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The real reason why your QA scores are below par

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While the previous three posts on Accuracy, Selection, and Speed are more than comprehensive in terms of what is needed to push your score north, I still keep getting messages from students who are unable to come to terms with QA. They say they have done concepts and enough practice as well but none of it seems to be pushing the scores up and the confidence levels are pretty low.

It was only a few years ago, that I figured out the core issue with these students when I was sitting with one — he was preparing for the GMAT and had a decent amount of work-ex and by the time I had met him he was already through with two attempts spread over two years with sub-par scores. He was willing to put in another attempt and a year more if required to get a par score.

I gave him some broad guidelines and assigned a personal mentor to him, and met with him regularly on overall prep strategy, some specific pointers, and test-taking strategies. But at the end of another year the score was the same.

I could not figure it out — the guy was very professional, super-committed (something you would have figured by now), doing reasonably well in his job, and super-positive despite everything.

It was when he came to meet me again that I threw a few questions at him, questions that I had solved in class and he had attended multiple times, and his reaction to them and the way he reacted when I told him the solution — Oh, ya, ya, ya, ya! — that I figured the core problem — he was mugging up Math!

Do you learn Math the same way you did for your X & XII exams?

This I realise is a bigger problem than what is assumed. Students whose only interaction with Math has been for their X and XII exams, who have never prepared for an aptitude test before, and took extensive tuitions for their school exams, do not even know that the Math they did then and Math they have to do now is the same but the way it is tested cannot be more different.

Those papers needed parrots, parrots who could replicate things step by step and with good handwriting.

And nothing could be more different from that than a CAT paper.

So ask yourself that question, do you mug-up concepts or do you actually understand why ax.ay = ax+y

If you do memorise and have always done so then you need to really start from scratch and it is not easy and you will definitely need to do approach it more holistically.

I suggest doing this free course by Barbara Oakley — she had a BA in literature and worked in the defence services before taking up engineering later than others — https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

Read this book by her as well — A Mind for Numbers

Another thing to keep in mind is that even if you somehow mug stuff up, get a bit lucky, and manage to get into an IIM, the first-year course will be as tough, if not tougher than CAT Math — you will be graded relative to others and the others is everybody who has cracked the CAT (the only reprieve is that time is not a constraint). A lot of the students who are unable to complete the MBA Program or finish it over a longer period — would have failed in the first-year Math subjects.

Do you know basic concepts but have no clue how advanced concepts came about?

Do you know how the formula for the number of total factors of a number — am.bn — (m+1)(n+1) — came about?

Those who know how this came about will know how to solve this question discussed in Part-II of this series:

How many factors of 1080000 are not divisible by 40?

I am sure there are many who know the formula but yet not know how to answer the question. If they happen to read the solution they wonder why it did not strike them.

It need not be that you have this issue in the whole of QA. It can be that you have this problem only in some areas — Numbers and Geometry or Geometry and Modern Math. — or only on specific topics such as P&C and Logarithms.

If you are in this bucket then you need to focus on understanding how formulas came about so that you develop the ability to solve such questions.

Do you try to memorise patterns?

The last category is test-takers who are good at Math but their approach to prep is to memorise as many different patterns and endless sub-formulas (formulas derived for an endless list of special cases) as possible.

The problem with the approach is that whenever they are faced with a problem the first instinct to try to map it to a formula or a pattern they have solved before.

It is not that there are no patterns, there are patterns and in recent years CAT has become more pattern-based than before. But all that needs to happen is for 8-10 problems that do not fall into a pattern but are otherwise solvable to appear in the paper and these test-takers will not be able to handle them. If a few of these problems turn up at the beginning of the section then the confidence can take a major hit.

Another issue with mugging patterns is that you need to keep a lot of your brain space free for all of these patterns and sub-formulas. Those who have exceptional storage and memory between their ears can afford to follow this approach. I prefer to have only the bare minimum of formulas and patterns in my head and go by pure logic — the lower the fuel in the car the faster it can go. I think the golden mean between the two where you know the patterns but are willing to look at a problem first up with fresh eyes is crucial.

