With more than 2 lakh candidates appearing for the CAT every year, it would be an understatement to say that it’s highly competitive. The fact that it is conducted by one of the IIMs doesn’t make things easier anyway.
Even if you keep your goals reasonable, you know that you will have to score more than 90+ percentile in the test to get a look in at the top management institutes in the country. It means your task is cut out for you.
Let ‘em bring it on- you prepare to bell the CAT like a pro
But as they say, bigger the task, greater should be your motivation. And that my friend can move mountains. Your task is easier in comparison – 180 minutes’ test. We are going to try and make it simpler for you with this step by step approach for your prep.
What else you can do inside qs leap ?
- Just like Tyrion Lannister would say, “Know your enemy before you head for the duel”, understand CAT syllabus, test structure before you set out with your prep. The test has undergone a few changes last year, be aware of them.
- Give yourself plenty of time to get thorough with your preparations. It’s considered a good idea to study for the CAT for at least 3 hours every day. Set yourself targets to prepare certain portions in specific amount of time.
- Get your hands on the best resource material you can find. There are several books that come highly recommended for different sections of your CAT. Choose them carefully and have them at hand when you start preparing.
- Right at the onset you should know your strengths and weaknesses. You can do that by looking at solved examples in books, then the unsolved examples before taking mock tests.
- Try and understand all the basic concepts rather than just learning them by rote. You can give yourself tasks for applying these concepts into practice to know whether you have understood them well.
- You will also need to devise your own shortcuts to get your head around certain concepts and theories. Keep going over them on a regular basis so that you never lose sight of how you came about the shortcut in the first place.
- Once you have made some progress with your preparations, you can make the most out of tools you can find online. From flashcards to online exercises and tests, these easy to access tools will help you build your confidence.
- Your CAT prep can be all consuming, but you have to remember that the real performance has to be on the exam day. You need to conserve your energy, stay mentally, physically and emotionally fit to be at your best on the test day.
- There will be times during your prep when things will get to you. The important thing at this point is to stay calm and not get worked up. You can keep yourself motivated by focusing on the larger goal of making it in the corporate world.
Go through each of these steps patiently and try to practice them. You will find yourself closer to your target CAT score.
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