In this special column CAT expert and author Mr Rajesh Balasubramanian draws analogies between CAT, the most prestigious MBA entrance in India, and Cricket, the most popular sports of the country.

We in India get cricket analogies better than anything else. So here is a list of ideas for CAT with cricketing parallels.
Plan like the Kiwis

Ms Sumedha Deogharia scored 99.35%ile in CAT 2012. Presently a student of 2013-15 PGDIM batch of NITIE, Mumbai, Ms Deogharia shares her success mantras on cracking CAT. In this exclusive session with MBAUniverse.com, the alumni of DAV Shyamali, Ranchi and Jadavpur University Kolkata, talks on the challenges she faced while preparing for CAT and which part of her preparation helped her score high percentile in CAT and secure admission to the top B-school like NITIE.

She also talks on her GD/PI strategy, weekly study plans and what she finds as the best part of doing an MBA.

International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi will be organizing Conventus 2013, an amalgamation of different management summits during August 23-28, 2013 at their New Delhi Campus. The event will be inaugurated by Mr. P.V. Ramana Murthy, Executive Director-Human Resources, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages on August 23, 2013. Distinguished corporate leaders will share their insight during different summits at Conventus 2013.

With more than 30 days yet to go for CAT 2013 registration, number of sold CAT vouchers has already crossed 50 per cent mark of last years total applications even as CAT officials expect the final figure to hit a record high of 2.5 lakh applications this year.

The response to the CAT vouchers sale has been very encouraging so far. Nearly 1.20 lakh CAT aspirants have already bought CAT vouchers and we expect the CAT numbers to grow well above 2.50 lakh this year, said Dr Rohit Kapoor, Convenor, CAT 2013.

MBA education, the world over, is going through a period of churn and rethinking. A new book commissioned by Graduate Management Admission Council, owners of the GMAT exam, examines the key challenges faced by business schools by offering insights into a rapidly changing global MBA market, and provides a blueprint for change in management education.

With most of the B-schools announcing their admission for 2014-16 in the month of AugustSeptember, you must carefully choose the MBA exams which will lead you to your dream B-school.
A valid score of written MBA exams like CAT, XAT is one of the main eligibility criteria to get into GD-PI shortlist of most of the top management institutes. Some of the top management institutes like IIFT conduct a separate written test.

While comprehensive knowledge of English grammar is important for error corrections in Verbal Ability section of CAT, a good understanding on the usage of non-finites is very helpful towards solving many such questions. Once you know their correct usage, you will be more confident to spot the errors in sentences and paragraphs. However, before jumping over the fence, you need to understand what the non-finites are and how they are used.

How much time one need to devote for Quant & DI section during CAT preparation? How to successfully handle time management in mock and actual test? Which specific section need more focus in Quant section?How to decide number of attempts in different sections so that I can minimize negative marking? How can I improve DI & LR section in 3 months of time?

The questions based on merits of statements appear frequently under Logical Reasoning section of Common Admission Test (CAT) paper. You must tackle these questions strictly on the basis of information and arguments provided in the questions.

The CAT voucher sales has crossed 6-digit mark with more than one lakh MBA aspirants purchasing the application forms in less than 10 days since the voucher sale opened on August 5 even as CAT Convenor hoped applications to reach a record high this year.