Always visualise yourself in front a problem as a doctor faced with a patient. What does a great doctor do? Listen to you fully, ask the right questions; suggest the right tests, if required; figure out the exact problem; and suggest the least medication possible.

The different kinds of mugging listed above are reasons behind you truly not solving a problem.

If you are truly honest with yourself about this part of your prep then you will be able to make the changes necessary to achieve a good score on QA and as I mentioned before it is not just CAT QA that is on the line but also Quant in the MBA Program.

You need to always start with the WHAT and move to the HOW

Some students have written saying that when they try to not copy-paste patterns they find that their mind is blank and they do not know what to do.

Imagine a F1 driver going to drive on relatively unknown tracks every time he goes out to drive — the key word is “relatively” not completely unknown. He or she will draw upon the experiences but still drive as if it were new.

It is exactly like sport, you practice in the nets but every pitch, every match, every ball is different.

This is exactly what makes the Big 3 matches in tennis so interesting, they have played each other million times but they know that every match can be won by either of them. this despite knowing everything inside out.

And what is different?

Each and every time the questions asked of them by their opponent will be different.

WHAT is being asked is different.

If Nadal is hitting the ball closer to the lines, Djoker knows he is being asked a different question and he knows that has to find a response in real-time while drawing on the past.

If Federer is just creaming winners off the forehand then Nadal knows he is being asked a different question.

The first task always is to figure out the WHAT and the move to the HOW instead of thinking about the HOW.

When students say nothing strikes them it is because they are thinking that the HOW will come and strike them. Nothing strikes you if you are not looking for it, except lightning!

Let us take a question to see what I mean by figuring out the WHAT and moving to the HOW.

Question 1

If all the factors of 5040 are arranged in descending order then which will be the fifth factor?

We know that the greatest factor of the number is the number itself — 5040.

WHAT — But we need to factorise this first since we need to find the top 5 factors.

HOW — 5040 – 24*32*5*7

WHAT — If this is the highest one then what is the one after this?

HOW — I need to remove the smallest possible factor from this?

What is the smallest possible factor that I can remove? 2

So, the next factor in descending order will be 23*32*5*7

For the third one, we remove a 3 — 24*31*5*7

For the fourth one, we remove a 4 — 22*32*5*7

For the fifth one, we remove a 5 — 24*32*7 — which is what the question is asking us for.

What if the question is tweaked?

Question 2

If all the factors of 5040 are arranged in ascending order then which one will be the 56th factor?

When I read this with fresh eyes, I know that this seems crazy, am I really supposed to write all the factors from 1 to 55? Surely, you must be joking Mr.Question-man!

There must be another way — they won’t be paying an average salary of Rs.25 LPA at IIM-A for someone to do such donkey work!

WHAT — Before I go ahead I need to know how many factors are there and where does 55 stand?

HOW — To find out the number of factors I need to factorise the number

5040 – 24*32*5*7

The number of factors — what you will know from all your of previous practice — 5*3*3*2 — 60

There are 60 factors and they are asking me for the 55th, so, instead of going from 1 to 56 I can come down from 60 to 56.

From here the problem becomes the same as the previous one.

For some this might be a huge change since you have to undo all your previous mode of dealing with Math, for others it might turn on a switch that they never thought they had, but for everyone there is no other way.

The weird part is that even those who have made it to the IITs do not seem to get this. I had a student from IIT-Ropar in one of my GMAT classes and he was like — you must know all the patterns by now, so you can answer all questions!

It is like saying Kohli knows to play all shots, so every time he goes out he will make a 100! It does not work that way.

Yes, teaching helps, but every teacher does not get a 100 every year in QA right?

On good exams, one gets rewarded for thinking nor regurgitating!

So, stop mugging, start solving!

How to manage work and prepare for the CAT

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With the mountain called the CAT now in sight, most working professionals will be wondering how to mount another challenge to get into the old IIMs.

