Cleared CAT 2013? Learn from last years toppers about how to gear up for WAT

After the announcement of CAT 2013 results, it is time for you to prepare for the next level for Admissions 2014. It is time to win the crucial process of GD PI WAT round. The successful candidates should now be ready with their next strategy i.e. Admission to Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The next big thing to watch out for is the shortlists for GD PI WAT for various IIMs.

Numbers of top B schools including IIMs have made the GD PI WAT Round an important part of final admission. Once the candidate has cleared the written examination whether on-line or paper pencil based, the next big preparation target should be GD PI WAT to enhance their chance of getting admission to their desired top B school.

The IIMs and other elite institutes, the ones under XAT, NMAT, etc have now started giving more emphasis on Essay writing, making it as one of the vital process for admissions and thus it becomes imperative for every MBA aspirant to know more about essay writing.

With GD losing its charm, Written Ability Test (WAT) has been gaining importance in the admission process of IIMs. All the 7 IIMs use PI while WAT is also used by all the older IIMs except IIM Shillong.

With this article MBAUniverse.com brings CAT toppers of previous years to share with you their mantras for a successful WAT.

AtIIM Ahmedabad, 70% weightage is given to WA-PI score and 30% weightage is given to the Composite Score at the final stage of selection to arrive at the Aggregate Score. Selection at this stage will strictly be based on ranks on the Aggregate Score (based on CAT/GMAT*, Academic Rating (AR) and WA-PI Scores).

The WA-PI Score is based on the following: performance in the written analysis, personal interview, verifiable awards and recognitions, academic performance, exceptional achievements, extra-curricular activities, post-degree work experience, post-graduation education etc.

The second phase ofIIM BangaloreAdmission criteria 2014-16 includes the final selection of candidates through PI and WAT. The topics for WAT will be on current political, economic and business affairs, though other topics such as sports and those based on creative thinking may also be included. The time provided for writing the note will typically be about 30 minutes. Subsequently, the performance in WAT and PI will be evaluated by the competent panel.

IIM Admission criteria 2014: Final Selection criteria of seven older IIMs http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/7364/IIM-Final-Selection-criteria-2014

However the WAT and PI process for the new IIMs Common Admission Process (CAP) will start mid-February 2014, and will end mid-March 2014. Six new IIMs, with a total of 800 seats, will be calling almost 10,000 candidates for the combined Personal Interview and WAT commonly known as CAP.

This article will give you a brief insight about how to prepare for WAT section of the B Schools Admission Process for Admission 2014 directly in the words of toppers from top B Schools. Following are the different aspects to watch out for getting in the WAT round.

Keep yourself abreast with issues related to current affairs

The Writing Ability Test (WAT) which has been gaining importance during the second phase of admissions in all the IIMs and other leading B Schools are meant to judge the knowledge of a candidate regarding the current social or political issues and events. Jayesh Ruchandani of IIM Kashipur (With a sectional and Overall Percentile of CAT: OA-99.12, QA-91.84, VA-99.77) advises that, Daily reading of editorials of newspapers (The Hindu, TOI, etc.), magazines will keep you abreast with current affairs, help develop opinions/ views and increase your knowledge about various subjects. He also advised the candidates to increase knowledge about any particular interest (football, tech, etc).

In an interview with MBAUniverse.com Puneet Manot (98.99, CAT 2012) from IIM Raipur says, Being in touch with the current affairs and continuously reading opinions about them, was one thing I targeted to prepare for GD/WAT. While IIM Raipur student and 99.16 percentiler in CAT 2012 Rohit Anand Garg says, I read newspapers and prominent magazines regularly to build up knowledge. Also, I browsed through various blogs and articles and videos of group discussions and learnt a lot from them. Reading editorials from prominent newspapers helps in analyzing current issues from various points of view and develops perspective about prevalent issues. According to Siddhartha Tiwari, the 98.94 CAT percentile from IIM Raipur, for Written Ability Test, one needs to have good writing skills along with sound knowledge of current affairs and contemporary issues to substantiate ones write-up.

Time Management:

Time management is something which must be kept in mind while preparing for the Writing Ability Tests (WAT) of leading B Schools including all the IIMs. You should learn how to put maximum information in just a short span of time in the form of essays. According to Apurv Jain from FMS Delhi, aspirants should manage time and source of material of study very effectively and efficiently. Talking about the best part of doing MBA, Ashpreet Singh a PGP Student (2013-15 ) from IIM Ahmedabad said that, Doing an MBA teaches us what Time Management really means.

According to IIM Kashipurs Jayesh Ruchandani, After CAT exam, there is a time of about 3 months to prepare for WAT/GD/ PI. However, one should not be under the impression that skills such as writing and speaking can be developed in a few months/days. Learning is a continuous process and preparation should begin at the earliest. According to Siddhartha Tiwari, the 98.94 CAT percentile from IIM Raipur who was also a working professional for WAT the students should manage the time properly so that the write-up can be finished within the stipulated time-limit. For WAT, my strategy was to write on one topic each day within time limit, he added. According to Rohit Anand Garg from IIM Raipur, speed and accuracy matter the most in the CAT examination.

Improve your writing skills

As the essays are judged to know about the candidates grasp over language and grammar it is very important for them to improve their writing skills as much as they can so that they are able to shed light over the given topic in a detailed and attractive manner during the stipulated time while giving their WAT. Talking about the need for the improvement in the writing skills of the candidates before WAT section of admissions in the leading B Schools Jayesh Ruchandani from IIM Kashipur said, One should not be under the impression that skills such as writing and speaking can be developed in a few months/days. Learning is a continuous process and preparation should begin at the earliest.

In an interview with MBAUniverse.com Siddhartha Tiwary of IIM Raipur said, For Written Ability Test, one needs to have good writing skills along with sound knowledge of current affairs and contemporary issues to substantiate ones write-up. While in the words of Rohit Anand Garg from IIM Raipur, for WAT, It is beneficial to take a random topic and write an essay on that daily. Writing skills can be significantly improved with this exercise.

It is important to note here that the essay that you will write can generate some questions for the interview round. The interview panel can ask you questions about the essay you have written and you will have to defend it. The essay is used as a tool to judge the social and ethical values of the aspirant as the written piece provides a valuable insight into the mind of the test taker. The B-school uses the essay as a pre-interview yardstick. An Essay can test you out on: Clarity, Logic, Focus, Structure, Argument and several other factors.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2013 results and GDPIWAT preparation