[Chandoo]

Hi folks,

I think it is time we read some of this stuff to keep us motivated and on the tracks.
Please post articles which can motivate us, which can discuss the test taking strategies and other related stuff in this thread.

Goodluck ,
Chandoo

[Chandoo]

soo, here goes the first one, which i recenlt bumped upon while surfing thru the imsindia.com

it is abt the test taking strategies.

[align=center:e1cc3643c7]CAT isn't just about Math and English[/align:e1cc3643c7]

As I write this, the CAT advertisement is already out and the D-Day this year will arrive on November 23, 2003. I can imagine what must be going through all you MBA aspirants-a racing pulse being just one phenomenon. Year after year, few lives are made and many hearts broken based on the performance in the test. If this article can convert more non-believers into believers and help students approach the test in the right perspective, its purpose would be served.
This article therefore focuses on how to handle CAT from a managerial perspective rather than just from a Maths and English perspective. The article attempts to tackle the whole issue from the various aspects that the CAT tests a student on, and therefore how to handle one's preparation.

What the CAT really is about
How often have you heard this statement: CAT is not a test of Math and English? Your faculty or friends who have taken the CAT earlier will testify to this maxim. CAT actually uses Math and English as tools to assess whether the aspirant has the potential to be a manager. One of the biggest mental hurdles while preparing for the CAT is the overemphasis on learning the ropes in Math and English and not on understanding the hidden agenda underlying the various topics. For example, let's understand the logic behind a Reading Comprehension (RC) passage in English. A lot of students feel too intimidated by the size and complexity of the passage. But if they could read the minds of the test setters, the following would emerge:


RC is a test of

• -Comprehending ability
  
  -Strategy (to answer the questions in the minimum possible time requires strategy, which is nothing but a plan)
  
  -Communication
  
  -Selection, discretion and decision making
  
  -Managing limited time for maximum results (Accuracy and Speed)
  
  -Ability to handle pressure (the sheer length of the passages can be intimidating)
  
  -Analytical ability
  
  -Common sense and getting the fundamentals right-the most critical quality in an effective manager
  .

All these are nothing but managerial qualities and what an RC passage essentially is doing is judge the student's managerial potential.

The logic cited through the example of RC holds true for any other topic either under Math or English. Across the CAT, while the topics vary, they are all assessment tools to check for managerial qualities. Thus be it Problem Solving and Data Interpretation in Math or Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension in English, right through the two-hour test, a student is assessed on inherent managerial qualities which can be polished when selected for admission to a B-school. While English tests one's language and communication skills, Math essentially tests your analytical and conceptual skills--two very critical traits in an effective manager.


Let's now see how Math tests a student's managerial potential. Time/Speed/Distance per se is not Math, but it applies Math. As speed increases, the time taken would decrease. You do not have to be a Mathematician to understand this. You just need to use your common sense and most business situations are similar, be it forecasting and planning, production planning, cost control, etc. Thus Math is a tool to test whether the student has the willingness to analyse a situation through logic and reasoning.

Thus, when seen in this light, the following aspects of the CAT stand out:

-- It is one of the most fascinating aptitude tests in the country, if not the toughest. It is complex not because of the level of Maths and English, but because of the competition.

-- It is a test of one's managerial potential and not whether somebody is already a manager.

-- It is not a test of one's subject knowledge, but of one's aptitude to be a corporate manager. If the focus of CAT were academic, it would not include problems from Math and English just from the Xth and XIIth Std levels. It would rather include higher-level Math and English.

-- Thus, one of the most critical qualities needed to crack the CAT is strong fundamentals and a commonsensical approach

All this obviously does not mean that one can ignore the importance of Maths and English to crack the CAT. In a relay race, the baton is the tool for success. If the baton is not used properly, success becomes elusive. Thus, proficiency in Maths and English is critical to success in the CAT.

CAT within the CAT
CAT calls for a methodical approach and clear understanding of its structure. There are three aspects or stages to cracking the CAT. Each stage is as critical as the other and the second and third build on the first.

Stage 1: C oncepts
Stage 2: A pplication
Stage 3: T est Taking Techniques

Stage 1
A lot of students under the pressure of pushing up their scores often spend less-than-desired time on concepts and try to solve problems based on mere speed and guesswork rather than through attaining conceptual clarity. It doesn't matter just how smart a student is, he or she cannot succeed at the cost of concepts. Late starters especially try to catch up with their fellow aspirants by sacrificing accuracy for speed. Let's understand that speed feeds on accuracy and not the other way round. What makes a Bullet Train fascinating is not speed, but the accuracy with which it runs at that speed.

continued in the next mail due to limitations on max message size.

