Introduction
Competitions are different from the regular examinations conducted by
board and universities. First of all the difference is in their
objective.
The objective of university examination is to pass maximum number of candidates who are taking the examination.
It is being reflected from the question pattern, the time limit, choices and the method of correction.
In a university examination one is required to answer any five
questions out of given eight or ten questions. Sometimes the question
setter provides alternative to each question making the paper very easy.
In this kind of examination one may leave chapters and score a lot of
marks.
The time limit in such kind of examination normally varies from three
to four hours, which is more than sufficient to answer five questions.
Boards and universities provide a method of marking to the teachers
assessing the examination. A lot of things are subjective in this.
Students who do not write complete answer of the questions can pass.
However the competition is completely different.
A large number of students compete for a small number of seats. The
objective of the competition is to select a small number of students.
Competitive examinations consist of large number of multiple-choice
questions to be answered in a limited time. The marking is done with the
help of the computers and in some of the competitions there is negative
marking as well.
Here comes the toughest part. In this scenario where the negative
marking is becoming order of the day, competition is getting tougher.
Wrong decisions are unwelcome. The students are required to walk a tight
rope. Let us analyze some prestigious competitive examination
scenarios.
Competitive Examination Scenarios
IITJEE
IITs are the premier Technology Institutes in India. All over the
world IITians are seen with respect. They have produced great scientist
and business leaders. It is a name to which everybody wants to be
associated with. But is it possible? Statistics says that only 3% of the
students who take this examination gets finally selected. What does
this mean? Only fit of the fittest can get admission in IIT. No negative
marking.
Engineering Entrance:
Joint Entrance Examination conducted by IIT takes only 2500 (approx)
students. Where the rest of the talent will go? The rest of the talent
opt for regional Engineering Colleges, state level engineering colleges
etc. In these competitions also the selection ratio is one out of 30 –
40 students. No Negative Marking
Common Admission Test (CAT):
IIMs are premier management institutes of India. They have produced
numerous business leaders. Top echelons of the business world are full
of IIMites. The IIMs conduct CAT (common admission test) every year in
November. More than three lac of students takes the examination. But
only 2800 (approx) are able to secure admissions into it.
It is one of the toughest examinations in India. Toughness of CAT
lies in the time constraints and the type of problem asked. If there is
no time constraint then any normal student can solve the paper. The
complexity arises when all this is constrained by time. One is required
to take care of negative marking as well.
MCA Entrance:
The MCA entrance tests are aptitude tests, where a candidate’s
general, verbal, mathematical and analytical abilities are evaluated
under stress. While testing the command over Mathematics has always been
integral to these entrance tests, increasingly more stress is now
placed on the candidate’s analytical skills and command over the English
language. Generally there is a written test of Objective Type pattern.
Some exams may have Objective / T-F / Fill in the blanks/ Short Answer
(descriptive) type etc., all mixed up. Experts say that MCA entrance is
very difficult because of limited number [30-40] of seats per institute. Some institutes have negative marking.
Civil Services:
Civil services are one of the most prestigious competitions. It is a
dream of millions of Indian parents who want their son to be district
magistrate. The power and prestige associated with this is immense. The
Golden Jubilee Hostel in Delhi University is fast becoming the
destination for civil service aspirants. Every year a number of students
from this hostel qualify Civil services.
It is being conducted in two phases prelims and mains. More than a
lac of students take prelims but only 10,000 gets selected to take
mains. Out of these 10,000 only 750 gets selected finally. After opening
up of the Indian economy and government receiving flak from all the
sides the final selection is going to be reduced in coming years. Here
again the selection ratio is 3 out of every 400 students.
Medical Entrance:
Medical Entrance examination is on par with engineering entrance
examination. Students having Math in their intermediate level opt for
engineering entrance whereas the students having biology opt for medical
entrance.
AIIMS Delhi and AFMC Pune ranks high for the medical aspirants. The success rate is again 3 %.
GRE-GMAT:
GRE/GMAT are computer adaptive test (CAT) in which, the computer
screen displays one question at a time, which is required to be answered
within a time limit. In these tests one cannot skip a question as the
question will appear on the screen one after another and once the answer
is clicked it cannot be changed. The questions that appear on the
computer screen and the level of their difficulty depend on the previous
responses. The computer builds up the score while the candidate is
working. How much a candidate scores, depends upon the number of
questions answered correctly and the difficulty level of the questions
answered.
Conclusion
After going through the statistics it is clear that only a percentage
of students will make it finally to their dream destination. Students
put in lot of efforts, some prepare for it for years smoking away the
funds sent by their parents.
The basic Requirement of these examinations varies. But one thing,
which remains constant in all these examinations, is time constraint.
The number of problems and the toughness level of the problems are on
higher side. Unlike university examination the competitive examination
focuses on the application of the concept. Instead of direct questions
twisted questions forms part of it. Considering the time constraint put
in by all these competitive examination one is required to do
Intelligent Guessing.
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