The suspense has finally come to an end. JBIMS, one of the top 10 Indian B-Schools, has announced that it will revert to the selection process it followed until 2014 – the admissions will now solely be on the basis of Mh-MBA/MMS-CET  scores and the CAP rounds that follow. No GD-PI rounds!!
So, what this means is that you now have an opportunity to get into JBIMS just based on how you perform in the CET – does not matter if you do not have a great academic record or work experience or extra-curriculars or good communication skills to take you past the GD-PI rounds!!

The CET, scheduled to be conducted on 12th and 13th March this year, is not only the gateway to JB but also a host of other B-Schools ranging from Sydenham, KJSomaiya, PUMBA and WE (Welingkars) to SIES, N.L.Dalmia, Xaviers, Indira Institute, Chetana and MET.  Read on if you plan to take CET 2016…

How to apply?

Unlike other entrance tests, CET has this unique feature wherein you do not need to apply separately to the 400+ colleges that accept CET for their MMS/MBA/PGDM programs. You apply for the CET and get automatically eligible to get selected into any of the affiliated programs.So, if you aspire to be in any of these colleges (it is difficult not to aspire for JBIMS) then go ahead and apply NOW to take CET 2016. Click here to apply.

While 85% of the seats are reserved for Maharashtra Domicile candidates, 15% of the seats are open to ALL INDIA candidates. As an ALL INDIA aspirant, you can register for the CAP rounds on the basis of your CAT, GMAT, XAT, MAT, ATMA or CMAT scores. And if you haven’t taken any of these tests then you can still take the CET and be eligible for the same.

MMS/MBA vs PGDM

One of the common questions I get asked by CET aspirants is “What is the difference between an MMS or an MBA or a PGDM and what course they should prefer to join?” Firstly, let me make it very clear that each of these are simply different names of the same program. The name of the program is determined by the university that runs it – so all programs affiliated to Mumbai University are called MMS while those affiliated to Pune are called an MBA. And PGDM generally refers to the private programs run by institutes – these programs do not have any affiliation to any university. So Welingkar or SIES, for example, run both MMS as well as PGDM programs in their campus.

• While the admission to the MMS programs is through the CAP rounds of CET, the admission to PGDM is generally conducted by the institute on their own (they may accept CET along with a host of other test scores like CAT, XAT, CMAT etc.).
• The MMS programs are usually inexpensive when compared to the PGDM programs, as the fees for these programs is regulated by the DTE.
• While most colleges claim that the placements for both PGDM and MMS programs are usually at par, it is widely known that a few companies do differentiate between the MMS and PGDM students while conducting the placement process.

Having said this, I would recommend someone to join a B-School with a better brand rather than having a preference for an MMS over a PGDM or vice-versa. And if you get both the choices within the same college, then you could probably choose the one that is less expensive.

Know the test: All about Mh-MBA/MMS-CET

1.  CET is an online computer-based test that will be conducted across 4 slots on 12th and 13th March 2016.
2. The test has 200 multiple choice questions (with 5 options each) to be solved in 150 minutes. So, this test is essentially a speed test with a test-taker getting 45 seconds on an average per question. This means that you need to not only answer questions accurately but also at a fair pace.
3. Each question carries 1 mark – so the test carries a maximum of 200 marks. Scores across the 4 slots are equated using the equi-percentile method.
4. What students love about this test is that “There is NO negative marking for incorrect responses.” So, it would be criminal to attempt anything less than 200 questions in this test – even if it means that you wild-guess some of the answers.
5. The test has questions assessing your aptitude across 7 different subject areas as mentioned in the table below:
6. The test has no sectional delimits – the questions from different areas are all mixed up and appear in no particular sequence in the test. So, in this test, you cannot work with a strategy of spending a pre-determined time duration in each of the areas based on your strengths and weakness.
7. The level of difficulty of the test is generally perceived to be much easier than that of the CAT. This perception is generally based on the nature of questions assessed in the CET. So, if you were sufficiently prepared for the CAT or XAT Math, the you are likely to find the CET Math to be a cakewalk. However, be warned that the level of difficulty is not just an exponent of the nature of questions but also of the level of competition you face. So, as a General Category student, to crack the CET and get into JBIMS you need to be amongst the top 40-50 students amongst more than 50000 students who take the test – even taking the CAT and getting into IIM Ahmedabad has a more favourable ratio!

As per the recent CET Notification, the test will not appear as a jumbled test anymore. The test will now be divided into four Areas (as mentioned in  the below table). Every Area as per the notification is referred to as a Test. Test name(s) will be displayed on the top bar of the screen. Questions in a test can be viewed by clicking on the test name. You can shuffle between test and questions anytime during the examination as per your convenience. The break-up of questions as per the CET 16 Notification is mentioned below

Sl No	Topic	No. of Questions	Marks per question	Maximum Marks	Total Marks
1	Logical Reasoning	75	1	75	200
2	Abstract (visual) Reasoning	25	1	25
3	Quantitative Aptitude	50	1	50
4	Verbal Ability/Reading Comprehension	50	1	50

Please note : (a) Candidates will not be allowed to “finally submit” unless they have exhausted the actual test time. (b) Under no circumstances should a candidate click on any of the ‘keyboard keys’ once the exam starts as this will lock the exam.

What’s a Good Score?

Like for any other test, it is important to know what is a good score for you to crack this test. And like for any test, this would entirely depend on the list of colleges that you are targeting to get through via CET. So, you need a 98+ percentile to get in the top 5 colleges in the CET and a 95+ to get into any of the next 10 top colleges.  Find below a list of programs with the expected cut-off scores and percentiles based on the data available from previous years:

The score that maps to each of these percentiles would vary based on the level of difficulty of the test in that particular year. Last year, for example, the cut-offs were much higher. So, as a strategy, it is advisable that you must simply aim to maximise your score in  this test. Do not be satisfied with a 140 or 150 or 160 in a mock – work hard to push your scores higher, if possible.

In my next post (click here), I will elaborate on the preparation and test-taking strategy for CET.

All the Best!