CAT preparation strategy advice

devilbemyguide · 14-07-2005, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatsnick001

Well, Devil, I m new to PG and would like to know much more info about cat exam
I have just gone into my final year BE Mech and would pass out in 06.
I have heard that getting a job first for about 2 years and then giving cat would increase me score by 5 marks...is it true?
Also is R S Aggrawal (Quant) of any use for Cat prep or is it necessary to join anyof the classes like you did ?Any examples of your friend who went into iims without coaching class?

Not necessary. Work ex or not, u still have to score in cat. Work ex does hold major weightage in a few institutes like SP Jain etc...

Increase ur score by 5 marks... nope... u still have to work & prepare.

Well... if u r going to a coaching centre, u can compare urself with ur classmates over there on a daily basis. ur preparation is likely to be more structured. Also, getting material for preparation will not be a problem. Regarding quant books,I dunno much. I just did my material & did about 50 mocks. That was about it... Oh.. I also did quite a few sectional tests.

Examples of people making it to IIMs without coaching classes...

Well, there is this friend of mine called aswath venkataraman in IIMB now. Got 99.95 Percentile in cat 2003. The guy did not attend any coaching nor did he take any test series. But that guy is also a stud.

Hope this answers all ur queries.

Cheers

Puneet

devilbemyguide · 14-07-2005, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatsnick001

Well, Devil, I m new to PG and would like to know much more info about cat exam
I have just gone into my final year BE Mech and would pass out in 06.
I have heard that getting a job first for about 2 years and then giving cat would increase me score by 5 marks...is it true?
Also is R S Aggrawal (Quant) of any use for Cat prep or is it necessary to join anyof the classes like you did ?Any examples of your friend who went into iims without coaching class?

Having workex does not help u get extra marks in cat. U still have to get a require percentile in order to get calls. It does have some weightage in the gd/pi though.

About books.. me really dunno much about them. I prepped using my study material only and did loads of mocks(around 50) & sectional tests.

some people who did not go to any classes do get into iims. Aswath Venkataraman is in IIMB. He got 99.95 percentile in cat 2003. He did not even take up a test series. & he was writing cat for the first time.

Hope this answers all ur queries

Cheers

Puneet

2019caaf · 14-07-2005, 06:22 PM

Second reason is more convincing!
Many of my friends who took TIME mock CATs last year have had similar experience.
Though number of test takers remained same ( around 13k) ranking varied in either way across the tests.

Quote:

Originally Posted by devilbemyguide

1
2. Either this or what perhaps happenned was the competition got tougher in the later stages. What u need to do is get ur basics pucca by August this time. Do each & every one of last years papers(mocks) again. Especially in ur weak sections, redo them. Find a partner to benchmark urself against. And aim to beat him.

devilbemyguide · **Verbal -** 14-07-2005, 08:10 PM

All right.... got the maximum number of requests for this section.... Will try & address verbal now....

Well... so how does one prepare for verbal?????
Ans: Read anything u can get ur hands on.

Look.... most of the questions in this section are answered based on one's instincts. To develop that, one has to read a lot. This is a very scorable section.

Try following this order when solving verbal questions....

1. Fill in the blanks
2. Sentence correction
3. Meanings/antonyms
4.Analogies
5. Match the following
6. Replacing a phrase type of questions
7. Paragraph formations

u should try to answer the english usage questions within 15 minutes in the mocks. This will leave u with enuf time for all other sections/areas. Try to follow the order mentioned. This will ensure that u answer the maximum number of questions at the earliest.

Preferably dont begin with Paragraph formations. If u get stuck in one, it can eat up a lot of time.

Many people start off with this section. Not a bad idea at all. But also ensure that u have another section which u can do under time pressure. Else leave the english usage part for the end. But do attempt every question in this section. Immensely scorable.

Next post on RC.

