You don’t have to swing hard to hit a homerun. Timing is everything.
Whether it’s baseball or b-school application deadlines, timing really does factor in as the days draw nearer.
With only a few days left for the Round 1 admission deadline at Masters’ Union, we present to you - an application survival guide to coast you through any rough water you might be passing through.
We’ll be highlighting important information around the MU BAAT examination, describing our policies around entrance examinations, cut offs and referrals along with providing tips for the essay section.
The MU-BAAT
Here are the guidelines for the MU BAAT examination -
Registration & Fees
All candidates who complete and submit their admissions application are automatically registered for the MU BAAT examination, provided the student has indicated the preference in their application form
There is no additional fee for the MU BAAT examination and is covered within the INR 2000/- cost of the admissions application
Timelines
The MU BAAT will be conducted 7-10 days after the completion of our Round 1 admission deadline on 23rd January. Candidates will have an option to choose a timeslot to take the examination on the day the exam is scheduled.
Logistics
The MU BAAT is an online examination that can be taken from your laptop/desktop and requires a secure internet connection.
It is a proctored examination, which closely tracks the candidate's behavior during the course of their attempt, and requires access to the laptop/desktop webcam and microphone.
The software over which the test is accessed disables all other applications, such as web browsers, messaging platforms etc. when the examination is being conducted.
Calculators are neither allowed nor required, but candidates can use 2-3 plain sheets of paper to solve the test.
Scores
There is no cut-off for the MU BAAT examination. It provides the admissions committee with an insight to a candidates verbal and analytical skills along with their business acumen.
Preparation
The MU BAAT examination provides a benchmark of your analytical and verbal skills and is designed on similar basis to other management aptitude examinations
Any individual with a knowledge of high-school mathematical fundamentals along with a strong appetite for reading first-rate literature from diverse sources should find the examination appropriate for their skill level
To get an idea of what you can expect in the MU-BAAT examination, you can have a look at the sample questions
Our Entrance Examination & Cut Off Policy
Here is a brief summary of our entrance examination policy -
We conduct an internal admissions test, MU BAAT, or Masters’ Union Business Aptitude Admissions Test.
The only examination scores we take as exceptions to the MU BAAT are valid GMAT, GRE or CAT scores, who can apply with the score of their choice and can choose to opt out of the MU BAAT examination.
We do not accept NMAT scores.
For all other candidates -
If you have not taken any entrance examinations, you can apply and will have to take the MU BAAT examination
If you have taken any examination apart from the GMAT, CAT or GRE, you can apply and will have have to take the MU BAAT examination
Even if you have a valid GMAT, CAT, GRE score and you feel you score isn’t competitive, you can choose to take the MU BAAT examination
Cut-offs: Masters’ Union does not declare cut-offs for any examination. Our admissions evaluation process looks at a holistic evaluation of a candidate’s profile and their selection depends on a number of factors including their academic background, work experience (if applicable), essays, extracurricular activities, examination scores, interview performance and more!
The average GMAT score from our first two cohorts was 710. It is up to the candidates discretion to interpret the average score in perspectives of other examinations. Do know that anyone has the option to sit for the MU BAAT examination, should they feel their score in the GMAT, GRE or CAT examination isn’t competitive enough.
The Essay Section
Here is some guidance for the essay section -
What we’re looking for -
Clarity and consistency in your thoughts, arguments and in the structure of your essay
High quality critical thinking skills and how deeply you’ve engaged with the prompt
High quality communication skills and how you’ve framed your response
Format of submission -
You can choose to submit your essay either in a text based format, between 200-500 words, or, in a video format, with the video not being more than 2 minutes in length. You can upload the video on any video hosting platform and paste the hyperlink in the essay text box, if you prefer going with the video based response.
Understanding the prompts -
Instructions - There are two prompts that each contain two options. The first prompt is mandatory and you will have to respond to either one of the options. The second prompt is optional and also requires you to respond to only one of the options presented.
Prompt #1
Option 1: According to you, what are the ingredients to the Masters’ Union recipe and how do you think the dish tastes?
Option 2: In a book about your life, there’s a chapter titled “My Masters’ Union Experience”. Write down a summary of the chapter.
Our Take: What we’re looking for is ways you can provide perspective to a perceived experience at Masters’ Union, as a student. Along with your personal goals and objectives, we’re assessing your perception of what your outcome will be from your own Masters’ Union experience. We’d encourage you to think creatively as well. Write down your essay as a recipe or maybe tell us the title of your book, which has the Masters’ Union chapter?
A good way of measuring your attempt would be to assess your response and see if your ‘authentic’ self is clearly on display.
Prompt #2
Option 1: The firefly algorithm is inspired by the flashing behavior of fireflies. Which aspect of nature will you draw on to create intelligence and insights for business and how will you do it?
Option 2: FinTech, EdTech, Biotech, PropTech … the world has seen many neologisms in the recent past. You’re tasked by creating your own by appending the word ‘Tech’ to the end of the word you choose. Tell us about the industry and how the inclusion of technology has influenced the same.
Our Take: What we’re looking for, through this response, is for your personality and approach to problem solving to be on display.
With the first topic, feel free to submit additional illustrations, mathematical equations, and more. We’d like to see how you engage with systems-level thinking and the cross-functional application of frameworks across different subjects.
With the second topic, along with looking at your interest areas, we get insights on your understanding of how technology creates impact to products, services, organizations, sectors, etc. We require you to extrapolate a scenario where you need to append the word ‘Tech’ to the end of a word to create a new industry (e.g. fintech, EdTech, etc.) and describe how the inclusion of technology has impacted the space.
The References Section
Here are the guidelines for the references section -
Who to choose?
The reference section collects contact information about your referral, based on the individual you choose. We’d encourage you to choose a manager, mentor, investor, professor, etc. who you’ve worked closely with and can have a conversation/reply to a questionnaire about your strengths, weaknesses and past experiences.
Process
You will need to submit only the contact details of the referrals
You do not need a ‘letter of recommendation’ from your referral, either physical or digital.
Masters’ Union will connect with your referrals post the completion of Round 1 of admissions, during the evaluation stage. You will need to complete and submit your application with the contact details of your referral, well before.
Masters’ Union will be reaching out to your referrals either through a telephonic conversation or through a questionnaire
As mentioned before, the Round 1 deadline of admissions is on the 23rd of January, so for one last time, if you’re someone who has read this far and hasn’t started your application, you should really be doing so here.