Hey all… I guess many of us would be planning to take both GMAT and CAT this year. I went through many threads but could not find out a consolidated thread wherein I can post my queries pertaining to both the exams. Btw first things first… here …
Hey all.. I guess many of us would be planning to take both GMAT and CAT this year. I went through many threads but could not find out a consolidated thread wherein I can post my queries pertaining to both the exams. Btw first things first.. here are my stats:
done B.Tech from an iit, 2+ years experience as software engineer in reputed firms (changed firm twice in 2 years.. again shifting to a new one in few days), got a call from IIM I this year but was unable to convert. Secured 82% in 10th and 65% in XII. DGPA after graduation - 6.38/10.
Pretty bad academic record.. huh! 
>> 
M not having any big time savings and m from a middle class family.
Now the scene is.. I intend to study finance n get into an investment bank after post graduation. Planning to take up GMAT in September so that i get enuf time for CAT.
So tell me guys.. with such a profile.. can i think about applying in B-schools abroad ? I came to know from PG discussons that NUS, Nanyang and AIM do not help students in placements.. If at all I apply.. till when I need to apply to these schools? Shud it be done before CAT (November 24th this year i guess) ? Apart from these schools, any schools in US/Europe/Australia which would accept such a profile ?
i'm looking for info on these lines too - how feasible is it - apping for US schools as well as cat04 - i hav around 3 yrs of exp. already in a reputed s/w mnc and pretty good acads - 9.2/10. Wud it be possible to squeeze in everything in time for the first round of deadlines ?
me too planning the same... (& have a similiar profile as urs)... anyway i'm taking GMAT to make sure that even if i could not make it to an IIM/ISB/SPJIMR this yr ... i can continue with my JOB (i don't think i shud try a 4th time) for another 2 yrs (preferable at some Onsite loc)... & then apply to a US B school...
Hey c'mon PGites.. noone is in position to even advice ? 
Can someone guide us with the first round of deadlines and also some B-schools that wud accept such a profile....... ?
Hey.. thanks a lot. n about minimum homework.. i agree with wat u said but i needed some basic info for guidance as I m totally unaware of stuff regarding B-schools abroad. U gotta be in my shoes to understand my position.
I will definately buy n read the book u recommended amith.
Thnx again for the info buddy
Hi Neptune/Juano etal
I assume that you have already made up your mind to have a crack at both CAT and GMAT this yr. Even I was in the same boat last year and did manage to give my GMAT and CAT, although planning could have been a lil better.I hope you have done some ground work fr GMAT by now coz u dont have much time at ur disposal when u think of both exams at the same time.
I suggest you to concentrate on GMAT first (since CAT wud b in late Nov.) and give it a go(along with TOEFL..remember) by end of Aug or by first week of Sept(two months is more than sufficient...if u can manage it in 40-45 days it will b much better).Bcoz timing your GMAT is very crucial since you will be requiring hell lot of time researching about b-schools in US/UK/Canada/et al,their courses(finance in ur case),fee structures,financial aids,recos, and essays.And during this time frame (early Sept till late Nov),you have to prepare for CAT as well.
A general template cud be
Jul-Aug (GMAT prep + do a bit of research on schools as well..multitasking is the name of the game )
Aug End (take GMAT n TOEFL)
Sep-Oct-Nov (Research comprehensively,prepare recos/essays + study for CAT) * Be aware of some schools which have their fin aid deadlines in Nov.*
Late Nov-Dec Apply to the schools you have shortlisted so far.
Jan onwards - Wait for the CAT results/admits and be merry!!
And regarding which school will fit your kinda profile,only one person can answer - n thats YOU. Dont expect ppl to tell u abt the deadlines of NUS/AIM etc. over here.Research it yourself and with ur kind of profile and even lesser,yoou can have a shot at the Top 10 in US and i am not kidding!! Just depends on how u handle ur application n stuff.
All the best!!
Disclaimer: Dont follow anything blindly.use ur wits!!
Amith - I know man.. that I m putting myself in big trouble by shifting for 3rd time. But its necessary right now. >
cooldexter - That was great man. That would help a lot.. esp. ur dates template.
Btw guys I did some research in PG threads for gmat prep. For everyone who is just starting (as I am).. I have come up with a consolidated summary kinda thing.. that is how to go about preparing for Gmat (PG version).. will upload it soon..
Thanks junta
i'm sure there wud to be many people in this forum who hav secured admissions into the top US b schools. Could you pls. let us know ur profile as we have in the iim calls section (work ex, background, gmat scores,time of applying,etc), interview calls and final admits. Also if you cud detail ur preparation process(guess gmat is the first & easiest step:-)), the no. of months spent while working & cat success incase u attempted cat also, it wud be very useful for wud-be aspirants. I have checked the other gmat thread too - not many admit profiles there.
Hi,
I share a similar profile as you guys and I am planning to take up Gmat in Sep-Oct too. Found lots of useful stuff on this thread.
Neptune.. Please upload the Information document that you are talking about.
juano.. Here is some info that I have gathered from my seniors.. I have also added info that I collected from PG threads. This might be of help to other gmat and cat aspirants.
GMAT -
- Date Availability: You can check that out at mba.com...specify the test center and the preferred day of the test and u will get the availability.
