Cracking SNAP 2014 : Probable Shortlists

Results of SNAP 2014 which was conducted across various centres across India by Symbiosis International University (SIU)on 21^st December, 2014 is Out! The University has declared the result for augmentingto its 13 management institutes. This year more than 50,000 students sat for the exam to decide their fate. Now after declaration of results most of the aspirants are still confounded about its recently introduced GE-PIWAT format & revised format for selecting students for its management programs. Students are quite muddled about which institutethey should prefer based on your previous experience-profile and SNAP percentile. Let’s Crack this wizard!

The Symbiosis University offer 107 programmes at different levels such as Diploma, Undergraduate, Post-graduate and Doctoral levels under the faculties of Law, Management, Computer Studies, Health and Biomedical Sciences, Media, Communication and Design, Humanities and Social Sciences and Engineering. The participating management institutes in SNAP offers plethora of courses varied in both curriculum as well as its comprehensive tutelage. Below mentioned are assorted details of the respective institute with their total intakes offering to the aspiring candidates.

Sl. NO.	NAME OF THE INSTITUTE/ SCHOOL/ COLLEGE	PROGRAMME	Total Intake
1	Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM – Pune)	MBA	180
		MBA(Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
2	Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies & Research (SICSR)	MBA (Information Technology)	90
		M.Sc (Computer Applications)	90
3	Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resources Development (SCMHRD)	MBA	225
		MBA (Infrastructure Management)	40
4	Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB)	MBA (International Business)	120
		MBA (Agri Business)	50
		MBA (Energy & Environment)	30
5	Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management (SITM)	MBA (Telecom Management)	180
6	Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS)	MBA	300
7	Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune	MBA (Communication Management)	120
	(SIMC- Pune)
8	Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management (SIOM- Nashik)	MBA (Operations Management)	120
9	Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology (SCIT)	MBA (Information Technology Business Management)	120
10	Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIHS)	MBA (Hospital & Healthcare Management)	77
11	Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru	MBA	150
	(SIBM – Bengaluru)
12	Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Bengaluru (SIMC – Bengaluru)	MBA (Communication Management)	100
13	Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF) (Formerly Symbiosis School of Banking Management)	MBA (Banking and Finance)	50

Every management institute affiliated from SIU (Symbiosis International University) offers varied courses for the aspirants like SIBM Pune is a renowned for its Full-Time MBA in General Management, SCMHRD is acclaimed for its Management program in HR while several othersare offering specialized courses in programmes like Finance, Marketing, Operations, etc.

Many colleges have started their final touch countdown for selecting the right aspirant for their programme. As, they have already closed their registration process and gearing up for the choosing their preferred candidates for its MBA 2015-17 programs, let’s roll our sleeves and explore the avenues it now. They have followed their old approach of choosing the candidates by administering responsibilities to its accredited institutes to carry with the process of GE-PIWAT which is also shown in below process chart of SNAP Admission Process,

Contrary to its last year of selection procedure, in which Symbiosis International University (SIU) added additional weightage to academic background of the aspirant, this year they have droppedweightages given to the academia of the students and made the process more simpler and understandable. They have adopted the former strategy of shortlisting the student based on their SNAP percentiles for GE-PIWAT. Since GE (Group Exercise) is not testing the water process (used to carry before the centralised admission process by SIBM-Pune as well as SCMHRD)added by SIU, but yes this be an auxiliary testing the capabilities of the aspirants.

Since, this year Personal Interview (PI) and Written ability Test (WAT) will be based on the sameformat as it was in the past year (you can check the detailed format at http://snaptest.org/Bulletin.pdf), with the only differentiating factor is that in lieu of a common PIWAT, each Management institute will have their own separate GE-PIWAT which will be orchestrated at their respective campus premises. So, registered students will have to visit the campuses for their final round of selection.

We can see from the table below that the weightage for the SNAP score and PI will be a key determinant in calculating the final weightages for the final merit list. Since half of the pathway has already been covered, still another half is remaining. So, let’s us now concentrate on the remaining half and analyse other critical exercise which will help you in letting your dreams come true.

WEIGHTS FOR FINAL MERIT LIST

SNAP Score out of 180 scaled down to 50	Group Exercise (GE)	Personal Interaction (PI)	Writing Ability Test (WAT)	Total
50	10	30	10	100

 Group Exercise

Now almost all major B-Schools use Group Exercises to test team work, interpersonal communication skills and the planning ability of the candidates. In this activity, the panel needs to know if one can mix well with others; sometimes business simulated exercises are also given to test candidate’s performance in real managerial situations. In such exercises, a candidate’s ability to work in a team is put to test, while testing his convincing power and reasoning ability. The task is assigned to the group by the panellists in such a way that all get equal opportunity to perform to the best of their abilities, express themselves and give suggestions when asked for.