Cheers

Puneet

harpreet.ssc · 15-07-2005, 03:24 PM

hi people....my first posting in this thread.....my ques is to devilbemyguide.........buddy,i took up cat last year....got 92 per........converted calls FORE,LBS...But dint take up amission last year b'coz of my appetite of getting into A+ cate.......taking cat in this nov also......consistently practicing mocks.....bt getting an avg of 85-90 per....i m really concerned.....sometimes,i become so unconfident that i think i m of nowhere in this day-by-day increasing cut throat competition....

i m avg in al the three sections.....how shud i allocate my time in different sections.......what the new strategy i try,i think my prev strategy was better than my present strategy......and in trying every new strategy,i m getting on an avg of 85-90 per......

i m very weak in g.k.......how to increase my general awareness.....i know these things cannot be done overnight......the good part is we still have 4-5 mnths in hand.......iift has alredy annouced its exam dates......

devilbemyguide · 15-07-2005, 04:41 PM

What was ur previous strategy & whats ur current strategy???

Quote:

Originally Posted by harpreet.ssc

hi people....my first posting in this thread.....my ques is to devilbemyguide.........buddy,i took up cat last year....got 92 per........converted calls FORE,LBS...But dint take up amission last year b'coz of my appetite of getting into A+ cate.......taking cat in this nov also......consistently practicing mocks.....bt getting an avg of 85-90 per....i m really concerned.....sometimes,i become so unconfident that i think i m of nowhere in this day-by-day increasing cut throat competition....

i m avg in al the three sections.....how shud i allocate my time in different sections.......what the new strategy i try,i think my prev strategy was better than my present strategy......and in trying every new strategy,i m getting on an avg of 85-90 per......

i m very weak in g.k.......how to increase my general awareness.....i know these things cannot be done overnight......the good part is we still have 4-5 mnths in hand.......iift has alredy annouced its exam dates......

Alfred E Neumann · 05:21 PM

Sorry for giving advice on ur thread, but wanted to answer the query about work-ex. There are quite a few people in all colleges who get thru with work-ex, but it always is tougher to do it while studyin. It does have a little weightage, but the point is if you really are thinking about work-ex it must be with a focus on lateral placements. IT work-ex may not be accepted in all scenarios (they are quite acceptable in most) for this, but they do get slightly higher packages than freshers, even for the same job designation. This is what i've gathered from talking to people around me.
I'm a fresher, non-IIT engg...

Shiv.

devilbemyguide · 16-07-2005, 02:31 AM

hey... this isnt my thread or ur thread... anyone from any bschool is free to come here & give some tips to cat aspirants...But point taken... work ex should be with an aim towards laterals....

dinesh_psgtech · **RC help -** 16-07-2005, 07:52 AM

hi devil,
i've got a few queries

1.i've got a reading speed of 300 words.p.m(i do a lot of reading but i dont think its improving).what should i do?

2.In Rc should i go thro the questions 1st or read the passage?

3.which is better - reading the whole passage and answering the questions or reading each paragraph and answering the questions (or any other stratergy)?

4.what time should i allocate for RCs and is it advisable to start the test with RC?

5.what did you do to improve ur vocab?(and any tips to improve vocab)

thats it for now

pls reply

dinesh

monkee · 16-07-2005, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinesh_psgtech

hi devil,
i've got a few queries

1.i've got a reading speed of 300 words.p.m(i do a lot of reading but i dont think its improving).what should i do?

2.In Rc should i go thro the questions 1st or read the passage?

3.which is better - reading the whole passage and answering the questions or reading each paragraph and answering the questions (or any other stratergy)?

4.what time should i allocate for RCs and is it advisable to start the test with RC?

5.what did you do to improve ur vocab?(and any tips to improve vocab)

I aint the devil but may I take the liberty of replying to some of your queries.

1. There really isnt any better strategy apart from reading a lot. Read a lot, and in diverse areas/subjects.I dont believe in Speed reading courses.
2. Go thru the questions first, get a brief idea of what the passage is about, then read the passage.
3. Read the questions, and look for the answers in the passage. If you can find the answers without reading the whole passage, nothing like it.
4. Thats dependant on you. I always spent the last half hour on RC's. As to what order you want to attempt the questions, use whatever strategy suits you best (Spend the 1st few mock CAT's experimenting to find that right strategy).
5. The CAT doesnt test your vocab per se, but if you do want to work on your vocab, Norman Lewis and Barron's GRE are good options.