Read next mail,
Chandoo

[Chandoo]

Stage 2
Once the concepts are in place, the next challenge is to apply these to a Maths and English problem. The way one solves the Maths and English problems acts as an indicator of the way one would solve a real life managerial problem on the job.

Stage 3
It is typically seen that a lot of students start dropping out as the countdown begins for CAT. This is because while they may have mastered the concepts and started applying them to problems, the pressure to score the maximum in minimum time gets to them. Add to this the element of negative marking and many students start feeling truly intimidated. The way to work around this situation is to learn and develop test-taking techniques to crack problems. Different strategies are required to crack different sets of problems, as a manager will not face uniform situations and will have to come up with multiple ways to solve multiple problems. The right test taking technique for each area comes only from constant practice.

It is important here to understand the trick in the whole game called CAT. Paper-setters would be unrealistic to expect the student to solve all 150 questions in 120 minutes. But by restricting the time, they test a student on his selection and decision making skills, which as a manager he will be required to tackle day in and day out.

Driving a Car
Now, what has driving a car got to do with cracking CAT? Well, nothing directly, but the concept of CAT within the CAT can be understood by looking at how one acquires the skill of driving.

When somebody sets out to learn driving a car, what is his biggest focus? Concepts, of course. He will first learn how to start the car, the various gears, how and when to change them, functions of an accelerator and clutch, etc. This is like the Concept stage of CAT.

Once the concepts are understood, he will start applying them while driving, e.g. the right time to shift the second gear to third gear and come back to first gear, etc. This is like the Application stage of CAT.

Finally, when he is comfortable with driving on the road and in traffic, he will try to increase his speed and follow strategies to get to his destination. Thus, if he finds a certain road is continuously jammed, he will look for alternative routes and try to reach his destination faster, or look to manoeuvre faster through the traffic by speeding on a certain lane without sacrificing accuracy. This is nothing but the strategy or test taking technique stage of CAT.

Thus, the moral of the story is for cracking the CAT or becoming a cat at driving, there cannot be speed without accuracy. Just as speed without accuracy while driving can lead to accidents, speed without accuracy in CAT can lead to irreparable errors.


Personality Development and CAT

From what we have discussed above, one thing stands out: CAT is the route to being a manager and the only way to do that is to think and act like a manager from now itself. Success in CAT is reward for displaying managerial potential in the test. Thus it is a test of one's Aptitude for the right Attitude.

Therefore, if you are serious about cracking the CAT, take the following managerial steps right away:

• -Learn to be a good decision maker. Do not dilly-dally and procrastinate.
  
  -Manage your time well.
  
  -Communicate efficiently.
  
  -Manage your stress well. Meditate regularly, to build your self-confidence and inculcate greater discipline in your life and CAT preparation.
  
  -Adopt a holistic approach. Analyse relationships and issues from all angles. This is relevant to gaining admission into a B-School because the selection process is holistic. Therefore, while it is important to have a proper plan for CAT, it is equally important to plan for the group discussion and personal interview rounds.
  
  -Work on your attitude
  
  -Build the ability to unlearn, for the approach to CAT has to be radically different from approaching school and college examinations
  
  -Strengthen yourself emotionally, for in a tight situation during the test, you cannot afford to get stuck on a particular problem. You have to move on as in an effort to score a point; you'll end up losing points. Managers need to move on and redirect their energies if they are unable to find a solution to a problem within the specified timeframe.
  
  -Become more flexible in your habits, for CAT does not reward rigidity. Managers have to be flexible to be effective
  
  -Change habits. If you are used to reading Bombay Times first thing in the morning, start reading the main section first. If you are generally an impatient person, learn to build patience.
  
  -Inculcate discipline. CAT requires a focused and methodical approach.
  
  -Build self-belief.

If necessary, do not hesitate to undergo a training program on communication skills and personality development. This will help you approach the CAT with a greater positive attitude.

Thus, the difference quite often between students who make it and those who do not is not so much academic brilliance, but their ability to bring themselves to adapt to the needs of CAT. The question is not who can do it, but who all want to do it? So make adaptability your new Mantra For Success.

Hope this article has helped provide you with a better perspective about CAT. In fact, there is also scope to elaborate on a lot of points. So do keep watching this space for more.


