CAT 2016 has not yet disclosed total number of questions or their sectional composition. Now, you have to prepare each of the important or even less important topics. Along with it, the more important is to go for more practice on variety of questions. In case of laxity you not only run the risk of losing on your score but also may get your confidence level shattered if you continue scoring low marks in Mocks which you must have started taking now, says Prof S K Agarwal expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2016 preparation.
Aspirant friendly but still unknown
This is the first CAT exam when candidates despite knowing that there would 3 sections, do not know total or sectional number of questions. Since CAT 2016 convener Prof Rajendra K Bandi, faculty at IIM Bangalore has already announced and also shared with MBAUniverse.com that the structure of CAT 2016 will aim to attract more academic and gender diversity in IIM class rooms, it is very much expected that the exam may incorporate more questions on such topics which have gone out of fray during last 2-3 years.
Don’t leave to chance
If you leave any of the topics although you can prepare them in next 1 or 2 months very well, you may lose your merit position and instead of getting shortlisted by top IIMs, may have to settle with a lower rung B-school or an absolutely new IIM. Since this is not your aim, you must focus on concept building, more practice sessions without leaving anything to chance.
How to ensure
Till 2014 CAT used to have only 2 sections but since 2015 CAT has carved out 3rd new section DILR. Now there are 3 sections which are expected to comprise varying number of questions. The sections as announced by CAT 2016 convener, are - Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC); Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning; and Quantitative Aptitude.
Number and type of questions got changed in 2014 and the similar types of questions are continuing since 2014. CAT 2016 is taking forward the changes introduced by IIM Ahmedabad last year and therefore IIM Bangalore is planning to revamp the test content in all the 3 sections. This change could be to bring in more topics, reducing the weight of certain sections or introducing different type of questions which have not appeared in last 2-3 years.
Revisit past CAT papers
CAT does not believe in repetition and according to CAT 2016 convener Prof Bandi every CAT question is carefully reviewed. So before placing the question whether MCQ or Non-MCQ in CAT 2016, it is very much possible that questions on forgotten topics may be asked this year. You may find questions on error correction, vocabulary while questions on RC may go on backfoot. So if you think that you can do well by preparing on RC only, it could prove to be a big mistake.
Move backwards
Moving backwards, it will be better to dig past CAT papers at least till 2005. Then find out what changes at the content level have been brought about in CAT during this period. Note down the topics, questions on which have not appeared during past few years. These topics may be incorporated this year in CAT 2016, so make sure that you have had good practice on them.
How to manage
According to Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2016 preparation, the test takers while re-defining their preparation strategy for CAT 2016 should include different pattern of mocks. Since there is a time limit of 1 hour for each section, high sectional percentile in all the 3 sections is required in CAT 2016.
No supporting section
Those who are good in DI but weak in Quant may not expect to make good the lost score from other sub section. For example low score in Verbal cannot be compensated by Logical Reasoning nor the low score in Quant can be compensated by DI. It is therefore needed to gain expertise and score high in all the sections. Too much deviation in percentile score of 3 sections may raise many eye brows and may not get you shortlisted for the final admission round.
Practice as per time limit
The time bound practice sessions and mocks are necessary. Total time to attempt the CAT 2016 is 3 hours. The time is further divided into 1 hour each to attempt each of the 3 sections. The number of questions in each section may be around 30 and in case more weightage is awarded to one of the 3 sections, it will be at the cost of other section whose number of questions will be reduced.
Please remember if you can attempt 16-20 correct in each of the 3 sections you can expect a good percentile. Attempt more mocks and analyze your errors to crack the future exam with high accuracy.
The DI-LR section in CAT 2016 can give your mind a good twist. So better to prepare and practice the questions on it right from now. Understand the logics behind the problem, solve them in fun. It will keep you motivated and you will be able to solve them faster than before. Your time is most important to manage. So beware of wasting it.
CAT 2016 to be held on December 4 as computer based test will consist of 3 sections although number of questions in the exam has not been divulged yet by IIM Bangalore which is convening the exam. This has created suspicion among the aspirants about the surprises that CAT 2016 could bring with it. Since the sample test on CAT 2016 site will be displayed by IIM Bangalore after 2 months from now, the preparation plan may not be changed at the eleventh hour. Hence, CAT 2016 aspirants should go through each and every topic without wasting time any further.
Registration for CAT 2016 is proposed to close on September 22. Apart from 20 IIMs, CAT 2016 scores will be accepted by top rated B-schools like FMS Delhi, BIMTECH Greater Noida, IMI New Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai, SPJIMR Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal among others.
Related Article
CAT 2016: Convener changes the Eligibility criteria; allows short duration bachelor's degree
CAT 2016: "Don't study everything from beginning"; CAT Topper 100 Percentiler & IIMA student-Pranjal
CAT 2016: Preparation Plan for 100 days, how to use 72 hrs of Independence Day
CAT 2016 Registration: FAQs from students answered by experts
CAT 2016: Dig out everything from last CAT Exam; will be a concrete step towards club 99
CAT Data Interpretation: Expect 4 Questions on charts; how to approach in CAT 2016
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2016
