Focus on Speed to maximize MHCET 2012 score
MHCET has approximately 1 lakh students appearing annually for test making it one of the largest management entrance exam in India. As
student preparation for the examination is in full swing, GyanCentral catches up with Sagar Nikam, JBIMS rank 1* of the 2008-2010 batch and
professional CET coach to gain insights into preparation for MHCET.
How does one prepare for visual reasoning section in the MHCET exam?
I developed my own approach of solving visual reasoning question which is consistent with the changing pattern of MHCET. If we look at the
MHCET 2011 paper 25 questions of visual reasoning questions were asked out of which 15 questions were multiple symbol based questions. In
these questions, each symbol rotates or changes its position according to its logic. Most students waste a lot of time in these questions
trying to find the logic behind each and every symbol, then they try to find the location of the symbols in the answer figure. They would
be better served if they went to the answer options directly than going through the question logic.
I do not look at the problem figure instead I directly go to the option figure and locate the symbols which are at different locations
in maximum options. Only for those symbols, I go to the question figure, I find the logic and I locate where that symbol should be in
the asked diagram. Then I go to the option figure and eliminate the figure where the symbol is not at that particular location. I
shortlist the figures that have the symbol in that particular location, and in these shortlisted I find another symbol which is at
different location in all the shortlisted figures then I again go to the question figure and find the logic. This helps to reduce the time
and solve the questions fast. I suggest visual reasoning is a section of selection attempt the sitters and maximize the speed.
Approximately 90 days remaining for the MHCET exam, how should a student prepare for it?
I would suggest the students to introspect and check if they are completely thorough and comfortable with all the subjects and topics.
If they have built a strong foundation and have a clear understanding of the concept then I would advise them to start taking mock tests.
Many a times, students start taking mock tests without proper preparation because of which they cannot score well. So, if you are
prepared then take as many mock tests as you can. They can also solve previous year's papers of different institutes because normally CET
does not change year after year.
I would suggest one to take two mocks a week with proper analysis and evaluation of their performance in the mock test. Taking one mock each
day without analysis would not serve the purpose. Analysis of the paper plays a very important role, in terms of understanding ones
weakness and areas that need to be worked upon. This helps to strengthen the concepts and also improve the weak areas.
What should be the key parameters that need to be looked at during the analysis?
Analysis of the paper includes:
1. Evaluate and solve the questions that the student was not able to attempt
2. Solve the question that the student attempted but got wrong.
3. Evaluate the questions that the student got correct for other ways of solving them and increasing the speed.
How can a student prepare for Quantitative and Verbal sections?
As far as MHCET is concerned there are around 15-20 questions are asked on mathematics related topics like time speed and distance, ratio and proportion, work, geometry. I suggest students who are weak at mathematics not to spend much time on this section. The questions
asked are based on basic concept of mathematics and the difficulty levels are also not that high. Students just need to be calm and they
can easily solve 10-12 questions out of the total asked.
Reading newspapers, editorials, highlighting difficult words and noting them with their meaning and making their own flash cards is the
best way to improve the vocabulary.
What would be considered as a safe score to secure admission in JBIMS?
If we look at the trend of the past ten years, every alternate year the cut –off score for JBIMS has shown drastic changes. To be precise
in the year 2007 the cut-off for JBIMS was 166/240 while in 2008 it was 183/240, in the year 2010 the cut off was 192/240 and in 2011 it
was 170/240. So, it is quite unpredictable and depends on a number of factors. I usually tell my students not to keep a specific score in
mind because if the paper is tough then a score of 140 would be sufficient but if it's easy then a score of 178 also might not help.
Which colleges would you consider at the top for MHCET apart from JBIMS ?
I would rank them as under:
1) Sydhneham College of Management Studies and Research
2) KJ Somaiya
3) Wellingkar
4) N.L. Dalmia
5) St.Xavier's College of Management and Research
Apart from Mumbai University, the best college according to me are:
1) PUMBA which under the university of Pune and charges minimal fee
2) Indira College
3) MIT Pune
4) Sinhagad Institute of Management
What should student focus on for MHCET?
