Hi all, Reviving the concept which we had for an year in 2009 ! Hopefully it benefits few of us out here 
This thread is specifically dedicated for dealing with the issues regarding mental stress which the aspirants face duri…
Hi all,
Reviving the concept which we had for an year in 2009 ! Hopefully it benefits few of us out here 😃
This thread is specifically dedicated for dealing with the issues regarding mental stress which the aspirants face during the journey of preparation. Yes, you read correctly the purpose of the thread!
Generally , during our preparation, we suffer from various issues which tend to demotivate us. These may be low scores , inconsistent performance in mocks, work pressure etc etc... and because of all this, we find preparing freely for the big day, a bit tough.
And it is rightly said that big games are won in mind and not in fields...and also many experts believe that " CAT is more about attitude rather than just aptitude".....so, lets help each other to reduce this stress so that all of us can come up with flying colors this season.
The sole purpose stands at letting puys have psychological edge over others to win this attitude game !!
So, start posting your queries puys and get the solution to align your attitude (by reducing mental stress) with the one required to bell the CAT with mouse!!!
PS: Dont post questions on QA/DI/VA/LR here...already many threads are running for this purpose. This thread is meant for supporting us in building up the attitude especially when things have started gearing up for the season. Also, please do not post i have low acads, what should I do ? This has been answered on other threads. 😃
PPS: Thought of re-starting the thread as i have been observing quite a few people getting worried after the announcement of CAT dates . Please see that all the queries should be related to reasons you find are preventing you from preparing for CAT 2012 with full throttle.
Let the queries flow :mg:
Cheers!
And arguably the most important aspect finally has its own thread. 😁
Seriously after hearing that CAT dates are out...there is so much to think..dates..slots..even centre..my city doesnt have a centre :-| and work too..plan the holidays...i feel so tensed the whole day wenevr i think of all these things :wor
Its better not to think so much..just do it only time wl tell the results...!!!
Guys, pls share strategies of attempting tough QA/DI section in mocks??
I am scoring pathetic in it which is making my percentile dip badly.
@ArmyofHope said:Guys, pls share strategies of attempting tough QA/DI section in mocks??I am scoring pathetic in it which is making my percentile dip badly.
Please see that we are not discussing strategies on VA/QA/DI on this thread.
For discussing the same and getting your queries resolved for them, please visit threads here http://www.pagalguy.com/cat
All the best!
@[591461:ArmyofHope] Not discussing the strategy on QA and DI, but something that one of the fellow puys posted and reading it shall make you more comfortable and calm while you take up these sections next time.
1. No need to worry if you haven't scored very high in these sections till date. People have increased their scores from 70 percentile to 95 plus percentile in these sections with 1-2 months' dedicated preparation.
2. For QA, you can refer initially to books like Arun Sharma, Nishit Sinha followed by mocks and online sectional tests. Practice from these resources followed by proper analysis shall give you the required confidence with due course of time.
3. Only issue which people face with DI is that it doesn't has any good book that covers each variety. Key here lies in practicing the variety of caselets. Try to get hold of old mocks from friends/seniors and practice as much variety as possible.
You can form a small study group to arrange the variety of caselets and then to discuss and analyze them.
However, the bigger picture lies in the fact that you shouldn't feel demotivated in these sections next time you take the mock as your mock scores are not the reflection of what you will score 2-3 months down the line when you take cat. What is more important is that you go with increased confidence every time you take up mock, no matter even if it is incremental as compared to previous mock.
More free your mind is, better you can focus on data and numbers given in the question, better you can analyze and ultiately higher you can score.
You can talk to people who have scored well in DI in past and they will suggest you the same that key lies in practicing the variety and being free minded while attempting caselets.
Cheers!
PS: Part of the portion covering DI is via ( @jokajunoon )
@[316381:visionIIM-ACL] aka Varun : With the announcement of dates. I am getting tensed and i feel like i can never improve my geometry and algebra. So thinking of skipping CAT. Is there any option so that i could manage those topics effectively 😞
I practice TG , CL materials but somehow not able to solve these two section questions ...
@[496983:srkulkarni]: Even if this isn't addressed to me, I'll try to put in my 2 cents. I have my own struggle with Geometry and PnC. But that doesn't mean you quit on CAT.
You have 2.5 months to go. If you're okay with the rest of the bit, you can devote a month to the two topics you are bad at, and still be left with enough time to study and practice the rest.
Don't take mock scores to heart, good or bad. They don't lead to college admissions, good or bad. Just work on your concepts from any basic material and then practice from mocks and sectionals. Trust me, the actual CAT is a lot simpler and solving 15-18 questions even for a person weak at section 1 is quite doable.
Don't lose hope, there is still a lot of time to go. :)
@srkulkarni said:@visionIIM-ACL aka Varun : With the announcement of dates. I am getting tensed and i feel like i can never improve my geometry and algebra. So thinking of skipping CAT. Is there any option so that i could manage those topics effectively I practice TG , CL materials but somehow not able to solve these two section questions ...
Adding to what Omkar has said,
How can you let just 2 topics make you quit your dream of cracking CAT ?? Are you so weak ?? Is this your determination to achieve your dream ??
No, right !! You are much stronger and can be much more determined than the few wrong questions from these 2 sections that are demotivating you.
So, being fine with other topics , denote 2.5-3 weeks to each of these topics beginning from the basics. You can go through your own notes/coaching notes/ coaching booklets/Arun Sharma for the same.
Then move on to sectional tests on these topics , analyze questions you are getting wrong immediately after you are done with one test. So that when you go to take sectional test next time, you are much more confident. You can make similar mistakes again in next test, but this time number of similar mistakes would be less. And slowly, overall count of mistakes will decrease and your approach for solving different questions shall broaden as well.