The biggest obstacle in front working professionals will be juggling a job and prepping for CAT at the same time. Some of you in this situation will have decided to quit your job, hopefully only after having read my post on the same and having understood the implications of quitting.
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How to improve your QA percentile – Part II

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In the first part of this post we covered the first building block to achieve higher scores and percentiles on CAT QA — accuracy. In this post, we will take up the next one — selection.

QA is the section that gets the maximum attention of test-takers of all stripes and there is always a litany of frustrations and queries that plague aspirants —

  • I am good at Math and like Math but my score just does not seem to go up!
  • Should one attempt the long Arithmetic questions?
  • I feel every problem is do-able!
  • I get stuck for long with one problem without realising it
  • I realise there were many problems I could have solved when I analyse the test

The answer to all of these questions lies in the way you select questions and the way you navigate between them.

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How to improve your QA percentile – I

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Unlike the other two sections, QA is a section that has a direct link to what you have done in school and college. Most of the topics that are tested on the CAT have also been a part of the school curriculum. This I feel is the biggest roadblock in front of test-takers wanting to achieve higher scores on the CAT Quant because high Math scores during X and XII exams do not automatically imply doing well on CAT Quant.

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Setting the right targets on your way to a 99 percentile

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A few years back, I attended the Chennai convocation function for aspirants who cleared the Company Secretary (CS) exam (a relative of mine had cleared the exam). The Chief Guest was Padmishri awardee T.N.Manoharan, who is a pre-eminent figure in the Banking and Accounting sector in the country with his book being a must-read for all CA aspirants. He was part of the government-appointed team that cleaned up the Satyam mess and paved the way for the transition to Tech Mahindra. His keynote address was leavened with wisdom and had too many punchlines for me to recount here but one of the things he said is spot on when it comes to the way we should deal with success and failure. He said… Read More

The IIM Selection Criteria: Will I get a call from the IIMs?

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Apart from the — how many questions should I answer to score a 99 percentile on the CAT — question, one of the questions that I get asked to answer most frequently both from my students as well as people on Quora is the one that is more or less framed as follows:

I have X% in X, Y% in XII and Z% in GRAD, will I get a call from the IIMs?

Given the popularity of the question, I think a post on the same is more than par for the course. Read More

CAT ’20 Achievers’ Meet: How to make the most of your MBA

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Every year the final session that I do for all of those who have secured admits (or are waitlisted) into the Top 30 schools is called How to make the most of your MBA.

I had hoped that we will be able to conduct at least this session for CAT 20 students in person and that I could may be meet a few of you who have attended my Masterclasses over the course of the year.

The world has bigger problems than this and so we go ahead and do the session online.

Date & Time: Sunday, 13th June 2021 @ 11:00 AM

Register before Friday, 11th June 2021 till 2:00 PM via http://tiny.cc/Achievers-Meet-21

Note: Students who have registered for the Campus meets need not fill up the registration form again. They will automatically get a zoom invite for the achievers’ meet session.

DI-LR: Improving your core strength

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DI-LR, as we know, has been the nemesis of many a CAT aspirant over the past few years, and every serious aspirant asks me that — how do I improve my DI-LR skills.

Over the last two years, I thought that it is primarily about two things — set selection and comfort with mathematical reasoning (many sets over the last few years have been based on Arithmetic and Modern Math concepts).

But even so, I knew that to select the right sets and then solve 4 sets, one needs to solve the two easiest sets quite fast, and this pace would come from the regular practice of DI-LR sets (irrespective of difficulty level) and Sudoku.

Even then I still felt that a lot was left to the “natural” capability of the student. There was nothing concrete I could communicate (apart from a 5-minute average for Medium Sudoku sets) like say a particular reading speed or a particular set of concepts. Read More

My MBA Journey: IIM-L

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Recently, a colleague was asking my if I knew any fresh B-school graduates for some events and I told him that of late given that I am no longer actively teaching or running cities, most of my students are Eklavyas, who just read my blog and attend a few sessions, and not Pandavas!

Kaushik, was a student of mine back in my IMS Chennai days but as you will read from his post, we did not interact much. He got in touch with me whenever he had to make a big decision, which, if I am not wrong was once a year before or after each of his CAT attempts. In a way he was an Eklavya who occasionally spoke to me!

