Aspiring 100 Percentile in CAT 2018? Here’s How You Can Ace It

September 1, 2018 Geekopedia 0 Comment 2018, CAT, Classes, Coaching, IIM, IIMC, Management, Mock, online, Papers, Percentile, Score, Teaching, Test, Tips

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the stepping stone for MBA aspirants who wish to get into the Indian Institutes of Management. This year, CAT 2018 is scheduled to be held on Sunday, November 25 by IIM Calcutta.

CAT is one of the most challenging examinations for MBA aspirants as IIMs demand more than 99 percentile to admit students into their programs. Though only a few months are left for the final examination, but that is enough time for a student to prepare. So, if you aspire to achieve 100 percentile, you have to take as many mock tests as possible and have some strategies figured out to plan your preparation.

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT tests the analytical and verbal ability of a candidate along with their mathematical prowess. All the questions are of 10+2 level but they can be calculative and tricky. To solve the paper with maximum accuracy, students will have to apply conceptual knowledge as well as logical and analytical skills. There are three sections in a CAT paper – Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation. CAT questions are very unpredictable. However, a similar pattern can be noticed throughout the years, especially when a few important topics are considered. So, studying previous year papers can be helpful.

For Verbal section, Reading Comprehension and Para Jumbles are important. For Mathematics, Geometry and Algebra can be crucial, along with Number System and Arithmetic. For LR/DI section practice Puzzles, Logical DI, Awkward DI and Einstein Problem based questions.

The difficulty level and question pattern for CAT has been somewhat similar over the years. So this year it can be expected that the most difficult and trickiest part will be the LR/DI section and Mathematics and Verbal Ability will have a moderate difficulty level. But candidates should prepare fully and be ready for surprises as well. The main objective of CAT exam is to select candidates who are fit enough to be future managers and are extremely capable of handling duties in their workplaces. IIMs and other top B-Schools in the country provides training and knowledge to the successful candidates so that they can effectively contribute to the growth of their respective enterprises.

How effective will it be to take tuitions for CAT?

Taking tuitions for CAT can be effective, as it can help students have some guidance. To score 100% in the test, you will need to follow rigorous study plans paired with smart strategies. Coaching for CAT can help students maintain consistent practice and proper support to ace it.

But, when there are only a few months left for the test, it will be better to go for online classes instead of classroom coaching. Online tuition can help you save time for more practice. Choose an online classes that suits your requirement along with online mock tests.

Some Strategies and Tips to ace CAT 2018

Having a well-planned study schedule is very crucial when you have only a few months left for the main test. However, do not invest much time in searching for new study materials as it will confuse you more. Instead, work with what you have and dedicate more time to practice tests.
Divide your topics into strong and weak areas and plan accordingly. For strong areas divide the topics further into two parts, one where you can solve problems with absolute accuracy within a short time and another that you can accurately solve but takes a longer time.
For weaker areas as well, divide the topics into two parts, one where you have lesser accuracy but can improve by investing a little more time and another part which needs you to work from the basics onward.
Optimising topics will help you decide how to approach the question paper so that maximum accuracy can be achieved. You can also divide the time needed to solve problems based on your strength and weakness.
Building your vocabulary is an important part of your CAT preparation. However, trying to learn new words within a short time may turn out to be difficult. So, read newspapers and novels to improve your stock of words, instead of trying to mug up difficult words.
Practice Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation problems as many as possible as it has been the trickiest part of the CAT question paper over the years.
Find problems from previous papers and look up online to get trickier questions and try to solve them accurately.
Mathematics is the section that can help you score, so brush up your calculation speed by solving questions on a daily basis.
Taking mock tests are the best way to evaluate your preparation. Attempt as many tests as you can and prepare fully before each test.
Try to score more by increasing your number of attempts in each test. Sitting for mock tests can help you find out where you are lacking and focus on those areas.
You should divide the remaining months till your test to plan your schedule. Figure out how to distribute all the topics and questions to study until the final examination.

Study plan from August to November

You can brush up on the basics and concepts in August. You should focus more on the weaker parts and practice more to improve accuracy in the stronger parts.
In September, you can focus on improving your attempts in the weaker parts. You can aim to attempt at least 80 percent questions from that part with an accuracy of 80 percent. For the stronger parts aim to attempt 100 percent with absolute accuracy.
Spend October and November revising and figuring out strategies to solve faster with maximum accuracy. You should learn to eliminate tough questions and identify solvable problems. The success in CAT depends not only on strategies but also on how you implement them. Taking more mock tests in the last two months is very crucial as they can get you ready for the final test.

Mock Test Score Evaluation

You should track the accuracy per topic in each mock test. Find out the number of correct attempts in each section and try to improve with every test. The score of your mock test gives you the opportunity to find out what went wrong and how you can improve. There is no benchmark score to be called good or bad. Try to focus more on the accuracy than on the score to perform better.
Check out the solutions in the mock paper and find out how you can shorten the calculation time for the questions you attempted correctly. Try to learn shortcuts and tricks for such questions. CAT has limited time for each section, so time management is crucial.
For the questions, you attempted incorrectly check out the solutions to learn the correct answer. Be sure to note down the mistakes and try not to repeat it anymore.

How to manage mistakes?

Most of the silly mistakes made by candidates are due to carelessness and not reading the question properly. There can be calculation errors or mistakes due to lapse in concentration as well. Try not to fall into such traps and be careful during every mock exam so that you can do the same during the main examination as well.
Conceptual errors can be avoided by solving different problems applied to similar concepts. Do not attempt questions that may look familiar. Be sure to understand the concept properly before attempting.
Many candidates try to apply shortcuts learned in a small time or without proper conceptual knowledge, resulting in wrong answers. If you are not sure about your short methods, it is better to apply longer methods and find out the correct answer.
Guessing an answer is one of the tricks applied by students. However, this can be risky, especially in the Quantitative part. Trying to mark the answer closest to what you have got is not a smart trick unless the question asks you to approximate your answer. Guessing options for the Verbal section can be used only if you can understand the thought process behind the problem.