Saturday, November 19, 2005

And, the "no 1 CAT coaching class is..."

Drumroll, taaliyan, bahut bahut badhaiiyaan. Magar ek chhota sa problem hai. I no longer know who the "no 1" is. Or, what no 1 is anyways!

Is No 1 defined as:
a) The institute with maximum number of students enrolled?
b) The institute with maximum number of students who make it to IIMs?


Till yesterday, I was pretty sure IMS had the maximum number of students. IMS is the original pioneer in MBA entrance coaching and has continued to flourish despite many new players entering the scene. IMS claims to have 35,000 students enrolled for its CAT coaching this year.

Number 2 in terms of student enrolment I would think is Career Launcher. They too claim to have 35,000 students. I think it's closer to 30,000, but can't say for sure. My perception is, CL is no 2.

Which is why I was a bit surprised to learn from CNBC TV 18's 'Countdown to CAT' show - where T.I.M.E. experts were imparting fundas - that T.I.M.E. uses the slogan "no 1 CAT coaching institute".

Its website states that in "the last one year, about 45,000 students have gone through the portals of T.I.M.E. at various locations in the country and have benefited from our courses".

True? I know T.I.M.E. is popular down South, and that it is relatively cheaper than IMS and CL, which could mean big numbers. But I cannot provide an authoritative answer. Fact is, all CAT coaching institutes manipulate their numbers to some extent.

After the list of successful candidates is declared, X MBA institute will claim they had 800 successful students and Y institute will claim 900. The total of all institutes combined far exceed the number of IIM seats!

The truth is, students do enrol for 2 day GD/PI workshops or SIMCATS/ Mock CAT conducted by various institutes even while they have actually studied the material/ attended classes by another one.

As a successful A list B schooler recommended to JAM readers trying to pick the 'best course' :

To get the best of everything I would recommend:
Mock CAT & Correspondence - Career Launcher
GD/PI coaching - Take the TIME course
The 2-day IMS Achiever’s Workshop

So, we'll it pass. IMS ho, CL ho, TIME ho, jo bhi ho, fact is no matter no one can "assure success, everytime"

As I wrote in a column on rediff.com after CAT 2004, titled
"Where there's a coaching class, there's Hope!"

A huge industry -- mostly headed and fuelled by IIM alumni -- has convinced lakhs of students that if they practise long enough and hard enough, they stand a chance of making it. It is a myth that classes actively propagate and one that students choose to believe.

I have nothing against coaching (yes, I did take up a correspondence course and gleefuly passed on the material to two siblings who also cleared CAT :))

But the point is, God helps only those who help themselves. And so it is with coaching.

Practising shortcuts and solving mock papers can give those with the basic ability an added edge. But there is no way it can phenomenally improve your basic verbal, quantitative and reasoning skills.

Qualities which, frankly, are lacking in a large number of CAT aspirants.

The number of e-mails I receive, with incredibly poor English, asking for advice on 'how to make it to IIMs' would be amusing, if it weren't so sad. A couple of 100 percent real (unedited) samples:

"I am engineering student , what is the next step to select for my further studies.Is it better to continue my engineering studie s or i go to business studies which is the beter one"

"I'M EXPECTING SOME SKILLFUL AND EXPERIENCED KNOWLEDGE FROM U WHERE TO ENROLL FOR COACHING ETC. AND WHT MY REGULAR EXERCISE SHOULD BE.."

Is there any real hope for such aspirants?

I don't doubt these individuals have some unique passion or potential. But clearing the CAT exam is clearly not one of them.


The thing is, 90 percent of the folks who clear CAT would have done so with or without coaching. Because they possess the kind of IQ CAT tests. So why do they enrol in coaching?

The coaching craze operates on the 'tipping point' principle. Once it has attracted a large enough mass of people (of which a reasonably impressive number are successful), it becomes the 'done' thing.

Cosmetics is the business of selling 'hope in a jar'. Coaching is pretty much the same thing, except in an overcrowded little classroom.

And it's a big business! Bennett Coleman & co has just picked up a 9.57% stake in MBA coaching institute Career Forum, valuing the company at Rs 94 crores (!!). And CF is one of the chhotu ones.

All the best for CAT. But never forget - there is life beyond it as well!

