Campus connect: G-MAT back in the good books of post graduates in Pune
A host of teaching centres in the city report a rising number of student enquires as regards the GMAT tests
The graduate management admission test (GMAT) is a three and half an hour exam, given by the graduate management admission council (GMAC) that is still the defining exam for Indian students attempting to do a master’s in business administration degree at a university abroad.
The MBA, in and of itself, has re-emerged as a must-have additional qualification for students in the city, irrespective of what their specialisation is. It is a fact that science and engineering students cannot escape, though given the anecdotal evidence of GMAT coaching classes in the city, avoiding GMAT has been tried.
Sailesh Gupta , centre head, IMS India centre, DP Road, said, “The number of students opting for GMAT is on the rise. There is definitely an upward trend. While engineers prefer to write the GRE exam for getting admission into foreign universities to do their Master’s of Science (MS), GMAT is preferred by people with work experience. I would call it a niche category. The number of students who take GMAT are far less when compared to students taking GRE. If a person gets 650 and above, out of 800 in GMAT exam, it is considered a good score. GMAT score is only one of the criteria to gain admission into prestigious B schools. Other factors like qualification, extracurricular activities are also considered.”
Coaching centres in the city charge between 25,000 and 50,000 for a period of four to five months. The charges vary depending on the mode of training and the number of hours involved.
Abhishek Bavdhankar, professor with Logiquest Kaplan, a coaching class for GMAT, says, “GMAT allows students to take management courses from universities in the US, UK, EU and Canada. Though the course is expensive, it opens doors for students once they crack the exam.”
The graduate record examination (GRE) is the other exam that has been an option for postgraduate students, however, when it comes to MBA courses specifically, GMAT is the way to go. The GMAT score is valid for five years.
The feedback from a host of teaching centres in the city - Dilip Oak Academy, Western academy and IMS India centre, apart from Logiquest Kaplan, report rising enquiries from students about GMAT now.
“For students aspiring to continue their education abroad GMAT is an important part of the process. GMAT will be on the radar of students as long as there is a charm to study abroad,” said Adya Sharma, director, Symbiosis centre for management studies, Symbiosis International (deemed university).
Prasad Deshpande, second year student of master’s of business administration (MBA++) at the department of management sciences (PUMBA), Savitribai Phule Pune University, says, “More than 7000 B - schools around the world accept GMAT score for admissions. Also in India, there are 20 premium B-schools accepting GMAT scores, including IIMs for their post graduate programme for executives. Hence, I choose to appear for GMAT. This exam is highly flexible and tests a candidate more on his language and critical reasoning skills.” Showing off a heavy book by Arun Sharma, “This is one I use for quantitative and reasoning sections. I need to focus on building my vocabulary,” said Deshpande.
Aniket Kelkar, final year electrical engineering student from PES Modern college of Engineering, said ,“The difficulty level of GMAT exam is on par with XAT (Xavier’s aptitude test) and Common Aptitude test (CAT). I feel GMAT is incomplete without GRE( graduate record examinations). Countries like USA have a policy of accepting STEM (science technology engineering math) students and offering them jobs. There is no certainty for people from other streams. Some courses require the students to take GRE rather than GMAT, hence it had dropped out of favour.”
The graduate management admission test (GMAT) is a three and half an hour exam, given by the graduate management admission council (GMAC) that is still the defining exam for Indian students attempting to do a master’s in business administration degree at a university abroad.
The MBA, in and of itself, has re-emerged as a must-have additional qualification for students in the city, irrespective of what their specialisation is. It is a fact that science and engineering students cannot escape, though given the anecdotal evidence of GMAT coaching classes in the city, avoiding GMAT has been tried.
Moiz Kamil, 20, a student of Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies doing a bachelor in business administration (BBA) said, “ I am keen on studying for GMAT as it will open doors for me in some of the best B schools. I have already listed my preferences and found while searching that some foreign universities where I want to study accept only GMAT. I will be joining a coaching class soon.”
Not cheap
Sarika Dengle, doing an MBA in Pharma bio technology (MBA PBT) , is contemplating whether to fill the GMAT exam form because of the cost. “The exam costs $250 ( ₹17,850) and we can attempt it five times a year. There has to be a gap of 16 days between two exams. The coaching classes charge a hefty sum. I am using e-books and online YouTube videos for preparation,” says Sarika, adding, “I have realised that preparation for GMAT cannot be done on your own. You need guidance, but money is a deterrent for me right now, ” she said.