The key to success comprises:

• Unadulterated passion to get there
• Focus
• Plan
• Effort
• Persistence

Wish You All The Very Best!

Hope you enjoyed the stuff

keep posting,
Chandoo

[goofy]

hai
you can also find a few article in advanc edge ,a monthly publication of ims it is also quite inspiring .then there is also prime's website in the achiever's section there are interviews of pplwho have cleared cat .it is also very inspiring .
cheers
prithvi

[zeus]

Originally Posted by Chandoo

Driving a Car

Finally, when he is comfortable with driving on the road and in traffic, he will try to increase his speed and follow strategies to get to his destination. Thus, if he finds a certain road is continuously jammed, he will look for alternative routes and try to reach his destination faster, or look to manoeuvre faster through the traffic by speeding on a certain lane without sacrificing accuracy. This is nothing but the strategy or test taking technique stage of CAT.

man......

if only they'd conduct drivin tests for gettin into em skools instead of puttin us thru this!!!

and then....the iims would be overflowing with delhi guys....cos in the rest of india we drive.....in delhi we fly!!! u have to give it to em man......they are good at comin up with alternatives....be it the pavement or the cuts in the medians..these guys are flexible all right! ;-)

Zeus

Ps: sorry for deviating....but the temptation was too much!

[Chandoo]

Hi frens,

found this good write up on cat-2003 Y! grp. hope it helps you.

Success is a Matter of Attitude


SUCCESS in life and career is not so much a matter of
chance as most youngsters think. Nor is it ample
opportunity which they squander. It is a matter of
putting the mind on the spot and stickability. The
latter is another name of perseverance.

This can be put aptly in other words: in most things,
especially in long-range things, success depends
knowing how long it takes to succeed!

Originally Posted by Charles Burton epitomizes the theme

The road to
success is not to be run upon seven-leagued boots.
Step by step, little by little, bit by bit—that is the
way to wealth, that is the way to wisdom, that is the
way to glory. Pounds are not the sons of pounds, but
of pence.

There are no big earth-shaking secrets of success. It
is doing the things you know you should do. It is not
doing the things you know you should not do.

Success is not limited to any one area of your life.
It encompasses all the facets of your relationship: as
parent, as wife or husband, as citizen, neighbour,
worker and all the others.

Nor is it confined to any one part of your
personality, but is related to the development of all
the parts: body, mind, heart and spirit. It is making
the most of your total self.

It is the awareness of your talents, skills and
abilities, and applying them where they will make the
most effective contribution to your development and
advancement. In the words of Longfellow, it is ?doing
what you do well, and doing well whatever you do.?

Success is harnessing your heart and soul to a task
you love to do. It is falling in love with your work.
It demands intense concentration on your super aim in
life. It is focusing the full power of all you are; on
what you have a burning desire to achieve.

It is ninety-nine per cent mental attitude. It calls
for love, joy, optimism, confidence, serenity, poise,
faith, courage, cheerfulness, imagination, initiative,
tolerance, honesty, humility, patience and enthusiasm.
It is not arriving at the summit of a mountain as a
final destination. It is continuing upward spiral of
progress. It is perpetual growth.

Success is having the courage to meet failure without
being defeated. It is refusing to let present loss
interfere with your long-range goal. No failure is
final.

It is accepting the challenge of adversity. In the
inspiring words of Phillips Brooks: ?Do not pray for
tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to
your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no
miracle, but you shall be the miracle.?

Success is relative, individual and personal. It is
your answer to the problem of making your minutes,
hours, days, weeks, months and years add up to a good
life. Success treads on the heels of every right
effort.
The difference between failure and success is doing a
thing nearly right and doing it exactly!


All the best to aspirants of the feline beast .....

Goodday ,
Chandoo

[Chandoo]

Hi Folks,

As the D-day is approaching fast, apart from the preparations all we need is a bit of motivation to keep our cool. I found this article while going thru last year posts on PG.

Check it out here http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov10/at12.asp

Goodday ,
Chandoo

[FreakazoiD]

Hi,

there r a few motivating articles in Advance Edge (the IMS monthly)

u may read them at http://www.advancedge.com

cheers,

Rohit

P.S : there's also an article on a topic everyone loves to hate - B-school rankings

[Chandoo]

Hi all...

