The
clock is ticking for sure and with just about 14 weeks left for CAT, it is time
for you to pick up the pieces and get your act together. In a way, the next 14
weeks are going to determine the outcome of the effort you have been putting in
for the exam over the last few months. Considering the gravity of the
situation, it is important for you have to take charge of the situation and
make sure you pull out all the stops over the next 14 weeks in order to be
successful in CAT-2015.
In order to be successful in
the exam, there are a few broad things that you need to do consistently over
the next 14 weeks. Which are these key things that you need to take care of?
Let’s understand them one at a time.
Prep Tip 1: Honest Analysis of your
current preparation
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of
wisdom.”-Thomas Jefferson quotes (American, 3rd US President)
An honest analysis of your
current preparation is the need of hour. More often than not, most of us are in
the habit of papering over our weaknesses. Unfortunately, this is an approach
that you cannot adopt with your preparation. The wise thing for you to do at
this stage is to list down all the topics, understand your current prep level
and proficiency in each and then work on these areas one at a time. You should
divide all topics into three categories: strong, weak and intermediate. Once
you have done that, you need to attack one strong topic and one
weak/intermediate topic at the same time. What does this do? This ensures that
you improve on your weak areas and at the same time, ensure you maximize your
skill and ability in your strength areas.
Remember, successful test-prep is not
about solving the maximum number of questions; it is all about maximizing your
gain (which you achieve by working on your strength areas) and minimizing your
losses (which you accomplish by working on your weak areas).
Prep Tip 2: Use the relevant preparation
material only
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is
found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”-Greg Anderson
It is extremely important
that you maintain your focus right now and do not let your attention waver. A
vast number of students are in the habit of searching for more material, tests
or books and in the process, wander away from the relevant part of the
preparation. Make sure you do not belong to this set of students. All you need
to do is make a list of material that you need to solve in order to cover all
topics. Also, commit to the test series you are going to appear for. If you are
not sure, ask your seniors or CAT mentor for the exact set of material you
should be covering. Once you are done with this activity, then just focus on
the learning bit and not on collecting more preparation material.
Prep Tip 3: Do not miss mocks and most
definitely, do not skip mock analysis.
“Testing leads to failure, and failure leads to
understanding.”-Burt Rutan
A lot of you might be
committing one common preparation mistake: skipping mock tests as you might
feel that your preparation is not up to the mark. Remember, CAT is an aptitude
exam and considering the nature of the exam, you might never be completely
prepared for the exam. Regularly appearing for mock tests is extremely
important for a few reasons:
●
It allows you to
track your progress.
●
It allows you to
understand your strong and weak areas.
●
It highlights how
you respond to stress.
●
It provides you a
simulation for the real exam and helps you understand the kind of energy and
focus you need in order to perform well in a 3 hour exam.
The above reasons are
sufficient for you to sit-up and pay attention to your prep.
Also, another important thing
that you need to keep in mind is that your job does not end by simply appearing
for the mock test. You need to make sure you analyze the paper and extract each
and every trick that you can use in the actual exam.
Prep Tip-4: Cover these essential areas
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well,
neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”-Zig Ziglar
The quote above does drill
home the importance of daily practice, doesn’t it? There are at least three things
that you need to do on a daily basis to ensure success in CAT. These things
are:
1. Solve 2 to 3 Reading Comprehensions every day.
2. Read for thirty to forty minutes from quality
resources and international publications.
3. Solve 2 to 3 Logical Reasoning/Data interpretation
sets a day.
RCs and LR/DI can only be
improved by regular practice and that is why you should commit to the above.
Keep the above four tips in
mind and your preparation will surely be headed in the right direction.
Happy learning!