Hi all! It is less than a month remaining to the mother of all D-Days - the CAT 2008 exam on November 16, 2008. A lot of you might be wondering what to do in these few days and how to remove weaknesses from your preparation. So we have o…
Hi all!
It is less than a month remaining to the mother of all D-Days - the CAT 2008 exam on November 16, 2008. A lot of you might be wondering what to do in these few days and how to remove weaknesses from your preparation.
So we have on board Students of IIM Kozhikode, who have been there and done that, to help you all out with:
- Forming a test-taking strategy
- How to deal with weaknesses in preparation
- How to be prepared for the D-Day
- How to have the best frame of mind on the CAT day
So if you have any questions on the above topics, post them here and get them answered by IIM Kozhikode students.
PS - it would be nice if you first went through the thread and see if your question has already been asked by someone. Why ask something that has already been answered again?
Cheers,
Hi all!
It is less than a month remaining to the mother of all D-Days - the CAT 2008 exam on November 16, 2008. A lot of you might be wondering what to do in these few days and how to remove weaknesses from your preparation.
So we have on board Students of IIM Kozhikode, who have been there and done that, to help you all out with:
- Forming a test-taking strategy
- How to deal with weaknesses in preparation
- How to be prepared for the D-Day
- How to have the best frame of mind on the CAT day
So if you have any questions on the above topics, post them here and get them answered by IIM Kozhikode students.
PS - it would be nice if you first went through the thread and see if your question has already been asked by someone. Why ask something that has already been answered again?
Cheers,
Hello Folks!
To add to what Apurv has said, I'll clarify a few things...
The aim of this thread is not to discuss individual problems and caselets. With just around 2 weeks to go for CAT, it's time to focus on the macro aspects of it, rather than specific problems.
Also, please be specific in your queries, and back them up with what you have been doing. For example, merely asking 'What should be the strategy for CAT?' is not very useful, as strategies will depend a lot on your state of preparedness, your strong and weak areas, etc. Ideally, include the following when you ask something :
- Your strong and weak areas
- Your overall mock scores
- Whether there has been any dip or rise in these scores in the last month or so
- Your current paper strategy
Include as much details as you can.
Cheers,
Harshad
Puys 
,
As Harshad has posted below, please include as much details as you can in your query and be specific..We will pitch in with our suggestions, opinions.
Afterall, remember, CAT is a game of nerves..Keep cool, be focussed in this final lap..
:rockon:
Hello Folks!
To add to what Apurv has said, I'll clarify a few things...
The aim of this thread is not to discuss individual problems and caselets. With just around 2 weeks to go for CAT, it's time to focus on the macro aspects of it, rather than specific problems.
Also, please be specific in your queries, and back them up with what you have been doing. For example, merely asking 'What should be the strategy for CAT?' is not very useful, as strategies will depend a lot on your state of preparedness, your strong and weak areas, etc. Ideally, include the following when you ask something :
- Your strong and weak areas
- Your overall mock scores
- Whether there has been any dip or rise in these scores in the last month or so
- Your current paper strategy
Include as much details as you can.
Cheers,
Harshad
THANKS apurv, harshad n all iimk puys ! i hope this willl b a block buster thread !!
now here comes my query! im having 85-95%tile in mocks,crossing va always comfortably,, fumbling alternatively in quant di...
considering the time i can give around 50-60 hours only (
Q- should i revise only my strength topics like-geometry,numbers or give coverage to others as well like modern maths algebra,, in di more puzzles or more calculation based question!! thanks
preparation for cat has been really rough for me!
I'm one of those b.com guys who are really apprehensive abt making it to IIMs coz of dere backgrnd...n just to make it more critical i dropped my CA internship for it....
i did my CA PE2 alongwith my bcom but i chucked out final coz i wanst enjoyin taxation and auditing...i want to do sumthng in HR....
nyway the premise m making is for you to get the idea abt how tuff it has been for me to keep a +ve outlook....and just to add more to my anxiety i hvnt received my admit card , thou i hv taken the print out and i know the process of obtaining duplicate admit card ...still!!
another thng that i notice is dat no matter how tuff the paper is , m always able to get arnd 30% marks but i need to frame a good stragey to get this 30% in 1.5 hrs , but my delicate mental equlibrium keeps halting my way ... consequently i lose my focus n the right state of mind of hrs at fr days at time!!
nyways! i guess i know the solution but still wud like to listen frm u
Hey!
