With only a few days left for CAT to end and most of the junta done with it, the focus will now be on the other major entrance exams of the season. Now, each exam has its own identity and one should ideally have a specific strategy to counter this uniqueness. For that, one needs to have an overview of the entrance tests. Here are few of the major and minor differences one can find in the various entrance tests with respect to CAT.

XAT conducted by Xavier’s Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur

XAT 2010 was arguably more difficult than CAT or any other entrance last season. With the progressive negative marking, a few decision making caselets clubbed with a difficult logical reasoning section, the focus being on verbal logic rather than knowledge and an essay to be written at the end made it a mouth-watering proposition for any serious aspirant. Also the fact that the raw scores are not provided, it is almost impossible to predict answers for few of the questions.

1) Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation: The data interpretation caselets in XAT 2010 can be best described in one word -un-do-able. With lengthy calculations and close options, these questions were better left unattended to considering that the rest of the section was pretty much do-able. Not much of a focus on heavy math concepts and pretty much everything could be done with a skill-set of basic formulae.

2) Logical Reasoning & Decision Making: The logical reasoning section is tough and takes time but the decision making section is subjective and might get you a larger number of incorrect answers in a short span of time. Nothing outrageously different from other management entrance tests.

3) Verbal Aptitude: This section, last year had a good mix of questions right from RCs, critical reasoning, FIJs, parajumbles, word usage, vocabulary and even an advertisement. The difficulty level was high and one had to be a bit cautious about the negative marking part and not overdo guesswork.

FMS entrance test conducted by Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi:

Basically a speed test. Some 200 questions, 2 hours with OMR marking makes it a haven for speed fanatics. Level of difficulty is a bit lower than yesteryears’ CAT but then, it’s not exactly a piece of cake. Focus on higher maths and vocabulary coupled with the large number of questions is what gives this test an identity of its own.

1) Reading Comprehension: Last year saw a huge RC passage which broke all limits with regards to length. But the questions were pretty much factual and similar to what is found in CAT.

2) Verbal Ability: Heavily focused on vocabulary questions. Last year, 40% of this section was direct vocabulary based while another 10 questions required one to have a good grasp on words. The remainder of the section was however, pretty much similar to CAT with a heavy dose of sentence correction questions.

3) Quantitative Ability: Slight focus on higher maths. Not all the questions can be solved logically. At some places, one did have to use a few formulas, proceeding without which was not possible.

4) Logical Reasoning: This is a bit on the moderate side compared to other tests. Last year, the focus was on series, alpha-numeric reasoning and basic logical reasoning caselets. Also were thrown in a few questions on blood relations and jumbled letters and a DI set.

IIFT entrance test conducted by Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi:

The IIFT entrance test is known for having a variable pattern with regards to number of questions, sections and the non-uniform marking scheme. Plus it also has a General Knowledge section which focuses predominantly on business trivia.

1) Quantitative Aptitude: At a slightly higher level than what is found in CAT. The number of questions needed to be attempted correctly so as to get a call were significantly lower. There were a few questions from higher maths so, if someone intends to score very well in this section, a basic knowledge of higher maths could come handy. Selection should be the key here. As the test is of shorter duration with some time required for filling the OMR sheet, one cannot attempt everything. So, one has to be very selective while attempting the questions.

2) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Data Interpretation was too calculation intensive last year with a few close options. Logical Reasoning section was similar to what is found in CAT with a few atypical yet simpler questions like the input output ones with intermediate steps following a certain pattern. A DI set was supposedly wrong the marks for which were awarded to all the candidates last year.

3) Verbal ability and Reading Comprehension: A bit of focus was there on direct vocabulary questions. Majority of the VA section was based on sentence correction questions and parajumbles. Reading comprehension is similar to that found in CAT.

4) General Awareness: This is something which was a make or break section for many. Even though it’s a general awareness section, the focus is predominantly on business GK.

SNAP conducted by Symbiosis International University(SIU), Pune:

The test is conducted by the SIU in order to shortlist candidates for a plethora of MBA programmes conducted by them. The paper is slightly of a lower difficulty level compared to CAT with the few differences being the GK section, and a logical reasoning section which has a higher weightage than the other sections. Also, the OMR sheet has to be marked using a pen and so the answers cannot be altered once you have marked them.

1) Verbal Ability: No real surprises. Last year, the focus was on vocabulary(correct spellings, synonyms, antonyms) and on basic grammar and word usage. The only thing missing last year was a significant number of RC questions(there were just 3 with one question based on the meaning of a word).

2) Quantitative Aptitude: Not much of a difference compared to the other tests. Direct application based questions. A couple of questions had wrong options and so, had to be ignored.

3) Logical Reasoning: A 30 question, 60 marks section. It is a part of the folklore which says that almost half your total score comes from this section. There isn’t any significant change in the difficulty level compared to the other sections but the marks awarded are double to those in the other sections. There were few questions on critical reasoning last year, a couple of visual reasoning questions and few caselets and syllogisms.

4) General Awareness: Again the make or break section of the paper. Has the lowest cut-offs across all the sections but somehow this is the section which eludes the best of the aspirants from the interview call. The questions are from various topics and both static and current GK questions are found.

So, even though the entrance tests differ in their structure and areas of focus, the basic preparation remains the same. In any test, one can always find areas of one’s strength and one should always try to do well in those areas while carefully avoiding the others. The cut-offs, at the end of the day, are pretty much manageable if you look at them a bit more carefully and can be cleared with a bit of application and some common sense.