IIFT GK SECTION: HOW TO PREPARE

                                                

 As promised in the previous article , I will be trying in this write up to make the aspirants aware of the vast plethora of resources available for mastering the GK section of exams  like IIFT(Indian Institute of Foreign Trade).

The best way for preparing for this section is to be aware of ones surroundings.

Here are a few of the steps that you may employ for the examination:

1)      Subscribe to a general affairs and a business newspaper. Note down the major economic and political stories on a day by day basis. Follow this procedure religiously for the next few months.

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2)      For those of you who may not find the time to do the above step(although it is recommended) subscribe to websites like http://www.gktoday.in/ . They come out with daily and monthly snippets of information.

3)      Another useful  link is the : http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/prep-resources/68981-official-gk-thread-mba-entrance.html , where you find useful matter shared by fellow aspirants .

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4)      Towards the end of October , you will find coaching prep institutes coming out with GK Capsules. They are a must read for all. Last year there was more than a handful questions directly lifted from those capsules.

Eg. In one of the GK questions of last year, the name of the parliament of various countries were mentioned and they were to be matched with the corresponding country names. Those of the test takers who may have gone through the booklets would vividly remember that the name of the Japanese Parliament is Diet.

And there was only one option that was matching the said combination. So, even if someone is not aware of the other options , knowing just one option would have sufficed.

5)      In fact such a technique of eliminating answers by options comes in handy in the GK Section of the paper.

6)      Another useful source of study are the magazines Competition Success Review (CSR) and Pratiyogita  Darpan. All one needs to go through is the major happenings section of these magazines.

7)      Besides, the GK Quest of IMS and Gyan Dhara of Career Launcher are also good for practice.

 PT Education Link: http://www.pteducation.com/gk.asp

My suggestion to everybody is to keep noting down the latest economic data, political appointments, foreign guest visits , Merger and Acquisitions as they happen .

Go through them once in a week and 2-3 weeks before the exam date , put in a little more rigorous effort.

That should put your  ship in a safe harbor with regards to this section.

All the Best

IITs to CONSIDER CAT SCORES,JMET SCRAPPED ?

                                  

 After  the announcement of the CAT 2011 dates and pattern this week , latest information has emerged that JMET might be scrapped this year. No official information has yet come out regarding the same.

WHAT IS JMET?

JMET or Joint Management Entrance  test is the first step in the process of admission to the TWO YEAR FULL TIME Postgraduate Degree Programmes in Management offered by the IITs. Currently IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and IIT Roorkee offer Programmes  in Management. 

Only engineers are applicable to this test that was conducted on December 12 last year. It was a three hour test having four sections namely: Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability.

One could apply to IIT Madras using the CAT scores for the last few years .

REASONS  FOR SCRAPPING JMET

The reason cited for the scrapping of this test that was the low number of test taking aspirants which were in the range of 30,000 last year. Such a scenario was unviable according to test conducting authorities. This information will be validated most likely by September.
 

WHAT IT MEANS FOR ASPIRANTS

1)     From now on, CAT becomes even more important as besides the IIMs , the gates to the IITs also would pass through the Common Admission Test.

2)     Normalisation could  spoil the chances of a large number of people . Thus , getting into an IIT could become tougher,

3)     Each IIT may desire that a student pay an application fee upfront. This could dent your pockets further.

In fact, IIT Kharagpur has already mentioned on its website that candidate's score in CAT, will be considered for admission to 2012-2014 MBA Programme at VGSOM, IIT Kharagpur.

Here is the link: http://www.som.iitkgp.ernet.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=298

So, the gist of the story is pretty simple : Perform doubly well in your CAT slot else the doors to the IIMs and the IITs would be shut in one go.

Keep checking this place for more updates regarding this new development.

IIFT PREPARATION GUIDE :GK-1

With the announcement of the dates of the entrance exam for IIFT MBA(IB) program , the 2011 season begins in earnest for many aspirants.

Let me give the aspirants an insight into the pattern of the paper.

The exam which will be conducted on 27 Nov this year will test a student’s aptitude in four sections:

 I will be covering the General Knowledge section in depth initially.

1)      General Knowledge(GK): Arguably the section that separates IIFT from other exams like CAT,XAT .This section is one of the most important section for getting some quick marks .(ROI is the best for this section provided you know the answer ).

Aspirants are advised to be well versed with the current happenings with special emphasis on:

(a)    International Bodies like WTO,OPEC,NATO,UN (Headquarters, Name of the Secretary Generals, President, Members etc)

(b)   Business News (which includes recent Merger and Acquisitions, Taglines, Brand Ambassadors, CEO’s)

(c)    Information about the major seaports, National Highways, National Wildlife Parks , SEZs are all very important and have found their way to the entrance exam during the last 2-3 years.

(d)   Sports and Technology News: One should be aware of the recent sports happenings amd technological updates.

(e)    Awards and Recognitions: Candidates are expected to be aware of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer, Booker Prize winners.

(f)    Miscellaneous: I would give an example of this category of question with one from last year’s paper .

Name of the instruments like Actinometer, Rheometer were given and they were to be matched with their use .

IMPORTANT NOTE

The weightage of this section has been the least for the past few years. Last year there were 30 questions with a weightage of 0.4 marks each.

Thus, out of the total 100 marks, 12 marks were reserved for GK. Those good in this section could have obtained 7-8 marks in less than 5 minutes , which is like a gold  mine .

In the next article I will be telling you how to prepare for this section.

And believe me sufficient level of prowess can be achieved for this section in the next three months with diligence from an aspirant.