Does self-study work for MBA entrance exams?

I want to go for self-study while preparing for the MBA entrance exams. Is it possible? How shall I do so?
Dhreeraj - Ahmedabad
Discipline is very important. Plan your preparation, maintain a fixed schedule and stick to it. There are three basic areas which are tested in the MBA entrance exams. They are verbal ability, quantitative ability and data interpretation and logical reasoning. For verbal ability, read a lot. Since reading comprehension is an important part of this section, try speed reading (you have to train how to read and comprehend fast). For quantitative ability it is most important to get your basic concepts right. Solve questions on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration etc from the Class X books of CBSE and ICSE boards. For the data interpretation and logical reasoning sections, refer to well known CAT preparation books from TATA McGraw Hill, R S Agarwal, S Chand, Pearson Education, etc. You should also solve crossword and sudoku puzzles every day as this will improve your accuracy and aptitude. After you gain some confidence with your preparation, you can join test series so that you get an idea about your current level of preparation

Currently I have around four years of IT experience as software professional and I would like to pursue one-year full time executive MBA for my career growth. I am planning to take CAT or GMAT for the year 2010-2011 so that I will be having five years of work experience by then. Can you please update me on the roles I will be offered once I complete my executive MBA (EMBA)? What are the criteria for getting into top B-schools?
Vijeta - Pune
Some of the top B-schools in the nation do offer a one- year executive MBA, e.g. IIMs, XLRI, etc. IIM Ahmedabad offers PGPX, which is the executive program of the institute. The executive MBA programme of IIM Calcutta is called the consultancy and management development programmess (CMDP), IIM Lucknow provides international management programme in management for executives (IPMX) to name a few. The eligibility criteria are institute-specific.

However, generally it requires an experience of more than five years. With your profile you may look at some of the best schools in the nation (like ISB in India) and many more abroad for a one-year executive programme. Do not settle for a mediocre B-school. Mostly candidates with a good overall profile land up with strategic or very senior executive management positions after completing their executive MBA.

I am preparing for CAT 2010. I am good at English but want to know how can one prepare best for quantitative aptitude (QA) and data interpretation (DI) so I can do well in the test.
Suresh Awasthi - Pune
You have no option but to squeeze the three hours that you need to put in every day for your CAT preparation. As far as QA is concerned, algebra and geometry should be given the maximum priority. They should cover more than 50 per cent of the paper. Give algebra 15 days and geometry six to seven days. Do them at a stretch. You have to spare some time doing three to four DI sets every day. That would definitely push the comfort level in this area to a far more satisfying level.