Admission entrance test to MBA(IB) 2015-17 batch at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is on November 23, 2014 while the second day CAT 2014 exam will be a day earlier i.e. on November 22, 2014.
Thousands of the candidates will be appearing both in CAT 2014 on Nov 22 and IIFT 2014 on Nov 23, 2014 with no gap even of a single day. Hardly a week is left for both the exams which are the gateway to top rated MBA/PGDM programmes in IIMs and IIFT. Both the exams are equally important for the aspirants who have applied and plan to take the tests. Prof S K Agarwal Verbal Ability expert and mentor on CAT and IIFT preparation shares the one week strategy to synchronize your last few days preparation for IIFT entrance test with CAT.
While IIFT admission entrance test is based on conventional pattern of paper-pen mode, CAT is completely a computer based test (CBT) where no use of paper pen is allowed to answer the questions. IIFT 2014 entrance test is a single session 2 hours exam and the CAT 2014 will be conducted in 4 separate sessions on Nov 16 & 22 comprising 2 sessions on each day. The exam duration will be short by 10 minutes to 3 hours (170 minutes).
IIFT and CAT: Unity in diversity
The composition of IIFT and CAT 2014 is entirely different yet preparation to both the exams could be synchronised as they have number of similarities on anticipated topics in the exams.
The written admission test to MBA Programme in IIFT consists of multiple choice objective type questions (in English). IIFT entrance comprises the questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis. The candidate may attempt any question from any section during the time allotted to attempt the test in the examination.
CAT 2014 will have 2 sections comprising Quant & data Interpretation as first section and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning in second section.
Different bottle: Same wine
Type of questions in IIFT admission entrance test are based on similar topics as in CAT. Candidates have to prepare fundamentals of English language like parts of speech, common errors in grammar usage, subject verb agreement, modifiers, jumbled paragraphs, Reading comprehension and so on for both the exams. No doubt the format of questions would be different but this only tests how much is your understanding of the topic.
Similarly the source topics on which questions are framed for Quant in IIFT and CAT are more or less the same. For example Probability, Integers, Arithmetic topics like Time, distance, speed & Work, percentage, Algebra topics, Log theory, Permutation Combination, topics on Number system are same for IIFT as well as for CAT exam.
You have been preparing the same topics with the only difference that the questions would be asked differently in both the exams. This difference in no way implies that you need to understand some other basics of the topic. The formulae are same although approach may be different. So while you prepare Quant for CAT, make sure you also focus your approach to solve the questions on the IIFT pattern.
IIFT & CAT: DI-LR present in both
Interestingly if one goes through the CAT exam pattern, it may be observed that Data interpretation is clubbed to Quant and Logical Reasoning to Verbal Ability section. IIFT has named this section as Logical Reasoning which consists of LR as well as DI. The topics are also almost same although difficulty level in IIFT is slightly less than CAT.
Candidates finalising their preparation for CAT 2014 must have studied and prepared well the questions on DI based on tables, bar diagrams, graphs. Similar information rich questions are also asked in IIFT entrance exam. 4-5 questions follow the detailed information part. When you prepare for one exam you can simultaneously practice the other types of questions going by the past papers of the related exam. The DI questions are a bit time consuming, so it’s worth trying with patience. A little more practice can be of great help in this section.
Topics on Logical Reasoning in IIFT are more interesting than CAT and the difficulty level is little less. CAT prefers questions on blood relations, seating arrangements, team formation apart from other topics like series, analogy, sets, Statements, arguments, conclusions which are also favourites of IIFT.
What you prepare for CAT will simultaneously get prepared for IIFT and no extra strenuous efforts are needed at least for English comprehension, Quant, DI and LR. The approach to answer the questions may however be different.
General Awareness: the only extra section
Out of the 4 sections in IIFT entrance test, General Awareness is an additional part which needs your preparation apart from what you are preparing for CAT. IIFT toppers are of the view that a year book like ‘Manorama’ will be of great help in this section. If you devote half an hour a day for this section and regularly read the news papers, you can get through this section.
GK section would prove to be a percentile booster, if you could focus on it properly. General Awareness covers questions on conventional as well as current national and international affairs and relevant economic, business topics apart from major policy decisions. Questions can also be based to test the aspirants’ awareness about ‘Who’s who’, work of famous personalities; Constitution of India.