Found this nice write up while reading some blog.. Thot it would help you too.
[hr:86575061a4]
[highlight=red:86575061a4][align=center:86575061a4]How I wasnt able to crack CAT[/align:86575061a4][/highlight:86575061a4]

We learn more from failures than from success..atleast this is true for me. I cant tell you what to do to bell the CAT but I can surely tell you what mistakes I made so that u guys can avoid it. This blog should help most to those people who are on the verge of clearing the cut offs and getting calls from IIMs but just miss it by a short distance because of some silly mistakes or not attempting the paper properly as I was always there in that slot.

IIMs & CAT...Guess I would have heard about them somewhere in 12th or 1st yr of engg (I am an ECE graduate) but had no intention of appearing for them as I was one of those many who wanted to give GRE, apply for MS, get admissions, go to US and settle there. I did the first three of these and had admits from 3 decent univ (Drexel, Syracuse & RIT) but never applied for VISA. There were so many reasons like I felt I shudnt pursue masters in technical field as I am not good in it, bad state of US economy, no aid (I had partial aid offer from RIT), and kinda change of heart when I interacted with people studying/staying in USA (Srihari Yamanoor doing at Stanford is one of them, He has been one of the biggest influences on me in recent times) & chucked this whole idea of going to states.

At this stage I felt that an MBA should be the next step that would suit my interests and give a boost to my career to the next level. I started preparing for CAT & other exams in august 2002 & looked at coaching classes in the city (Chandigarh). I went to IMS for a week but left it & joined a lesser known institute Matermind & that turned out to be the biggest blunder in the preparations. The faculty wasnt good & students were not THAT competitive. I dont mean here that if I was in IMS/Time/CL, I would have been in IIM as the result depends on the person & not the institute. Finally left the insti in september end without gaining much, now there wasnt much time left for CAT 2002.
LESSON -
BE decisive and stick to ur decision. prefer joining regular classes at IMS/Time/PT/CL/CF etc rather than elsewhere. If u can study on ur own regularly then u may skip these..

I finally enrolled for Professional Tutorials test series & found it really good, I also gave few mock SimCats and CL mock exams. My scores were always in the almost there range with sometime clearing the cut offs and some time missing it. In the last 1.5 months I just did mock exams & revisions of the same (inspite of having 2 yr old full course material of IMS and notes of CL I never practiced from them) . My so called course for CAT wasnt complete but while giving mock exams I was realising that I can crack CAT if I select questions better, manage time better & avoid silly mistakes.
LESSON - Practice makes a man perfect ! Work Hard

Perhaps I knew inside after looking at my performances in mock CATs that I might or might not make it so I just wanted 24 Nov to be one of my good days when I clear the cut offs...but it didnt happen. I did the same mistakes there, silly mistakes (in quants), improper time management (DI-45+ mins, QA-30 mins) and less mental toughness. I knew I wouldnt make it...My CAT percentile was 94.1 finally with 99.98 in DI. I messed it all up...
LESSON - mental toughness, time management, self-believe are the most important.

I appeared for other exams also & had interview calls from FMS, JMET (Rank-155) for IITs (mumbai, delhi & kharagpur),NMIMS, SCMHRD, IMT & SIBM. Finally I converted IIT-Kharagpur, NMIMS & Scmhrd and came here at NMIMS.

I took gd/pi coaching from PT-Chandigarh again and it helped a lot in improving my performance for the same.
NMIMS is great place and one of the best institutes in the country but IT IS NOT IIM. This does matter a lot, I dont wanna sound pessisimistic but the reality is these things matter a lot at every stage be it the quality of students, faculty, facilities, placements and in short whole life is difference. I have had my chance those who would give CAT this yr & in the years to come can still make the difference to their lives. Please start working harder & harder to pursue ur dream and leave this chalta hain attitude. I have seen so many so called average intelligent students going to IIMs & really good brainy people loosing out.

Hard work & Smart work go hand in hand.

I'll write about happenings at NMIMS especially the annual meet Pragana 2003 in the next blog....

Rajat Khungar
www.rajatkhungar.blogspot.com
[hr:86575061a4]

Goodday ,
Chandoo

[Simba]

Originally Posted by Chandoo

This blog should help most to those people who are on the verge of clearing the cut offs and getting calls from IIMs but just miss it by a short distance because of some silly mistakes or not attempting the paper properly as I was always there in that slot.

Well.... Errrr.. Didnt read the article further Chandoo... Me missing the cut offs.... LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGG DISTANCE......

Simba