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Around 80 percent of MBAs in each b-school are engineers'

Last updated on: October 10, 2011 16:34 IST

In an online chat hosted on October 4, Aziz Manva, an IIM-Lucknow alumnus and head of Testfunda.com addressed reader queries related to post CAT strategies to crack Essays, Group Discussion, Personal Interview and more. For those who missed the live chat, here's the unedited transcript. Illustrations by Dominic Xavier

crackcat asked, hello aziz sir, how can i prepare for group dicussion round? you have mentioned group PIs also how does that work?

Aziz Manva answers, at 2011-10-04 16:01:56For group discussions, firstly focus on improving your knowledge of current affairs. Read up on the political, social and economic news in the last year or so. Also, during the GD, focus more on content and clarity of thought rather than only communication skills. A group PI is where 5-6 people are part of the same interview and the same question is put to everyone to see their response

mukul asked, sir can u tel me tips to crack group dscussion? what topics should i practice?

Aziz Manva answers, You don't need to practise specific topics. Rather focus on being abreast with a lot of current affairs, financial news, etc...Also try and express your thoughts in a systematic and logical manner

arco asked, sir, ur tips are very useful, m doing only one mock a day. can you tell me what is the score to qualify for IIM-A, B and C

Aziz Manva answers, It is not possible to predict the score for the individual IIMs. Rather try to attempt around 21-23 questions per section and get around 85% of them correct

help asked, Hi Aziz, 3 weeks to go for CAT..Suggest me something for Reading Comprehension. Most of the questions i mark are wrong

Aziz Manva answers, One strategy that can help is that you first skim through the passage quickly to just get a feel of the topic. Then read the questions and re-read the specific part of the passage relevant to that question again. That should help.

help asked, Also pls suggest if any of top30 b school have their own MBA exam (apart from SNAP and NMAT).

Aziz Manva answers, IIFT, XLRI, JBIMS, MICA have their separate exams i.e. apart from CAT

Garima asked, Hi Aziz, how much does one's knowledge in current affairs affect GD scores....Can lack in it still be compensated by your communication

Aziz Manva answers, Agree that it is not possible to know everything about everything...but it is essential to have a working knowledge of the major events that have happened in India and around the world over the last one year. Generally, communication skills are helpful but only to a very limited extent. They cannot be a substitute for content

help asked, thanks Aziz..this helps. Also your opinion on niche college like UPES. I find Power or Oil mgmt lucrative though i am from an IT backgroud. Any comments?

Aziz Manva answers, Though I don't have too much information about UPES, what I can say is that go in for a specialist career such as oil or power only if you want to make a long term career out of it. If after a 5-6 years you feel disillusioned with it, you may get stuck as you would have been tagged a specialist by then. so, keep that in mind before taking any decision.

ankur asked, I am very weak at writing. How put essay writing on right track in 3 months after writing CAT. I do a lot of grammitical errors.

Aziz Manva answers, This can only come about with practice. Try and write essays on MS Word rather than in a notebook. Keep the language settings to English (UK). Word will automatically show the spelling errors. Also, try and structure all essays that you write in terms of introduction, main body and conclusion. If you want to start practising essays, get hold of GRE material which will have a lot of essay topics

sks asked, Can you suggest what MBA or PG Course should a professional with 7+ years experience in IT should pursue for growth and from which institute. Thanks

Aziz Manva answers, If you don't want to leave your job, go for a part-time or executive MBA course. However, the better options is to go for a full time MBA. You can select any of the top 10-15 B-schools in India (including the IIMs)

Dharamveer asked, What should be my answer to the question? "You did engineering for 4 years and now you want an MBA, why did you go for an Engineering then?" Obviously I was naive at that time but thats not a good answer I suppose :/

Aziz Manva answers, You are not necessarily naive. An engineering degree makes you very strong analytically and that is why around 80% of MBAs in each B-school are engineers. You can always say that only an engineering background will help me progress in a technical domain. An MBA degree will help me go ahead faster in a general business domain

Garima asked, what would be better ways to prepare for RC in the left over tym for CAT?

Aziz Manva answers, If you want try and practice some RCs from past CAT papers...especially 1990-2003. Also, for each RC that you practice, try and create your own title, summary, one-line theme (central idea), etc. That should help

Dharamveer asked, While writing essays, I am good and expressive with nice content, but I don't have a strong vocabulary, So should I focus on putting strong words in the essay just for the sake of it or Go ahead and enjoy my essay?

