After belling the country’s toughest test, the common admissions test (CAT), candidates are now pulling up their socks to appear for other competitive exams. Industry insiders are expecting an increase in the number of competitive exam takers, thanks to the recession.
Shiva Kumar, director (Academics and R&D), Career Launcher, says: “Global recession may see more number of people getting into business schools rather than taking up jobs and appearing for CAT next year. This may lead to 20-25 per cent increase in the number of applicants for other tests this year, compared to the last 2-3 years.”
The top business schools that would continue to lure students would be Xavier Labour Relations Institute , Faculty of Management Studies, besides the science and engineering institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science . Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management are also a favourite with management test takers.
Getting a seat in a B-school may also provide a breather for those waiting for the recession to run its course . Anshul Gupta, CEO, TenaDay, says: “The economic slowdown is hurting jobs as many of the major IT companies such as Wipro, Infosys, Satyam, Accenture have delayed the joining dates for fresh graduates or frozen the hiring process. So, the students instead of being idle, would like to go for a management degree. In an ideal situation, a candidate works for 2-3 years and then joins a B-school. However, as the recession may last till 2009-end or even till 2010, students would rather get a management degree to be prepared for the time when the major economies of the world will bounce back, ensuring a vibrant join market and fat pay packages.”
| THE DATESHEET | |
| JMET | Dec 14 |
| TISS | Dec 14 |
| SNAP | Dec 21 |
| NMAT | Dec 28 |
| IBSAT | Dec 31 |
| XAT | Jan 4 |
| FMS | Jan 11 |
| Source: Career Launcher | |
Some believe current circumstances may also see an increase in the number of CAT candidates next year. Ajay Arora, director, TIME, Bangalore, says: “We have definitely seen a greater interest among CAT candidates this year to appear for the other tests. We also feel that the number of CAT takers may increase next year considering the global meltdown.”
NMAT, the entrance test of NMIMS, which has gone online this year has got 54,000 applications. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) which received below 10,000 applications last year has received 11,000 applications this year.
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), which selected top 120 students out of the 74,000 applicants of Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET), is expecting the numbers to go higher this year owing to recession, Rahul Lachchiramka, a member of corporate relations committee at JBIMS says.
Coaching institutes have a few suggestions for the aspirants of these tests. “Students taking JMET should focus on higher maths by remembering the formulae, those appearing for tests like XAT, SNAP to name a few should sharpen their vocabulary skills. Speed is the most important factor for these tests, most of which have 120 questions with time varying between 2-3 hours. As for the group discussions and personal interview (GD/PI), the confidence level, articulation skills and general awareness beyond academics are taken into consideration,” added Shiva Kumar from Career Launcher.