Remember one thing - you have an advantage when it comes to your background. You have something different from the rest of the herd. I know that cracking CAT and getting a call has to be done first, but once you do that, you definitely have an advantage. This is apart from the fact that the first 2 sems are a cakewalk for CAs... they breeze through fin subjects while we mere mortal struggle
See, CAT is a lot psychological. Don't raise the stakes for yourself. I know time is short, but one good way to reduce the stakes ( and thus, the pressure ) is thinking up some backup plans. God forbid if CAT doesnt go well, have something else ready. This will take a huge chunk of the pressure off.
If you are getting 30% no matter how tough the paper is, you have a very, very good chance of cracking it. Even in an easy paper, the cut-offs tend to be around 40% ( last 2 years, that is ). You already have it in you dude.... dont throw it away by letting the pressure and small things like admit cards get to you.
What do you enjoy doing? Do that for the next 2 weeks. A lot of it. Study a bit, maybe 2-3 hours at the most, but do what you like, what makes you happy. It helps like anything when you reach d-day.
Go into the paper with the fact that you are good enough firmly entrenched in your mind. And with the scores you are getting, I see no reason for you to genuinely not believe that.
Regarding focus, frankly, there isn't enough time to do anything which can change things dramatically. Hopefully, the little bit of pressure that you will definitely feel that day should take care of that. It generally does. Like how we rarely lose concentration during exams...
Cheers,
Harshad
hi all,
i have been consistently scoring %iles in the range of 90-95. And in the last 5 mocks i have cleared all the cutoffs twice and the sectional cutoffs the rest of the times except the overall cutoff by a few marks. Also VA is my weak section where i just manage to clear the cut offs.
QA is my strong section with 95+ most of the times and on a good day i manage to score above 95%ile in DI as well.
my current strategy is to allocate 50 mins to each section in order of DI-VA-QA. this strategy suits me the best.
What should i do now, as only 2 mocks are left, to improve my performance considerably so as to clear the overall cutoff as well? I am getting lost while studying as i do not get from where and how should i study now. I have already revised all the mocks i have given once.
It would be really helpful if one of you replies. thanks a lot in advance..
i have been consistently scoring %iles in the range of 90-95. And in the last 5 mocks i have cleared all the cutoffs twice and the sectional cutoffs the rest of the times except the overall cutoff by a few marks. Also VA is my weak section where i just manage to clear the cut offs.
QA is my strong section with 95+ most of the times and on a good day i manage to score above 95%ile in DI as well.
my current strategy is to allocate 50 mins to each section in order of DI-VA-QA. this strategy suits me the best.
What should i do now, as only 2 mocks are left, to improve my performance considerably so as to clear the overall cutoff as well? I am getting lost while studying as i do not get from where and how should i study now. I have already revised all the mocks i have given once.
It would be really helpful if one of you replies. thanks a lot in advance..
Kudos to Harshad first..
and the PG team for going through with this idea... :thumbsup:
Though I have never given gyaan on cat before, I'll try my hand at it...Harshad by himself will probably be able to answer everybody :D
THANKS apurv, harshad n all iimk puys ! i hope this willl b a block buster thread !!
now here comes my query! im having 85-95%tile in mocks,crossing va always comfortably,, fumbling alternatively in quant di...
considering the time i can give around 50-60 hours only (f## clg xams is d reason:sneaky:) at my disposal for next 15 days what should be ideal revison strategy
Q- should i revise only my strength topics like-geometry,numbers or give coverage to others as well like modern maths algebra,, in di more puzzles or more calculation based question!! thanks
I 'm replying to this first because your case is pretty similar to mine...
Please keep in mind that this is just a suggestion...& others might have a different idea...so probably the best thing would be to see what all of us have to say & then formulate your own plan...
I had almost entirely the same percentile range as yours & the same story in sectionals...
50-60 hours is much more than needed....Its better to relax a lot more in the coming days...
as far as topics are concerned(my strength was only geometry)
I think it would help giving one look to all the topics because I feel that if a sitter comes from your weaker sections then if you have atleast given it a look, you might be able to solve it...
this is true for topics like P&C;, permutations etc. which people generally leave at sight....& miss a genuine sitter on the final day...
It will help a lot more in future if you concentrate on college exams...trust me, I have found out the hard way 😉
Hey
First of all let me tell you that i am also from the commerce background. I am a Chartered accountant. Going by me experience you dont have to worry too much about being from the commerce background. Its just a myth that commerce background people struggle in CAT.....
you seem to be doing reasonable well in your mock tests so i guess its just a matter of keeping your cool and cracking the CAT....
with respect to the outlook my suggestion would be to stay away from these stereotypess and myths about one set of people having CAT easy etc. every year there are loads of commerce graduates who crack CAT and several of them make it to premier institutes like IIMs.
and as Harshad says... relax and enjoy your preparation
and trust me once you are in, you will defenitely find some subjects a cake walk 
preparation for cat has been really rough for me!
