What to know if you want to retake GMAT Examination?
GMAT in itself is not as easy as it sounds and if it was, then anyone could have easily aced it. On account of a few circumstances, you may have not been able to perform as well as you conjectured in GMAT. It is not that only you may be stuck up in this situation, but you’ll be shocked to know that approximately 1/4th or 1/5th of the total population appearing for GMAT are retakers. So, it’s safe to say that you may not be the only one planning to retake the GMAT Examination. The mass population of retakers is usually those with a score in between 400-600.
Rules to retake GMAT Examination
- You can retake GMAT once in every 16 days which accounts to once in a month from the test first taken.
- However, it has its own limitations as you can appear for GMAT with nothing more than 5 times in a 12-month period and no attempts more than 8 times in total.
- The cost for appearing for GMAT remains the same as the first test which is $250 and it does not increase or decrease with the number of attempts.
However, it is important to think twice before you plan on retaking your GMAT Examination. Only if you are very confident about your progress and are sure that you shall end up with a score to end up in one of the top business schools, then it is worth a shot. However, if you are not very confident about acing it the way you wished, there’s nothing to worry about as GMAT is not the only last exam which can help you fetch a seat in A b’ school.
CAT
CAT stands for Common Admission Test. It is mainly given if you plan on continuing your further Management Education in India. There are 20 IIM’s India which stand for Indian Institute of Management and at least 400-500 other colleges for MBA/PGDM. It is a computer-based test similar to the pattern adopted by GMAT and goes on for 3 hours consisting of 100 Multiple Choice Questions and Non-Multiple-Choice Questions.
Unlike GMAT which is conducted throughout the year, CAT is only conducted once a year. The conducting body which is The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta conducts the Examination in English language only. The validity of the score is only for 1 year which is similar to that of GMAT.
Similar to GMAT, you may or may not join a coaching institute based on your convenience as it has its own pros and cons. However, coaching can keep you regular throughout your preparation for CAT provided you bring self-study into force. There is no restriction on age or the number of attempts to appear for CAT, unlike GMAT which has its own limitations. However, it is important to note that the results for CAT will only be valid for Business Schools in India.
Eligibility to appear for CAT:
- Candidate must be holding a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% from a recognized institute or an equivalent CGPA as the case may be.
- If you belong to SC/ST/PWD, then the candidate must be holding a bachelors degree with a minimum of 45% from a recognized institute of an equivalent CGPA.
Preparation Dos and Don’ts
- Depending on your work status the time for preparation for CAT may range anywhere between 3-6 months. However, experts recommend starting your preparation as a prior to the date of the examination as possible as this will give you an upper hand to cover up all of your basics and can help you solve as many mock tests and can help you analyse your results.
- Understand and research in detail about the syllabus and examination pattern so that you know how you would have to prepare for it accordingly.
- Solve as many mock tests as possible and time yourselves while doing so as it would help you with managing your time during your examination as well.
If not MBA then what?
Sometimes holding an MBA may not be on your bucket list. However, there are alternatives to the same which could be
- Holding a Master’s Degree
- Starting your own company
You can either start your own company by investing the money you could invest in an MBA or you could opt for a Master’s Degree.
