We are on the eve of SimCAT 1 and a lot of students (mostly first-time CAT-takers) are apprehensive and understandably so, about taking it. Over the years we have found the self-same reasons that induce this fear, and this post is geared towards addressing them.
#1: I Have Not Finished The Concepts Yet
This is probably the biggest reason why first-time CAT-takers who have just started the CAT prep are hesitant to take the first SimCAT. They tell themselves that they will start taking tests once they finish learning the concepts.
Firstly, this is not a school/college test where taking a test means memorizing formulae from a book and reproducing them in an exam.
Cracking the CAT is only 50 percent about knowing concepts, 50 percent is about knowing how to take a test — managing the 60 minutes of a section, gauging the difficulty of questions and choosing the right questions to solve.
Test-taking is a skill that can be honed only through taking as many SimCATs as possible. So if you decide to skip a few SimCATs till you have covered the concepts, you might still perform poorly whenever you take your first SimCAT since you do not know how to take a test!
So even if you feel you do not know a thing, go ahead, take the test and solve whatever you can!
#2: I Do Not Want To See A Poor Score
There is nothing called a poor score, only percentiles matter.
Those who are re-taking the CAT or are aware of CAT folklore, would know that there have been years when a test-taker with a score of 0 would have secured the 55th percentile. Imagine, even if you slept through the whole test you would still have done better than 55 percent of the test-takers!
So, even if you attempt only 8-10 questions in each section and get 6-8 questions right on SimCAT 1, you will still get an respectable percentile on your first outing.
#3: CAT is tough and I am aiming at other tests
Most students want to do an MBA from a decent school and are probably looking at cracking tests that have a reputation to be easier than the CAT.
If you imagine all the MBA entrance tests in India to be stacked up on a dart board, then CAT is the bulls-eye. And anyone who have ever tried his/her hand at darts would know that you should always practice by aiming at the bulls-eye.
By giving your best shot at CAT you automatically put yourself in a position to maximize your chances on the non-CAT tests for there are very few people who prepare for the CAT alone.
Serious aspirants would be aiming at the IIMs and taking other tests as a back-up, so even if you do not aspire to ace the CAT, you will be competing with those who do and having prepared for it they will give you a run for your money on the non-CAT tests.
If there is one thing that all test-takers should keep in mind during the whole test-taking season it is this — Never Miss A SimCAT.
SimCATs offer you the best possible simulation of the CAT in terms of test-structure and level of difficulty, so you should always be not just ready but greedy to take a SimCAT —
All the best!
The CAT Writer 
Hi Tony sir ,
Many seniors are suggesting to take hard level mock series based on level of last year CAT paper.
Please help me with the following doubts –
1. What is your suggestion, should I stick to SIMCAT only or go for two mock series? Also can I expect a change in difficulty level of SIMCAT this year ?
2. What are you expecting of CAT this year in terms of overall difficulty and section wise ?
LikeLike
Hi Harshit,
The Quant section was tougher than usual last year but the thing is that there were 10 easy questions to pick out in each section and a score of 24 or above would have guaranteed a great percentile.
Every year our Sims will reflect the difficulty level of last year’s CAT and maybe a few notches higher.
You can take two test series if you feel that you want variety.
As far as my expectation of CAT level, my guess is as good as yours. There is no specific logic that they follow. The only thing I can think of is that if the number of registrations is higher than last year they will raise the level of QA. The VA-RC and DI-LR have anyway been consistently tough.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
LikeLike
Ok sir , thanks for reply
LikeLike
Hello Sir, i need you valuable suggestion.
I am a B.tech graduate (female). My profile is 9/9/9, and i have been working with a subsidiary core company of Tata Steel since October 2021. Due to my hectic job, i am planning to resign in June and serve three months of notice period till August, and post that study 3 months till CAT (will suffice for me).
Please suggest me what i should do, that would ultimately help me in getting into ABC. I am aiming for 99+ percentile but i am worried if my resignation would hamper my profile and my chances of getting into ABC. I will be in my notice period when i will be filling my CAT application form so would that be helpful in any case since i will be in my job during that time?? or i shouldn’t wait for that long as this won’t be of any use during PIs because they will know that i left my job fir CAT. I hope you understood my situation and i really hope that you would suggest me with the best option.
Thanking You
LikeLike
Hi Vishaka,
Since you have more than 24 months of experience will have no quantitiative impact on your profile. You can quit as planned.
The rest I have detailed in this post: https://thecatwriter.com/2024/03/07/should-i-quit-my-job-to-prepare-for-cat-6/
That will clear all of your doubts.
All the best!
LikeLike
Thanku for ur reply sir..One last doubt in my mind is that will the break effect my placement chances in Bain, BCG, McK and Investment Banking firms if i am aiming for atleast 30LPA?
LikeLike