does cat coaching really matter

7/30/2019 Does CAT Coaching Really Matter

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Does CAT coaching really matter?

Close your eyes to picture a lean old man, wearing a dhoti, bare-chested, slightly bent, holding astaff to support his thin frame and walking at a hurried pace, showing a sense of urgency. Picture

him again. What is the colour of the dhotiyou visualised? Is it white or cream or pale yellow? In a

majority of cases, individuals don't think beyond these colours. Some of you will also picture the

old man as Mahatma Gandhi. Go back to your kindergarten days. A for? You will invariably blurt

out 'apple'.

But, what has the Common Admission Test (CAT) got to do with these examples? Or for that

matter, the coaching centres that prepare students for the CAT? The answer is: A lot.

But first, what is CAT? It is an entrance exam for the IIMs and other noted B-schools in India that

qualifies a candidate to secure a seat in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme.

But passing the written test is not the only criterion. A prospective student has to clear Group

Discussions (GD) and Interviews as well. The IIM's minimum cut-off score is anywhere between99.7-99.9 percentile. Students scoring less have the choice of other B-schools. The CAT exam is

held once a year and is on Math, Data Interpretation and English. The questions, with negative

marking, differ in each test. There is no set pattern.

What does the CAT assess?

The CAT tests one's ability to think beyond the obvious. And obvious implies what has been

dinned into an individual's head for years in educational and social circles. So while Apple is

recited without strain, the brain requires a bit more effort to stretch out for unconventional

alternatives such as arc, ape, arm or actor. How many have been given exposure beyond the

obvious words, or will be given in the future?

The CAT checks the logical reasoning power of students, says Neelesh Kossambi, national

manager, media marketing of Mumbai-based IMS Learning that has been coaching MBA

aspirants for the last 31 years.

R Shiva Kumar, director, Academics and R&D, Career Launcher, reiterates the same thought.

Most problems check the ability of the student to apply the fundamental concepts in situations

that are not direct, he says.

As corporate businesses grow, they relentlessly hunt minds that think differently. We need brains

that are capable of providing quick and deft solutions to the real issues, says a human resource

manager snapping his fingers. So the remuneration has to be equally attractive, he adds.

So, it's a small wonder that MBA aspirants are ready to pull out all the stops in a bid to crack the

CAT. The prestige of being associated with the IIM brand in addition to a golden wage packet is

reason enough for dreamers to get cracking.


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Catering to the hope are numerous coaching institutes. In the last eight to 10 years, a number

have sprung up in almost all corners of cities and are highly concentrated at colleges and youth

hang-out points. Huge hoardings of various hues and shapes jostle for eyeballs. schemes,

competitive fees, discounts and various other methods are used to attract students. But do

students necessarily require Coaching Centre (CC) tutoring? Among many nods, there have beenquite a few emphatic opposite views as well.

In India,Coaching class market is a 12.6 billion dollars(USD) industry-2012 and growing at a

tremendous rate.More than 60% market share in MBA test preparation belongs to career

launcher, T.I.M.E and IMS.

The approximate fee of a one year cat preparation course can cost anywhere between Rs.22000-

Rs.46000.The fees fluctuates according to the geographical location and market demand. The

same one year correspondence course online can cost you between Rs.11000-Rs.18000.

Looking at these numbers it is safe to assume that it a very lucrative business with high profit

margin. that could be the reason why many IIM pass outs choose to be associated with Coaching

classes rather than the corporate world. new coaching centers are opening everyday in every

corner of the country. very soon almost all rural and developed cities of India will have access to

MBA exam coachings. But is that enough? Is giving discounts, promoting schemes, opening new

centers, enrolling as many students as possible enough? NO!!!!

A lot of these classes have forgotten their real purpose. The absurd fees, attractive logos,

schemes, discount and decoration are not enough. They should follow their actual goal of

educating students to help crack the exams. Some of the institutes fees are higher than the

actual cost of MBA degree in collegesAs the number of classes rises, the quality of education

decreses. most coaching Classes have a few IIM alumini associated with their names to form

goodwill in the market but the rest of the teachers are just ordinary graduates like any of us. They

dont have any specialized training, a PhD and most of them dont even have any experience of

teaching. The study material provided by the coaching is never updated; the same books are

printed every few years with only a few changes in color and design of the covers. the counselors

are paid to admit as many students as possible instead of solving as many doubts as possible.

most of the teachers are not even f luent in spoken English. one teacher teaches 60 students in

2hrs with absolutely no personal attention. till you dont enroll the counselor calls you every day to

come and personally meet them but once you enroll they dont even remember your name. Once

the fee is paid they dont care whether you attend regularly or not. Basically it is more of money

making business rather than learning institutes. So, Instead of paying rs.25000 to these institutes

you can purchase 2-3 books in under Rs.1000 and still get the same score as the student

enrolled in coaching classes. In a coaching class they basically read out and explain whatever is

written in the book. Instead you can buy the book and read it out yourself. Books available in the


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market provide exactly the same information a coaching class tutor will give you. Same

explanation is written in the book as well. Only difference is that in a book you have to read the

explanation yourself and in a class someone else reads it out to you.

So just because of a little laziness why pay so much money. You Might as well use that money

for your MBA college fee. If you are sincere and dedicated to your goal you can achieve it. no one

can stop you. just a little hard work can save a lot of time, energy and money. Your parents have

worked very hard saving one- one rupee everyday to be able to pay for the class so in return you

can also put in a little hard work and study regularly to make their dreams come true.

does cat coaching really matter

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