Author: Tony Xavier

Should I take the GMAT?

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In the previous post we discussed the rationale you should apply to decide whether you should retake the CAT and also look at options. So if you arrived at the decision that you should retake the CAT and explore other options such as GMAT or even the GRE, read on. As I had written in an earlier post, after the announcement of CAT  results many aspirants go into a shell. I some cases test-takers have prepared so well that it is impossible for them to come terms with a particular sectional percentiles. It is almost impossible to believe that one could have scored that percentile. I think it is fully justified to feel so since the test itself is not something that is foolproof.

How to allocate your time on XAT 2016

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It is a different world altogether when one moves from a CBT with sectional time-limits such as the CAT to a PBT with no sectional time-limits such as the XAT. While on the face of it both with test concepts (not necessarily the same) at a fundamental level they end up testing something very different. A test of competence versus a test of strategy A test with sectional time-limits is primarily a test of competence — how many questions can you answer in 60 minutes? It does not matter if can you solve the section under the given time-limit or if given 10 minutes more you can clear the cut-offs. The moment it becomes a PBT test-takers have to perform more like managers — maximise the return they get from their resources. Many test-takers prefer sectional time-limits since they feel the stress of time and resource management goes out of the window. But the really good ones would know that a PBT with no sectional time-limits gives them more control of the test. For example, …

How to prepare for WAT-GD-PI – I

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Now that the CAT scorecard is out, the time to start preparing for WAT-GD-PI has come. But how does one go about it? It all seems like a vast sea with no beginning and no end. A single post covering all the three — WAT, GD & PI — will be unwieldy to say the least, so I will do a series of posts that will help you kick-start your prep for the second-stage.

XAT 2016: A Prep Plan – Part II

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Back online after the floods here in Chennai! Am not sure how many of my students here are back online. Some of you would have rightly left the city. Hope all of you are safe. Power is back since last night in some areas, while there is still no network. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon and we should be able to start the sessions by next weekend.

The CAT 2015 Mock Test – An Analysis

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It has been a while since the new CAT 2015 software was put up on the IIM-CAT site (I have to admit I have always found the name a bit cheesy :)). I wanted to wait a while to see how test-takers react to the new pattern in the SimCATs before doling out any sort of advice. [space size=”” line=”yes” style=”solid”] [title text=”Running out of steam by the Quant section”] Most of the students I have met have said that by the time they reach the Quant section they are mentally tired. The same would have applied to the Verbal section in the earlier pattern but the Quant section demands more mental energy since you are not entirely choosing between answer options as is the case on Verbal. The best indicators are of course the cut-offs — the Quant cut-off has dropped (marginally) whereas the VA-RC and DI-LR cut-offs have not changed. It is only going to get tougher on test-day. On test day you will need to report an hour or so before your …

CAT Quantitative: How to approach a problem

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One of the things that weighs constantly on CAT test-takers is how they can increase their speed and accuracy. More often than not test-takers discover the right way to solve a problem mid-way through the problem – after they have spent about 2 minutes following one approach. So what is the best way to increase speed and accuracy? Identify the right way to approach a problem before you start solving it. Let us examine how to do this by taking an old SimCAT problem.   Given that f(x) = sec x – tan x. If f(x) = k, then what is the value of cosec x? 1-k/1+k 1+k2/1-k2 1-k2/1+k2 k2/1+k2   Rule # 1: Do not leave this problem thinking — “It is Functions + Trigonometry!“ As we discussed in a previous post, CAT problems are deliberately designed to be seemingly tough or unapproachable! This problem has nothing to do with functions, it is just a fancy way of saying if sec x – tan x = k then cosec x = ? Rule # …