Students preparing for MBA entrance exams get so preoccupied with data interpretation, logical reasoning, verbal ability and quant that they lose sight of the things that are happening in and around the world, gradually leading to a lack of general knowledge or awareness. It is understandable that a large majority of aspiring MBA candidates don’t focus so much on GK for MBA entrance exams, as they are keen on clearing CAT which doesn’t test students on general awareness. However, they forget that even after they crack the CAT, they will require general knowledge to come out on top in personal interviews and group discussions.
Apart from that, there are several other important MBA entrance examinations such as MAT, SNAP, XAT, CMAT, IIFT, NMAT, IBSAT, TISS and others which thoroughly test students in this department. It’s important to note here that general knowledge and awareness is something that you get better at over a period of time, and not overnight.
Majority of the MBA entrance exams label the general knowledge section as ‘Current Affairs’ or ‘General Awareness’, giving an equal amount of weightage to it and setting a specific minimum score that students must get in it, to qualify for the next stage. In most of the national level MBA entrance exams, the general knowledge section is given a weightage ranging from 15% to 25%, which is pretty significant.
The importance given to GK in MBA entrance exams
As explained above, many prominent MBA entrance examinations contain separate general knowledge sections, with a wide range of questions. Barring CAT, almost all the important MBA entrance exams test the candidates on general knowledge. Below provided is a list of some of the well-known MBA entrance tests and the number of general knowledge questions they contain (as against the total)
|
MBA Entrance Exam |
Total number of questions |
Number of questions on GK |
|
SNAP |
130 |
30 |
|
IIFT |
114 |
18 |
|
CMAT |
100 |
25 |
|
XAT |
100 |
25 |
|
MAT |
200 |
40 |
Weightage given to GK in MBA entrance exams
Above we provided the number of GK questions asked in MBA entrance exams against the total number of questions. Now let’s talk about the weightage given to the general knowledge section (in terms of percentage) in these exams. This weightage is different in case of every exam depending upon the scoring patterns. Apart from that, some MBA entrance tests like SNAP and IIFT make it compulsory to clear the cut off for GK section despite giving it a comparatively lower weightage.
|
MBA Entrance Exam |
Weightage given to GK section |
Maximum marks |
|
SNAP |
20% |
150 |
|
IIFT |
8% |
100 |
|
CMAT |
25% |
400 |
|
XAT |
25% |
100 |
|
MAT |
40% |
200 |
The scope of GK for MBA entrance exams
If we look at the scope of GK for MBA entrance exams, it is pretty vast. You could be asked general knowledge questions based on international current affairs, national current affairs, business & economy, Indian Constitution (including important amendments), government schemes and the likes. Several static general knowledge questions might also be asked related to sports, capitals, United Nations, currencies, company logos, authors, books and more. Below we have provided some of the important general knowledge categories that are covered in GK for MBA entrance exams.
Business-related GK for MBA entrance exams
A good number of prominent MBA entrance exams such as XAT, SNAP, CMAT, IIFT and others focus heavily on business-related general knowledge. If you plan to appear for any such MBA entrance exam, it is very important that you improve your business GK and stay up-to-date with the industry and corporate changes, company logos & their significance, economic policies, business achievements, international/national company tieups, global business scenario, who’s who of the business world, financial results of companies among various other aspects.
Current affairs related GK for MBA entrance exams
Many national level MBA entrance exams such as SNAP give a lot of importance to current affairs in their tests. In general, the scope of current affairs in these examinations spans over the preceding 2 years. Some of the important current affairs you must be aware of in this regard include: recent bills passed by the Parliament, international current affairs, latest government schemes, latest Who’s Who, international happenings and more.
How to prepare for and get better at GK for MBA entrance exams
As discussed earlier, different MBA entrance exams focus on different subjects and prioritise the GK questions accordingly in their GK section. For instance, while the GK questions asked in CMAT, SNAP and XAT are a mixture of current affairs and static ones, there’s plenty of emphasis on international trade related GK questions in IIFT, wherein you are tested on your general awareness about happenings in the international trade.
If we were to talk about some of the important ways in which you can consistently improve your general awareness, making it count in the MBA entrance exams, following are some mediums you can take help of:
Newspapers
The age old and most commonly used medium to improve one’s general awareness is newspaper. High quality newspapers like the Economist, Hindu etc. can enlighten you about a wide range of topics, thus keeping you on top of everything happening at national and international level. The articles published in these newspapers will not just broaden your horizon, but also help you significantly in improving your verbal ability. On the whole, reading newspapers on a regular basis is an all-round way to improve your chances of acing the general knowledge section of MBA entrance exams.
News channels
While it is one thing that news channels sensationalise everything these days, it cannot be denied that staying tuned in to some of the better ones can improve your general awareness significantly. We are not proposing that you become a couch potato and stay put in front of the television all day, as that’ll be a lot of time wastage, however, what you must do is opt for any good news channel and watch the current affairs program on a daily basis.
Online applications
It is understandable that students find it hard to read newspapers on a regular basis and don’t also have much time to watch news channels these days. It is keeping these challenges in mind that online app developers created new ways of helping people stay on top of new stories. All the established newspapers can now be accessed on a smart phones through their corresponding apps. Hence, you don’t need to set out a time to read news, as you can do that on the move as well, while you are in transit, or in between something. Smart phones bring new stories to your palm wherever you may be and whatever time you may want. Furthermore, these apps make the news stories really precise and crisp, still informing you about all the relevant details. You must make it an everyday habit to read news either through such apps or off-line. This cannot be neglected if you are serious about cracking GK in MBA entrance exams.
GK magazines
Another excellent means to increase your general awareness is by subscribing to GK magazines and books. Such magazines and books will enable you to master the subject efficiently and quickly. Magazines like Manorama, Pratiyogita Darpan etc. have been the staple of aspiring MBA candidates for many years now.
Take notes
Considering the amount of news there is to consume these days, it can be difficult to retain everything that you read about. An excellent suggestion that can work wonders for you in this regard is to make notes related to everything you learn. You can also jot down points related to the specific new stories which hold extra importance. All these notes will serve as a database that can be referred to later, in preparation for personal interview (PI) and group discussion (GD).
Previous years’ GK papers
Going through the GK questions asked in MBA entrance exams of previous years is also a very good method to prepare for these tests. In fact almost all the official websites of MBA entrance exams publish their corresponding sample GK questions to update students about what can be asked related to the current trends in the upcoming exam.
Important areas to focus on
As general awareness is something very broad, you’ll need to cover almost everything under the sun to be well prepared. Following are some subjects that you must stay on top of:
- Latest Who’s Who
- Business and Economics: Focusing on monetary and fiscal policy changes
- Global summits
- Company logo identifications
- International and national sports
- Abbreviations, headquarters, agencies and wings of UN organisations
- International events and current affairs
- Indian Constitution and all the recent amendments made to it
- International and national days
- Honours and awards
- Prominent developments, currencies and capitals of different countries
- Social issues and current affairs
- Authors and books
- General awareness questions related to science, geography and history
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