Rest, i feel @[294016:Omkarp] has covered well. 😃
Let us know in case anything more pulls you away from preparation 😃
Cheers!
Adding to the above "2 cents " each ...
Almost all the aspirants have strong areas and weak areas in both the sections ...
Not everyone is a DT material ...
It depends on how ably you can shadow those weak areas and play to your strong areas.
Doing this is also a part of CAT preparation IMO ...
Make a list of your strong areas and weak areas and attempt mocks accordingly ...
Don't let any questions from your strong area go waste ...
its equivalent to committing a crime ...
and if you are not sure about a question from your weak area ...
Leave at the earliest ...
If you leave the difficult questions earlier than the rest, even this will help you to attempt more questions from your strong area ...
Lastly, there is still time left and with dedicated efforts, you can surely cover these 2 areas ...
@[316381:visionIIM-ACL] - Can you post your favorite AIWTSAC posts which can motivate and rejuvenate puys like us ...
@[316381:visionIIM-ACL] and @[294016:Omkarp] I know this query may not be directly relevant to this thread but might address the issue.A certain part of the va section (ques on phrasal verb or the incorrect usage of a word ) always reduces my chances of scoring high in the 2nd section as I normally mess up and draw negatives from these qs.Should I leave these qs altogether or is there a strategy to nail them.I haven't found a thread on pg that addresses these qs.puys plz pour ur valuable inputs as I am having sleepless nights thinking that I might get 3 or 4 of these qs on my slot.
There is a dedicated thread for word usage for CAT 2012.
You can refer to that.
Maintain a local and personal list from that thread for learning and revising.
Some words have very obvious wrong usage examples which you can guess but in some cases, you might have to refer to it again and again ...
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/word-usage-for-cat-2012-25083419/3579370
The above thread can be the solution for u ...
@[557141:theshepherd]:
This is perfectly normal. So, relax. This is nothing to lose sleep over.
Phrasal verbs and incorrect usage of a word are both vocab based questions. It is natural to not know the meaning of a word.
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis means the same thing as jelly, if you don't know what either one of them means. So, in case you don't know what the word given in the question means, it is always prudent to leave that question altogether. Because you can narrow it down to two options but then a 50-50 chance is also not worth taking in these types.
Leaving these is fine. You won't get more than 2 of these in your CAT in my opinion because they have to incorporate all types in all papers to balance all the papers out.
What you can do is increase your attempts and accuracy in questions where you don't have knowledge-based limitations, like RCs, PJs, PCs.
You'll get about 13 questions from these and you can ensure a 100% accuracy because the answer is right there in the paper. Add 9 questions of LR to that, and you can get at least 18-20 questions correct. That would've amounted to 95%ile last year.
How you raise your score beyond that has a lot of variables unique to each individual. :)
If you have any more verbal-prep related doubts you can pm me. (I am trying to figure out section 1 myself 😛 )
I rarely attempt usage and PV questions in the mocks, still score reasonably well most of the times. So don't worry. :)
@[294016:Omkarp] and @[316381:visionIIM-ACL] guys I am in a big dilema right now...my preps n all r goin fine but some how I dont get past 15-16 quest in Sct 1..my attempts remain in thses range in mocks n all but while solving the same paper at home m able to solve around 20-23 range.
Same goes for sec 2 as well I used to do well in RC and Para jumbles but in this season might be work load or something I dont know even this has gone for a toll...
after 9-10 hrs of ofc I make sure I solve a couple of quest still I guess I m nt getting into the groove..
Suggestions and advice is deeply appreciated.!!
What should be the minimum no. of questions to be attempted from each section? I mean will the answers which I give with 90-100% accuracy matter even if the number of questions attempted small matter or do I have to attempt more to get a good percentile. Should I take risks and guess some answers for a better percentile?
Great thread, when it was actually needed...
I started my preps in May for season 2012. Months May and June I allocated to preparation of basics of quant chapters and I am done with major chapters and was going according to the plan. Preparation was satisfactory!!
But then came the mocks. I scored good in the first mock, as it was easy, but then the score are just zigzag. Aimcats varying from 65 to 95 percentiles and CL from 59 to 97. I score better in quants in some test while it is English in others. I have determination and am not gonna leave CAT till the last day.
Currently I am kind of lost. I tend to do questions on PG and FB groups but other than that I don't know on how to move ahead. 25% of the time I just don't feel like doing anything and just waste it wandering around. Scores in mocks shows no signs of improvement.
I need pragmatic advice on how to move ahead in the coming 3 months. What should be the plan and how to keep the preparation optimum?
@[315544:Abhilash09] and @Subsishere : I don't think this thread is meant for prep-related doubts.
You can find answers here:
Section 1:
http://pagalguy.com/forums/prep-resources/crack-section-cat-t-82497/p-3531936
Section 2:
http://www.pagalguy.com/forums/prep-resources/crack-section-ii-cat-t-81933/p-3492549
Please understand that I don't mind answering these questions in detail. Just that I don't feel this is the right place to ask them.
This thread (I'm hoping) is more for the psychological aspect of CAT. So let's not veer away from the original topic of discussion please? :)
@[377279:saurav4489] more or less my kind of situation man...!!! even though m done with basics I dont get much improvement in mocks n all...I know mocks do not reflect ur actual cat percentile but still nailing a couple of mocks will surely give a boost to our morale..
im a lost soul indeed..!!
Guys I am very poor at VA and that is making me nervous n worried. Please help