IIM-A is the dream destination of every MBA aspirant in India BUT its really disheartening to say that even cracking the toughest entrance exam-CAT cannot assure you a call for even GD/PI.
According to this,final weightage given to CAT score is only 27.27%.rest 72.72% has already been decided by ur 10th and 12th scores(talking abt general category).
In simple words suppose Mr. A cracked CAT 08 with 100%ile overall and 99+%ile in all 3 sections,has a work-ex of 10 yrs. in finance, with 90% in graduation,89% in 10th and 79% in 12th..THEN he wud not hav got a call this yr. EVEN AT THIS PROFILE !!!
using the formula given by IIM-A
C.S score wud b 16 which is less than cut-off C.S. score...
So much weightage has been given to PAST academic performance that more than 2 lakh of the people who filled forms could hav never qualified for CAT even if they topped it!
My grudges on the process are based on following reasons:
1. ALL selection criteria must be clearly mentioned before conducing CAT.Had IIM-A specified this process before,at least 2 lakh candidates wud hav been clear that they cannot get into it whatsoever they do in CAT.. They waste their money, time and energy preparing for entrance of such an institute who wud never accept they even if they top it.
2. There is no consideration of the board from which a candidate appeared for 10th and 12th.Although its a well known fact that all boards are not equally tough and its easier to score in some compared to other.
3. Consistent performance is definitely important but criteria laid out by IIM-A means that even if an otherwise brilliant candidate could not score high in just say tenth board(which may be due to family, health or financial problems also) then he has no chance to walk into the premier B-school. Its like giving no chance to someone who has potential & drive now but makin him repent due to the past that noone can change..
4. Rather than a continuous scale,slots have been made for boards %age(ex. 70-79% - 6 marks).This means guy A scoring 80% = B scoring 89% = 6 marks for IIM-A but 90% directly gives a raise of 2 marks or 9.09% !!
5. There must be more clarith regarding the details of selection procedure with all lists available online with justifications.
Plz share ur views and suggestions on this...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
How much do brand IIT & IIM really matter??
Recently I read in TOI that a coaching institute in Kota has offered foundation course for IITs from 7th class itself.6 years before a student actually writes the paper!!And few years back before court implemented a law of maximum two attempts for IITs, we could find students taking two to three drops for getting into IITs. That makes me really ponder whether brand IIT is so important worth preparing for 6 years or wasting another 2 years after 12th for it?
To me the question is a no-brainer but since I am not an IITian myself most of the cynics would take it as a case of sour grape for me. So lets give it an unbiased analysis. Well friends, I really need your comments and opinions about this topic.
To start with, what is it that brand IIT and IIM have got to offer. Better education by best faculties and infrastructure available, a learning environment due to best brains of the country competing with us, a jump start in career with high profile and well paid jobs and a greater social recognition in India as well as higher evaluation in MNCs abroad. In short a more secured future. Well, definitely worth the most sincere attempt.
But still I feel the whole scenario has been inflated mainly by the coaching institutes mushroomed all across the country which are no less than a corporation with sole aim of making profits. They have over-hyped the importance of IITs and presented it like a life and death situation to the career oriented students and over-expecting parents.
An admission to IITs is not the end of the world, infact its the beginning of the race called career. And while getting a head start is always better, it cannot assure you a win in the long run. What is lost by circumstances can always be made up by determination. Once the students are out of campus life into the corporate world, its a level playing field(may not be so in initial phase of career) where performance matters in the long run.
An illiterate Dhirubhai Ambani or an IITian Narayan Murthy cannot not be cited as an example to justify ones qualifications. Education can never be confined to classrooms and the reason for their success was a function of a lot more variables than just their academic background. Everyone has his own definition of success. To me it lies in recognizing ones talent and following the heart. Bill Gates dropped out of Havard to chase his dreams. But his incomplete degree could not stop him from becoming the world’s richest man. What really matters is application of knowledge-not its certification.So ending the post with a really true line i picked up from pagalguy:
" The moment you settle for anything less than you deserve, you get even lesser than what you settled for"
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