The Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, has established itself as a name to reckon with in the management education sphere. It?s biggest strength lies in its strong links with industry, beginning with the strategic location of the campus in the heart of Gurgaon, the hub of corporate India. Key multinationals such as Nestle, Gillette, GE Capital, American Express, ICI, Hindustan Lever Ltd., Oracle Ltd., and many more have established their corporate offices or major regional offices in Gurgaon.

MDI students are able to take up live projects at these organisations, where they work on solutions to specific problems faced by organisations. Once again, the benefit comes from applying in practice, the knowhow gained in the classroom. MDI has collaborations with several organisations in India and abroad for conducting sector-specific research studies, joint management research programmes and training programmes.

You can obtain the MDI application form on payment of Rs 1,100 in cash or by sending a demand draft for Rs 1,200 in favour of Management Development Institute, payable at New Delhi. You can register yourself online by visiting their website www.mdi.ac.in. Address: Management Development Institute, Gurugram, Sukhrali, Mehrauli Road, Gurgaon 122 001. Eligibility: For the MBA programme you should have a minimum of three-year bachelors degree or equivalent in any discipline recognised by the Association of Indian Universities/AICTE.

Entrance test

Applicants to the full-time programme are required to appear for the CAT conducted by the IIMs. Candidates who qualify in the CAT are called for a group discussion and interview at one of the centres, namely Bangalore, Gurgaon, Calcutta and Mumbai. NRI applicants residing in India during the period of admission will have to appear for the CAT and will not be considered on the basis of their GMAT score.

Pattern of exam

CAT consists of 165 objective-type questions on quantitative ability, data interpretation, reading comprehension and verbal ability (VA). The paper is of two hours? duration.

How to prepare

English comprehension and verbal ability: You are likely to get five to six passages with 50 questions which should be completed in 30 minutes. As accuracy with speed is essential, you must work on at least five model comprehension exercises daily.

Underline important parts of the passages, and cross out answer choices you?ve eliminated. GMAT and GRE guides by Barron, Kaplan and Princeton contain relevant comprehension exercises. In addition, some books you may refer to for the verbal ability section are: Grammar by Wren and Martin, English Grammar by Mason and Word Power made Easy by Norman Lewis.

Quantitative ability and data interpretation: Most of the questions on math and data interpretation assess your reasoning ability. You should therefore, be absolutely clear on the basic concepts to apply them. The following books are useful: Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Agarwal and Abhijit Guha, Data Interpretation by S. Chand and R. Gupta.

It?s a good idea to circle questions that you skip within a section. If you have time left you?ll be able to quickly find the problem you want to re-visit. Work full-length practice exams under test-like conditions to give you that competitive edge.

sample test paper

English

Each sentence has an underlined word. Choose the best word or phrase from the options that can replace it.

She saw through the conman’s wiles: a) timing b) casualness c) sudden fancy d) trickery

The inexorable demands of the workers brought the company to a closure: a) unreasonable b) monetary c) violent d) relentless

Direction: From the given alternatives, mark the one which best completes the sentence:

The first and most urgent task of our schools was to provide an ---- citizen in order that self-government might work: a) impeccable b) equinoctial c) enlightened d) irrelevant

As the world’s population grows, the part played by man in ------ plant life becomes greater: a) masquerading b) influencing c) categorising d) harassing

Quantitative ability

A bag contains 20 balls, 8 balls are green, 7 are white and 5 are red. What is the minimum number of balls that must be picked up from the bag blind-folded to be assured of picking at least one ball of each colour?
a) 4 b) 7 c) 11 d) 16