With the MICAT 2016 notification released a couple of days back, there has been increasing speculation among MBA aspirants regarding the clash with another biggie of the season: SNAP 2015. While the admission committee of MICA has not come out with an official statement regarding the same, aspirants continue to speculate regarding the outcome.
In previous seasons too, JMET and TISS used to conduct their exams on the same day in the morning and afternoon respectively. There was little discontent back then as they were focused on two, almost separable target groups (engineers with a liking to operations/general management, non-engineers with a focus on HR). But, this year, with there being fewer entrance tests and so, reduced shots at getting an admission, this too will be hotly debated. While there is no confirmed news at the moment, it is not entirely unlikely that we might see a few changes in the coming few days.
The primary argument justifying such a move is to make sure that the institute gets only serious aspirants. Many a time, it so happens that an aspirant is confused about the specialization that s/he is interested in and so, ends up hedging his/her chances by applying to all the ‘good brands’. Ideally, it should not be the case and it is expected of an aspirant to make an informed decision. We would try and give out a few pointers as to how should you decide and what all factors should you consider while making this decision.
1) Programme: While SNAP opens to you two of the better institutes in the country (SIBM, SCMHRD) when it comes to a general PGDM, MICA is the best known b-school when it comes to a specialization in media and communications. If you are interested specifically in the latter, MICA should be a no-brainer. If you are confused, not sure about the prospects post an MBA, SIBM might give you that extra bit of time to make the decision.
2) Process: While SNAP is more of your routine QA, LR DI, VA, GK based test, MICA tests various aspects of an applicant’s personality thus bringing in more uncertainty to the outcome. If psychometric tests, creative thinking, communication are not your cup of tea, you might want to be more inclined towards SNAP.
3) The CAT/XAT/GMAT factor: While SNAP is a one-step process to get to the GDPI table, MICA also has an additional step of applying to CAT/XAT/GMAT. While the exact repercussions of the scores is not known yet, it might come into picture at a later point in time.
4) Competition: There might be a sense among aspirants that MICAT would be less hotly contested and so, might be an easier process to crack (probably because SIBM is marketed a bit more aggressively, features in the top 10 lists a bit more frequently and so, might attract more aspirants). While even we are expecting the numbers of MICAT aspirants to be lower than that for SNAP, these aspirants are bound to be extremely focused which would make it equally difficult for an average aspirant to get through. There might be people asking you to go for MICAT as it would be easier. We would advise you to stay away from such rumours. Apply only if the curriculum and pedagogy interests you without worrying about the competition.
5) Number of institutes: While MICAT caters to only a single institute, SNAP will allow you to apply to 14 institutes under SIU. However, on a brand-to-brand comparison basis, only SIBM and SCMHRD might stand up to MICA.
6) Fees: The fees for the two year programme at SIBM Pune would be Rs. 13.1 lakh, that for SCMHRD Pune would be Rs. 12.7 lakhs while for MICA it would be Rs. 12.5 lakh so there is not much to choose between the flagship programmes. For the other institutes under SIU, the fees would be lower than that for MICA.
So, based on these factors, you can decide to choose which test would you want to take in case the clash continues. If they resolve the situation and come up with non-conflicting dates, it should not be an issue for the in-between ones.
Edit: According to a leading news portal, MICAT has been rescheduled to the 13th of December. However, there has been no official update/communication regarding the same. It would be in the best interests of the aspirants to stay put till the 10th of September or till the news gets updated whichever is earlier.
