With a renewed energy and commitment not to repeat the mistakes that I made in last year CAT exam, I would be appearing in CAT 2015 to finalize my chances of getting into one of the top 3 IIMs in 2016.
I prepared hard for CAT, consistently scored high percentile of 99+ in all the top rated Mocks before the D-day, practiced the sample test on CAT website number of times but made silly mistakes in the testing room and despite scoring a high overall percentile was not shortlisted by any of the top rated IIMs.
The true but shocking story of Samar singh (name changed to protect the identity of the candidate) could be an alert and warning for CAT 2015 aspirants to avoid the mistakes he made in the examination room. Samar despite being a very intelligent and hard working CAT aspirant got tempted and made the avoidable mistakes which deprived him of getting into the list of shortlisted candidates of IIMs. On the top of it, Samar shares that he has all that any IIM would need including excellent academic profile and professional experience, still he missed the opportunity.
Let the first person account of Samar Singh come to you from him only so that CAT 2015 aspirants may know how they should attempt the exam and what they should avoid while taking the actual CAT 2015 exam on November 29, 2015.
My sectional percentile was not balanced. Overall I scored as high as 97.71. It was 99+ in Quant and 78.9 in Verbal but since high sectional percentile was also very important to get shortlisted and to get a call from IIMs, I couldn’t make it. High sectional scores in CAT can also compensate for some low scores in PI round if you are shortlisted but the mistakes I made kept me away from tasting the life at IIMs. I propose to compensate well in CAT 2015, although it has an entire changed face and appears more difficult that earlier CAT exams.
Got stuck to First section
The last year CAT exam had no sectional time constraint and switching between the sections was allowed within the overall time limit of 170 minutes to attempt 100 questions divided in 2 sections of Quant and DI and Verbal & LR.
I began with the first section on Quant & Data Interpretation. The section had 50 questions viz 34 on Quant and 16 on DI. Since I considered my-self a bit strong in Quant, I started from the very first question. I continued proceeding one after another without realizing that in my zeal to maximise the attempts, I was losing time rapidly. I struggled through a few very tough questions and it took plenty of my time which at the material time I did not realize.
DI made me nervous
The Problem sets in Data Interpretation contained Data-Tables, Data-Charts, Graphs, Diagrams with some additional information also shared below the data information part. It took too much of my time to read and make out anything out of the given information based on data analysis and comparison.
There were too many comparison points to arrive at the right answer option in data interpretation questions due to which situation became very tricky. The result was that even after going through the set of information on DI questions I was not able to understand the intricacies of data comparison. I lost a chunk of time and wanted to make good of it, so I tried to attempt questions from 2-3 sets without realizing that DI was the part of Quant and even if I didn’t do any question from it, I could still score a high percentile. I wasted more time in this section but could solve less than I expected.
Didn’t follow the art of skipping
Out of 170 minutes I spent 110 minutes only on Quant and DI section, the accuracy level could have been higher, if I had skipped the difficult questions and saved time. The temptation to hit more questions did cost me dearly in next section.
Lost my cool in second section
I was left with only 60 minutes to attempt 50 questions in the second section on Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. I did not consider myself very strong in Verbal Ability. On the top of it after going through calculation based questions in the first section, I was feeling a bit tired also. The new type of questions like FIJ, para summary and more questions based on Grammar in Verbal Ability section began to overpower me.
I tried to maintain my cool but was not able to maintain good speed with accuracy level. RC passages were followed by different type of questions also. The Logical reasoning was also pretty difficult and lengthy.
While attempting the question, when I found that the same was not doable, I moved further but during the process I lost more time. Then I decided to scan the entire section and I did it. It also consumed much of my time. The ultimate result was that the time was up before I could attempt right number of questions.
When the result was declared, the overall percentile made me eligible for other B-schools except any of the IIMs as the minimum qualifying percentile for each section was 80 and 85 in IIMs. As such I was not shortlisted by any IIM, although overall percentile was sufficient enough.
This year I have decided not to be swayed by the temptation to attempt more. The reintroduction of sectional time constraint will also help me in this regard.
My proposed strategy for CAT 2015
To avoid recurrence of any previous mistake in CAT 2015, I have decided to adopt the following strategy in testing room
-- I will target 100 percentile to get an edge over others
-- Since 60 minutes per section are allotted to solve 34 questions, I will make 4 to 5 attempts per section. The best doable questions I will cover in the first attempt followed by more difficult questions.
-- I will skip the questions which I do not find doable in the first instance. If time permits will come back to it.
-- Since Quant is the last of the 3 sections, I may get tired by the time I reach to Quant section after 120 minutes. I will try not to cram my head with the unknown type of questions in other 2 sections, that may cause fatigue.
-- With DILR questions clubbed in one section having 32 questions, I will ensure that full set of 4 questions following the problem can be solved. It would save time on going through the content of next problem set and will save time.
-- Will go to the examination hall with open mind to attempt any type of questions.
Expert suggests
Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2015 preparation shares that CAT 2015 aspirants while taking the exam must be clear on 3 points namely – make a balanced approach to all the 3 sections. The weightage of DILR and Quant sections is same as that of Verbal and RC section. All the questions carry equal marks. The test taker will have to maintain his cool and remain motivated throughout the 3 hours of CAT 2015 exam. Attempt only doable questions and skip the difficult ones. Even if you make a good and accurate attempt of 18 to 24 questions per section, you can expect a very high percentile in CAT 2015.
By the time you reach the quant section, the same energy level has to be maintained. Quant is more calculation and formula intensive section. A slightest wrong application can cost you loss of 3+1=4 marks for any wrong attmpt of MCQ type of questions.
Since a good number of Non-MCQs are also there in the range of 8 to 12 in each section, it is advisable to attempt more such questions without fear of losing any marks as there will not be any negative marking for these questions.
Related Article
CAT 2015: "Learn which questions to skip" success Mantra from Aastha; CAT topper & IIM Lucknow student
CAT 2015: Mock Test on Nov 6, 7 & 8 across 36 locations by Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management
CAT 2015: Mock Test Analysis helps to fill your Gaps; understand the strategy for next 40 days
CAT 2015: Score booster; how to pick & solve the right question, know the strategy
CAT 2015: Sectional sequence in exam deliberate or coincidence; modify testing room strategy
CAT 2015: Aiming IIMs; use your time judiciously to develop shortcuts-40 Days to go
CAT 2015: 'Maximize score with time saving approach' success mantra from Parina Kolhe CAT toppe
CAT 2015: Alert- how one third negative marking drags you down from top; avoid the temptation
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2015
