Quantitative Section of CAT exam is usually the most feared section among CAT aspirants. The level of difficulty of Quant and DI questions has been increasing each year in CAT exam.
The increased emphasis of IIMs and top b-schools on Sectional Cut-offs have added more misery for CAT aspirants as they now need to adopt a successful strategy to score high Sectional Cut-offs in CAT 2014 exam.
So how do you score 99+ scores in Quant Section of CAT exam? Do you need to be a Mathematics wizard? Do you need some special preparation?
Ever imagined, what CAT Toppers did to score high Sectional Marks in their CAT exam and secure admission in IIMs or Top B schools?
Stop wondering as this article will spill out the beans for you!
We bring forward CAT Toppers and their strategy to tame the difficult Quant Section of CAT exam. These CAT Toppers will share their Quant Preparation Strategy and how they performed on the actual CAT testing Day.
These CAT toppers are similar to you, some are under grads, some have work experience, some are freshers, etc. but one thing that is common among all of them is that they had the determination to achieve success and join Top B-schools.
If you have a similar dream, then, go ahead and read the secrets of CAT toppers on how they prepared for Quantitative Section of CAT exam.
CAT Toppers on How to Prepare for Quantitative Section of CAT Exam:-
1. Ankur Khanna: I started my Preparation in July when I used to devote 15 hours a day to CAT preparation. My Strategy was to improve my accuracy and then capitalize on my strong part i.e. Quant. I used to study nearly 18-19 hours a day during the last few days. Solve all the questions that you come across. Join at least 2 mock series and practice lots of online stuff available free of cost. You can never be sure of being 100% prepared at any point of time and there is always some scope for improvement.
My strategy was to attempt only those questions for which I am 110% sure. Slightest of doubt, and I will leave that question unmarked. This strategy worked for me and I managed to score 98.90%ile in Quant with 21 attempts.
2. Arshpreet Singh: I cracked CAT 2012 with an overall 99.97 percentile and secured admission to IIM Ahmedabad. I scored 99.05 percentile in Quant & DI section. The toughest section for me was the QA+DI section. I started my self-preparation for CAT 3 months before the actual date. So, I devoted around 3 hours a day on studying the concepts and solving exercises related to them. The ideal duration for study should be around 2 hours a day if you start early with around 3-4 hours on weekends for the online mock tests and their analysis. So, around 15 hours a week for the preparation is ideal. I practiced a lot of question sets in DI to improve my speed as well as to gain much needed confidence. I made sure that every set I attempted was time bound. I devoted ample time in analyzing my mistakes after the mocks.
3. Aayush Agarwal: I being from a commerce background, realized that I am at a slight disadvantage in quants. For candidates who feel that they are weak in QA section, focus on arithmetic, maintain accuracy, try to improve your score in logic driven sections like DI and LR. Also, try to work with options. You can solve at least 3-4 questions by using unconventional methods.
On testing day, I made it a point to be as accurate as possible leaving out random guesses. In Section 1, I did not waste much time on any particular question and moved on to next question whenever I would get stuck. I attempted all the questions of DI since it was my strong area. In QA, if you are not sure of solving a question by conventional methods, try unconventional ones like working with the options.
4. Sumedha Deogharia: As I was a fresher, I used to study for two hours in the morning. I used to study for another 2 hours after college. A total of 5-6 hours of effective study per day would do the magic!! I used to take a day off and enjoy myself during the weekends so that I could start the next week with renewed energy.
One good piece of advice for CAT 2014 aspirants from my side is that you should practice a lot; only practice can make you perfect and improve your accuracy. Take as many mock tests as you can. Come out with a proper analysis of your performance after each mock test and try to find out weaknesses and strengths. Work very hard if you want to bell the CAT this year itself!
On the testing day, I knew that there was no individual cut-off for QA & DI separately. So, when I found out that the DI questions were difficult and needed rigorous calculations, I thought of doing them in the last. First, I solved all the questions in the QA section and then started with the DI questions where I was successful in solving one out of them and scored 99.35%ile in my Quant section of CAT 2012.
5. Debjit Nag: I scored 99.97 %ile in CAT 2012 and also secured final admission offers from 10 top B-schools including 9 IIMs and FMS Delhi, presently a student of 2013-15 PGP batch of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. My percentile in QA-DI was 99.82 and the same for VA-LR was 99.79. Focus on accuracy on the D-Day. Lack of accuracy is penalized heavily in CAT. Maintain your composure and you will definitely do well. Initially I used to attach too much value to mock tests. Later, I realized that those were just mocks and started to invest more time in self-improvement by targeting weak areas one after another. I studied regularly for 2-3 hours on weekdays and 5-6 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. This used to include time spent in mock tests and thereafter the analysis of the same.
6. Ishika Ray: I was advised by my teacher to follow a simple rule-Solve, Mark, Skip.
As soon as you see a question take any one of the three actions: solve it-if you are confident, mark it-if you think you can solve but need some time to work on it, skip-when you know that this cannot be solved by you. This strategy really worked for me!
DI, arithmetic and modern maths was my strength so I tried attempting these questions first. I never spent more than 2 mins in any question; if I found difficulty in solving a particular question, I marked it and came back to it later. Accuracy was my strategy in the test room. If I had even 1% doubt with any answer, I skipped it. I attempted only 13 maths questions in QA in CAT 2013 and was confident that all were correct.
7. Siddhant Gupta: I scored 98.67 percentile in CAT 2011 and joined IIM Raipur. I started preparation in the third year of my graduation. Educational websites bridged the gap between me and the CAT syllabi. I consulted my seniors and a few educationalists to guide me. I always preferred systematic study with a rough time table in mind. My primary strategy was to bring accuracy with less number of questions and then to analyze productive questions i.e. questions which take less time and fetch more marks. Consequently, my focus shifted to bringing speed with accuracy.
The overall strategy changed to maximizing sectionals instead of managing time. This required a change in the selection criteria of questions. To deal with such situations, one has to be a smart analyzer, optimistic and of course hard working. Practice is a must for quantitative ability and data interpretation. With practice, confidence and a few tests, the focus should shift to understanding of the pattern of questions. Questions requiring less time should be selected first and others should be attempted later. A thorough knowledge of one’s own strengths and weaknesses can be of great help.
8. Parag Poddar: I scored 99.65 percentile in CAT 2011 and took admission in IIM Indore. I started with brushing up basic concepts and formulae for each chapter and supplemented my preparation by taking chapter-wise mock tests. This was followed by thorough analysis of each section and the mistakes made. The solutions to all the problems helped me find alternate and easier ways of solving problems. The tool of preparation through tests helped me gain speed and structure strategies of taking the test.
Online tests and surfing articles regularly made me adept to the habit of reading from computer and helped me concentrate better during my tests. Regular tests and analysis is the best way to identify one’s weakness and improve on them. Regular practice tests and problem solving were an integral part of my preparations for quantitative ability and data interpretation. I used to discuss problems with my friends who were enrolled in coaching institutes, solve puzzles and read newspapers regularly
If you want to talk directly to CAT 2013 Toppers to get right advice and suggestions for CAT 2014 preparation, Click Here:
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