CAT Topper: Sneha Mittal provides tips and guidance to CAT 2014 aspirants

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
July 16, 2014
CAT Topper Sneha Mittal has been flocked with queries on MBAUniverse.com Forum, not only from CAT 2014 aspirants but also from their parents and under-graduate students. This article presents before you some of the best queries and answers from the Forum.
For Verbal, there is Word Power made easy by Norman Lewis. I suggest you start using the Wren and Martin English grammar book, 30 days to a more powerful vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis.

In a sincere attempt to help out CAT 2014 aspirants with their preparation queries, MBAUniverse.com brought a round of CAT Topper 2013 success stories for the benefit of CAT 2014 aspirants every week on MBAUniverse.com Forum  

In this CAT Topper 2013 series we presented before you the success story of Sneha Mittal, a CAT Topper who scored percentile of 97.91 in CAT 2013, 95 in XAT 2014, 99.24 in MAHCET and All India rank 454 in CMAT.

 Sneha Mittal has been flocked with queries on MBAUniverse.com Forum, not only from CAT 2014 aspirants but also from their parents and under-graduate students.

In this article we present before you some of the best queries and answers from the Forum Channel of Sneha Mittal. For more CAT 2014 queries, Click Here: Talk To CAT 2013 Topper Sneha Mittal.  CAT 2014 aspirants are free to chat with Sneha Mittal Directly on our Forum.

 

CAT Queries answered by Sneha Mittal:

Question 1. Hi Sheha, I am a working CA & want to attempt 2014 CAT.I can have 5 hours of study on weekday & 8 hours of study on weekend. I don't know quant except average, profit & few other topics related to Accounts. My English is poor. I find DI & LR easy.
What do you suggest?
1. Have I sufficient time?
2 How can I allocate time to different parts of CAT?
3 IN Verbal ability, how many passages should I read daily? How many times should I give to learn VOCAB.
4 How should I prepare for DI & reasoning. Can I do DI in October itself?
5 Should I go to crash course coaching as it will consume my time and I don't want to do that?

Sneha Mittal: Hi Amit, Given that you are a CA, you have an edge over the engineers as they give extra points to people from non-engg. background.
Now answering your queries:
First, if your English is poor, try reading newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economist on a daily basis from now on. If you cannot afford to buy them daily, I would suggest installing apps on your phone and giving time to read online. It will keep you prepared for the interviews and GDs also.

1) You have more than enough time to prepare. Start now!!
2) You can give a few hours to each subject, or you can take up one subject each day and work on it. Whatever suits you?
3) Given that your English is on the weaker side, dedicate an hour or two to reading newspapers, and practice answering RCs as many as you can. Solving many RCs help. I know, coz RC was a weak section for me too. Try reading the editorial section as much as you can.
4) Do not take DI lightly. It needs a lot of practice. Start DI from now itself, and do not leave it for the end time. You can take up study material from coaching classes or refer to Arun Sharma DI books, and solve as much as you can. The more you solve, the easier it becomes for you to solve.
5) I went for a crash course as I needed regular motivation, and someone to keep me on my toes. Go for the crash course if you find yourself wandering more than the time you give to studies. If you can dedicatedly give time to studies on your own, no need of a crash course.
Hope it helps! Wish you luck! Read More..

 

Question. 2. Hello Sneha, I want to give cat this year but I have lot of confusions, my academics are 10th-88% 12th-89% B.Tech-71%(2013 pass out) and am not from a reputed college .I heard that IIMs prefer students from tier 1 and tire 2 colleges like IITs NITs or else they will see for 2-3 years of work experience, is it true that a student from a normal college with average academics won’t get calls from IIMs even though having 99percentile. Also am still in search of a job, so am confused whether to write cat this year or 2015 after gaining at least 1year work experience. In the meanwhile I took 4mons coaching from time institute. So please suggest me.

Answer 2. Hi Anu, from my experiences, I would suggest you get 2 years work-ex in a good company, develop an attractive profile and then try for CAT. The IIMs do give preference to students from IITs and NITs. Even if you achieve a high percentile score, your graduation percentage will not even let you qualify for the top 6 IIMs.
It is definitely true that even after high percentile you may not get calls from top IIMs due to your low graduation percentage, You may be a topper of your college with your percentile, but it doesn’t matter. You could also opt for other top B schools except IIMs from your CAT percentile, but ask yourself this - Do you want to live with the IIM tag or compromise there? Wish you luck! Read More..

 

Question 3. Hello Mam, I am struggling with grammar and vocab. Plz tell me how can I improve upon this, as I am taking TIME coaching but that is not helping me much.

Answer 3. For Verbal, there is Word Power made easy by Norman Lewis. I suggest you start using the Wren and Martin English grammar book, 30 days to a more powerful vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis.  
Make it a habit to read newspapers like The Hindu, TOI, The Economist, etc. It will improve your vocab in a much faster and easier way.
To improve your vocabulary, maintain a journal for all new words you learn. Write down the exact meaning of every new word you encounter, and make a sentence with it. See the internet for examples of using that word in sentences; it will help you remember that word. Read those words regularly when you get time. That should help! Read more..

Question 4. Hi Sneha...I had given CAT 2013 and I got 85.64 %tile..For this year's CAT, I haven’t started Quant yet. I am ok with DI, LR and Verbal part. Assuming that I am very weak in Quant, please guide me how to ace Quant in 2 months time..This would be my last attempt and therefore I have quit from my job to focus entirely on the preparation. Your two cents of suggestion for Quant might help me. Thanks in advance.

Answer 4. Hi Ajey, given your percentile, I think you are a good student but you need more practice. Now, u say, u are weak in the Quant section. I had a similar case like yours. It was my last shot, and I did all I could to score well. For quant, you can take IMS course material. In case you joined any coaching classes, you must have learnt some short-cuts here and there.

Try and solve as much as you can using those shortcuts. It’s the most effective method. it might be confusing at first, but it will help you a lot in the long run. Practice as much as you can. I scored 98+ percentile, and this i can say for sure, that the questions aren't difficult. You just give good practice to each topic. Give tests and analyze your weak points. Work on those areas where you lose marks. You'll definitely score well.
Wish you luck! Read more..

 

Question 5. Hello mam, I am preparing for CAT 2014. What all areas I must concentrate to get a selection this year itself. I have joined TIME for 2014 programme. Should I stick on to TIME material alone? Please guide through mam.

Answer 5. Hi Ashwin, 

a) I would suggest you concentrate on all areas.
b) Try to find out the areas where you are weak and are lagging behind. Work harder on those areas and practice more. Try to solve as much as you can. c) If you stick only to TIME material, and solve all the material at least once, you should have enough practice to score good in any competitive examination.
d) Try and give a lot of mock tests. Find out the areas where you lose score. Analyze your results and try to improve your score with each new test you give, Contact your teachers regularly, and keep in touch to find out tips and tricks for the paper.
Hope that answers your question. In case you have any other query, feel free to post here.
Wish u luck! Read more

If you want to talk directly to various CAT 2013 Toppers to get right advice and suggestions for CAT 2014 preparation, Click Here:

http://www.mbauniverse.com/forums/forum/meet-the-past-cat-toppers-know-how-to-score-99-percentile

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