I'm one of those b.com guys who are really apprehensive abt making it to IIMs coz of dere backgrnd...n just to make it more critical i dropped my CA internship for it....
i did my CA PE2 alongwith my bcom but i chucked out final coz i wanst enjoyin taxation and auditing...i want to do sumthng in HR....
nyway the premise m making is for you to get the idea abt how tuff it has been for me to keep a +ve outlook....and just to add more to my anxiety i hvnt received my admit card , thou i hv taken the print out and i know the process of obtaining duplicate admit card ...still!!
another thng that i notice is dat no matter how tuff the paper is , m always able to get arnd 30% marks but i need to frame a good stragey to get this 30% in 1.5 hrs , but my delicate mental equlibrium keeps halting my way ... consequently i lose my focus n the right state of mind of hrs at fr days at time!!
nyways! i guess i know the solution but still wud like to listen frm u
Kudos to Harshad first..
and the PG team for going through with this idea... :thumbsup:
Though I have never given gyaan on cat before, I'll try my hand at it...Harshad by himself will probably be able to answer everybody :D
I 'm replying to this first because your case is pretty similar to mine...
Please keep in mind that this is just a suggestion...& others might have a different idea...so probably the best thing would be to see what all of us have to say & then formulate your own plan...
I had almost entirely the same percentile range as yours & the same story in sectionals...
50-60 hours is much more than needed....Its better to relax a lot more in the coming days...
as far as topics are concerned(my strength was only geometry)
I think it would help giving one look to all the topics because I feel that if a sitter comes from your weaker sections then if you have atleast given it a look, you might be able to solve it...
this is true for topics like P&C;, permutations etc. which people generally leave at sight....& miss a genuine sitter on the final day...
It will help a lot more in future if you concentrate on college exams...trust me, I have found out the hard way ;)
Hello !
To re-iterate what jok3r has said, though this applies in general to everybody :
1. Relax, and do NOT study too much. 50-60 hours sounds scary to me. It's much more important to be a cool, rested and relaxed frame of mind than to know the 3rd power of 17.49
2. Do NOT neglect graduate exams. There are several of us paying the price for that here. You will pay a heavy price for it during the IIM interviews and during placements. CAT can be attempted year after year ( I had started to make it a hobby
), graduate exams only once.3. All time henceforth should be basics, basics and more basics and ensuring you are in the flow. Solve a couple of sudokus or something everyday.
Cheers,
Harshad
hi all,
i have been consistently scoring %iles in the range of 90-95. And in the last 5 mocks i have cleared all the cutoffs twice and the sectional cutoffs the rest of the times except the overall cutoff by a few marks. Also VA is my weak section where i just manage to clear the cut offs.
QA is my strong section with 95+ most of the times and on a good day i manage to score above 95%ile in DI as well.
my current strategy is to allocate 50 mins to each section in order of DI-VA-QA. this strategy suits me the best.
What should i do now, as only 2 mocks are left, to improve my performance considerably so as to clear the overall cutoff as well? I am getting lost while studying as i do not get from where and how should i study now. I have already revised all the mocks i have given once.
It would be really helpful if one of you replies. thanks a lot in advance..
Hi Udit,
Firstly, you don't need to improve your performance considerably in the last 2 mocks...
A lot of people studying here would have been more than happy if they had mock scores & were clearing cutoffs like you(me included
)Probably the best thing would be to maintain your DI to that of a good-day level ie, try to get 95+ in the last 2 mocks( I know its easier said than done)
& in case you don't know from where and how to study, try doing some aimcats of last year for practice and see if you can consistently maintain good scores in all sections....but please don't do too much of them in the last few days..
Cheers :happy:...
PS: Enjoy places like CP, South-ex a lot more in the coming days...you will miss them a lot once you get to a b-school... 😃
righty...
Questions have started flowing and so shud the answers.. oops I almost forgot the first lesson.. there are no right or wrong answers.. there are opinions and its upto the individual to take/leave/make hay of them..
With the disclaimer out of the way.. lemme jump in..
@bakar..
There are many ppl in IIMs who scored 90-95 %ile in mocks but kept their nerves on the C-day and rocked the feline. I see no reason why u can't do it. The cache is the enthusiasm and energy with which the exam was approached.
Answers to your 2nd question would be diverse. In my opinion, go for mocks.. 4-5 of them. Make sure you attempt every "logical" QA problem there and kick urself when u miss any.
