I am excited to see education in India taking new Avatar as one by one many entrance and term examinations by universities and boards go online. CMAT is just one more such test. AICTE started conducting CMAT on all India level starting this year, and I was among the lucky few to take this test today on Feb 20th 2012. Liked few things and hated few things, good is that we are moving on and bad is that low cost mindset still hurts us.
The hall ticket issued says I need to reach at 1 PM at venue for a test that starts at 2:30 PM, am I travelling international? - I had opted Bangalore as my center choice and I was given that - but guess what, 36 kms far away on way to new airport, after Yelahaka - I need to take a left on a high speed highway for which no sign board were fixed. Center was NITTE Menakshi Institute something, about 4 kms off-highway, the worst possible location one can have. I meet students who had booked auto-rickshaw (three wheelers) for 5 hours and drove all the way from Bangalore to this dammn place. Probably these guys wanted to cut down on cost of center.
Moreover, folks at center wanted to verify documents, a exercise that I did not experience in any other management entrance test. We were made to sit in a hall (class room) and were quickly run through the instructions. this was after a photo and biometric authentication. No wonders, next was test.
Test started, in well organized room, we were about 50 in one room but the test user interface sucked. It had no demarcation of sections, all 4 sections could be see in single go. Navigation buttons were quite far from questions so too much of mouse movement, and cannot get out of class even when you complete test 30 mins before time over.
Over and over it was not so great experience. But yes, questions were pretty straight forward and I guess was at not par with any other entrance that I have appeared in. Easiest test with horrible location and management staff. People and venue were kind but that was not I went there for.
