In continuation with the Test Prep Chats, InsideIIM hosted ARKS Srinivas – an IIM Calcutta alumnus and CEO of Vistamind for a
chat session to solve all the queries related to IIFT entrance exam which is now less than 10 days away.
Any preparation tips for IIFT from now on?
I presume that you are preparing for CAT anyway. I would suggest that you take two to three IIFT mocks in these TWO weeks. The idea of taking the Mocks is to familiarize with the broad pattern and type of questions that IIFT gives in it's paper! ALSO, Unlike CAT, which is a timed test paper for sections, IIFT does not specify any time limit for each of the sections. There is a cutoff for each of the sections in IIFT. Hence, it is extremely important that one gets the strategy right. On one hand you are expected to clear cutoffs and on the other hand your overall cutoff has to be cleared too! One last thing is towards GK - Please go through the Current Affairs - Films, Sports, Economy, Business - for the last six months. You may read vistacareer magazine available free on
http://www.vistamind.comAny target attempts section wise that should be met?
You will need to get a minimum scores (cutoffs in each sections). There is a confusion as to whether there would be THREE sections or FOUR sections in IIFT 2015. While there is no official confirmation, it could be a THREE section paper. Given this, the paper pattern may be something like (Verbal, RC, LR - 45 marks ; DI and QA - 40 ; GK - 15 marks. Hence - if the above happens - then the cutoffs for each of the first two sections could be around 10-12 each. And the GK section, the cutoff could be around 3 to 4 marks. However, the overall Marks required would be at least 40. You have to divide your time in such a way that you maximise the scores in your Strength areas and get the minimum cutoffs in the others.
If we are to follow monthly current affairs, which month should we start from?
I would recommend you to start from March/April of this year , till around October!
Is static Gk having a good weight age in IIFT?
If you look at the last three IIFT papers, static GK was not very high. There are definitely questions like - which country has the longest coast line, when did so and so country get independence etc. But they have been less than 20% of the total paper.
Approximately how much time we should devote to each section?
Very important question: Recommended Time Division per area (note, I am giving you per area and not section) : Verbal Ability - 20 Qns - 15 minutes Reading Comprehension - 15/17 Qns - 20 minutes ; Logical Reasoning - 20 Qns - 25 minutes ; Data Interpretation - 15 Qns - 25 minutes ; Quantitative Ability - 20 Qns - 30 minutes ; General Awareness - 20/25 Qns - 6-7 minutes.
Maximum weightage in GK is given to?
Max weightage is on Current Affairs. Within this - it is evenly divided around indian economy - GDP, Govt Schemes, Budget, International Eco (again whatever was headlines in news), Films, Sports, Awards, Literature, Business (Companies in news and their brands).
I want to ask that how good is IIFT for someone who wants to venture to venture into Management Consulting or Front End Investment Banking as a engineering fresher & is there any difference between the placements in IIFT Delhi & Kolkata?
Some of the Consultancy firms such as Deloitte, PwC etc have definitely picked up from IIFT. Similarly, some IBanks have given IBanking roles to IIFT students. So, if one does not get into the top 6 IIMs, FMS, XLRI, SpJain, MDI and IIT Bombay, then the next best is IIFT!
Since there is less marks per question in LR compared to DI , isn't it recommended to give more time to DI?
If you look at the pattern of IIFT over the last FOUR years, for two of these years, the weightage for LR and DI is same (2011 and 2014) whereas for 2012 and 2013 - for DI it was 1 mark per question and for LR it was 0.75 per question. My recommendation is based on no. of questions. If the weightage is different , then adjust your timing accordingly!
How to pick the best set in DI, though every set is doable?
Instead of picking the best set, my recommendation would be to do at least TWO or THREE in each set. Despite the sets being calculation intensive, we have seen that, of the five questions per set, at least TWO of them are easier than the other THREE. Hence, this strategy may fetch more!
Any suggestions for verbal part?
For Verbal - there are a lot more Vocab, spelling oriented, questions. There are of course, para jumbles (may be two or three) and Grammar too. But, do not waste time on Vocab questions. If you do not know, get out of them after giving a brief try.
We thank ARKS for doing this!
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