So, when Kaushik texted me a fortnight ago, with a DP that wasn’t his face, I had to figure out who he was and asked him to confirm if my hunch about his background and appearance were right! And thankfully, I was.

Kaushik had an exceptional academic profile, was a CA, worked in big-brand firm, so the MBA was a big decision for him since it had to make complete sense. Given this I thought it would make perfect sense for him to write down his experience of his time at IIM-L (given that my Palaeolithic-era experience no longer counts) as a non-binding gurudakshina 🙂

And added context for this post is also that given the huge rally behind the ABC or nothing war cry, L or another shot at ABC is primed to arouse peak FOMO!

After I read Kaushik’s post, I learnt three things — sad, bad, and glad — the name of the intra-institute sports contest was changed from Sikandar to Sangram (sad); the name of the management fest was hyphenated from Manfest to Manfest-Varchasva (bad — I remember hearing the word varchasva in Gangs of Wasseypur, if my memory serves me right); and name of the music band, of which I was a part, continues to be the same, 3.4 (glad)!

The Journey of a lifetime at IIM Lucknow

Tony is someone whom I admire. I call him by name rather than ‘sir’ because, one – he’s a friend who’s always there for you, and two – he’s young as ever. I pinged him a few days ago to give an update on where I was headed next, which is when he asked if I could pen down my experience at L. I was hesitant initially, but decided to go ahead since it was a transformational journey. It’s my first attempt at penning down any experience of mine. Apologies if it deviates from any accepted structure.

Disclaimer – My views are purely based on my two-year journey (2019-21) at IIML.

Why do I call it the journey of a lifetime? Because, I had almost decided to not take this up even a day before I left for Lucknow, to now being grateful for the wonderful journey at L. Our batch could emerge victorious despite these tough times during covid.

My tryst with CAT

Enrolled with IMS Chennai, but couldn’t attend more than 5 sessions owing to work commitments. All I knew that year was that it was a 3 hour test with three sections. Yet, walked in to give CAT’16 since I had registered. Unexpectedly scored 97.07%ile. Converted IIM Indore. But, wasn’t sure if I wanted to join. I am a CA, was working with a Big4 back then and was advised by a relative that it won’t make much difference by taking it up. Also, since it was my first attempt, Tony advised that I could try again. Next year, the story repeated. Busy with work, no prep, walked in and ended up with 96.47%ile. Again, IIM Indore shortlist, but didn’t appear for WAT-PI.

Quit my job in July’18 and enrolled in IMS Hyderabad. Slightly more serious this time. Yet, didn’t put in requisite efforts. Just attended the sessions, didn’t practice and attempted very few mocks resulting in additional pressure. Result – 92.98%ile. I was reflecting on the past few months when I could’ve prepared better. This score, I thought, was the end of everything. But, a surprising twist came up – IIML’s shortlist. The additional credit for being a CA with ~2.5 years of workex, and academic profile would’ve offset a low CAT score.

Two important lessons –

  1. Practice and speed are very critical
  2. Its very important to not reel under pressure. I’ve scored more when I knew nothing about CAT with no performance pressure

Before my WAT-PI process, I had almost made up my mind to pursue MBA from USA. So, walked in with no pressure for WAT-PI, while I was surrounded by extremely anxious candidates. Converted in the first list, but was still exploring the US MBA. One major hurdle for the US admit would be my break in service. So, eventually ended up going to Lucknow, albeit very reluctantly.

Enter IIM Lucknow

Travelled to the campus half-hearted, still unsure of whether it was the right decision. Found my way through the vast campus to my hostel room in one of the older hostels. My mind was prejudiced, with certain articles describing them as slums (just because they were older). From a dejected entry, this became one of my favourite hostels given its proximity to all major locations.

“Deadlines are sacrosanct” is a phrase that will constantly keep buzzing around in IIML, be it roll calls at 9:15 am or submissions. My hostel’s location for sure saved me from missing many classes and quizzes, when my peers had to rush from hostels far away.

