The expert chat was hosted on MBAUniverse.com for the benefit of lakhs of MBA aspirants across the country, who are working hard to crack the all important Common Admission Test for IIMs, to be held on November 16, 2008.
On the MBAUniverse.com expert chat, Mr R Director, R&D, Career Launcher answered queries posted by MBA aspirants from around the country on October 18. Responding to a query on importance of taking and analyzing Mock Tests, Mr Shiva Kumar said, " Mocks are definitely important but it is more important to analyse each and every mock you give thoroughly from 2 main perspectives: 1. How to solve a particular kind of question 2. Why your performance was not good (unclear fundas, wrong time management etc.) You should take the next mock only after doing this for each mock. Ideally 2-3 mocks per week."
Mr Shiva Kumar earned his engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his MBA from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He currently heads all activities related to research and development, course design and faculty training, and is leading the team involved in tutoring.
Here is the edited transcript from the students-chat with Mr Shivakumar on October 18 on MBAUniverse.com:
Rajath: Hi, I am working at KPO in Delhi. I have good basic grasp of CAT areas. How should I plan my preparation of every day since I get only 3-4 hrs to study? Thanks
Mr Shiva Kumar: Hi! 3-4 hrs per day is a good amount of time especially if you have your basics clear. You should focus on taking tests and analysing your performance thoroughly to identify the weak areas.
Kapil: Please give me advice on how to improve 'quant' section. I am good with English. Quant is a problem area for me.
Mr Shiva Kumar: At this stage, you need to look at alternate ways of solving questions like working with options etc. since you don't have much time to focus on basics.
Sarabjeet: Sir, How should I allocate my time between Mocks and materials? I have been following up on the material for last 3 months.
Mr Shiva Kumar: Hi Sarabjeet, if you've gone through the material completely once you need to study it only if basics come out as a problem in mock analyses.
Shaanthi: Sir, my seniors at college say that now in next 4-weeks, Mocks are more important. How many Mocks should I take in next 25 days. Is there an ideal number? I am enrolled into a coaching for 3 months.
Mr Shiva Kumar: Mocks are definitely important but it is more important to analyse each and every mock you give thoroughly from 2 main perspectives: 1. How to solve a particular kind of question 2. Why your performance was not good (unclear fundas, wrong time management etc.) You should take the next mock only after doing this for each mock. Ideally 2-3 mocks per week.
Sunny: Hello Sir, can you please suggest me what are the subjects on which I should concentrate more to crack CAT'08 as I have not started yet.
Mr Shiva Kumar: Hello! I would advise you to take a diagnostic CAT or a mock CAT which would help you identify sections which are your strength and weaknesses.
Sunny: Hello sir, I want to know the weightage of Data Interpretation, Logical Ability and English in CAT.
Mr Shiva Kumar: DI&LR, and VA generally have 1/3rd weightage each.
Gauri: Dear Sir, I want to improve my Data Interpretation/ LR. Please advice.
Mr Shiva Kumar: There are two dimensions to it:
1. Calculation speed for which you should look at your clarity of fundas in percentages
2. Data Comprehension: Here you would need practice in understanding the meaning of data and spotting trends and drawing conclusions
Yash: I'm a final year student of DCE. I have a weak/poor vocabulary. What role does it play in CAT? Also, please suggests me some measures to build it in this short span of time. Regards, Yash..
Mr Shiva Kumar: Hi Yash! Vocabulary is important in CAT not because of direct questions but because it affects your understanding of passages etc. It can be strengthened by: a) developing good reading habit and b) understanding words through their roots. You can refer to "Word Power Made Easy" by Norman Lewis, its a very good book.
Jigesh: Sir, I am preparing for Nov 16. I am seeking for the last minute tips for the CAT day. What to do and what not a few days before CAT.
Mr Shiva Kumar: It is necessary to keep your cool and not get bogged by the pressure. Keep tracking mba.careerlauncher.com in the last 7 days to CAT for time to time relevant advice and inputs
Rekhansh: On the CAT day, should I read all the Qs first and then answer, or start solving section by section.
Mr Shiva Kumar: Section by section: but within each section you should read all before answering.
Sanjay: Hi Sir, this is Sanjay from mum. I am aiming at CAT '09. But I am taking this year CAT too. How should I use and plan for this year.
Mr Shiva Kumar: Just go and give this year and analyse your performance as if it were a diagnostic CAT.
Jigesh: One more question sir. After CAT, how to work on XAT and FMS?
Mr Shiva Kumar: You'll need to focus on some additional topics and Maths like higher series and functions.
Guneet: Sir, I would like to know what extra do I need to do in order to prepare for the IIFT exam?
Mr Shiva Kumar: You need to brush up your business and economic awareness, especially related to happenings in the last one year.
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