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CAT Preparation: The Natural Talent Myth

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In the previous post, we discussed the various kinds of baggage that people carry around in their heads about their abilities. The heaviest of this is the one that people have about natural talent or rather the importance that people attribute to it. All of us would have a cousin or a friend or a classmate who could always achieve the same or better result with lesser effort. In fact, my best friend, whom I met during CAT Prep (CAT GD-PI actually) — was one of this sort.

During my stint at the IIM and during the course of my professional life I have met a few of those individuals whose abilities fall in the outlier category; people who are in a different category as far as pure aptitude goes. Read More

How Many Questions Should I Attempt In CAT?

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This is possibly the most frequently asked question among CAT FAQs. Whether the year be 2005, 2009 or 2015 this question has always been THE ONE question to answer and perhaps rightly so.

The simplest answer to this question, as I have always told my students, is — as many as you can. It might seem deceptively simple and quick-witted but at the core of it, is that not the task? But since test-takers are at different abilities you might ask – what is a good “as many as I can” that will fetch me a 99 percentile on CAT 2015?

 

[title text=”What a 99 percentile meant on the past CATs”]

CAT 2014 was possibly the easiest CAT ever — getting a 99 meant correctly answering more than 30 questions in each of the two sections. The extent to which the test was easy is reflected in the fact that there were sixteen 100 percentilers last time!

In contrast, CAT 2013 was the toughest of the computer-based CATs so far — answering approximately 16 questions correctly in each section resulted in one of our students getting a percentile of 99.89

On CAT 2011 & 2012 — correctly answering around 17-18 questions in QA-DI and around 21-22 in VA-LR, a total of 40 questions correct guaranteed a percentile well in excess of 99.

Based on my own experiences with the CAT (11 times and counting) and those of others ,we can safely say that on average attempting 55-60 percent of the questions correctly, or a net score that is equal to 55-60 percent of the total score, will get you a percentile in excess of 99. This is something that even our students taking the SimCAT will attest to.

The above 99 percent category is like a 100 metres dash at the Olympics, there will be a Bolt who is way ahead of even his fellow 100 percentilers but barely few questions will separate the rest. So we can say that a 60-65 net percent score will ensure a percentile higher than 99.50.

 

[title text=”What it might mean on CAT 2015″]

So on CAT 2015 what will be the magic number? A net score of above 150 will ensure a 99 plus percentile. Let us see how this is possible using the data from this year’s SimCATs.

The pattern changed from 2 to 3 sections from SimCAT 5 onwards — a very strong reason why scores dropped on that test. But after that scores quickly returned to normal levels — a score in the 140s consistently fetching a 99 percentile.

Why do scores consistently bunch around this level?

  • On a test of moderate difficulty the best possible number of attempts per section in 60 minutes will be around the 20-22 mark
  • If we take an accuracy of 80-85 percent as the benchmark then the net score will hover in the 135-145 range
  • So just to give a bit of a buffer we can predict that 150 plus will guarantee a 99 percentile on most tests and 120 plus will guarantee a 95 percentile.

 

CAT Scores and Percentiles 2015

 

[title text=”There is no magic number, so do not go in with a number in mind!”]

Ask yourself this simple question, what happens if CAT 2015 is easier than the previous CATs —CAN YOU attempt 55-60 questions correctly and hope to get a great percentile? What happens if it’s tougher than what we have seen in the last 5 years — WILL YOU BE ABLE to answer 55-60 questions correctly in 180 minutes? In both cases, the answer is NO.

In 2013, a student of ours who was re-taking the CAT finished the QA-DI section only to find that he could attempt fewer questions that he did in CAT 2012. He concluded that he had performed poorly and with that mindset under-perform in the VA-LR section.

When the results came out he found that he had scored only slightly lower than the did in the previous year —the high 98s in 2013 as opposed to the early 99s in 2012— and felt that he could have gotten a much better percentile than he got in 2012, if only he had kept his head together after the Quant section (he is currently in a premier b-school, so all’s well that ends well).

The same is borne out in the SimCAT data as well if we look at the data for SimCAT 8. It was the easiest SimCAT till date and hence students scored about 20-25 marks more across percentile ranges

Such a test is the best indicator of what can wrong if you go in with a number in mind.

You start Quant and after 30 minutes have solved about 10 questions and are pretty happy since you were able to answer more questions and everything is under control. You do not really push the pedal and end the section having solved about 20 questions and pleased with your performance. Only when you get see your percentile will you realize that it was not good enough.

Once you look at the SimCAT 9 percentiles you will see that it is exact opposite of SimCAT 8.

This is a very important thing to remember. So, unless you are like a colleague of mine who always has time to attempt all questions irrespective of the number of questions, there is no precise number of attempts.

There will always be a give & take of 5-7 questions here and there depending on the degree of difficulty of the paper. So you cannot go in with a fixed number.

 

[title text=”So how many questions should I attempt in CAT 2015?”]

The best way to look most things involving test-prep is from a cricket perspective. How many runs should get when you are going out to bat first?

As many as you can.

 If the pitch is easy then 300 might not be enough and if the pitch is tough a 200 might suffice (we are talking ODIs here).

If it is easy for you, it is easy for everyone else as well; if you are having a hard time, every else is as well.

What is important is that under all conditions you MAXIMIZE.

We will deal with this topic in a forthcoming post – how does one maximize under all conditions.

Till then, keep the faith, keep prepping, keep testing.

All the Best.

CAT Preparation: Nuggets To Succeed

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[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=”” wide=”no”][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]There is a great deal of similarity between being successful at tests and being successful at things involving the demonstration of a skill such as a sport or craft.