The only thing a student should concentrate on is speed. Since there is no negative marking MHCET, therefore a student should try to
attempt all the questions and to achieve that he needs to have good speed. Even if the student answer 2-3 questions wrong but manages to
attempt all the questions he automatically gains an edge over the others.
What would be the good resources to prepare for MHCET examination?
R.S Aggarwal can be considered as the best out of the available resources in terms of validity and quality of questions.
What is the kind of preparation required for GD-PI for MHCET?
Reading is the key to score well in GD. Read newspapers, business magazines, editorials and be aware of all the business and economic
news and current affairs.
For PI there are certain set of questions that are asked every year like tell us something about yourself (the next question would be based on your answer), why MBA? What are hobbies? Achievements? What specialization in MBA and why?
It is very important to know what is happening in the economy, have knowledge about the economic conditions, business environment and the
students personal take on the same. Panelists look for students with passion and vision.
There is a theory among students that if they take a GD-PI centre outside Mumbai they stand a chance to score better – What is your take on the same?
This used to happen till 2009 but then the authorities noticed it and hence enforced a rule wherein the student no longer retains the privilege to choose his centre. The centre is automatically assigned by a computerized process to students based on their details.
How should OMS candidates structure their preparation for JBIMS?
JBIMS considers CAT and MHCET. Previously MAT was accepted which was much lower in terms of difficulty and thus proved to be an easy entry
in JBIMS for OMS candidates. But since MAT is no longer accepted, they need to prepare intensively for MH-CET.
What is your take on the MHCET 2012 paper?
There were a lot of speculations that were made last year in terms of MHCET 2011. But tragically none of them were true. Also, there were a
lot of changes and surprise elements in the paper which lead to an overall dip in the results.
But as far as my knowledge goes, I think the MHCET 2012 would be much simpler and easier than it was last year but students need to be
mentally prepared for surprise elements.
What is your advise to MHCET 2012 applicants?
Concentrate on your speed and always make an attempt to increase at every stage.
T
MHCET has approximately 1 lakh students appearing annually for test making it one of the largest management entrance exam in India. As
student preparation for the examination is in full swing, GyanCentral catches up with Sagar Nikam, JBIMS rank 1* of the 2008-2010 batch and
professional CET coach to gain insights into preparation for MHCET.
How does one prepare for visual reasoning section in the MHCET exam?
I developed my own approach of solving visual reasoning question which is consistent with the changing pattern of MHCET. If we look at the
MHCET 2011 paper 25 questions of visual reasoning questions were asked out of which 15 questions were multiple symbol based questions. In
these questions, each symbol rotates or changes its position according to its logic. Most students waste a lot of time in these questions
trying to find the logic behind each and every symbol, then they try to find the location of the symbols in the answer figure. They would
be better served if they went to the answer options directly than going through the question logic.
I do not look at the problem figure instead I directly go to the option figure and locate the symbols which are at different locations
in maximum options. Only for those symbols, I go to the question figure, I find the logic and I locate where that symbol should be in
the asked diagram. Then I go to the option figure and eliminate the figure where the symbol is not at that particular location. I
shortlist the figures that have the symbol in that particular location, and in these shortlisted I find another symbol which is at
different location in all the shortlisted figures then I again go to the question figure and find the logic. This helps to reduce the time
and solve the questions fast. I suggest visual reasoning is a section of selection attempt the sitters and maximize the speed.
Approximately 90 days remaining for the MHCET exam, how should a student prepare for it?
I would suggest the students to introspect and check if they are completely thorough and comfortable with all the subjects and topics.
If they have built a strong foundation and have a clear understanding of the concept then I would advise them to start taking mock tests.
Many a times, students start taking mock tests without proper preparation because of which they cannot score well. So, if you are
prepared then take as many mock tests as you can. They can also solve previous year's papers of different institutes because normally CET
does not change year after year.