One of the best things about IIML is the bonding between students across batches. From jittery intros during induction, they become your closest buddies almost instantly. You can cold call anyone to help you out at any time.

Life at IIML

The first term could be overwhelming for many, given we have to juggle between classes, placement prep, company sessions, assignments, quizzes, projects, events/activities, competitions, committee selections etc. But, eventually you get used to it and find time for everything you want to do. 

The key is to prioritize. I’ve seen people who had focused only on academics or sports/extra curriculars and others who managed to do various things. What and how much you want to do, is up to you. There’s no dearth of opportunities.

I was very meek, timid and silent initially. It is said that MBA is all about networking. So, I thought to make the best of the opportunities I have and participated in the selection process for becoming the class rep, thereby part of the admission mentorship team as well and got selected. Looking back, that would’ve probably been one of the best things that could’ve happened to me, enabling me to establish a strong bond with 60 future managers and leaders.

There are two things which I had strongly heard before joining. Here is my take on them –

“It is extremely essential to get through the committee selections. Else, your MBA will be doomed” –

While it is definitely great to get into a CCA, that’s not the end of everything if you don’t. Many haven’t been able to get into any CCA and yet, aced through their MBA.

“Summer placements will define your MBA”

It is definitely crucial and everyone should give their best. If you manage to crack your desired role in summers and get a PPO, it’s the ideal situation. Those who don’t land their desired role can either give up & rue the lost opportunity or work to fulfill their aspiration in finals.

I was largely indifferent to IB vs consulting during summers, although slightly inclined towards consult (a reason for me to pursue MBA). Converted a top IB during summers and went on to get placed in one of the top 3 global consulting firms in finals. It’s probably acceptable to explore your domain of interest during summers, while you are expected to have absolute clarity during finals.

You can build your profile a bit before summers though, by getting selected in CCAs, participating in competitions. However, your summer placements is largely dependent on what you’ve done pre-MBA. For final placements, it is largely about what all and how well you’ve been able to do during MBA. So, don’t get devastated if you don’t land the internship role you desire. You still have a great chance in finals, so long as you work towards it.

I’ve witnessed people switch from ops to marketing, marketing to finance/prodman etc. Its probably easier if you do your internship in the same domain as your target in finals, but you can always work towards your domain of interest even if your summers was in a different domain.

Also, before joining IIML, I’ve also been in your shoes, trying to garner a lot of information about the institute online. Like me, few of you might have come across some stuff written online in a negative taste about L’s placements. But, basis my experience, I can say that it isn’t true.

IIML for long has been known as a marketing campus. I’ve heard stories of how shortlisted students had to travel to another city to give their interviews for premier consulting firms and that there were limited opportunities in finance about two decades ago. But, the current situation is amazing. You have all premier firms across domains visiting the campus for placements.

From top tier consulting firms, investment banks, PE/VCs, banking, marketing companies to the best companies in prodman, ops, corp fin roles etc. you have them all. May be the number of PE/VCs and firms from a few other domains visiting could be slightly higher in ABC. But, IIML is not far behind.

IIML is known for is its academic rigour. I had also read stories of how toppers from undergrad ended up with low grades, and here I was, someone who had last experienced formal full time education 8 years ago. I was constantly fearing under-performance and failure even before going through the process.

Yes, you have many courses, quizzes, assignments, projects, mid-term / end-term examinations that come up once in 5 weeks and the attendance requirements are high. But, it is definitely manageable and not as tough as the perception built around it. Our apprehensions only worsen it for us.

I had a disastrous start, scoring the least across two sections in one of the first quizzes in a course in the first term. My fears started increasing. A senior managed to calm me down. Anyone could have a bad day. I didn’t build any further expectations of scoring well. The first term results were declared, and I managed to perform decently well. Stood 2nd in my section and amongst the top ~30/480+ in the institute.

I then realized that it’s the overall performance across various components that matters and one bad component need not ruin everything. I’ve had a few bad quizzes across both years, but ended up securing Institute Rank 5 at the end of 2 years and IR 1 in term 3 standalone. So, do not let your fears define your journey.