Practice Mocks alternately
It is imperative that you must be attempting mocks now both for CAT and for IIFT entrance exam. It will be better to take one mock test for CAT followed by one mock for IIFT next day. It will keep you away from getting monotonous and will provide you the opportunity to attempt different type of questions.
While you analyse the mocks, try to get the feel of questions that you found on similar topics both for CAT and IIFT. It will also help you to crack IIFT immediately after CAT.
50% score can get high percentile
IIFT has a maximum raw score of 100 marks for 125-130 questions and CAT 2014 will award 3 marks per correct answer with total number of questions being 100. It means IIFT has varying section wise marking pattern while the equal marking pattern in CAT 2014 means that the raw score in CAT 2014 will be 300 marks. Both the exams award percentile scores also.
The expected cut-off for the raw marks needed in IIFT 2014 exam is expected to be around 49 out of 100, it may be 180 out of 300 in CAT 2014 for IIMs. Calculation of percentile will be based on their respective normalization of score process.
Quant & DI: more weightage in IIFT
Questions in different sections and sub sections in IIFT entrance exam carry different marking pattern whereas in CAT all the questions carry equal marks. Although overall maximum marks in IIFT entrance exam are 100, the maximum marks allotted to different questions vary from 0.5 to 1.
Maximum weightage in IIFT entrance test is awarded to Quantitative ability and Data interpretation. Expected number of questions in Quant in IIFT 2014 are 25 and Data Interpretation will have around 20 questions both carrying the weightage of highest 1 mark each in these sections. Quant is a separate section whereas Data Interpretation is clubbed to logical Reasoning.
Logical reasoning section may have 18-20 questions only on LR carrying 0.75 mark per right answer implying that the candidates can score 15 marks at the maximum if all the questions are accurately attempted on logical reasoning. Rest of the questions could be on DI in this section.
35-38 questions are expected in English Comprehension section carrying a weightage of 0.75 mark per correct answer. Total sectional weightage could be 26-27 marks.
27-30 questions you may find to test the General Awareness in IIFT entrance exam. Each question is expected to carry 0.5 mark, hence the total weightage would come to 14-15 marks.
Those who are more skilled to solve the Quant and DI questions will get an edge in IIFT exam.
Same ratio of Negative marking
Penalty of one third marks will be awarded for every wrong answer in CAT 2014 as well as in IIFT 2014. The candidates therefore have to be careful to avoid this negative marking by choosing the answer options with well calculated thought process.
The practice session strategy both for IIFT and CAT may remain the same beginning with strong hold topic questions to difficult ones while maximising the attempts and not compromising with accuracy level.
Focus on high sectional performance in both
Sectional cut offs in IIFT and CAT 2014 will be applicable. They will play an important role in shortlisting criteria and a candidate has to clear each of them individually. The DI with LR will form one section in IIFT exam and in CAT the DI questions will be clubbed to Quant. It is advisable to practice simultaneously for both the exams on Data Interpretation questions.
Verbal Ability in CAT 2014 will have 15 questions on Logical reasoning whereas this part is to remain with DI in IIFT entrance exam. Candidates will have to score much higher than the cut off in each section to get shortlisted for final admission round.
Last minute strategy: Manage time
Prof. S.K. Agarwal shares that time management is the most important part to score high in the examination. You cannot attempt all the questions in CAT 2014 exam or in entrance test to IIFT within the allotted time frame. It requires consistent and planned testing room strategy to maximise your score. There is no use scanning the test paper again and again while attempting the questions.
The examination covers wide variety of topics and questions. The best approach is to begin with the section where you are more comfortable. It will require less time and you will be able to solve more questions. Next attempt should be for another section which is of interest to you and you should move one with similar pattern. The most difficult and time consuming questions should be attempted in the end, if time permits. Please however, remember not to leave or short attempt any section as you need to clear the sectional cut off along with scoring high marks.
IIFT 2014 may not be the largest MBA entrance test nor it is the gateway to seek admission in a cluster of hundreds of B schools, still IIFT entrance test is taken by more aspirants than those who appear in many All India or State level MBA/PGDM entrance tests. Learning experience across the 2 campuses of IIFT namely Delhi and Kolkata is good and commands high placement packages. The MBA(IB) programme is available at IIFT New Delhi and Kolkata campuses in India and at Dar-es-Salaam campus in Tanzania.
IIFT entrance test will be conducted in 20 cities across India. The conventional paper pencil mode test will be of two hours duration from 10.00 A.M. to 12.00 Noon on Sunday, November 23, 2014.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on IIFT Nov 2014 exam
