There is now just 47 days left for the CAT 2010 to begin. To offer you the solution to each of your problems related to CAT 2010 preparation, MBAUniverse.com is continuing with the Live Expert Chat on the critical topic of ‘Strategy to crack CAT 2010’. The third session of the Live Expert Chat was held on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 with R Shiva Kumar, Director (R & D), Career Launcher.

The chat was successfully held with several questions pouring in from CAT 2010 aspirants. Shiva Kumar answered all the questions in great detail.

Today we bring to you excerpts from the Live Expert Chat:

Q: Debbrata: I am very weak in the Quantitative Ability section. Please advise.

A: You have approximately 47 days left. Since you feel you are not OK in Quantitative Ability, I would suggest that you focus your entire time on two things.

1.     Old CAT papers: Solve all the Quant questions from the previous years’ CAT papers. It will cover the major concepts that you need to know.
2.     Taking Proctored Mocks (Mocks taken in a Lab): You will see ‘optimized’ performances if you manage to do this in a committed fashion. All the best!

Q: Sayak: My Class 10 score is 92.5 per cent, 12th 64.77 per cent and B. Tech 72.2 per cent. Will this academic profile hamper my chances of entering IIM?

A: Maybe your Class 12 percentage is a bit low. But the others are good. By the way, not all the IIMs look at percentages. So stop worrying about it. Focus on giving the best try at CAT. If your performance is very good, you should expect calls irrespective of the slightly low class 12th percentage. All the best!

Q: Awni: I am finding too many problems in the Verbal Ability section. First of all the grammar portion is very weak and I am also not able to read a Reading Comprehension passage with total understanding.

A: Make a list of standard errors in Grammar. It may help. As far as RC is concerned there is no quick fix. Constant reading and trying different strategies of attempting passages to figure out what works for you is the only way out.

Q: Rajeshwari: I am in final year of BMS. My exams are near and so is the CAT 2010. I am not able to concentrate on my studies. Now what to do? Should I concentrate on my final year studies or CAT 2010?

A: You have got to manage both! Extract an extra 2.5 hours for CAT 2010 exam every day. That should not be impossible. Cut out on time that you waste in a day. If it comes to choosing between the two, my advice is you cannot spoil your degree exams at the cost of CAT exam!

Q: Debbrata: As the D-day is approaching I am totally loosing my confidence. What should I do to gain my momentum in Data Interpretation caselet?

A: Solve the CAT Data Interpretation section of the past years and check if your confidence gets back to where it was before. Do not do any set that takes more than 10 minutes to understand outside the exam hall. If one were to go by last year's CAT papers, the sets are not very difficult to crack. Stay focused on old CAT types!

Q: Harshal: At this stage, how much time should I devote to each section in CAT exam?

A:  My standard suggestion in this last leg has always been the following.
1.    No let up on Verbal. Spend at least 45 minutes on Verbal Ability section each day.
2.    If you have not done the past CAT papers, you are missing the most critical part of CAT exam. This advice was something that has no bearing with the last year's CAT. I have always been saying for 10 years now!
3.    Look back at your tests and do recap of mistakes. And finally,
4.    Build Testing rhythm by taking the test at the same time that you have chosen on the D-day. You should take two Mock Tests a week.

Q: Dharmesh: I started my preparation three months back. I am taking CAT, MAT and IIFT exams. What is the right strategy for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning?

 A: Practice from a material that gives you an exposure to a variety of questions.

Q: Piyali: While I am confident in my preparation but unfortunately my performance level goes down during mocks. Where would be the gap?

A: Mocks are meant to test you. Do not look at the absolute scores, look at your percentiles. If you are taking only Mocks without the requisite practice, you would always struggle with the performance. If you have not had enough practice outside the Mocks, ensure that it happens at the earliest.

Q: Vishal: Could you please suggest some books to increase accuracy in verbal section?

A: Take the material that you are already referring to. Solve every bit of it.
1. For grammar take down notes of your error list.
2. Read all the passages of ‘300 to 600’ word lengths, at least five to six passages every day. Verbal cannot improve without reading! Do the past CAT papers to get a real feel of the types that are important and follow it up with your material.

Q: Rajeshwari: What is the strategy for Algebra? What are the important chapters I should focus in Math?

A: The important topics to cover are Equations, Functions (Basics, not the class 11th or class 12th types), Series (AP/GP/Other types of series) and Coordinate Geometry. Practically all questions get covered in these types. Take the CAT papers of the past and solve the Algebra questions. that is the best bet for the next 50 days.

Q: Anant: Please recommend me some best books for Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability. I am preparing through correspondecne course.

A: Don’t go for any new books at this stage of your CAT 2010 preparation. Do not waste your time. Make sure that the correspondence material that you have subscribed to is completed thoroughly.

Q: Rani Kumari: How should working people prepare for CAT & XAT? Which exam is tougher?

A: CAT exam is more predictable. XAT is ‘less predictable’, so tougher! If you are working and have prepared for CAT before, spend the next 50 days doing a test every alternate day. One day for testing and one day for analysis. Give time. Do not find excuses of workload to justify ‘No Time’!

Click on the following links to read excerpts from the previous Live Expert Chats:

http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-syllabus-papers/mba-questions/article.php?id=3546&y=chat2010

http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-syllabus-papers/mba-questions/article.php?id=3560&y=chat2010’

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more Expert Chats on ‘Strategy for cracking CAT 2010’.