how to study for Mba entrance exam??? [cat, iift, mat]

Hi Ronik,

Studying for any exam requires a lot of thought process and planning. Be it MBA exam or any other exam an aspirant is giving. One’s ultimate objective is to reach the particular University or college that he dreams to be a student of. MBA entrance exams provide us a pathway to reach our objectives. As it is rightly said, “More important than the goal, the journey to reach towards the goal matters the most” . Yes, the journey, the preparation for MBA entrance exam matters a lot. It is therefore one of the crucial moments for any aspirant’s life.

Taking forward the preparation, the first step is to be very clear about the MBA program that the college is offering. How that program is relevant to shaping your big picture, and then decide whether to go forward or not.

How to Prepare for MBA entrance exams Language Skills

One of the main reasons why B-Schools test language skills in their entrance exams is because one has to be very clear in their written, speaking skills in B-Schools as well as in the corporate. One must know how to articulate properly one’s thoughts so that there is no ambiguous communication flowing around. One can improve this ability by reading newspapers, magazines and even get into a habit of writing his own thoughts for that matter.

A dictionary is an aspirant’s best friend when it comes to improving in vocabulary and grammatical usage. One can also watch how TV anchors perform on the television to get the blood flow right for their body language. This also will improve one’s listening ability.

Quantitative Skills

Undoubtedly one of the favorite subjects of engineering students is mathematics. Though Engineers have an advantage in this section, other stream students are not far behind in this nowadays. Also, the pattern and differential weightage of sections has reduced this advantage considerably in certain entrance exams. However, one must have a strong math background to gain some good marks in this section. Others who lack or haven’t been in touch with such mathematics background, have to prepare hard and close in their gaps if any. The following points can help them do so,

• Take part in solving puzzles, riddles and quiz competitions
• Solve enough number of problems from standard entrance exam books. Take good amount of online quizzes and make them as a habit
• Give good number of mocks and review your results
• Find out your weak areas and dedicate efforts to improve upon them
• Get enough guidance from your friends who have been preparing for these entrance exams or those who have already been under such a hammer and have joined B-Schools
• One can also join a coaching institute to help oneself better with understanding, and know where he stands in the competition

Now, these were the generics that one must be clear with before writing any entrance exam. There are many exams for which you have to change your strategy from other entrance exams. For example, CAT is a highly unprintable exam and one must be clear in his mind what strategy works for him to get a good score. It is not necessary that two persons strategy has to be the same. One must work on his or her strategy to excel in the exam. This he can build by giving different mock exams and analyzing their results. I suggest if a mock exam is for a 3 hour duration, one must dedicate double efforts to understand where he went wrong or which area is his strong point. Personally, I feel that for any exam, it’s the planning that matters the most and ideally 60% of the time should be spent on that. Keep this mantra in your mind, “Plan your work and work your plan” and you shall sail through.

All the Very Best!!!

• Know the exam pattern and syllabus in detail

After you decide to take the MBA entrance exam, the first thing to do is to know the exam pattern and syllabus in detail. The next step is to go through the past years analysis so that you can prepare a comprehensive plan and also set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections.

• Get the right study materials

Those who opt for coaching get the tailor-made section-wise preparation material. But, even if you do not go for coaching classes and cannot access the expert notes, there is no dearth of right study material. There are ample books, question banks, preparatory books by expert authors available in the market.

• Take online mock tests

With each mock test, you will be clear about your strengths and weaknesses. Remember, the analysis is very important for your progress in preparation. Based on the analysis, you have to change the course of action of your preparation.

• Create Study Group

A good company of people ensures that you are on the right track.

• Utilise the Internet

The best part of using the internet is that you can get help and guidance on anything and everything. There are numerous education news websites which serve articles and news related to your exam along with study materials and sample papers on their website.

• Be confident and stay motivated