I would suggest one to take two mocks a week with proper analysis and evaluation of their performance in the mock test. Taking one mock each
day without analysis would not serve the purpose. Analysis of the paper plays a very important role, in terms of understanding ones
weakness and areas that need to be worked upon. This helps to strengthen the concepts and also improve the weak areas.
What should be the key parameters that need to be looked at during the analysis?
Analysis of the paper includes:
1. Evaluate and solve the questions that the student was not able to attempt
2. Solve the question that the student attempted but got wrong.
3. Evaluate the questions that the student got correct for other ways of solving them and increasing the speed.
How can a student prepare for Quantitative and Verbal sections?
As far as MHCET is concerned there are around 15-20 questions are asked on mathematics related topics like time speed and distance, ratio and proportion, work, geometry. I suggest students who are weak at mathematics not to spend much time on this section. The questions
asked are based on basic concept of mathematics and the difficulty levels are also not that high. Students just need to be calm and they
can easily solve 10-12 questions out of the total asked.
Reading newspapers, editorials, highlighting difficult words and noting them with their meaning and making their own flash cards is the
best way to improve the vocabulary.
What would be considered as a safe score to secure admission in JBIMS?
If we look at the trend of the past ten years, every alternate year the cut –off score for JBIMS has shown drastic changes. To be precise
in the year 2007 the cut-off for JBIMS was 166/240 while in 2008 it was 183/240, in the year 2010 the cut off was 192/240 and in 2011 it
was 170/240. So, it is quite unpredictable and depends on a number of factors. I usually tell my students not to keep a specific score in
mind because if the paper is tough then a score of 140 would be sufficient but if it's easy then a score of 178 also might not help.
Which colleges would you consider at the top for MHCET apart from JBIMS ?
I would rank them as under:
1) Sydhneham College of Management Studies and Research
2) KJ Somaiya
3) Wellingkar
4) N.L. Dalmia
5) St.Xavier's College of Management and Research
Apart from Mumbai University, the best college according to me are:
1) PUMBA which under the university of Pune and charges minimal fee
2) Indira College
3) MIT Pune
4) Sinhagad Institute of Management
What should student focus on for MHCET?
The only thing a student should concentrate on is speed. Since there is no negative marking MHCET, therefore a student should try to
attempt all the questions and to achieve that he needs to have good speed. Even if the student answer 2-3 questions wrong but manages to
attempt all the questions he automatically gains an edge over the others.
What would be the good resources to prepare for MHCET examination?
R.S Aggarwal can be considered as the best out of the available resources in terms of validity and quality of questions.
What is the kind of preparation required for GD-PI for MHCET?
Reading is the key to score well in GD. Read newspapers, business magazines, editorials and be aware of all the business and economic
news and current affairs.
For PI there are certain set of questions that are asked every year like tell us something about yourself (the next question would be based on your answer), why MBA? What are hobbies? Achievements? What specialization in MBA and why?
It is very important to know what is happening in the economy, have knowledge about the economic conditions, business environment and the
students personal take on the same. Panelists look for students with passion and vision.
There is a theory among students that if they take a GD-PI centre outside Mumbai they stand a chance to score better – What is your take on the same?
This used to happen till 2009 but then the authorities noticed it and hence enforced a rule wherein the student no longer retains the privilege to choose his centre. The centre is automatically assigned by a computerized process to students based on their details.
How should OMS candidates structure their preparation for JBIMS?
JBIMS considers CAT and MHCET. Previously MAT was accepted which was much lower in terms of difficulty and thus proved to be an easy entry
in JBIMS for OMS candidates. But since MAT is no longer accepted, they need to prepare intensively for MH-CET.
What is your take on the MHCET 2012 paper?
There were a lot of speculations that were made last year in terms of MHCET 2011. But tragically none of them were true. Also, there were a
lot of changes and surprise elements in the paper which lead to an overall dip in the results.
But as far as my knowledge goes, I think the MHCET 2012 would be much simpler and easier than it was last year but students need to be
mentally prepared for surprise elements.
What is your advise to MHCET 2012 applicants?
Concentrate on your speed and always make an attempt to increase at every stage.
T