United we stand, divided we fall! That’s what a group is all about. When you start preparations to crack the hardest nut named CAT exam in order to get through a top management school, it is better to combine all your forces together. Study Groups, where like-minded MBA aspirants come together, can come handy. In fact this is one of the secret mantras of most CAT exam toppers, who are now students of premium management schools like IIMs and FMS, MBAUniverse.com spoke with. Know more on how to create a strong Study Group and boost your CAT exam preparations in this MBAUniverse.com report.
Share resources and ideas:
Study Groups can be utilized by making use of each others’ resources. Sahil Bansal (CAT 99.91 percentile holder), who is now a student of IIM Lucknow (2009-11), said, “Study Groups are an important means to share resources amongst friends. This can be either study material or strategies related to certain sections.”
If you are weak in a certain section, one of your friends in the Study Group who excels in that area might help you with expert tips. Try getting tips from other members of the Study Group and help your friends by doing vice versa. Amit Tandon (CAT 99.49 percentile holder), who is now studying at IIM Ahmedabad (2009-2011) said, “Aspirants can learn a lot of new things among themselves. For example somebody who is good in Quant can give tips for solving Quant problems and someone with good English can offer expert advice on solving English questions.” Sitaram Agarwal (99.53 percentile holder), a student of the current batch of IIM Ahmedabad (2009-2011) said, “It helps in mutual learning which is more effective in terms of overall preparation.”
Solve mock test papers together:
Solving CAT exam papers together can give you an idea where you stand in comparison to your friends. Also, if your Study Group members are a part of different MBA coaching institutes, you can get a fair idea about the kind of tests those MBA coaching institutes provide. Sayali Kale, currently studying in IIM Ahmedabad (2009-2011), said, “CAT exam aspirants should form Study Groups and join different competing MBA coaching institute classes so that they can solve test papers from a variety of MBA coaching institutes.” After the results come out, you can also compare the analysis of the papers.
In this regard, Glen D’Silva (99.83 percentile holder), who is now a student of top management school, IIM Ahmedabad (2009-2011), said, “We generally used to discuss the solutions of mock papers and tried to find out if anyone had a better solution.” Sahil Bansal also seconded the opinion and said, “It is essential to benchmark performance amongst competitors and also to discuss the paper to plug some of the missing concepts.”
Motivate each other:
According to CAT exam topers who spoke with MBAUniverse.com, a close-knit Study Group can also provide mental peace and a sense of togetherness, and thus boost the CAT exam preparations. Anurag Goyal, (99.56 percentile holder) who is currently pursuing his MBA from FMS (2009-2011) said, “It can help the entire group to make the best of each others’ strengths.” Sitaram Agarwal relates the effectiveness of Study Groups with the team work in a management school. “After getting into a management school, we are expected to be working in groups, and the CAT exam, to a certain extent expects us to start early on with it, by making effective Study Groups for CAT exam preparations,” he said.
Lastly, a study group consisting of friends can provide the much needed support in order to cope with the huge mental strain of cracking CAT exam and getting through a top management school. “A study group provides the much important support system to keep up the motivation to work hard,” said Sahil Bansal.
Is it a group of equals?
But beware! Forming a Study Group for CAT exam preparation comes with some pitfalls. It is possible that students coming together to create a Study Group may not have the same mental level. The weaker members might suffer from inferiority complex, while the stronger ones might have to spend more time to guide their mates. Explaining, Anurag Goyal said, “In a Study Group some students fare better than the others, which can be discouraging for the weaker performers in the group.” Amey Mashilkar (99.14 percentile holder) a student of the current batch of IIM Bangalore (2009-2011), spoke on similar lines. “Study Groups are fruitful only if the members are equally capable. Otherwise you may end spending most of the time helping others,” said Amey.
You must also keep the compatibility level and needs of each other in mind while choosing members for your Study Group. If you and your fellow group members excel in one particular section and are weak in others, it will be of no use either. Ensure that your knowledge base and skills complement each other’s preparation to reach the doorstep of a top management school.
So, all things considered, creating a CAT exam Study Group can be a great tool on your journey to a top management school. You can look for your prospective group members at your college, locality or in your MBA coaching institute. You can even go online and create your own group at forums like MBAUniverse.com Talk MBA Forum (http://forum.mbauniverse.com/).
