Test (CAT) 2013, MBA Aspirants must be weighing coaching options to ensure that they score a high percentile required for admission in top B-schools including Indian Institute of Management (IIMs).
Getting a high percentile say 90 to 99+ in this computer-based entrance exam – CAT, held during October-November every year, qualifies a candidate to enter the final selection round in order to secure a seat in PGDM or MBA programmes at top B-schools.
Our previous article Why coaching or mentor guidance is required for CAT brought you importance of mentor and expert guidance for CAT preparation.
Now, once you decide to join a coaching or look for expert guidance, what factors must be looked into before locking your final option? This article from MBAUniverse.com Prep team of experts brings you important factors that you must analyse while opting for your coaching or expert guidance for CAT preparation.
Time and Location:
You first need to check how much time you can devote for your coaching. If you are a working professional, it will especially be a concern as attending coaching classes which requires a regular schedule to be followed by an Aspirant.
Location of a coaching institute for off-line classes also makes an important factor as you may have to commute regularly during your preparation period. So, If time and location are your major concerns, you can check and compare the timing and schedules of the on-line coaching classes offered by many Prep players.
If you are completely dedicated to CAT during next six month, you can afford to spend time required for off-line coaching classes. Still, compare between the online and offline classes to find your suitable option considering time and location factor. On-line classes also offer flexibility of timings.
Check the Basics:
You need to check the basic facts of a coaching centre first. For example, number of classes, which topic will have more classes, batch size, availability of doubt-clarification sessions, and course module.
The aspirants preparing for CAT, however, first need to understand the Pattern and Formation of CAT examination.
You can get brief programme details of different coaching classes and scan them to get an overview of their expected delivery. You can also take an online feedback from your friends and gather their experiences of CAT preparation from a coaching institute. This will help you go for the best available option.
Also check, does the coaching Institute have full length Mock Tests and can it provide the same to you timely? Would the test series be in accordance to the CAT examination pattern? Answers to these questions must be sought and well analysed before selecting the right coaching.
Affordability:
Coaching fee is one of the most important factors that influence your choice. Check the packages that suit your affordability. Looking for the best packages that you can’t afford will only result in wasting your precious time.
Nevertheless, a coaching institute charging exorbitant fee, only due to its brand name may not be preferred one. On the other hand, a coaching centre might be two-three year old, but it may have experts that might be better than the coaching centres running for long. Despite being a better option, the new one may charge you less. Therefore, make a detailed search online on the fee structure for your available options.
Reputation and available Experts:
Before selecting a coaching centre, you should necessarily check their track record, success ratio and the kind of mentors available with the centre to guide you.
All the coaching centres claim a lot and sometime even mislead with confusing jargons. Suppose, a coaching centre –on-line or off-line is immaterial – imparted training to 70,000 aspirants in a session and 700 got a good percentile; on the other hand is a coaching institute that trained 1000 odd students and 100 got a very good percentile – think of the ratio and then decide.
Also find the experts available with the centre who will guide you on different section. To know more about your mentors, you can even request for Demo classes. It is better to opt for running Demo class so that you may get a feel of teaching methodology and the level of understanding that you may get. The questions posed by the students in such classes and the answers received by them, will make you form an idea whether to go for it. If the queries raised by you are duly answered, you will have the satisfaction of selecting the right coaching.
Find your best-fit Prep package:
Before finally selecting a coaching, you should analyse your acquaintance with CAT syllabus and level of preparation. Accordingly you should select your best-fit package.
Different Coaching centres offer different packages with a mix created from amongst regular classes, print material, soft-copy of the material, doubt-clearing sessions, Group Discussion (GD) sessions, Personal Interview (PI) sessions, Mock Test Series, Interaction with their toppers etc. Choosing a right mix according to your need will save your time as well as your money.
MBAUniverse.com also offers a comprehensive preparation package coupled with over 200 online interactive classes with Top CAT experts including from IIMs for CAT 2013 preparation. Visit the link below for more information and new batch schedules:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-exam-preparation/CAT_Preparation/mba_preparation_package.php
No doubt, you will have to judiciously select the right coaching for one of the most prestigious examination that paves your way to the best B-schools in India.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more CAT prep features.
