What is TANCET?
Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test is a mandatory first
step for applying to any post-graduate programme of
Anna University School of Management and colleges
affiliated to Anna University, The Govt College of
Technology Coimbatore, The Govt Colleges of Engineering
at Salem and Tirunelveli and to other Govt aided and
unaided Colleges. The actual list of colleges that
are affiliated to the TANCET in any given year is
released by the Directorate of Technical Education,
Tamil Nadu, 20 days before the exam.
Who conducts
TANCET?
Chennai based Anna University conducts Tamil Nadu
Common Entrance Test (TANCET).
When is TANCET
conducted?
TANCET is usually conducted on the 3rd week of May.
What are the
important calendar dates for TANCET?
Issue of application form in person and online registration
generally gets started by the 3rd week of March whereas
closing of online registration and issue of application
at bank counters, coordinating centers and by post
happens by 1st week of April.
Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET) is usually
conducted by 3rd week of May.
TANCET is conducted at the following cities:
Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Trichy, and Tirunelveli.
How to apply
for TANCET?
The cost of Application form for M.B.A. is Rs.300/-
(Rs.150/- for Tamil Nadu SC/ST Candidates). In order
to apply for TANCET a Demand Draft should be drawn
in favor of “The Director, Entrance Examinations,
Anna University” payable at Chennai obtained
from any Nationalized Bank. Completed applications
should be sent to The Secretary, TANCET, Examination
Centre, Anna University, Chennai - 600 025.
How is the structure
of TANCET paper?
The test is split into 5 sections. Each section comprises
20 questions. Each question is an objective type multiple
choice question with a question followed by 5 answer
choices. Each question has exactly one correct answer.
The 5 sections are as given below:
Business situation analysis
Decision making abilities are tested to the fore in
the first section. Here business situations are given
and a student is expected to understand how business
functions and the role it plays in our society. These
situations also test the practical skills of those
students who want to specialize in arenas of management,
or international business, marketing, accounting,
information and communication technology or entrepreneurship.
Reading Comprehension
The Reading Comprehension section is where vocabulary
skills come out in the open. The passages are very
much in synchronization to that of The CAT.
Quantitative section
Mathematical problems of graduate level including
those learnt at plus two levels are given in this
section. Calculus, Theoretical Geometry, Shares and
Debentures are some of the areas tested in this section.
Data Sufficiency
A question followed by two pieces of information will
be given. The answer has to be based on whether the
information given is sufficient to answer the question.
This is similar to Data sufficiency questions given
in CAT.
Verbal ability
Questions based on English usage, grammar, errors
in usage, punctuation will be asked. Spotting the
error in a given sentence is the type of question
given under this section.
While evaluating the answers, one mark is awarded
for each correct answer and ¼ marks are deducted
for each wrong answer. No deduction will be made for
unanswered questions. Multiple shading will be considered
as wrong answer and ¼ marks will be deducted.
Eligibility
Criteria and Marks related:
What is the eligibility for TANCET?
Any graduate degree with minimum 50% marks (or equivalent
grade) from any recognized University or Institution.
Do I have to
be a graduate from a premier college?
No.
It is not necessary that students need to be from
premier colleges. You get into a B-school on the basis
of your performance in the entrance exams conducted
by the B-schools themselves.
I have done my
diploma. Can I apply for an MBA?
MBA,
being a master's degree, requires the aspirant to
be a graduate. That means, you must have a Bachelor's
Degree from any university incorporated by an act
of the Central or State government of India, any other
educational institution established by an act of Parliament
or any institution deemed as such under section 3
of the UGC Act 1956. This also includes any equivalent
qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government
of India. Your Bachelor's Degree or equivalent qualification
must have covered a minimum of three years of education
after completing higher secondary schooling, which
is a total of 10+2+3 years.
Preparation
Related :
How does one
develop aptitude for Math and English?
In
simple terms, ICET tests managerial abilities in a
candidate through Mathematics and English. This means
that you will be required to interlink concepts in
order to solve a particular problem. Your ability
to apply concepts to practical situations is what
will be tested.
Once you start taking section tests and comprehensive
tests, it becomes important to analyze each of the
tests that you take. This will help identify the areas/topics
that you are weak at and still need brushing up before
you take the next test.
How does one
analyze performance?
1.
Analyze your area-wise/topic-wise performance to identify
potential areas for improvement.
2. Work on the identified areas, through determined
practice using

