Solve every type of question, study all the topics, make you basics strong, Attempt past year CAT question papers and many more..

As a CAT aspirant, you must be swarmed with these types of suggestions from your seniors, Ex CAT Takers, experts, etc. Right?

Well, then lets add one more item in this wish list to make your dream of achieving highest percentile in CAT 2014 exam a reality. The task which you need to add and perform with due diligence and concentration is the Mock Test.

Yes, the most important tool in the hands of CAT aspirants is Mock tests. Many CAT Toppers had sworn on the benefit of Mock test and also how it catapulted them above other in their CAT exam Preparation.

What is Mock Test?
Mock is something that means of the similar standard, replica;  a near simulation of one.

A Mock test would be a replica test, something that is like a test but isn't actually a test in the real sense of the word. A mock test is a practice test taken before the REAL test, so that you know where you might stand if you took the actual test.

CAT Mock Test consists of questions in the same format, difficulty level, varied topics and time limit as you will find in the actual CAT exam.

Type of CAT Mock Tests
Mock test can be of different types based on your need and preparation level.

1. Full mock tests: This is a replica of the actual CAT exam and hence must be taken very seriously and should be attempted as if you are sitting in an actual CAT 2014 Exam. Full Mock tests cover all the parts of CAT exam i.e. Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and logical Reasoning. It contains a total of 60 questions.

2. Sectional Mock tests: This is a great tool for CAT aspirants to check their level of preparation for each section of the CAT exam. It is advisable by experts to start with Sectional mock test before moving on to the Full Mock tests.

3. Topic based Mock test: This is very uncommon but is used by CAT aspirants to prepare for some of the important and difficult topics of CAT syllabus like RC or particular topics like Number system, Time Speed Distance or Venn Diagrams.

Will I improve my CAT Score by giving Mock Tests?

Only attempting several Mock tests will not help your preparation until and unless you go ahead and analyze your score after each attempt. This is very important.

Giving Mock test and not analyzing it will only make you comfortable with the exam format or timings but it will not help in increasing your overall score.

After giving every Mock Tests you must analyze:

- The time taken to solve each section?
- Which question took the maximum time to solve?
- Which section was the easiest for you and the hardest one?
- Average time spent on each question in a section?
- What is your Accuracy level Versus Number of Attempts?

Analyze these aspects and try to change your style of attempts in the next Mock tests in order to achieve the best time and accuracy.

Why you must take Mock tests? Hear it from the CAT Toppers itself!

CAT toppers unequivocally told MBAUniverse.com that taking mock test and evaluating your performance by analyzing your weak areas and mistakes, brings an edge to your preparation.

Anurag Goyal says, The last month before the CAT exam should be spent on strengthening the concepts. The best way to do this is to be thorough with the concepts tested in the mock tests. Aayush Agarwal says, Analyzing mocks are more important than your textbooks. Avoid repeating the same mistakes. Also take note of the method to solve questions which you left un-attempted. Ratika Mittal while taking full-length tests, also used to solve easier questions first and if time permitted, picked up difficult and time-consuming ones.

Rohit Garg believes that speed and accuracy matter the most in the CAT examination. To improve upon this, the only Mantra is practice. He advises CAT 2013 aspirants to solve a large number of problems with various levels of difficulty. Debjit Nag, however, has a different view on Mock tests, 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 selfimprovement by targeting weak areas one after another after identifying the same during mock tests.

Anubhav Kunnel said, I started my CAT 2013 preparation keeping in mind that accuracy is a key factor. As I started giving many mocks, I was able to realize that RCs were proving to be my weak-point. I analyzed my mocks till then and found out that it was due to more number of attempts and low accuracy. Quickly, I figured it out.

Sumedha Deogharia of NITIE Mumbai believes that only practice can make you perfect and improve your accuracy. She said, 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.  Read editorial columns in newspapers to improve your knowledge base and reading ability. Keep revisiting your CAT preparation material from time to time. Work very hard if you want to bell the CAT this year itself!

Ishika Ray says, I took almost 50+ mock tests. Mock tests are very important as they help you to understand your strengths, weaknesses and most importantly help you in time management. I took free mock tests from various other sources. 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.

On the other hand, for Arshpreet Singh, analyzing the mocks minutely is more important than taking mocks one after the other. He advises CAT Aspirants, Revise all the concepts thoroughly before the CAT and attempt a lot of mock tests. Spend plenty of time on analyzing your mistakes after the tests. During the CAT, remember that its not how many questions that you attempt but how many questions that you answer correctly that matters.

Alay Mehta says, Write the standardized mock tests. Though its not possible to score high marks in mock tests, especially in the initial ones, you should never stop taking them. With the number of mocks increasing, the performance will definitely improve. You are bound to have bad mocks, but just don't give up. Solve a thousand questions on the topic and next time you take a mock, you'll inadvertently search out the questions from those first and solve them.

If you want to talk directly to 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

To ask question to CAT Quant Expert on MBAUniverse.com Forum, Click on below links:

CAT Quant Preparation with Expert

CAT Data Interpretation Questions & Tricks

Logical Reasoning for CAT Exam

To ask question to CAT Verbal Expert on MBAUniverse.com Forum, Click on below links:

CAT 2014 Verbal Preparation with CAT Expert!

CAT Verbal Ability Question of the Day!

For any other query or help regarding CAT 2014 Registration, feel free to ask on MBA Exam Helpline; Ask all your Exam doubts

If you have your own wish which you want to express, then feel free to comment on our Forum, Click here What do you wish to change in CAT 2014 exam.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more articles on CAT 2014 preparation