making, because in a GD you may or may not reach a consensus because the issues given to you are debatable. The end result of GD will not always be to reach a consensus but to assess your people’s skill.
Who wins?
Those who have:
Good listening skills: Listening doesn’t mean hearing. It means listening and understanding what the other person is saying. If you have good listening skills, you will be able to keep a track of where group discussion is moving. You will know different points that have already been raised and you have to bring in some new point.

Knowledge of the topic: Some years back content was the most important aspect of GD. Although content still holds its importance but in addition to that you are also weighed on how analytical and aware are you about your surroundings. Earlier it was just about discussing pros and cons of an issue but now knowledge gathered from various sources, analysed and presented in a structured form holds the key to success in GD. Reading newspapers, magazines, and going through Economic Survey would help in enriching the content of GD.
Confidence: You have all the knowledge and good listening and analytical skills, but you do not have confidence to assert what you are saying is right, may prove a negative point. In GD panelists do not know you personally; they would only be able to judge you from what you speak.
Introduction: Introducing the topic can make or break the situation. May be you do not speak for the next 10 minutes, but if you give a good introduction you are in. When the GD begins, everybody is speaking and you might not even be listened. But when you are asked to introduce the topic, you can take the situation forward. Explain the topic, don’t read what is written. Give brief introduction to the topic and what you think of it. People think that taking a stand in GD might to go against them. But there is difference in being assertive and in being rigid. You are expected to give your point of view.
Who lose?
Those who speak a lot: Of course not speaking in GD will not take you anywhere but speaking too much can also make you lose the GD. You have all the points and you can speak a lot on GD. But it is not a one-man show. It is a group discussion. If you try to grab the attention of the panelists, cut other person short, it shows that you are not a team worker. Also speaking a lot on the topic and just repeating one point will not be appreciated. You do not speak in the entire GD, but give valid points twice that can add value to the discussion, will be appreciated.
Those who become emotional: There are topics that involve some sensitive issues. You have all the valid points to support that women make better managers, but bringing in the element of argument and accusing other persons in the group will only help you in getting rejected.
Those who over-dominate: You are taking and managing the group discussion well, listening to the arguments, giving your point of view and letting everyone speak, everything is in your favour and suddenly you decide to be a godfather of somebody who has not spoken at all and who doesn’t have one single argument to present. Cutting short somebody who is making a valid point and asking the silent one to speak, can actually cut your points.
Personal interview
Your academic skills were checked in the entrance test, your people’s skills were checked in GD, now comes the turn of gauging you on your own standards. The B-schools want to know how much you are aware of yourself and how much you relate your goals to your personal self. Students spend most of the time in going through course books whereas 90 per cent of the interview questions are based on you. What could be better than answering questions on yourself? But answering questions on yourself can catch you in a tight spot. There can be some rules set when it comes to GD because there are certain expected etiquettes, but there can be no rules set for the interview because everyone has sui generis personality. The best way to tackle interview is to sit and know you in and out. Think why you want to pursue MBA. Think and make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Not only will it help you analyse your personality, will also help you prepare many other questions for the interview. The most commonly asked questions are:
Why do you want to do MBA?
What are your personal goals?
Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?
What are your hobbies?
What are your strengths and weakness?
Tell us about yourself.
Who win?
Those with:
Self awareness- You should be able to delve on each and every aspect of your personality, family background, the city you come from and the institutes you have studied in. If you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses you will be able to justify them, for example the panelists may ask you about your poor academic record. As long as you know why you under-perform you can prove that.
Goal clarity- You should know where the MBA programme fits in and how it will help you achieve your long-term goals. There might be different reasons for doing MBA for different people and even for one person there can be more than one objective to do MBA, but you should analyse it beforehand rather than doing it in front of the panel.
Ability to maintain calm- The real you comes up when you are under pressure situation. The panelist will try to grill you on your weakness or on the answers you are giving. They want to put you under pressure and see whether you lose your calm once put under pressure. Students at this situation become nervous and it starts showing on their faces.
Who lose?
Those who:
Give tutored answers- You have your own strengths and weaknesses. But while attending the mock interviews you were told how some students gave impressive answers and got selected. If you would try to give the same answers, you might be caught.
Lie to the panelists: They are very experienced people and can catch you if you try to bluff them on your academic record or on a fact-based question or when you try to answer the question even if you don’t know the answer.
Think that battle is over- The interview is not over till the last question is asked. The moment a candidate says, “I am sorry Sir, I don’t know the answer,” he starts coming under the pressure. There is no harm in accepting that you do not know what the population of China is. They might try to put you under pressure by asking you the population of Africa, once again you say sorry and the pressure starts mounting. The next question is of your interest, which book did you read last? You know the answer but since you have already come under pressure you might not be able to answer this question properly because you are nervous. A chain of events that might ultimately lead to getting rejected.

