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Offline or Online Coaching for CAT?

People are often confused about "online and offline MBA coaching"  Every CAT aspirant looks for the "best Online platform for CAT preparation", more so during this Pandemic. But let's be clear on this that the best preparation is the one which you do with the utmost discipline. A plethora of options are available but ultimately it's you only who decides your own fate.

Welcome to one of the most difficult yet precious time of the year! The season of the entrance exams! I can confidently say the above because I’ve been through the same. Being an MBA graduate myself, I decided to give all aspirants a sneak peek into the world of preparations and hustle.

Preparing for CAT is a different ball game altogether. Two things that every aspirant should have within them – focus and dedication along with a sprinkle of creating a difference in the new world they will step into. It’s true that life sets itself for comfort and makes your routine monotonous; reading and giving mock exams, waking up early to catch the fish before anyone else does ad staying up late to solve that last quant problem. All of this will make sense to you, right?

Let’s take a dive into the coaching and preparation part of it. What method od coaching should you deploy? Online or Offline? Let me take you through it.

We now are living in the new normal where ‘Everything and everyone is online.’ Two years back, there used to be a spark of digital education, but most of the sessions and lectures I attended were classroom sessions. It had its own merits –

Hands-on learning – Classroom coaching offers a set of tools that can be used to ignite the learning and development part of our brain. With continuous interaction, part of classroom discussions, debates, solving questions at the tip of minutes; learning was encouraged and nurtured. Aspirants could spend some focused time to get an edge above others.

Networking and interactions – Meeting and greeting are one of the core foundations to build sustainable relationships over time. The student-teacher interaction is strengthened with daily Q&A sessions, doubt clearing sessions, interactive games, and problem-solving approaches, giving students a real sneak peek into the D-Day!

Topper speaks – Most of the sessions I attended, there were toppers who got into some of the prestigious colleges and would share their experiences on the same. They would bring in their perspective and make us well prepared to face any kind of obstacle. We had the opportunity to learn from some of the best minds.

Presentation skills, soft skills, and body language – In classroom sessions, there are dedicated hours to help build a person’s skills that would help him/her to ace the interview and the GD. That included how we should carry ourselves, the level of the confidence we can reach, and the skills needed to become an effective manager. This is one of the best things about offline learning interactions.

Welcome to the new normal! The unprecedented times where COVID-19 has thwarted all our plans and ambitions. But there’s a lot to stay optimistic about. Online coaching, sessions, interactions, and webinars have taken over the mindsets of the people and nobody is left untouched by its presence. We now live in a ‘Digitally Run World’.

Let us look at some the things that could be useful or could prove handy for the CAT aspirants who are setting their foot into the new normal –

Be on the lookout to get the best – One of the things this pandemic has blessed us with is the power to unleash our true potential. Whatever sessions you’ve been attending, be on the lookout to learn more and grab every opportunity available.

Stay connected – One of the things the digital world is offering is about new ways to stay connected with the people around us. Always keep interacting to know what’s happening around you and stay aware.

Dedicate some time to focused learning – CAT is one of the most mind crunching exams. It’s very important to dedicate some time for focused learning and development to stay out of nervousness on the D-day.

With online, you have various resources at your disposal – One of the advantages of going digital is that you have an endless number of resources, books, and study material to go through. YouTube has now become of the most popular medium to clear any ambiguity that arises.

Too much of everything is bad – Make sure you are focusing on learning and not exhausting yourself. There is a thin line between what’s healthy and what’s excessive. Stay focused, but also take breaks at regular intervals to keep yourself motivated and energized.

Let’s stay positive in these unprecedented times. CAT needs focus and positive thinking, with a little bit of motivation. Focus on your journey and your ultimate goal, everything will eventually fall into place. Your dream college is just a step away. All the best, go ace it!

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Author Bio:

Snigdha Pathak (IIM Tiruchirapalli PGP 2019-21)

Snigdha Pathak is a second-year PGPM student in IIM Trichy. She has interned with GroupM Media India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore as part of her summer internship. She is a computer science engineer from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, and has previously worked as a software developer with Cybage Software Pvt. Ltd. in Pune.

Engineering graduate – 1.5 years’ work experience in IT – decided to go for an MBA

If I label myself this way, I’m sure millions of aspirants will be able to relate themselves with me. As I was sitting down, penning my thoughts about the famous question we get asked in all B-School interviews – “Why MBA?”, I never realized the significance it’ll have on my upcoming journey.

I have grown to love this question over my one year at IIM Trichy, as I found the brilliance of this simple, two-worded, seemingly uncomplicated question. Now, a genuine answer for this requires patience, a lot of self-introspection, and brutal honesty from us, towards our own selves. And this one question is actually what starts our MBA journey before we even step into our favorite colleges.

MBA isn’t a factory, just manufacturing the same kinds of people year after year. MBA, for me, is embracing my own self. Because when we do, we realize that we all have a place in this beautiful campus we become a part of. And as we realize our own abilities, interest, and skills, our B-School gives us the best platform to hone and own our skills in ways we could never have imagined. In IIM Trichy, we have a place for dancers, singers, musicians, painters, sports enthusiasts, and even for (of course) Excel nerds. Whatever and whoever you are, you’ll have your own place here and you’ll be loved for it. You’ll do things you never believed you had in yourself, and you’ll do so with confidence, with grace.

With the diverse batches and the colorful people we meet on campus, who grow out to become friends you’ll cherish for life, you’ll realize that you have embarked on a journey that is about self-exploration, acceptance, and self-actualization. And this is the greatest gift my MBA journey has given me. It has taught me to be more of what I have always been and made me realize that this is what the world actually needs.

From the diverse, sometimes seemingly innumerable workshops we have going on 24X7 on the campus, we can choose whatever we want to do, there is always something for each one of us. You’ll find that you can’t label a day good or bad – you’ll have the worst day in the morning, which will be turned over completely by the night when you are out with your friends or in an event by the cultural committee, dancing your heart out. You’ll find that you have suddenly become this person who knows that it actually is a fact that there’s no such thing as NO for an answer. You’ll have the best of days, have friends you’ll cry with, laugh with. You’ll realize suddenly that at 10 in the night, it’s just when your day has actually begun. You’ll hate the impossible assignments you get, and while you curse everyone in the entire cosmos for it, you’ll eventually get it done with your team, even enjoy the whole process, and love yourself for doing the impossible. From being overwhelmed to becoming this confident, prepared individual for anything life throws your way, you’ll not even realize that you have changed. And changed in the best way possible – that you’ve become a super-hero version of your own self, just with the exception of a cape.

So, in the end, I’d only like to say this – prepare your Why MBA well, this is going to be your anchor for the rest of your life. It’ll help you realize what you have, and want to offer to the world, and what makes you – you. MBA is a journey you’ll never regret, a journey that seems like one package from the outside, but is beautifully carved out, somehow magically just for us – for each one of us.

Visit our site to read more experiences!