- Prep of 1.5-2 months.. 3 hours a day. Take at least 20 practice tests. Write the essays at the beginning of the test.
- Books to buy:
Essay: Arco has published a book that contains all the 230+ essays that can appear in GMAT. The complete list, btw, is downloadable from gmac site!
Verbal(CR): ETS has published a question bank of over 1400 questions that have appeared in its test over time. It is called the "Official guide to GMAT Review (OGR)- Latest edition (10th)"
Verbal(Sentence correction): Instead of spending time building vocab, better to read extensively over the next few months (especially US magazines/books like Reader's Digest, Time etc.)
Kaplan: It has a set of rules defined as to how to go about solving verbal questions, especially sentence correction ones.
Quants: Kaplan, not OGR.
Do official guide - Back to back. Stick to the OGR for the best practice questions
Princeton review: Closest to GMAT..
Read Woe is I by Patricia O Conner and another on Critical Reasoning. Visit Princeton Reviews discussion boards at www.review.com
Avoid Kaplan. Go through the GMAC Official guide, Princeton Review and LSAT guides for practice. Get additional tests at www.gmatplus.com. You can buy second hand gmatplus tests at the review.com website.
- when you register for GMAT ( ETS site http://www.mba.com) , you can opt to get the Powerprep CD delivered to you.
I hope this is of some help to wud-be aspirants.
- Pranay
Pranay, that was hell lot of info.. Thanks a lot, bud !!! 😃 .. Even I am also in a dilemma.. I have 2.7 yr workex in an MNC with pretty good academics being in top 5 always.. I am also planning to take CAT and GMAT this year... I am planning to give a shot to AIM , who has their own exams in Jan - Apr next year.. I am still not sure whether I should go for ISB this year or next year..
Is it worth applying to FMS/SPJIMR, with 3 yrs or workex ?? Or will it be better stick on to schools abroad, ISB , 'ABC' etc..
Will 2 months be enough to prepare well for GMAT ?
Longing to see your viewpoints on this !!! :)
- TB.
Hey TB, Since I m myself new to Gmat and things like apping abroad, so cant say much man. As far as appling to ISB/AIM vs FMS/SPJIMR is concerned, I would say that one should definately aim for higher things but shud always keep a backup in case one falls. Use ur 3+ years work-ex to get calls from FMS/SPJIMR. Keep them as backup. Not sure about SPJIMR bur FMS is worth it. I will focus on IIMs/FMS/MDI as much I will focus on Gmat/B-Schools in India n abroad, though I m not sure how I m gonna do it.
N yeah.. as per PG threads, It seems that 2 months is enough for Gmat prep.
- Pranay
Thats really gr8 info... gr8 pranay... keep sharing.. as far as dates are concerened dates r available easily during Aug End in delhi/Mum... i have not checked for September...
Dudes.. Here are some links that I found in various PG threads... Might be of some help to you..........
>">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.princetonreview.com/mba/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=3&TYPE;=GMAT>>
>">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.800score.com/download4.html>>
>">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.collegejournal.com/exams/gmat_intro/index.htm>>
>">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.kaptest.com/repository/templates/ArticleInitDroplet.jhtml?_relPath=%2Frepository%2Fcontent%2FBusiness%2FGMAT2FPractice_Lab%2FBU_gmat_laboverview.html>>
http://www.kaplanpracticetest.com/index.cfm?p=244&client;=1171871435156020041541120.22751814&subject;=GMAT&ft;=1 >">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.kaplanpracticetest.com/!index.cfm?p=244&client;=1171871435156020041541120.22751814&subject;=GMAT&ft;=1>>
>">>" rel="nofollow">>">http://www.crack-gmat.com/gmat.htm>> http://www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT/ToolsToHelpYouPrepare/GMATPrepProducts/PowerprepSoftware.htm
http://www.gmatclub.com/content/resources/links/index.php
www.testmagic.com -- a real gud resource
www.sentencecorrection.com -- Get ur fundas right on SC here!!
http://www.west.net/~stewart/gmat/
http://gmat.64168.com
Pranay, you score more brownie points for this buddy... !!! 😃 I found this site www.magportal.com interesting.. good enough to kill time in office and also to improve my verbal skills.. www.economist.com also gives you an interesting read.. it gives a range of topics including socio-political issues, environmental issues, etc..etc...
I believe there are some type of questions whcih GMAT considers for tough questions... If we can focus more on those kind of questions , then it will help us in ramping up scores... Any leads on this ???
- TB.
Are u sure that there are 'some type of questions' which GMAT considers for tough questions ? I m not aware of that yaar.. Experienced junta plz throw some light here..
I read that in one of the post in www.sentencecorrection.com, which was mentioning about subject-verb inversion as one of the topic , which raised many tough questions in verbal.. Since the score is related to the difficulty level of the question , I believe focussing on those lines would of some help in GMAT...
Exp'd PGites.. pls throw some light into this ???
- TB.
junta
ppl wishing 2 do GMAT be4 CAT; i hope all of ull have registered 4 GMAT cos i registered yesterde frm bbay n the closest date available, starting frm the last week of august was SEP 9 n then next on 14, 16... So i guess u register now otherwise the GMAT n CAT preps will clash