CAT (Common Admission Test) is scheduled to be conducted on 4th December, 2016, by IIM-B (Indian Institutes of Management - Bangalore) across 135 cities in India. As the exam is less than a month away, candidates are burning their mid-night oil to give their best performance for a bright career and future. A total of 2,32,434 applications are received by IIM-B this year which is slightly higher than last year’s total number of applications.
If you are writing the CAT exam this year, here are few preparation tips for the last one month:
Focus more on your weak areas
What you do in the last one month will define your overall performance in the CAT 2016 exam. Don’t invest your precious time working on your strength areas, rather spend more time tackling your weak areas. For example, if you are good at solving analytical or reasoning questions or quantitative problems, you can focus a little less on them and work on topics or questions that you find it hard and are important from examination point of view.
Don’t start anything new
The last 30 days are definitely not the best of times to start on something new. If you have not yet started on a topic or couldn’t get a hang of a particular type of quantitative questions, skip for now. Rather than learning a whole new concept, it is important that you focus on revising topics or solving problems, which you find a little difficult.
Practice mock tests
Practice a lot of mock tests and evaluate your answers. There are many websites where you can find sample or previous years’ question papers, practice by keeping a timeline for each section. Each section of CAT exam - Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), have a specific time limit of 60 minutes each. So candidates need to cover respective questions within the given time frame.
Avoid reading from multiple sources
This is a sure way to disaster. While you are busy in last minute preparation, it is important that you don’t waste your time and get confused by studying from multiple sources. Always refer a few good books for each of the sections, so that you can cover topics and get better clarity on concepts without spending too much time. It is also efficient in saving your time and make learning clutter free.
Manage your time well
As sectional movement is not allowed anymore, candidates should utilize the 60 minute time for each section by selecting correct answers for questions. Check out all the options and select the best probable answer for each question. Finish solving questions before time, would require you to sit and kill the time before you can move ahead to the next section.
Aim for 90+ percentile
Scoring an overall 90 or above percentile can ensure you a seat in top IIMs and B-schools. Try to score above 90% in each of the CAT sections, to be called for WAT/PI (Personal Interview). Once you clear your WAT (Written Ability Test)/PI (Personal Interview), you will be taken into management program.
Stay away from negative thoughts
As the exam is approaching near, it is likely that may become more negative by reading comments on online forums, or listening to friends, who could cloud your judgement and fill you with apprehensive thoughts. Stay away from friends who are negative by nature and bend your outlook towards the positive sides of life. When you consciously stay away from negative thoughts, and harbour happy confident thoughts, you are likely to perform better in the CAT management entrance test.
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