Concept Books

Section Tests and Comprehensive Tests
After you take each test, do analyze it well. Analysis
would take a lot of time, do not take this as a waste
of time, and instead convert this into a learning
process. For all correct answers, compare your method
with the Explanatory Answers, check if you can attempt
it faster and practice the new method, if any. For
all incorrect answers, reattempt the questions with
no time limits. You need to understand as to why did
you make the mistake was it conceptual/silly mistake/incorrect
interpretation. Learn from your mistakes and ensure
that you do not commit them in future.
How does one
increase reading speed and verbal ability?
The areas that are tested in English are verbal ability,
reading comprehension and composition skills. This
means that you need to build an overall aptitude in
English. Good command over English language is a must
in order to succeed in NMAT. In fact, you will observe
that you need good English even to attempt the quantitative
and data interpretation sections.
Reading a newspaper like The Times of India / The
Hindu, a business daily like The Economic Times /
Business Standard and political and business magazines
should become a daily habit for all NMAT applicants.
Further,

Read any section in the newspaper, especially the
editorial one.

Timing your-self while reading is important. You should
be able to read 200 to 250 words a minute.

Write a summary (about 100 to 150 words) every day
on the topic you have read. It will help in building
your thought process which is crucial
in NMAT.

Make a note of the difficult words and look up their
meanings from the Oxford English dictionary. Try and
maintain a notebook/prepare flash
cards that you can go through in your free time.
Reading would also help you keep updated on the events
going around thus building on your general awareness
that would be helpful during the group discussion
and personal interview rounds.
B-School
Admissions Related:
How important
are my application forms?
It
is very important to be honest in your application
forms. Do not fill any information that is untrue.
Certain questions in the forms ask you about Career
Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, etc. They are deliberately
there to help the B-school know a little bit more
about you and are often referred to during the interview.
It is highly recommended to keep a photocopy of every
form that you fill so that you can revise what you
have written before the interview.
What do you
mean by percentile and percentage?
Percentile: Percentile indicates
student's relative performance position among the
total students who took the exam.
Percentage: The % score represents
normalized percentage of scores secured by the candidate.
It is a relative method of representing the score.
This is not the actual % score.
For example: A 99 percentile means that the student
is among the top 1 percent of the population who took
the exam.
Does a candidate
get calls only on the basis of cutoffs?
No. One needs to keep in mind that cut-offs are only
one of the many evaluation tools that the B Schools
uses to shortlist candidates. The other prominent
factors are past academic performance, work experience
if any, extra curricular activities and achievements
etc.
Does work experience
increase chances of making it to a reputed school?
Work experience is not mandatory criteria for making
it to any B-Schools. However, having work experience
does add to your profile. None the less, you need
to prove your worth at the time of the GD/PI rounds.
This implies that the panel needs to be convinced
about what you have learnt at the job and contributed
positively to the organization. The way you present
yourself and your approach towards the questions plays
a vital role in the outcome of your interview. Remember,
you will be pitched against the best minds during
the GD/PI rounds. So you need to be at your best to
make sure you get the final call.
What is the duration of the test?
The duration of the paper is 2 hours.
Which B-schools
will accept TANCET score?
Following are the institutes affiliated to
TANCET:
| Anna University School of Management |
Bharathiar University, Coimbatore |
| Government College of Technology, Coimbatore |
Periyar University, Salem |
| Government College of Engineering, Salem |
Coimbatore Institute of Technolgy |
| Government College of Engineering, Tirunelveli |
Thiagarajan College of Engineering |
|