Of course basic knowledge of all topics is a must because sitters are golden on the day.
btw.. CAT didn't make me attempt Geometry or PnC and still gave me a 99.1 in QA
DI -- Divide ur time equally between the 2 sorts. The pattern keeps on changing and there's no room for risk.
Most importantly, keep ur confidence levels high and keep concentrating on micro-picture .. fastest way to solve a problem, best strategy etc.. macro-picture (importance of the exam, %iles etc) will take care of itself..
Hope it helped..
~Nitin
PS: aah.. me and Harshad remain at loggerheads over the amount of work required to be put in.. 😛
hi all,
i have been consistently scoring %iles in the range of 90-95. And in the last 5 mocks i have cleared all the cutoffs twice and the sectional cutoffs the rest of the times except the overall cutoff by a few marks. Also VA is my weak section where i just manage to clear the cut offs.
QA is my strong section with 95+ most of the times and on a good day i manage to score above 95%ile in DI as well.
my current strategy is to allocate 50 mins to each section in order of DI-VA-QA. this strategy suits me the best.
What should i do now, as only 2 mocks are left, to improve my performance considerably so as to clear the overall cutoff as well? I am getting lost while studying as i do not get from where and how should i study now. I have already revised all the mocks i have given once.
It would be really helpful if one of you replies. thanks a lot in advance..
one small addition to what jok3r has said...
I would suggest, if you are comfortable with tweaing your strategy at this stage, to allocate 40-45 mins per section. At the end of all 3 sections, quickly analyse which section you are lagging behind in ( you'll have a fair idea anyway ), and use the remaining time to increase attempts there. This has 2 benefits - the already stated one, and the other - it will act as a buffer.. in case you get stuck in some problem or caselet on the way, you won't screw up your last section.
Cheers,
Harshad
General Tips which may help a few people who have already asked questions above:
Before CAT:
Chill... :rockon:
There is no ideal revising strategy.. A person came back from a holiday of 2 weeks from Goa and cracked CAT... A person who was studying like a maniac 2 months before CAT wasn't able to clear any of the sections.. Now don't get frightened.. What I wanna say is that it just depends on your state of mind.. Most people freak out and that's why can't clear CAT.. So relax.. Just see the papers of last 3-4 years (which you already might have solved but still would help you understand what sort of papers come) and the mocks that you have already solved
For me, the revising strategy was:
I solved mocks till 3 days before CAT.. Then gave one on the penultimate day..
Maths: I revised every basic formulae and simple stuff.. But completely, didn't leave anything.. In fact, the areas which were weak, I did 1-2 sums in each of those while revising..
DI: None.. The previous CAT papers were enough.. Anyways had a lot of practice in mocks..
Verbal: Take all your mocks and especially previous CAT papers.. You might remember the RCs.. So just go through each in 5 minutes.. See where you had gone wrong.. Same for the other stuff like sentence completion and grammar.. You anyways don't have much time for studying anything extra now.. Just see where you are going wrong..
During CAT:
Both my CATs I started with English (my weakest section) and scored the highest sectionals both times.. I feel that the mind works the best after the first 10 mins, till when the mind has relaxed, to 1 hour after that..
However, this strategy might backfire in some cases.. Say, you might not get sufficient time if the paper is tough.. (In cases of verbal, this has always been true since the last 3 years)..
So what I would say is that your ideal strategy is yours only and no one can do anything about it. Just find out which section is the toughest (which you realize within 5 mins of attempting a section) and which is the easiest. Then devote time according to that. E.g. In 2006, I gave 1:20 hrs to Verbal, 30 mins to Maths and 40 mins to DI.. In 2007, the ratio was 55:50:45 (And in both CATs, my score was good enough for IIMs)
Most important thing: Do not spend time on a question if you are not being able to solve it. Solve the easiest questions first or you are doomed for sure.. Since most of the time, you will be able to solve only those questions in the allotted time.. Only when you are sure you have finished all easier questions do you go to the medium and tougher ones.. Do not forget this advice at any cost. :shock:
Anything else?? :gunsmilie:
one small addition to what jok3r has said...
I would suggest, if you are comfortable with tweaing your strategy at this stage, to allocate 40-45 mins per section. At the end of all 3 sections, quickly analyse which section you are lagging behind in ( you'll have a fair idea anyway ), and use the remaining time to increase attempts there. This has 2 benefits - the already stated one, and the other - it will act as a buffer.. in case you get stuck in some problem or caselet on the way, you won't screw up your last section.
Cheers,
Harshad
just to add...
I went with a fairly elaborate starategy which I thought worked for me.
CAT day.. the invigilator decided to give us the question paper and answer sheet together at 10:30 (starting time of CAT..!!)
no 15 minute buffer to fill in name and address shit or finalise the strategy based on the number of questions..
