A pattern has emerged in the results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2013 — all eight toppers, who scored 100 percentile in the examination, are male and have a background in engineering.
While four of them hail from Andhra Pradesh, three are from Mumbai and one from Delhi. Of the 10 candidates who have scored 99.99 percentile, only one is a woman.
CAT 2013 was held across 40 cities from October 16 to November 11, 2013. This entrance exam helps aspiring candidates gain admission in Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other B-schools across the country.
A total of 1,73,738 candidates had taken the test, which was conducted across 40 cities.
IIM-Indore declared the results at 9am on Tuesday.
According to CAT officials, while two of the perfect scorers have a master’s degree in engineering, the others have a bachelor’s degree. Three have a work experience of 12-24 months in the automobile, banking services and information-technology sectors.
Rohit Kapoor, convenor of the CAT and professor at IIM Indore, couldn’t be contacted despite several attempts. Directors of other IIMs were also unavailable for comments.
Last year, the results of the CAT 2012 were marred with controversy after over 80 candidates had got inflated scores with the connivance of the web hoisting company. To avoid the repitition of any such incident, precautions had been taken this year.
For admission this year, the 13 IIMs in the country have altogether added more than hundred seats each, taking the total tally to 3,335 seats across the IIMs. Thus, this year, CAT candidates have a better chance of getting into IIMs in comparison to last year.
The new IIMs, which include IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIM Rohtak, IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, IIM Kashipur and IIM Udaipur, will be collectively calling 10,000 candidates for their 800 seats. The seven older IIMs will call approximately 2,000 to 4,000 candidates each.
The final selection in IIMs is based on the CAT scores, followed by the performance in the Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI). Other factors like past academic records, work experience, gender and stream of graduation is also taken into account.
IIM Calcutta, for instance, allots few points to female candidates, while IIM Raipur gives additional points for work experience.
Engineers all
Abhiram Iyer, 23
Hailing from Kalyan, with a BTech and MTech from IIT-Madras, Abhiram Iyer, with a 100 percentile score, stands amongst CAT 2013’s Top 8. Having scored 99.4 and 98.99 percentile in his first and second attempts respectively, Abhiram took up a job with Ashok Leyland, Chennai, to gain an edge. Abhiram said he found it difficult to memorise definitions and formulae, but rather than going back to books, he would solve as many CAT papers as possible. Iyer said, “When it comes to the corporate world, one cannot survive merely on the basis of technical knowledge. A master’s degree from a renowned institute helps in this case.”
Karthik Kumar, 22
After not making it to the desired IIM Ahmedabad, Vijaywadi’s Karthik Kumar knew he could bridge the 0.45 percentile gap from his last year’s score of 99.35 percentile. Having lacked in the verbal section, he read more newspapers and books, finally making it to the CAT 2013 toppers’ list with 100 percentile. With a BTech and MTech in metallurgy and materials from IIT Kharagpur, Karthik believes an IIT background is the prerequisite to crack the CAT. He says, “I have learned that overcoming your weakness is the key to success.” He has been working with Oracle at Hyderabad as an application developer for the past six months.
Siva Surya Teja, 24
Finally scoring 100 percentile in his fourth attempt at the CAT 2013, Siva Surya Teja from Samalkot, Andhra Pradesh, made it to the list of toppers. He had scored 89 percentile in his first attempt. Currently working with Infosys at Hyderabad as a systems engineer, he holds a BTech in computer science from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Anantapur. Being confident about his mathematics skills, he worked hard on the verbal section. Siva said, “I believe in channelising my energies to different parts of learning. Having an engineering degree and then taking up CAT gave me a wider perspective.”
—(Compiled by Seema Wadhwa)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}