Career Launcher (CL) recently sent across a press release declaring that all its centers across India will be offering a free online mock test from August 8 to August 21 and top performers in each city can get the test series package for free. CL decided to provide this offer because it was receiving a ‘huge number of frantic calls’ from students for doubts regarding this year’s CAT. We thought that it might be a good idea to just cross-check this useful offer. Off we went, put on our student hats and called up some CL centers across the country. Here are some conversations we had with people at CL centers; CL might still get a huge number of frantic calls because information at centers is not consistent with the press release.

Here is the press release that Career Launcher sent across:

Career Launcher Announces Student Welfare Fortnight in August for CAT’09 Aspirants
Bangalore 10 August, 2009: To address the growing apprehension and heightened confusion among the student community regarding preparation for the new online format of the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the IIMs every year, Career Launcher (CL) – the leading MBA test prep player of the country – has announced a Student Welfare Fortnight. During the fourteen days between 8th and 21st of August, 2009, all CAT’09 aspirants who are currently not enrolled with Career Launcher will get the opportunity to experience an Online CAT, christened the Freedom CAT for FREE at any of the CL centers across India.
“The origin of the idea of the Student Welfare Fortnight was the huge number of frantic calls and queries received from aspirants over the past few weeks. The one commonality among all these calls and emails was to seek expert guidance & tips for tackling the new CAT avatar. “
“With CAT just a few months away, we want these students to experience the new avatar in its closest form and shape with us, without any strings attached. We want them to benefit from our unique online expertise at no extra cost; in fact for the top performers in the Online Mocks in each city (securing more than 95 percentile), we are offering our test series package for free, as well. The offer is also applicable to anyone who has secured an IIM call in the past”, explained Mr. Gautam Puri (Vice Chairman, Career Launcher).

Based on this press release, we called up some Career Launcher centers:

(We: PaGaLGuY reporter posing as student. CL: The respective Career Launcher person attending the phone)

CL Andheri, Mumbai

We: Could you give me some information about the free CL mock test for CAT 2009?

CL: This mock test will be held from Monday onwards and continue till 25 August, 2009.

We: If I score 95 percentile or above in this test or have an IIM call from a previous CAT then do I get any discount on the test series package?

CL: There are various offers available with the test series package and I’ll have to check the system.

CL Vashi, Mumbai

We: Could you provide me some information about the free mock CAT for CAT 2009?

CL: The test is being held till August 20th. We started conducting the test from August 8 onwards.

We: If I have an IIM call from a previous CAT then will I get any discount on the CL test series package?

CL: There is a discount of Rs 200 if you have got an IIM call in a previous CAT.

CL Agra Center

We: Could you give me some details regarding the free mock test which is being conducted for CAT 2009?

CL: The registrations for that test started on August 8 and will continue till August 20.

We: If I perform well in this test or have an IIM call from a previous CAT then is there any offer on the test series?

CL: I do not have any news about the offer on test series. Delhi CL has not given us any information about that and you will have to come down to the center to get details regarding this.

CL Mehidipatnam Center, Hyderabad

We: Could you give me some details regarding the free mock test which is to be conducted for CAT 2009?

CL: We are done with the free mock test which was the last mock test to be conducted. There is another mock test from August 21st onwards and that is not a free test.

We: So, there is no free mock test from August 8 to August 20?

CL: This is definitely not there in Hyderabad. I have no idea about this test and have not received any e-mail or correspondence regarding such a test.

We: I had read on the Career Launcher website that a free test is being offered at all CL centers in India. Another website – MBAUniverse.com also mentioned about offers being available on the test series. What would you like to say regarding this?

CL: If you have seen this information on the websites that you mentioned then I will facilitate it.

CL Park Street center, Kolkata

We: Could you give me some information about the free mock test for CAT 2009?

CL: The test is being held on Monday (August 17) after 1 PM and there are no other dates for it. Please call tomorrow afternoon to confirm this information.

We: If I score 95 percentile or above in this test then do I get a discount on the test series package? Does it make a difference if I have an IIM call from a previous CAT?

CL: The offer through a 95 percentile was for an earlier test. There are discounts on various packages and CAT retakers or previous CL students will get discounts on the test series package.

CL Connaught Place, Delhi

We: Could you give me some details regarding the free mock test for CAT 2009?

CL: You should come down to the CL center and take the test between August 8 and August 20.

We: If I score well in this test then do I get a discount on the test series package? If I have an IIM call from an earlier CAT then is there any offer available?

CL: This is just a free test and has nothing to do with the complete test series package. Discounts are available on the test series package.

CL Koramangala center, Bangalore

We: Could you give me some details regarding the free mock test for CAT 2009?

CL: The registrations for this test will be opening in two-three days from now and that would possibly mean August 20th.

We: For how many days will this test be held?

CL: This test will probably be held for a duration of five days.

We: If I score well in this test or if I have an IIM call from last year then is there any offer on the test series package?

CL: We haven’t been informed about any discount structure connected with performance in this test. You can avail of a discount of Rs 500 for a previous IIM call.

Shiva Kumar, Career Launcher’s Director – R & D and Academics, explained Career Launcher’s stand regarding this issue. “The test is being held from August 8 to August 21 at all centers of Career Launcher in India. If a center representative is saying that the test is not between these dates then the seats must have been filled for this test and there may have been miscommunication regarding this issue. Students who score 95 percentile or above in this test or have a previous IIM call will be getting the test series for free.”

How? If so many centers don’t agree about the existence of these offers?

It’s great that Career Launcher is offering a free online mock test at this stage so that people enrolled in other test series get a chance to take a free test. However, the information provided should be implemented with a consistent response across centers and students should not be misled. Either there should be better co-ordination with centers across the country or if the test is being provided in phases across the country then those dates should be mentioned.

Are you a CAT 2009 aspirant who has taken this test between August 8 and August 20 at any CL center across India? How was your experience in getting information from a Career Launcher center?