I forgot everything and just did the paper.
Got stuck in VA somewhere, left it and went to QA, when I felt my concentration slipping in QA, went to DI and so on..
Idea was to not waste a single second anywhere in the paper (I had already wasted 10 mins in filling name etc)
Moral: Strategies are good but they shud ensure that u are at your top concentration through the paper..
~Nitin
PS: Personal experience only..
hi all,
i have been consistently scoring %iles in the range of 90-95. And in the last 5 mocks i have cleared all the cutoffs twice and the sectional cutoffs the rest of the times except the overall cutoff by a few marks. Also VA is my weak section where i just manage to clear the cut offs.
QA is my strong section with 95+ most of the times and on a good day i manage to score above 95%ile in DI as well.
my current strategy is to allocate 50 mins to each section in order of DI-VA-QA. this strategy suits me the best.
What should i do now, as only 2 mocks are left, to improve my performance considerably so as to clear the overall cutoff as well? I am getting lost while studying as i do not get from where and how should i study now. I have already revised all the mocks i have given once.
It would be really helpful if one of you replies. thanks a lot in advance..
Udit, you would like to know that I got 84 percentile in my last TIME mock before CAT... And you'd faint if I tell you my CAT score one week after that..
The main thing is keep your mind chilled... 
one small addition to what jok3r has said...
I would suggest, if you are comfortable with tweaing your strategy at this stage, to allocate 40-45 mins per section. At the end of all 3 sections, quickly analyse which section you are lagging behind in ( you'll have a fair idea anyway ), and use the remaining time to increase attempts there. This has 2 benefits - the already stated one, and the other - it will act as a buffer.. in case you get stuck in some problem or caselet on the way, you won't screw up your last section.
Cheers,
Harshad
In fact, I forgot this.. One of my IIMA seniors had suggested this and I found it excellent... I gave only 30 mins to each section in the beginning.. Tried to find all sitters and solve them.. Then I have 1 hour left.. about 25-30 mins I would give to the toughest section and distribute the rest between the other two and try to maximize in those.. In 2006, it was necessary to put in even more in the toughest section - verbal - and this was particularly useful there..
One more thing.. The last 3 years, papers have been varied.. And though last year, people didn't face this problem much, but before that, in 2005 and 2006, the problem people faced was that they would get 99 and 98 in 2 sections and 91 in the other giving them no calls.. So while you are solving the paper, also keep in mind what sort of paper is this and what might be the cut-off.. You have had a lot of mocks now and you would be knowing the ranges in which cut-offs come.. So try to clear cut-offs in all sections before going in for maximizing in any section.. Since IIMs require you to be a master of all 3 sections..
Say last year, on seeing the paper, it was obvious that the Maths cut-off would be something in the range of 30-35, DI would have been anywhere between 40-45 and English could have been anything between 20-30... So I would solve 10 questions in Maths (such that only 1 of them max. can be wrong), then 13-14 of DI (such that at most 2 are wrong)... Verbal you can never tell.. So my strategy was solve the maximum possible (I always got 2/3rds right.. Dangerous but effective.. )
THANKS apurv, harshad n all iimk puys ! i hope this willl b a block buster thread !!
now here comes my query! im having 85-95%tile in mocks,crossing va always comfortably,, fumbling alternatively in quant di...
considering the time i can give around 50-60 hours only (clg xams is d reason:sneaky:) at my disposal for next 15 days what should be ideal revison strategy
Q- should i revise only my strength topics like-geometry,numbers or give coverage to others as well like modern maths algebra,, in di more puzzles or more calculation based question!! thanks
See..it ws the same here last year arnd...wid mocks at arnd 90%ile....throughout the year...bt then u see...the real secret is to keep the full concentration going in those 2.5 hours..and you are very much better positioned in one aspect..you are comfortably clearing va,which is a problem area for many.SO that means you are at an advantage.Now abt quants and DI.The key over there is not to score much,but to avoid any kind of mistakes which happen when you do problems in haste.SO be cool,calm and chill, and during the exam,move through QA and DI with patience and full concentration..and you will be there buddy... I feel you are very much on the track...All the best... Practice on your strong areas in QA....and jst browse thru the weak areas....dat wud do... :rockon:
First of all Kudos to PG team And IIM K puys
I would like to know whether one should take some time in reading the whole paper.I mean skimming through the whole paper or go on attempting the favorite section of the paper.
Everyone says one should solve the easiest questions first then proceed to difficult ones.But this would reduce the time left for those difficult questions.Isn't it?
Thanks In Advance:smile: