CAT
is all about practice and smart
solving. The concepts in CAT are not new. They are probably taught in school.
However, the approach taken and time required to solve play a major role in
cracking CAT. Expertise in these aspects comes only with consistent practice.
If an aspirant is willing to put in this
extra mile of effort without someone monitoring or teaching him how to go about
it; it is not impossible from him or her to crack CAT 2014.
Know where you stand – The first and foremost is
to know where you stand. You need to take a practice test to understand your
preparation level. This is the very basic because you need to know where you
have reached in your preparation journey that you had started a few months ago.
Study
Plan – I am sure you must have planned your studies because the one who fails
to plan actually plans to fail. In-fact it is time to check whether your plan
has worked or not. In the last 2-3 weeks that you have before your CAT you can
take 2-3 practice tests and analyze it. Why only 2 – 3 practice test is because
a thorough analysis takes at-least 1-2 days and then you need to work on your
analysis results.
Know
your strengths and weaknesses – During your analysis you would know what your
strengths and weaknesses are. If you feel that you are familiar with the topic
and with a little revision of basics and solving the questions you can master
it then go ahead and practice as many questions as you can but if you feel it’s
a difficult topic then leave it. CAT is not meant to be solved fully and therefore
you can skip the questions from that specific topic.
Avoid
Long Passages with few Questions – for RC avoid long passages with few
questions because you may end up using a lot of time for very few questions
Focus – For CAT 2014, you can afford to focus for comprehension and not speed as you
have the luxury of that 30 extra minutes. Speed is a must but not at the cost
of not understanding the passage or answering the question wrongly. Keep noting
the important facts in the passage. This will help you to solve the direct
questions without revisiting the passage.
Skip
the passage if you are not familiar with the subject.
Count
on Quants – Pay attention to your basics because if you cannot solve the
question through any shortcuts and strategies that you have learnt then you can
go back to basics. Understand your theorems well as you can solve your geometry
questions right if you know the theorems at the back of your hand. Do not be
scared of calculations. If you know the multiplication tables of 20*20 then calculations
is just on your finger tips.
80%
of the questions do not require any formula and you can smartly answer them if
you know your basics. You can go by the options given and eliminate the wrong
answers. What is left is a right answer.
CAT
is a test of strategy – You need to choose your questions correctly as CAT does
not test you on your knowledge only. It is also the test of strategy. If,
within 20-30 seconds of reading the question you feel you cannot solve it then
skip it. There is no point wasting time on it and then realizing that it cannot
be solved.
Speed
vs. Accuracy – Students often asks whether speed is important or accuracy. I
would say both because accuracy without speed would result in lesser attempts
and speed without accuracy would result into a lot of negative marking. You
actually need the correct blend of speed and accuracy according to your
preparation level and the difficulty level of the questions and this strategy
comes into play when you are at the test center as CAT also tests your
managerial and decision making skills.
You
need to keep your calm and decide the right strategy. Stress management
strategy thus, is another area that CAT tests you on. You are bound to make
mistakes if you are too stressed.
There
is another issue that students face. Sometimes students are over confident
resulting into silly mistakes in the test. Be doubly sure about the answers.
Even if it takes 5 seconds extra recheck before you mark your answer.
One
of the most common questions that come to me, when I interact with competitive
test aspirants is what should be my last day strategy. I often tell them to
watch a light hearted comedy movie, Sleep early and wake up fresh. There is no
point wrecking your brain at the last moment because if you are well prepared
then you don’t need to do anything on the last day and if you are not then you
really can’t do anything on the last day.
You can continue asking questions on the below thread
https://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/itm-admissions-official-query-thread-2015-17-29440132
Therefore
stay focused !!!