All posts filed under: CAT Strat

How to prepare for CAT – I

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We are slowly getting closer to the business end of the CAT 2018 season. Some of you would have joined for classroom programs as early as last June, a lot of you in Jan and I am sure a few are yet to start but all of you know that you have to start your prep with all seriousness. All of you know that it is time to do more than just attend classes, meet your CAT prep mates and go back home. So it is not a surprise that I am getting a lot of queries – how many hours of prep should I be putting in daily to crack CAT 2018? – what should I be doing on a daily basis to crack CAT 2018? – how should I plan my prep for CAT 2018? This post is going to be dedicated to all things related to a prep plan for CAT 2018.

How to prepare for a CAT retake – Part II

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    In the previous post, we discussed the mindset with which one should approach a CAT retake; in this post we shall look at a few more aspects with respect to a successful CAT retake. Since each one of you readers will have a different back story with respect to your first attempt and there will also be some non-IMS students among you as well, the focus of this post will be a bit wider.

How to prepare for a CAT retake – Part I

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Most of the institutes have given out their calls and many of you might be planning to retake the CAT. For some of you, it might be a case of almost getting there but missing out because of one poor section or just missing out on the overall percentile. For others, the CAT-day might have been a bad day at the office and you knew straight away that nothing much was going to happen.On my first attempt, I fell into the latter group — I knew I was out of my depth when I saw the Quant paper, there was no way I was going to clear the cut-offs. This despite consistently doing very well in the Sims leading up to the test. I decided to take another shot since I was very clear that it was not out of my league. This post, in three parts, is for all those re-takers who are NOT hoping to get lucky next time around but want to ensure that they leave no stone unturned to make the cut in …

CAT 2017 Analysis: Same wine, same bottle

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I never thought I’d say this but it looks like the IIMs have finally figured out once and for all what they want to test. I keep taking the CAT every year, yesterday being my 14th time if I am counting right, with a view to understanding the changes in the test and incorporate the same into my teaching. But given the last four CATs (including this year’s) I think they seem to have settled upon what they want to test. The phrase that most of us in the CAT-prep fraternity use — the CAT keeps changing — might not hold true anymore.

10 Things To Execute On CAT Day

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Unlike international tests like the GMAT or the GRE, the CAT is not a standardized test, there can be — new question types, fluctuation in difficulty levels, more questions than expected from a particular area. Given this, it is imperative that you go into the test with a few pointers both to manage the uncertainty as well as to ensure that you optimise your performance during 180 minutes.

How to manage your 180 minutes

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We have reached the last stretch now. We have done enough concepts, practice & strategy. We have now crossed an invisible frontier, we have moved from the general to the specific, from what is outside of you to what is inside of you, to that space between your ears. Those who have taken the CAT before will attest that how well you manage your 180 minutes, how well you react to tough set or a section, how well you are able to execute Plan A or switch to Plan B, everything, depends on how well you manage the space between your ears. So let’s take it section by section, let’s look at each of the 60 minutes, let’s look at what you need to do right, what you need to watch out for and most importantly what can go wrong.

A prep plan for the last leg of CAT

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I was pleasantly surprised when a few days back I started receiving a similar query, both in mails from across the country and from the students I was meeting in person — what do I do in the last 45 days, I need a plan for the last 45 days.It is not surprising since approaching deadlines have a strange effect on our psyche and round figures such as 45 have a strange way of both spurring and postponing action (if the time is 9:45, most people postpone stuff they have to do till 10). I have always felt that our need insatiable need to find meaning in entropy leads us to irrationally seek comfort in rational numbers such as 45 — why not a 47-day prep plan, at least 47 is a prime number!