Students are in a dilemma as their exams clash with the CAT schedule

The schedule for CAT that began on October 27 will go on till November 15. And students had to block their dates in advance to appear for the test. However, a few are now contemplating giv ing it a miss as they can not afford to give their semester exams a miss as they clash with the CAT dates.

B.Com student Joshua Padeti of Osmania says, "I could not block a date for CAT in October and my semester exams begin in November. Now I am forced to choose between CAT and my semester exams. Missing either of them is really not an option, but I have to choose. I have to talk to my parents regarding this and will finalise soon."

Earlier the CAT exam was always scheduled on Sundays and students never faced any problems when it came to appearing for this competitive exam. However, with the exam having gone online, it is no longer limited to just weekends. Even those students who had blocked their dates in advance are now struggling to strike a balance between the two as dates for their exams overlap.

As a result, the number of students applying for CAT has reduced. Shyam Murli, city head, Career Launcher, says, "Last year 2.5 lakh stu dents had applied. But this time the number is much lower. Those who have registered for CAT are irregular to class as they are preparing for their semester exams."

JNTU principal Ramana Rao says, "We make and announce our academic year's schedule well in advance. If students have a problem we will try to reschedule the exam. But so far nobody has come forth with any complaints."

D.K. Vishwanath, director of evaluation, JNTU, says, "We announce our schedule well in advance and ask students to book their dates according to their convenience, but we cannot set our dates as per the competitive exams. Students these days appear for so many of them like GRE, CAT etc." Of the two lakh plus candidates that write CAT, only a handful under stand how one can ace it. Ashish Sinha, course director, CAT, T.I.M.E, doles out gyaan on how you can bell the proverbial CAT.

Q Though the topics generally covered in CAT are of elementary level, what makes it so challenging is the level of understanding and depth of fundamentals that the questions try to gauge in the aspirants.

Those who don't gain a grasp over the basics fail. The first step to cracking CAT is getting the basics absolutely right. CAT tests if an aspirant can keep his cool and make right decisions sensi bly when he is in a high-stakes situa tion. A candidate needs to select the right questions and attempt questions he is confident of answering right.

But many falter in selecting these questions, thanks to the stress or due to lack of a strategy. This way, IIMs zero on to aspirants who possess the key characteristics of a manager though CAT.