Aziz Manva answers, Don't put words just for the sake of putting them. If you go wrong somewhere, the entire meaning of the sentence as well of the essay may change. Also, if you focus on vocabulary, your content may go for a toss. The objective of a good essay is to express your thoughts in as lucid a manner as possible.

ankur asked, If i try to right essay, there is no one to check it and guide me . Then how to proceed.

Aziz Manva answers, You can show it to some of your friends or to your faculty in college or coaching classes. They will then guide you on how to improve the essays further

crackcat asked, can u give some examples of questions asked? since u have already studied at IIM?

Aziz Manva answers, The pattern of questions asked over the last 2 years has been quite different compared to what has been asked before. Also, it would not be possible to share any data on questions in the last 2 years due to the Prometric Non Disclosure AGreement

hobbies asked, I do not have any special hobby or say strong one. How i will defend during interview?

Aziz Manva answers, There will be some interest that you follow in your strong time. Start gathering more information...check the latest happenings in that area...read up a bit on its history etc

AUK asked, I am struggling with writing an essay. Can you suggest some useful tips for writing a good essay under time pressure

Aziz Manva answers, The easiest way to write an essay is to structure it as per the introduction-body-conclusion format. First try and write down the main points that come to your mind. Based on that, create a sequence of points, then think of a good introduction, put those points in the body and then put a conclusion which logically ends the essay. Put one or two relevant examples wherever possible.

Garima asked, Should we spend a few mins to surf thru the paper and assess what questions can be attempted?..though it seems a reasonable approach , wouldn't we land up wasting tym on it ?

Aziz Manva answers, In fact that is what you should definitely do. It will not be a waste of time as you will clearly identify the questions where you can score marks quickly.

arunm asked, what happens if the interview tries to put you under pressure unnnecasarily

Aziz Manva answers, The interview panel generally does this to unnerve you and see you reaction. If you become nervous and agitated, then they know that they have succeeded and they put more pressure. If you manage to stay calm for the next 3-5 minutes of the interview, hopefully they will also relax a bit

sachin asked, hi! sir, can u tell me whether M.L. Khannas's book is good for QA(quant) or 'R.Aggrawal' better than that?

Aziz Manva answers, Sorry, won't be able to comment on that...but in general any material will be fine as long as you systematically analyse the questions and solutions from that material

crackcat asked, yes, even i would like to know more about writing essays? back in school, we were told to add quotes from famous people for impact. what are other strategies

Aziz Manva answers, You can quote famous people, use relevant examples, statistics etc...but they should be relevant to the topic on hand and should contribute to the discussion. That can only happen if you have a good reading habit. Also, the thoughts in your essay should have some kind of a logical flow.

Garima asked, Aziz, could you please share which popular exams ask for Essay writing?

Aziz Manva answers, Generally, XAT has a section on essay writing. Nowadays, the new IIMs as well as some institutes such as IIFT ask you to write essays during the GDPI rounds

arunm asked, aziz should one go in for 5 year program at iim indore one of my cousin has been shortlisted

Aziz Manva answers, Since this a new course...ask him to first check the entire syllabus breakup over the 5 year period and then check with someone studying at IIM Indore (full time programme) about the subjects, faculty etc for this course. They will have the complete picture as well as most accurate idea about this.

arun asked, Nowdays there are many good colleges offering PHD in MBA. I have one year experience. What is the value of these courses relative to MBA full time couses.

Aziz Manva answers, From an overall career point of view, the full time MBA courses will always be better

Akshay asked, i am struggling with writing an essay. Can you suggest some useful tips for writing a good essay under time pressure

Aziz Manva answers, The easiest way to write an essay is to structure it as per the introduction-body-conclusion format. First try and write down the main points that come to your mind. Based on that, create a sequence of points, then think of a good introduction, put those points in the body and then put a conclusion which logically ends the essay. Put one or two relevant examples wherever possible.

arun asked, How to work of spoken english, in 2-3 months.

Aziz Manva answers, First practice reading from and speaking from a passage in a good book or from a newspaper. See how difficult you find it while speaking. Then make it a habit to speak in English with as many people as you can. Don't worry even if you go wrong initially.

sd asked, 1. After doing, BE (MEch) & MTech (Mfg) I have around 8 years of exp. in the field of new product design & development in the automobile industry. With a view to accelerate my career progression, how helpful will it be in case I go for an MBA? 2. Which are the institutes you recommend ? 3. Which are the courses you recommend ?suiting my profile ?

Aziz Manva answers, You can definitely go in for an MBA as your work experience will prove very useful considering the profile that you have. You could opt for either an Operations MBA or a Systems MBA. Also you have a very good shot at a consulting career as an industry specialist. You could try NITIE in Mumbai if you don't get through to any of the IIMs