Both require lot of work not just on becoming proficient technically but also mentally. Most of the time success boils down to the attitude one brings to the table.

This quote one from a celebrated & controversial British chef is very relevant to understand what goes into achieving perfection.

It is especially relevant in light of this problem called “silly mistakes” that most test-takers fret about.

Evaluated in the light of this quote, it will become evident that all the smaller things we take for granted such as reading the question properly go a long way in achieving the high degree of accuracy required to succeed on the CAT.

A few of these little things that need to be done right for your CAT preparation to be meaningful are discussed in this previous post.

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CAT Preparation: Changing The Default Settings

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Every year a lot of young men and women toil away at this thing called CAT preparation. The most sincere and determined ones, come in full of energy and enthusiasm to do whatever it takes to ace this test and get into the hallowed portals of an IIM.

But do they come in with a blank mind ready to understand what this test is all about and attune themselves to it? The answer as we all know is, NO.

A CAT aspirant beginning his prep will be at the least 20 years old, long enough to start the test with a sizeable psychological baggage — a mental make up that stems from one’s experiences and successes with education & tests throughout school & college. Read More

Why I Teach

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The germ for this post sprouted in the aftermath of the death of Dr.Kalam.

In the deluge of Kalam-related information that dominated the media after his death one small bit struck a chord — his love for teaching. Of all the things he was — a teacher, a scientist, an advisor to the government, the President — it was the role of a teacher that he cherished the most.

On first meetings, people usually ask, “So what do you do?” The only reply I want to give when faced with this question is — I am a teacher. All the rest, the MBA and the business ownership are built around this core.

Teaching at 21

The first paid job that I took up was teaching.

I had completed my engineering as mechanically as possible and graduated with a software job, whose joining date got deferred in the bloodbath that followed the dotcom bust. I had taken the CAT in my final year and contrary to all expectations (including my own) I failed to get a call.

I was more than determined to clear it the second time round and was offered the chance to teach Analytical Reasoning to GRE students (back in the day GRE was out of 2400 with Analytical Reasoning being one of the sections) at the institute where I had prepared for the CAT.

The feedback for my classes was good but back then I did not really think much of teaching as a profession. I can distinctly remember thinking that it can become a really monotonous thing — the same sheet, the same problems and the same jokes.

It would take me more than a decade before I really understood what teaching was all about.

Teaching, now

During my first teaching stint while my feedback was good and I had no problem solving questions, there would rarely be students queuing up to ask me doubts or speak to me after class. But since I moved to IMS Chennai in late 2012 and started teaching again, things have been different.

It was around that time that I realized that in the decade that I spent since I first taught, my approach to teaching had changed completely. I realized that at 21, I was only a good problem solver with good communication skills. I was not a teacher.

At 21, I looked at teaching from my own perspective — what is in it for me? Am I getting a kick out of it? I laughed inwardly about the monotony — the same sheet, the same problems and the same jokes.

I failed to see the most important and unique aspect in this whole process — the student.

The sheet might be the same but there is a set of completely new students experiencing those problems for the first time.

Once one sees this, the sheet no longer remains the same; in fact it is no longer about the sheet, it is completely about the student, forging a connection with them and helping them absorb everything to the fullest.

The teacher always gets more in return

I can confidently say that teaching has actually taught me and given me a lot in return. My successful second attempt on CAT, had a lot to do with the clarity of thinking I developed because of taking classes.

I learn to solve better because I learn to teach better. I learn to teach better from the students. There have been many cases when the same problem and the same explanation with the same energy fail to help a particular student understand. You notice a face in the class that has not really understood it.

It is then that you are forced to come up with a more creative way of explaining the problem. It goes without saying there are also cases where students come up with better solutions.

While these are the very specific benefits, there are others that my fellow teachers, mostly freshly-minted MBAs who take time out on weekends to come and teach, have mentioned:

  • one says that he has to come and teach after a long working week,  just to refresh himself
  • another guy says that his wife says she likes him more when he returns home after taking a class at IMS than when he returns from his full-time work place
  • yet another guy says that no matter how rotten his day or week might have been all he needs to do is to take a class and he is back to feeling great again

My favourite part

It was around April 2013, the GD-PI results for the first batch of CAT students that I mentored were expected at anytime. One of the students with whom I had spent quite some time called and said — Tony…IIM-B…then a pause…converted! I leapt out of the chair and screamed YES!, my other arm outstretched.

This is always the best part, the moment a student succeeds. Nothing tastes like success, only in this case, it is not your own but somebody else’s.

When I look back, I did not leap and scream years ago, when I came to know of my own result that I had made it!

The world needs great teachers

There was a time in this country and in our culture when being a teacher was a mark of distinction — the word guru itself means the one who dispels darkness; we have hymns equating the guru with all three gods.

Not just in myths with Dronacharya & Arjuna but everywhere there have been legends of great teacher-taught relationships from Chanakya & Chandragupta to Socrates & Plato.

We live in a different world now, a world that talks about technology, inverted classrooms and self-learning. I am more than sure that technology can really make things better but that does not mean that we can do with fewer teachers.

There is something about being in the presence of a great teacher that makes us want to be better than the individuals we are. I have had the privilege of experiencing this a few times.

I hope that more and more youngsters seriously start taking teaching as a profession. It’s a very fulfilling profession and what better day to say it out loud than today — the birth anniversary of another President, another Teacher.

Happy Teachers’ Day my fellow mentors, motivators & guides!