Is CAT 2014 better bet than taking MBA admission now?

If you dont get admission in one of the top B schools and you are a working professional, you might be better off continuing to work rather than incurring the high costs associated with obtaining an MBA from a low ranking one as you may get more skills by spending less and still earning than by investing a huge amount.

Except MAH CET 2014 where Common Admission Process is still to begin, almost all the major exam results are out and candidates are taking admission based on their scores in B-schools.
All the Top B-schools including IIMs are on the verge of finalizing their final Batch list of 2014-16. Hence, those who have not yet taken admission or are yet to decide on a B-school, This article is for you.

Among all the options, CAT 2014 might prove to be a better bet for many who are looking to pursue MBA.

MBA; education with high ROI
Initially MBA education was seen as the education beyond reach for middle class families since it was more expensive and funding it was a tedious job. However, with the banks and other financial institutions extending full assistance to pursue MBA, its no more a problem.

Now the boom in number of admission seekers to good MBA colleges is more than ever earlier. The basic reason is high ROI; career prospects and good managerial skills. For example, if you compare admission in MBA and admission in MA, M.Com, MSc or any other Post graduate course, opportunities with MBA are more while admission criteria are almost same. Since funding the MBA education is not a major problem at least for the good B schools, why the best shouldnt be chosen instead of compromising on the Tier III B-schools?

Competition only among top 20K
Competition for top b schools like IIMs, XLRI, FMS, IIFT, JBIMS, IMT have always remained tough and will continue to remain so. Hence, increase or decrease in number of test takers by a few thousand hardly makes any difference. The competition is always among top 20 thousand candidates who dominate the scene.

If you have scored a CAT/XAT percentile in a range of 75-85, please remember you will get only a second tier B school. If you can improve your performance not less than by 10 to 15 percentile, you may get admission in the top rated B school as cited above. Candidates with percentile as high as 99+ cant be sure of converting the call in an IIM. So think where do you stand? Should you explore admission opportunities in 2014 with low ranking B school or prepare hard to get the top ranking B school in 2015?

Base your decision on following parameters-
1. How important is 1 year in your life
Undoubtedly your every minute, hour, day, month or year is very important. But its important for everyone and the person who has nothing to do is always in a hurry. Out of 80 years of your life 35-40 years will be in working domain and rest of the life is devoted to pre job and post job affairs.

Now focus how much this 1 year is going to impact your rest of life. Assuming that you scored 80+ percentile in CAT 2013 and 80+ in XAT 2014; have fairly good academic profile and are bent upon to take admission in MBA 2014, the suggestion for another option to prepare for CAT 2014 and take admission in 2015 also exists. Let us find what difference it could make

2. Expect higher ROI
The ROI shown above is not a myth but is a reality. There are number of b schools that are not able to have good placement nor do good recruiters visit them. With the same investment level, you may not get even half of the average that might be available to you after a gap of 1 year and in a working life span of 35 years, this one year of preparation may not count much. You can convert it into a great loss or gain depending upon your decision.
MBA Placement 2014 shows great positive trend where highest and average salaries have gone up despite the increase in number of students seeking placement in top rated b schools.
The economic slowdown appears to be over and better opportunities might be waiting from next year onwards.
rts 2014:Know the most authentic and diverse B school Placement Data 2014

3. How confident you are
Please remember all cant be goodie-goodie, unless you are fully motivated and confident with your preparation level for the coming year. If you are confident to score as high as above 95 percentile, begin your preparation now, else it may not be a good decision. Target CAT/XAT with full vigour and intelligence.

4. Make a SWOT analysis
Find out your strengths and weaknesses. Work on them and overcome the weaknesses while improving further the strengths. Now assess with the strategy of preparation you are going to adopt, where you would stand after 1 year.

5. Was that your 1st year of preparation
If that was your first year of preparation and you couldnt focus much due to final graduation examination or couldnt get proper guidance, it could be understood. In case you repeat some other excuses this year again, it may be termed as foul and remember either you can do it this year or never. The focus therefore has to be more on right preparation in right direction.

CAT 2014; more time - fewer questions
There was time when CAT used to have 240 questions to be solved in 120 minutes; now the situation has changed. You have to solve 60 questions in 140 minutes. Its the rise in difficulty level, contextual usage, in depth understanding of the topic which leads to the success in the MBA entrance examination.

MBA has less worth in low ranking B schools
If you are not able to make it to top 25 B schools in India, doing MBA may not have much worth. Sometimes it so happens that a candidate with excellent academic profile and work experience but low CAT/XAT percentile of 92 to 94 can convert the call in final admission round whereas a candidate with 99 percentile having above average academic back ground may not be able to convert the call. So when you register for CAT 2014, mark your preference of IIMs accordingly.

Apply in more B schools Next year
Besides keep yourself updated when the B schools of your choice open the application date. Try to apply to as many high ranked b schools as you can. You may be considered even if you are wait listed.
All the top rated MBA colleges have weightage for academic profile, work experience, gender diversity and above all your performance in PI round. Some of the institutes even award higher weightage to PI than to CAT percentile.

Low ranking B schools; more losses
When you proceed for admission in low ranking B school, you expose yourself to more losses in terms of learning and placement. An MBA from a premier program, such as IIM A, B, C, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI, IMT has a very robust return on investment.

MBAUniverse.com offers a comprehensive preparation package coupled with over 200 online interactive classes with Top CAT experts including from IIMs for CAT 2014 preparation. Visit the link below for more information and new batch schedules: http://www.mbauniverse.com/cat_preparation_online.html

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com to get more updates on CAT 2014 and MBA Admissions 2014