Leadership skills , good team working skills , strong reasoning and decision making skills, negotiating skills, taking initiative , facilitating others to perform and speak ,showing a positive attitude, staying motivated (Intensity, Direction and Perseverance) are some of the traits a Team player must possess in order to successfully accomplish the task and get selected. The candidate may be given an indoor practical task, outdoor group exercise, case studies, presentations, creating a proposal, performing skits, role plays and so on. Some of the past group exercise are,

• A group of 8 students were blindfolded and then given a twisted rope. They were asked to arrange themselves in such a way as to form an 8 pointed star. Similarly, the group members were asked to arrange themselves and form a square.
• There was a brick lying on the floor and the team members were asked to stand one above another on it.
• The team members were given a card board, chart paper, pencil to create any structure out of the materials provided, length being 150mm.

Some general tips about Personal Interviews (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT) are:

Written Ability Test (WAT)

An Essay/WAT is a short literary composition, providing a personal view on a single subject. In SNAP, an essay is not just an exercise in research; it is also an exercise in communication. It require you to demonstrate that you understand the question asked, that you understand the issues involved and that you have done the appropriate amount of reading. The length of the essay should be apt enough to meet the purpose, keep the reader gripped and conform to any pre stated space constraints. It is important to understand that a redundant detail may take the charm away from an essay while an over condensed one may elude certain relevant details. Some of the previous WAT topics are,

• India’s foreign policy is dictated by the US
• Freedom of opinion can only exist when the govt. itself feels secure.
• Can India be ignored by the international community?
• Democracy made a glorious comeback as the catchword of the revolution
• Arab world will definitely have an impact on India
• Looking at past 10 years of India it is portrayed as emerging superpower, but all this is overhyped.
• A strong legislation would require an effective enforcement
• Direct democracy instead of representative democracy can solve the problem of corruption

Personal Interview

Personal Interview is the last stage of your evaluation to get into an SNAP, and by far the most important of the factors you can control (the others being your SNAP score and GE & WAT), where factors not under your control would include your school and college marks and overall profile (academics as well as past corporate experience). Candidates that perform well in the PI despite being average in other areas are sometimes recommended for admission purely on the strength of their interview. On the other hand, there have been cases of candidates who, despite having fantastic profiles, choke under pressure and say something inappropriate which automatically leads to rejection.

If you can maintain your composure during an interview and justify everything that you have put down on your Candidate Information Form (which will be mailed to you along with your GE-PIWAT letter, and has to be submitted at the time of your process), you will sail through the interview.

Remember to always greet the panel with a smile and thank them for their time when you leave. Politeness will hold you in good stead inside the interview room, and outside it as well. Also, analyzing your relative strengths / weaknesses will help you to take remedial action for future.

Below mentioned table is the SNAP-2013 cutoff percentiles of various B-schools under SIU. This will help you to give a brief idea about the probable percentiles of targeting colleges. Since the pattern of this year won’t change much, except for central admission process has been scrapped, we can expect a drop of at least 2-3 percentiles in schools other than SIBM-Pune and SCMHRD, Pune.

You can also refer to cutoff of SNAP-2012 to a get the broader picture and possible percentiles of this year as well.

Programme	Open/General Category	Scheduled Caste	Scheduled Tribe	Differently Abled	Kashmiri Migrant
MBA – SIBM Pune	97.5918	60.596	20.3252	21.9333	80.6032
MBA – IT  SICSR, Pune	55	*	*	*	*
SITM MBA-TM	60.0087	0.6412	0.0333	0.7463	1.9133
MBA – OM (SIOM Nashik)	87.0586	20.3252	*	*	46.4748
MBA ITBM , SCIT	68.0183	*	*	*	*
MBA-HHM SIHS, Pune	27.35	*	*	*	*
MBA-SIBM, Bengaluru	95.263	44.7796	2.3903	*	70.1444
MBA CM SIMC-B	40.0708	*	*	*	*
SSBF	78.4489	*	*	*	*
MBA – IB SIIB, Pune	93.2189	43.1741	*	9.3201	71.6524
MBA – AB SIIB, Pune	*	*	*	*	*
MBA – E and E SIIB, Pune	27.5269	*	*	*	*
MBA – SCMHRD, Pune	96.0093	64.1558	16.391	35.4492	74.3761
MBA (Infrastructure Management) –SCMHRD, Pune	89.2257	34.1746	*

So, all those students who meet the above criteria should immediately start preparing for the next stage, because remember Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

All the very best for your career ahead!!!

Tags: 2014 B-schools Exam SNAP