To help CAT takers, MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone is publishing a series on expert guidance by India’s leading test prep companies. In this first part from the CAT series by Indore based PT Education, the institute introduction the exam, and shares strategies for preparation for CAT. Next parts of this series will focus on key areas like: Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation and Qualitative Ability.
PT Education on CAT 2008
A cursory glance at the pattern of the examination in the last couple of years confirms CAT's unpredictability. An element of surprise adds to the stress inherent in CAT preparation. However, this should not deter you from giving your best shot.
Based on our discussion with some of the most experienced teachers from across the country, we have distilled the following tips for you.
- Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Build on your strengths; eliminate your weaknesses.
- Develop competencies in new areas and revise as much as possible.
- Identify the right B-schools and utilise counselling for better focus on the right kind of preparation and to eliminate confusion.
- Nurture the art of performing well under pressure.
- Develop the ability to calculate faster mentally.
- Read English newspapers regularly for improving English and for increasing general awareness
- Keep taking the mock tests and analyse your performance seriously, every time
- Self-confidence is important. Remember that you "can" do it.
Preparation strategies
In the ever-changing CAT scenario, the first thing to decide is your strategy.
In order to crack a difficult test like CAT, effective time management plays as important a role as intelligence.
As we have seen over the years, CAT has three sections and each section has equal weightage. Of course, this may change but for now, let us assume that this pattern will continue. Given the three sections, what should be your attack plan?
While most individuals start with the language section, others like to start the test with the data interpretation (DI) section. Some keep the logical reasoning (LR) questions for the end. You decide what suits you the most. The important thing is to set a time limit for each section.
Ideally, you should try to finish the language section in 35 to 40 minutes. The rest of the time must then be judiciously spent on the maths and the DI-LR sections, which may demand more time. Some LR questions require a lot of time. So plan your strategy accordingly.
Please do not forget, CAT is all about expecting the unexpected.
Your success mantra
Actually there is no mantra, simply because the need to put in hard work to achieve success is no big secret. But there is a difference between mindless slogging and smart preparation. CAT demands the latter.
You should realise that CAT is a test of your managerial aptitude and skills like:
- Time management
- Handling pressure and uncertainty
- Decision making
What you need is a combination of strategy, planning and implementation. Here are a few tips:
- Continue reading till the last day. Do not stop. Identify specific areas of discomfort and try to read as much as possible in those areas. This will help in reading comprehension, theme-based questions and paragraph formation.
- Focus on grammar—this is getting more and more importance.
- English usage (EU) questions, especially the "Fill in the blanks" type, are easily handled if you are comfortable with proper usage of words. So, focus on vocabulary development.
- In quantitative areas, focus on geometry and number systems. Questions on number systems have always been important while geometry has gained greater importance over the last 2 years.
- Barring a set or two based on quantitative reasoning (QR), LR has tended to be easy over the last 2 to 3 years. However, do not neglect regular practice.
- DI is more about quickly understanding graphs and tables. Spend a lot of time reading material such as The Economist, where you get to study a good variety of graphs.
- Work on your mental mathematics. Learn to do calculations mentally. Memorise standard formulae and try to use shortcuts wherever possible.
- Ensure that you touch your peak performance just before CAT; do not burn yourself out before that.
Even though you cannot predict the exact pattern of questions, you can have a good idea about your answer pattern. A net total of about 55 to 60 marks with an equitable distribution in all three sections of the paper will get you calls from most institutions. Once you realise this, you will find your workload reduced by a huge amount. Your task is to attempt the 65 to 75 easiest possible questions out of the 90 to 150 questions that are put to you in the two-and-a-half hours of the test.
The identification of easy questions is a difficult task and comes only after practise. The amount of preparation required will vary depending on your level of comfort with various topics. However, you should try to leverage your strengths to the optimum. In the process, however, do not forget that clearing cut-offs is essential to getting calls; doing well in one section and not clearing the cut-off in another will not help. CAT is not a test to prove your mettle in specific subjects; you need to prove your overall ability.
Some of you must have already started giving practice tests. This is the only way to figure out how you will fare at the national level. There is no need to panic if you are not able to match your expectations initially. Look at every test as a learning experience. Do your best in all the tests. After returning home, analyse your performance. Adequate practise will give you the knowledge and the confidence to take informed decisions.
You should look at accuracy as a priority. Practice will help you increase your speed at a later stage of preparation but absence of accuracy will lead to widely varying results. This will not help you get admission to the institute of your choice.
Lastly, practise, practise and practise.
PT Education was established in year 1993in Indore. The company trains thousand of students for various MBA entrance tests every year.
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