CAT 2016: 'Calculator in exam a slow process, practice more'; shares Akshay Kakani, SPJIMR student

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
September 29, 2016
CAT 2016 aspirants can learn a good deal from the preparation strategy of Akshay who did the preparation alongside his job
The on screen calculator in CAT examination is not keyboard operated and you need to click on individual buttons to do calculations which actually makes the process slow Akshay Kakani CAT topper & SPJIMR student

Use of on screen calculator in CAT 2016 exam can be a boon or a problem, depending upon your skill to utilize it to your benefit, shares Akshay Kakani, CAT topper with 99.19 percentile and SPJIMR student of PGDM 2016-18 batch.

Sharing the success mantra for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants, Akshay is of the view that the exam taker should take more mocks to have proper assessment of his preparation.

Akshay is a B.tech from NIT Calicut and has a work experience of 22 months with Ingersoll Rand. A working professional himself, Akshay had to balance his professional duties and the study hours but made it sure to score high in CAT 2015 and get into SPJIMR Mumbai, one of the top rated B-schools in India.

MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers’ success stories for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants. Sharing his success mantra Akshay Kakani highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and modestly attempts to give the guidance to CAT 2016 aspirants

MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Akshay (CAT topper): I started preparing for CAT 2015 in February’15. I did the preparation alongside my job thus I used to go for weekend classes. One must experiment and figure out what sequence he/she is comfortable with and should try and practice more and more tests following the same sequence.

MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Akshay (CAT topper): Firstly I figured out my strong area and tried my best not to do any mistake in that area. I maintained a good balance between all the areas and now it was even more necessary as you have allotted time for all the sections which you cannot use for any other section. I tried to maintain a decent score in all the sections individually as many colleges have sectional cut off too.

MBAUniverse.com: Did you change your preparation strategy after the announcement of the pattern change in CAT 2015 or you followed the same routine?
Akshay (CAT topper):  Yes, I did change the preparation strategy after the new pattern was introduced. You got to be prepared and ready to face the change. The more you practice the better you get acquainted with the process.

One important factor in preparation change was how to go about preparing for ‘Verbal Ability’ section? Grammar almost disappeared from the question paper and major focus was given to reading comprehension skills. Thus whatever change happens in the coming years, it is very important to understand the change and prepare accordingly.

MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Akshay (CAT topper): I did considerably well in DI & LR. I used to analyze the test results and thus figure out the areas where I was committing mistakes frequently. Using the analysis provided by coaching institute, if you’ve joined any is quite helpful. Talking to faculties/friends and discussing your weak areas and planning accordingly, can boost your confidence in tackling them too. At the end of the day on thing surely helps and that is practice.

MBAUniverse.com: What was your Time Management formula for the CAT?
Akshay (CAT topper): I tried studying every day for 2 hours and devoted a significant amount of time to studies on the weekends. I enjoyed, but set my targets to what I wanted to achieve by the end of any week and was determined to achieve that. There was spill over many a time, but that’s perfectly fine and did  not deter me from planning continuously.

MBAUniverse.com:  Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Akshay (CAT topper):  The experience was a bit different as there were many speculations on how far will the calculator be useful and will it actually be good or bad for the exam taker. As the announcement was made well in advance the mock tests from various coaching institutes helped a lot in understanding the same by incorporating the proposed changes.

The effect of calculator might vary from person to person.  Notable fact is that the on screen calculator in CAT examination is not keyboard operated and you need to click on individual buttons to do calculations which actually makes the process slow.

Other than introducing calculators, the introduction of area specific time limit, bundling sections in a different manner was also a big change.

I didn’t allow my mind and heart to function in two different streams while I was answering any question.

MBAUniverse.com:  Which B-school you decided upon and why?
Akshay (CAT topper): I decided upon SPJIMR as it is the leading B-school offering best management education with high placement record. I always wanted to be in a managerial role and move up the value chain. I have done my engineering from NIT Calicut and worked in Ingersoll Rand for 22 months. I got a fair bit of idea on how an organization works and I also lived my fancy of working in a core mechanical company. I thought that was the perfect time I should go for a higher education and that’s where I started preparing for CAT.

MBAUniverse.com:  Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016.
Akshay (CAT topper): Be confident, plan your studies well and plan your time well. Time is the key factor both during preparations and during the final exam. Set small goals and keep achieving them, it will provide you a sense of accomplishment and will motivate you to do more. Practice a lot and reflect back on your mistakes.

To score high in GD/PI session, make sure you are well aware of your surroundings, the city you’re studying/working in, the city where you grew up etc. Brush up your graduation knowledge a bit as it may be helpful at times. Once you have the interview schedule, start focused preparation for individual institute.

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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success mantra stories and CAT 2016 preparation tips from toppers