JOIN USSuccess markers for multiple exams
An aptitude exam, which is the first stage of B-school selection process, is the test of an aspirant’s managerial ability. A B-school entrance exam requires an aspirant to prove his/ her mettle on a by and large level playing field. B-school entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, SNAP, IIFT, IRMA, FMS, JMET, NMAT MCET, IBSAT, etc., are taken by a vast number of aspirants. In fact, most of the aspirants take more than one of these entrance exams.
Taking multiple exams presents a challenge which can be faced only when one carefully plans one's strategy. One has to strategise taking into consideration the general and the specific requirements of B-school entrance exams. Corresponding to this, one should devise a generic strategy and an exam-specific strategy.
First comes the generic strategy. When devising a generic strategy, one must focus on developing competencies which are a prerequisite to performing well in any aptitude exam.
The competencies that correspond to similarities that exist in B-school entrance exams. These competencies include: reasoning skills, analytical and problem solving ability, language skills, decision making ability, test taking stamina, multi tasking skills and behavioural skills.
Reasoning skills determine an aspirant's ability to arrive at valid conclusions on the basis of information provided. The ability to reason out things gets tested primarily in the section on logical reasoning (LR). LR sets are an integral part of most B-schools entrance exams.
Analytical and problem solving ability is imperative to perform well in quantitative aptitude (QA) and data interpretation (DI) sections. An aspirant needs to work hard on sharpening his/ her problem solving ability. Exams such as CAT, XAT and JMET are known to lay a strong focus on checking an aspirant’s ability to come up with solutions to difficult and tricky problems.
Language skills are tested through the medium of reading comprehension (RC) and English usage (EU)/ verbal ability (VA). The importance of English language section can be understood by the fact that some of the exams such as FMS have separate sections dedicated to reading comprehension and English usage/ verbal ability. In the past, even CAT had separate sections dedicated to EU and RC/ VA.
Decision making ability of an aspirant must be sound because questions of all difficulty levels find their place in exams. Ability to segregate questions on the basis of their difficulty level is at the heart of maximising one’s score. It is advisable that one does not waste a lot of time on questions which are tricky and time consuming. One has to very carefully select the questions to be attempted as incorrect answers carry negative marks in most exams.
Test taking stamina is a key dimension of an aspirant's preparedness. It won't be incorrect to state that testing makes an aspirant perfect. It helps develop the stamina of an aspirant.
An aspirant can hone his/ her speed and accuracy by repeated test taking. However, test taking alone is not sufficient. Each and every mock test that an aspirant takes must be followed by a detailed analysis. This analysis is the key to self-improvement and superior performance.
Multi tasking skills are a must-have for any test taker as one has to maximise one’s aggregate score as well as clear the sectional cut-offs. Most of the exams require a test taker to demonstrate his/ her competence across all sections of the test.
Ideally, a candidate must focus equally on all aspects of testing as being an expert at one aspect of testing alone is just not enough to crack the exam.
Behavioural skills are quite often overlooked in any discussion on how to prepare for B-school entrance exams. Time management, perseverance, positive attitude, confidence, self-belief and discipline are some of the behavioural aspects that one must work on in order to realise one's true potential. The aspirants who finally succeed are the ones who prepare for these exams with the right attitude, eagerness to do well and a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
After one has developed competencies which are relevant to all B-school entrance exams, one should devise an exam-specific strategy. Exam-specific strategy corresponds to the dissimilarities that exist in B-school entrance exams. It focuses on the specific requirements of a B-school entrance exam. An aspirant’s exam-specific strategy should broadly cover three aspects: awareness, focus and customisation.
Awareness of the pattern of an exam makes sure that a test taker is not caught off-guard. It reduces the surprise element that quite often proves to be the undoing of a test taker.
Once an aspirant has decided to take a particular B-school entrance exam, he/ she must actively work towards getting the first-hand feel of that exam. The aspirant must be clear about the duration of the exam, number of questions, marking scheme, type of questions, etc. For example, JMET is a test of three-hour duration, whereas other tests such as FMS and IIFT are of two-hour duration. XAT has a mechanism of progressive negative marking for awarding marks to incorrect answers. Some exams like SNAP and IIFT have a differential marking scheme, where some questions carry more marks than the others.
The focus of an exam can be ascertained by going through past papers. Besides past papers, an aspirant can use mock tests to gauge the difficulty level of a particular exam. For example, FMS is known to place a lot of emphasis on vocabulary; SNAP and IIFT have sections on general awareness; IRMA has an entire section dedicated to ‘Issues of Social Concern’, which quite often proves to be the make or break section; XAT has questions on decision making and a section on essay writing; in JMET, one can expect verbal reasoning questions in the section on logical reasoning and in SNAP there may be some questions on syllogisms.
Customisation of one’s preparation in accordance with the special requirements of an exam gives certainty to a test taker’s preparation. Fine tuning of one’s preparation as per the pattern and style of an exam makes an aspirant exam-ready. Finally, it is this exam readiness on the part of an aspirant which translates into success.
(The writer is a member of academics, Career Launcher.)