CALENDAR.

Dear student

Go through these the 10 bullet points to solve questions on calender.

1. 1st January 0001 was a Monday.

2. Calendar repeats after every 400 years.

3. Leap year- it is always divisible by 4, but century years are not leap years unless they are divisible by 400.

4. Odd days- remainder obtained when no. of days is divided by 7. Normal year has 1 odd day and leap year has 2 odd days.

5. Calendar moves ahead by number of odd days.

6. While checking leap year just analyze whether February falls in that period or not.

7. Century has 5 odd days and leap century has 6 odd days.

8. Take out net odd days.( add all the odd days and again divide by 7)

9. In a normal year 1st January and 2nd July and 1st October fall on the same day. In a leap year 1st January 1st July and 30th September fall on the same day.

10. 1st January 1901 was Tuesday.

We calculate odd days on the basis of the previous month.

Example – what day is it on 29th August 1982?

Method- As we know 1/1/1901 was a Tuesday now we take 1982 and 1901 - 1982-1901=81 years. - 81/4=20…. ( disregard decimal) - 81+20=101 - 101/7- remainder is 3, so 3 days from Tuesday is Friday. -Now check whether it is a leap year or not. In this case it is not a leap year. Therefore 2nd July will be Friday - Now we have to go month wise . 2nd august = 3odd days= so from Friday 3 odd days will be Monday so 29th August will be a Sunday.

Confronted with a new face of terror

What basically is terrorism, I sometimes wonder? The dictionary defines terrorism as “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce esp. for political purposes”. When I picked up the Thursday newspaper with my hot cup of chai (I always do that), I was in for a rude shock. The first page of The Times of India was splayed with pictures of the new face of terror ... “the terror attacks in Mumbai.”

Honestly speaking early in the morning when you are confronted with those visuals you can really think of nothing. Same thing has been happening since the beginning of this year. Lives lost, life scarred. Then after many days of lamenting and sadness, life moves on, not only for the people who aren’t affected but also for the people whose lives get permanently altered. What’s the point of such cowardice? Why do the terrorists always make the innocent people suffer? Is it just to prove a point? When will this amphigoric way of making innocent victims suffer stop? The common man on the roads taking the morning train or bus just to reach their work place on time is always apprehensive of whether he is going to return home or not. Be it Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati or Mumbai…Everyday this man wakes up takes the step towards his mundane life, doing what he does always and there comes a catastrophe like MUMBAI TERROR ATTCKS..

10 desperadoes completely jeopardized the lives of not only the common man but this time the who’s who of the high society were also sucked into the whirlpool of horror. 59 hours of blood shed and a small flicker of optimism coupled together with endless wait (at least that’s what it seemed.) people martyred, people victimized. The last few days were a combination of a huge drama of terrorism. Who could have thought that a stay or even being associated with TAJ could mutate their lives forever? The FATEFUL Wednesday and the following macabre tale of war that was waged between our heroes (ATS, Mumbai Cops, the army and the NSG) and the terrorists came to end on Saturday finally. We all mourn; we are covered with a shroud of fear. The question of ‘will I be the next one?’ always comes to one’s mind.

When will this end? When can we walk the streets again, having not to worry about death? I guess that would be an utopist world.

Just wanted to share my thoughts with you guys...about the MUMBAI MASSACRE..