Indian business will now be able to admit students on the basis of the globally recognized Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). The move is part of the HRD ministry-controlled All India Council for Technical Education’s efforts to simplify the admission process for business schools. Being able to admit students on the basis of GMAT will now make it easier for the more than 3,000 business schools in India to draw international students. The test is recognized in more than 110 countries. According to government data, less than 4,000 foreign students are currently admitted into institutes of higher education in India every year. Business schools in particular are looking to increase the number to make classrooms more diverse, improve their global rankings and gain international accreditations. The 13 Indian Institutes of Managements recently decided to hold road shows to attract foreign students.
The Graduate Management Admission Test is a Standardized test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills. It is intended to help the graduate schools of business assess the potential of applicants for advanced study in business and management. Nearly 900 management institutes all over the world (almost all of them in the US) require GMAT scores from each applicant. The GMAT tests the fundamental skills - Reasoning and Comprehension included - and does not require any subject-specific theoretical study.
The test is designed in such a way that it would be unlike any other test you would have taken at school or college. First, the test has no question paper or answer sheets, nor does it have the same set of questions for all the examinees. Further, it does not give you the option of not answering a question (unless, of course, you run out of time at the end). All this because the GMAT is now an entirely Computer based test - the keyboard and mouse do the work of a pen or pencil. The test is scored out of 800 (in multiples of 10), and most scores fall in the range of 500-600. However, a score of even 800 is not unheard of!
The GMAT is only one of several parameters, which the graduate schools look at to determine the selection of an applicant. A high score alone does not translate into an admission offer from a great school. But the test can be looked upon as the first major hurdle to be cleared in the process of getting admission into a B-school of your choice.
In a computer-adaptive test, the computer screen displays one question at a time, which is chosen from a very large pool of questions categorized by content and difficulty. The first question is always of a medium difficulty, and each subsequent question is determined by your responses to all the previous questions. In other words, the CAT adjusts itself to your ability level - you’ll get few questions that are either too easy or too difficult for you.
Each question in the GMAT CAT has five answer options, and you are required to select one of these five as the correct answer by clicking on it. A subsequent question is displayed on the screen only after you have answered the previous question, so you cannot skip a question. You cannot also go back to a previously answered question to change your answer. Thus, if you guess a correct answer or answer a question incorrectly by mistake, your answers to subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at the appropriate level of difficulty for you.
The test has three distinct sections: Analytical Writing Ability (AWA), Quantitative, and Verbal.
The Quantitative section has two types of questions, Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency, mingled throughout the section.
The Verbal Section has three types: Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension; here too, the questions of each type appear in no set sequence.
There are a total of 78 questions, 37 in Quantitative and
41 in Verbal. These have to be done in 75 minutes each.
The following table gives out the format of the GMAT-CAT:
The tutorial is meant to make you feel comfortable with the infrastructure and the environment and does not have a prescribed time limit. You are expected to be through with it in 15 minutes or so: it makes sense to acclimatize yourself fully with the setting even after you think you have understood how the system works.
Analytical Writing Assessment
The analytical writing section requires you to write - or rather type - two short essays in thirty minutes each. The first is the Analysis of an Issue, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated.
For both the essays, the emphasis is on the "Analytical" part, and not on the "Writing" part. This implies that a concise essay with well-reasoned points written in simple English will be looked upon more favorably than an essay, which falls short on the analytical aspects even though it is high on writing skills.
A five-minute break follows the two essays. The computer gives you the option to take this break, or to move directly to the subsequent section. Even if you finish the essays before the stipulated sixty minutes, the break will still be of five minutes. It is advisable to utilize this break by gearing yourself up for the tougher sections that follow.
Quantitative Section
The 37 questions in this section comprise two kinds of questions: Problem Solving (PS) and Data Sufficiency (DS). The two kinds do not have a definite break-up; usually there are around 20 PS and 17 DS questions. The section tests you on a level of Maths that is comparable to the level of Class 10 exams, with questions on Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability. This list is not exhaustive; questions from beyond these topics may also be asked.
While the Problem Solving questions require you to solve a mathematical problem directly and choose the right answer, the Data Sufficiency is of a trickier variety. Each problem comprises a question followed by two statements, which may or may not lead to the answer to the given question. This is what you need to ascertain - whether the given statements can be used to answer the question or not, and if so, whether the statements can be used independently or in conjunction. Each of the five answer options present the five possibilities that arise in this case, and you have to apply the basic principles of mathematics with a strong dose of logic to get these right.
Verbal Section
The verbal section in GMAT requires the basic skills of correct English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 41 questions, to be attempted in 75 minutes, consist of three types: Sentence Correction (SC), Critical Reasoning (CR), and Reading Comprehension (RC). The three types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type. The break-up of questions among SC, CR, and RC could be 14-14-13 or 15-13-13, or any such combination.
,an established training institute with loads of experience Assists you with its proficient guidance, punctilious planning, exhaustive study material, purposeful follow-up, congenial environment with a dedicated staff and faculty. Now is the Time for you to make a smart move, a move that will propel you into prominence.
