Those who dream bigger, achieve greater things in life. No matter what your past was, always aim higher. In the education field, MBA is one of the most popular choices of students to build a wealthy career. And to fulfill that goal, the best choice might be of IIM, which is probably the top-ranked college in the country present in various cities. Every year lakhs of students appear the Common Admission Test (CAT) to get into IIM. CAT is one of the toughest entrance exams during this generation. So in accordance with the academic performance of students all around the country, one question arises every year, Can average students get into IIM?
Average students refer to students who are average in academic performance. They are in the majority of appearing in all the entrance exams every year. IIM is one of the toughest colleges to get into and CAT is one of the toughest entrances to clear. But every exam can be cleared in spite of being an intelligent student or an average Student.
Intelligent here is referred to as a better percentile in academics. But that only doesn't help in clearing CAT. There are subjects like Logical reasoning, General Awareness which doesn't require you to be a topper in your institution. It may be a tad bit easy for those who are good in academics and secure 90 above percentile. But that doesn't mean a student scoring 70% or even 60% cannot clear the entrance exams. Those average students need to know a few characteristics that will help them towards the classrooms of IIM.
MBA Colleges in India
- Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Mumbai
- University of Mumbai
- Amity University Mumbai
- IIM Sambalpur
- Institute of Business Management Studies Mumbai
- International Institute of Engineering and Management Mumbai
IIM Institute in India
IIM Admission Criteria
- Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks to be eligible to apply for PGP programs.
- Admission to PGP programs is based on the valid score in CAT, followed by the performance in a Written Test and Personal Interview.
- For WMP and IPMX admission, candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree with 50% marks.
- Admission to WMP is based on the valid score in CAT/ XAT/ GMAT/ GATE/ WMP Entrance Exam.
Be determined and confident
According to the statistics of the past decade even if score 0 in your CAT exam, you would have scored more than 50% of the students appearing it, due to its negative marking system. Believe in yourself and keep away all the negative thoughts. Set your mind that you can clear CAT and get admission into IIM. Do not let tell you otherwise and get into your head. Set your goal and work for it. Half of the work will be completed there only.
Know your true competitors
Although the number of candidates applying for CAT every year is in lakhs, it is not the true cause of your chance to compete with that amount of candidates for the 3200 odd seats in all the IIMs present in India. Candidates who will be seriously appearing the CAT exam will be around 50,000 to 60,000. Those will be your real competitors and you need to be among the top 10,000 to get a call from at least one IIM.
Planning for the entrance exam
1. Recognize your strong and weak areas in terms of the syllabus for CAT. Work hard on the weaker areas and give a subsequent amount of time to the stronger areas.
2. Always keep your fundamentals clear. Might it be for Quantitative ability or Verbal ability, you need to have your fundamentals clear, as they set the approach to a question.
3. Avoid unnecessary mistakes as there are negative markings in the CAT.
4. Take mock tests and sample questionnaires to briefly understand the type of question and exam pattern. This will help clear your perspective towards the nature of the exam.
5. You can also take up coaching classes for CAT directly in some institutions or through online. Keeping a few mentors who will guide you through the exam will also come in handy.
Practice as much as you can
Practice makes a person perfect. Being an average student you need to start practicing from the day you set your mind into it. Go through the syllabus of CAT and practice each and every section (if possible) to get better marks. Read newspapers daily to be up to date for current affairs. Read books and novels for improving verbal and reading comprehension skills. If you see that you are falling behind on a particular subject, allocate more time and practice extra hard on it because every section is equally important.
There is no such thing as an "average person". Even college dropouts like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg became billionaires. An academic average student can do and be anything if he/she sets the mind into it. Set your target, make a sincere effort, work hard and see, the dream of getting into IIM be the reality.
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