YouTube videos to guide B-school aspirants

Technical glitches and hiccups proved a villain of sorts for candidates of Common Admission Test (CAT) in 2009 when the examination went online for the first-time.

In order to leave no stone unturned in clearing all sort of doubts regarding the online test and making it a hassle free affair for aspiring managers, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), in collaboration with their US-based partner Prometric Inc, the official organisers of CAT test, have uploaded a series of short videos on YouTube.

These videos, already a hit among the candidates, are a guide on how to take the test online, without getting jittery while dealing with a computer.

Besides interviews with last year’s successful CAT candidates,  addressing the aspiring managers and clearing their doubts about the online test, the videos have introductions by Soumitra Roy, managing director, Prometric India and Professor Himanshu Rai, convenor, CAT 2010.

Already eight videos have been uploaded in the CAT’s dedicated website www.catiim.in

In one of the videos, titled “CAT 2009 Candidate Video”, which runs into 4.5 minutes, successful candidates of the last year exams seek to erase doubts from the minds of CAT 2010 aspirants.

Few candidates from 2009 say that the online system was better and professionally managed.

“Computer is something we use on a daily basis. So, students should focus on their studies. When it comes to cracking the test, 97% is hard work, the rest luck,” says one of the successful candidates in the video.

The videos, recently uploaded, have already started receiving thousands of hits every day. The organisers of one of the toughest entrance tests in the country, have advised all the candidates to view these videos in order to get a clearer view of the task at hand.
CAT 2010 is the second edition when candidates have to write online test, to ensure their berths at country’s best B-schools.

Apart from technical glitches, last year’s online test saw thousands of aspirants struggling through the navigational buttons, because of sheer lack of practice.

Two of the videos give candidates an overview of the test format and scoring process.

Candidates can also call 091 124 451 7178 to listen to the recordings of the videos. In one of the videos, Prof Rai, convenor, CAT 2010, explains about the new registration website, the additional security measures and contingency.