22 comments:

  1. Am a CAT aspirant, n so cud relate very well to what you wrote... I must say itz nuthin but truth! great read...

    ReplyDelete
  2. as a student at one of the IIMs, the post reminds me of exciting days in the first year. it was a time when ppl mingled with each other on the basis of which IIT they came from or from which institute they took coaching from. Non-IIT, un-coached ruffians like me were made to stand aside and admire the parade :)

    Btw, from a student point of view it is gr8 biz to get admission into the IIMs. I got paid 20K just to allow an insti to publish my pic and a comment in their advert. and u can well imagine whats 20K for a student :>

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi rashmi,

    i would also like to bring to ur notice the 'multi-crore' business of residential colleges in Andhra Pradesh, n the flase dreams they show and the education 'plague' tht has gripped this state.....
    I would be happy to help you, in researching more about it, if u want. Probably, Naresh.K can also help , if he has time to spare.

    I have written some vague articles in my blog abt this topic.

    I am ready to write a detailed one shortly after my exams......

    ravi atluri

    ReplyDelete
  4. Piyush, I've reworded that - the entire company is valued at 94 cr (which is huge in any case). BCCL has taken a 9% stake for Rs 9 cr. ET link is wking now.

    Ravi - would be glad to see you write on the AP education plague! Email me on that

    ReplyDelete
  5. "But never forget - there is life beyond it as well!"

    so you.. you mean.. we should.. 'dare to dream beyond the IIMs"??


    d:-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi rashmi, there is full page artical(s) in today's times of india about cat (and your name is also mentioned in one of them). i would say these coaching classes and media have made people crazy about IIM's/CAT. also 90% of these aspirants are not self motivated for it, they are just following a herd.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What should battle for clearing CAT be called???????-------------CATtel

    What did 1.75 lakh aspirants did yesterday???????????-----------CATwalk

    My friends who were all charged up to write CAT yesterday, what should , I call them????????-------CAThodes

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Keynes failed in his economics paper, Einsein was bad at academics, Ambani Sr never saw college...Well whats common!!!
    They wouldn't be the kind of people you would term as a high I.Q variety...or CAT 99 scores. But can anyone debate the greatness they have achieved inspite of being labelled low IQites.
    To answer you Ms Bansal, poor English or inablity to solve log A + Log B=X kind of questions doesn't mean his incompetence to be a good manager. It's just that the CAT exam panel thinks so...In fact i can see vert few great managers (among the ones who are from top rung business schools). Did Jack Welch, Ford or Rockefeller or for that matter Indian entrepreneurs like Mittal, Murthy or their ilk have any MBAs to their credit.
    Most of them who jump into the CAT bandwagon today, may have good IQs but rarely lack the passion. It's just the lakhs of money at the end of the tunnel that's carrot for them. And seeing the hype around it, i feel CAT is a bubble on verge of bursting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ultimately everything is tailor made *sigh*. Thank god, there are Interviews and Group Discussions. :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Rashmi and Others
    I have tried CAT 2 times... UnSuccess.:-) But I am sure If they remove Verbal section I will be the Topper. People like me who born and broughtup in Gujju family. Have lots of problems in cracking RC,verbals etc kinds of exams. But I prove my self in so many other exams.... I studied Engg. in Ahmedabad and I used to live near IIMA... Guys believe me If Mam Like Rashmi is writting blogs about what she has done in the past. I am so happy I am not going to give this Bullshit Exams.. Business is in my blood..and one day I will show to the world. Rashmi if U have time please answer this comment [Rashmi,
    Why are you still so gung-ho about CAT following it so closely. I mean it's been ages since you have been out of IIMA and now that you have been there and out if it, why..why would anyone keep clinging to the past...or that you haven't done anything else worthy in your life that you want to keep reminding yourself and others that you once cleared CAT??? ]]

    The reason to ask is today so many newspapers, magazines,medias and Blogspots are talking about CAT, CAT and CAT..... we all are tired of this.. Times of India ... Education times ..doesnt have anyother good topic then CAT.... I think ..Honestly I feel .. We Indian Doesn't have directions in our life ...we dont know what to do.

