MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone Exclusive: TIME Education on countdown to CAT '07 (Part I)

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
July 24, 2016
The D-Day for CAT takers is just round the corner. Focusing on countdown to CAT 2007, MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone is running a series on Expert advice on how should students use these remaining days to prepare for CAT.

In this article, Mr Sai Kumar, Course Director, Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME), one of India's leading MBA prep company, offers section-wise strategy that students can adopt to score maximum. MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone is the most comprehensive online media platform for CAT takers which reports expert advice and news on getting into India's premier MBA institutes.  

TIME Education on Countdown to CAT '07 Strategy:  

Last minute hiccups:

The problems that students face can be categorized are – 'Under preparation'; 'Weak performance' in a particular area and 'Performance anxiety'.  

If the problem is one of under preparation then it is quite clear that the only way to tackle it is to allocate time and prepare for the exam. Weak performance in a particular area needs a structured approach to solving and the way forward has been described in detail in the earlier question.  

Anxiety is what every student faces and what really is important is to what extent one can manage this anxiety. One should understand that a little bit of anxiety is what would propel us to prepare on a better scale and hence it is good. If for whatever reason this becomes a little difficult to manage then a dose of fun, watching a few movies etc and general chilling out with friends would help cool the stress of preparation.  

Let us now discuss preparation strategies for each section.  

Quantitative Section:

The Quantitative section is the one that most non-mathematics students fear not to mention the scores of engineers. A plan for the next 60 days should involve the following:  

  • Students should revise the basics across all chapters. The time frame for this activity should be the 1st week of October. This is recommended because CAT has over the years tested students on their ability to comprehend basics rather than the ability to tackle advanced problems.  
  • The next 3 weeks should be spent on working out the advanced material from the study material given (Material given out by T.I.M.E to its full course students). The focus should not be on time taken to solve the question but rather on the understanding of the method used to solve and the principle involved.  
  • The next 2-3 weeks in the run-up to CAT should be spent working out the questions from the Mocks that one has taken over the past few months. The Mocks have a standard of questions that is very close to the actual CAT and the learning that one can derive by working them out would be immense."  

Data Interpretation Section

 "The Data Interpretation section is the one that requires the least amount of concepts to be learnt and practiced. The plan for this section should be as follows:  

  • The basic study material is to be quickly revised and elementary concepts of Speed Math to be revised (Conversion of fractions to percentages and vice versa, quick addition, percentages computation etc.). This activity should be finished by the first week of October.  
  • The next 2 weeks should be spent on working out the advanced sets from the study material given all the while trying to hone the ability to select the right approach for any question.  
  • The next stage would be to practice the sets given in the Mock CATs, which should go on until the week of the CAT. The emphasis here is more on identifying the approach that one should take after looking at the data rather than on the actual solving of the questions.  
  • Students should try and solve some puzzles from puzzle books which are readily available at all major book stores. This is so because CAT seems to be moving more towards the logical puzzles than anything else if the trend of the past few years is any indication."  

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Section 

"The section that derailed the hopes of many a student in CAT2006 was the Verbal/RC section and things might just be the same this year. A plan for this section for the next remaining days should be:  

  • Allot atleast 1.5 hours everyday to reading practice. This could be from the mainstream newspapers, weekly magazines or from online sources. In this case it would be a great idea to avoid tabloid newspapers i.e. newspapers that revel in sensationalizing news and not on the good old reporting. This activity should go on till the day of the CAT.
  •  Weeklies like the Frontline, India Today, Newsweek etc are good. Some good online websites with articles spanning the entire spectrum of topics given in CAT like www.magportal.com are excellent for this kind of preparation. The reading of articles helps one acclimatize to the different kinds of passages and thereby reduces the 'alien' factor in the exam.  
  • The other area to focus on would be Grammar as quite a few questions come from this. The good old grammar books like 'Wren & Martin' are still the best for this area.  
  • Some students are unduly perturbed by the questions on Vocabulary, as they believe that preparing for it is like swimming across an ocean. 
  • Students should understand that the time on hand is more than sufficient to crack CAT provided one follows the above guidelines."  

(Mr Sai Kumar is the Course Director at TIME. TIME was established in 1992 by three MBA graduates -- two from the IIMs and one from XLRI -- in Hyderabad. Today, it has 136 offices in 72 cities across the country. According to TIME, in the last 15 years, it has grown into a specialist, multi-location, multi-program training provider running on corporate lines.)