After the stressful first term, it’s time to pursue your passion and that’s when the selection process starts for clubs. Again, I failed to make the cut here. Nevertheless, kept moving on.

Then came the Student Council elections. Before L, I was introverted, timid, hesitant, pessimistic and was also carrying additional baggage in my mind as I was told that I was too good to attend b-school. I could have never imagined myself talking to so many people, campaigning door-to-door, addressing the batch etc. 

But, the few months I had spent at L taught me a lesson – it is ok to try and fail, rather than not trying itself owing to the fear of failure. That’s when I started developing this approach to make any decision – “What is the worst that could happen if I fail at this?” In the current instance, I’d end up in the same situation before the election. So, why not give it a shot instead.

These experiences pull you out of your comfort zone and help overcome your inhibitions. I won and was elected as the President of Student Council. This is by far my best experience at L – the kind of work, the exposure that it gave me amidst challenging covid times was amazing, and above all, the 8 of us in the Council became a family. From navigating through the transition from offline to online mode, to planning & executing the onboarding of batch during covid times was a memorable experience.

I’ve participated in a few case competitions and have been fortunate to taste success. I still remember my first national win. One of my besties had registered for a corporate case competition in Term 1 and had also made the submission for Round-1. I wasn’t even aware of this. We got selected for the national finals, competed with students from all the premier MBA colleges in India and won it eventually (we did work together for the final round though :p).

All good things have to come to an end

Reminiscing all the fun, cherished memories and experiences, it all came to a closure one fine day. The entire batch was capturing memories of the last of everything – night mess, party, exam, class, game etc. Having built strong friendships, a great network, it was time to bid adieu to IIML two months ago as we had completed our MBA. 2 years felt like a split second. I’ll be ever grateful for everything that IIML has given me.

All of us will need a support system through this journey. You’ll find yours along the way. Apart from my friends, faculty, parents, I had a very strong support system in my brother Harish. I dedicate my best allrounder medal to him. If not for him, I can’t imagine how many quizzes and classes I’d have missed. Despite staying in USA, he managed to wake me up every single day in the morning. There have been days when he had to make 20-25 calls to wake me up :p

Closing remarks

There could be many things you may desire in life. But, life will also present you opportunities in the most unexpected ways. It is up to you to make the best of it. Trust the process and cherish the experience. From thinking that it had all ended after CAT’18, to getting a SL from IIML with 92.98 %ile to converting in the first list, winning elections, being IR5, winning the best allrounder medal, converting great companies in summers and finals – I could never imagine this.

In hindsight, what if I had decided to not pursue MBA at IIML and instead tried giving GMAT or give CAT again in pursuit of ABC? What if I had gone abroad, invested significant money and got caught up due to covid. I don’t have an answer to any of this. There was every possibility of me failing again and not getting into any of these, or getting to these places and not performing as well as in L.

IIML, for me, has opened up the same path as what ABC would’ve offered. Probably a better one as well, who knows. I have had learnings for life and have overcome many inhibitions of mine. All thanks to IIML.

You need to experience every phase of this beautiful journey. If not for anything, it’ll still impart learnings, both professional and personal, that will aid you in life.

If you are contemplating on waiting for a year to get into ABC vs accepting an admit from L, also consider the fact that placement opportunities are very similar across ABCL. Also, there is a possibility that you might be pitted against extremely stronger profiles competing for the same role at say IIMA for instance, and you could thereby stand a better chance of converting the same great role at L as compared to A. Don’t overthink and complicate life. Take relevant inputs from your mentors and make an informed decision.

At the end of the day, whichever institute you eventually go to, own it and unite with it. Whatever you do, wherever you go, you’ll be carrying the brand with you. Infact, it’s the alumni who can build the brand of any institute further.

A generic view about anything in life – Nothing is perfect. You can choose to work towards getting the best out of what’s available and find a solution by owning up, or stand away and decide to just keep worrying & complaining about something not being right. The choice is yours.