    Forgive me if I have written anything wrong...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Rashmi,
    Yes, I agree with some of the people here, that you concentrate too much on CAT and IIMs. That is what many of Indians actually do, Keep talking about their past glories.. yes, you are great and you have been thru 2 tough years at IIMA. We agree!!!
    Moreover, yesterday, all news channels NDTV, CNBC did a complete coverage of CAT CAT and CAT!! sigh... Don't know if CNN does the same in US for Harvard B School or Wharton (My guess is NO!!!)
    Here, the whole CAT and the IIM thing is over-hyped mainly by the media and the coaching institutes. You talk of people who wrote to you with poor english. They may be very good in their mother tongue or spoken english. Who cares if someone makes a grammatical mistake? Hasn't he communicated what he wanted to? I guess that is what for communication is I bet you wouldn't have replied for your proud IIM blood wouldn't have let you do that!!! Moreover, I often see many B School products (your types, the top B Schoolers) too make a lot of mistakes in spelling or grammar..
    Please don't hype the whole system a lot. It is just another exam... more on the GMAT lines.. see how less loud a GMAT is held (in fact, everyday someone takes the test somewhere) but none talks of how mind-blowing or how strategic the test was! Please tone down the intensity!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hmm , All these coaching institutes are running on the ambitions of middle class Indian students and parents to achieve social status and monetary benefits fuelled by the salary hype that is created each year after B School placements.Wonder how people used to write entrance exams before the age of coaching institutes.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello,

    It’s a late response, but I could not stop myself writing it.

    You say,

    "Is there any real hope for such aspirants?

    I don't doubt these individuals have some unique passion or potential. But clearing the CAT exam is clearly not one of them. "

    I understand the language standard you and CAT expect. But can you really rule out these "under dogs", or can you blindly say, "But clearing the CAT exam is clearly not one of them". I agree you can 'say', because that’s your opinion. But I strongly believe, any one can crack VA section with strong determination. Because I did it. Please don’t underestimate human potential. I can’t come in to your level of thoughts and argue on this, because I doubt whether you understand what I am saying...

    Have wonderful thoughts and keep writing, I personally don’t like a verbal attack. Hope you take it as gesture out of frustration.

    ReplyDelete
  15. TIME coaching, the cheapest? I don't think so. In fact when I enquired between the three (TIME, IMS, CL) I found TIME's coaching to be the most expensive. That could be coz I wanted a correspondence course and TIME didn't offer one. No doubt that it's reputation is among the best, but they should be catering to more number of students who don't have the time nor inclination to attend classroom coaching.

    Secondly, its common knowledge, that any CAT aspirant gets access to materials from multiple coaching instis. from one source or other other. So it's just a matter of catching hold of a few friends, and giving CAT as a group effort, each one joining a different institute. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  16. I Would really like students entering the IIMS only if they want to learn about business and finances . And Not for the moolah.
    We'll never know how the Mittals or Mr dhirubhai got the Gr8 Business sense .but that really goes to show what really matters.

    ReplyDelete
  17. after going through all the blogs that is posted over here ,only now i would be able to understand why the media and students are making much hype to the CAT exam,that is because of lots of nerve-wrecking hard work involved in it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. after going through all the blogs that is posted over here ,only now i would be able to understand why the media and students are making much hype to the CAT exam,that is because of lots of nerve-wrecking hard work involved in it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Make mates for your group study. Meet fellow IIM aspirants at http://www.iimforums.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Another good educational site are

    www.MaxMyTest.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:34 AM

    Established in 1997, St. Gregorious Edu-Guidance is a leading education consultancy services providing exemplary service to students all over India. We deal in Admissions to all major professional courses in Premier Institutes across India. We are your one step solution for all career related needs, it may be MD, MBBS BE, BTech (ALL BRANCHES), , MDS, BDS, BPharm, BArch, MBA, MTech, MS, , PhD or any other courses. We provide personalized career solutions on an individual basis keeping in mind the aspirations of our client as well as the affordability factor.
    FOR ALL CAREER RELATED NEEDS CONTACT US :
    St. Gregorious Edu-Guidance,
    #2, 2nd Floor,
    J J Complex, Above Chemmannur Jewellers,
    Marthahalli - P O,
    Bangalore - 560037
    Karnataka
    e-mail :jojishpaily@gmail.com
    Contact: +91 9448516637
    +91 9886089896, +91 9449009983
    080-32416570, 41719562

    ReplyDelete

Disqus for Youth Curry - Insight on Indian Youth