The CAT is coming!
It’s that time of the year again. With just about a month remaining before the CAT is let out of the bag, the preparations of the future CEO’s of the country (we like to think of ourselves like this) for the toughest and the most sought after exam would be in full swing.
A word of caution though. This time is to refine your basics. Do not enter new and unfamiliar terrains. You’d only end up with knowing a little about a lot of ‘somethings’ and may not be able to apply it in the twelfth hour. Identify your strengths. Polish them. Refine them. Shine them till they sparkle like diamonds and then reap the benefits on the D-day. The CAT tests you in all the areas. The good news is that you can still crack it even if you don’t know the difference between permutations and combinations. But be sure to crack the remaining topics. That should suffice.
Also, most questions in CAT are designed based on pure logic. You needn’t remember all the difficult formulae in the reference books of class 11th & 12th. Remember, there are two ways of solving a problem. One is by observation and a little calculation. The other is by, well, pure calculation. Read the question twice. Understand the logic. Think of it like a manager would, in a real life situation and go for the kill! These people don’t want accountants or mathematics experts. They want people with an analytical, clear and logical mind who can take decisions when the need arises.
The verbal section (one of my favourites and vice versaJ) can be mastered if you have developed a sound reading habit for a few years. Read the newspapers religiously, especially the ones like The Hindu, The Economic Times and Financial Express. Observe the styles of the authors. Notice the way sentences are constructed. Examine and take mental notes of the phrases you come across.
One of the most important things that can’t be ignored is that this is a Computer based test (CBT). Get used to sitting on the computer for 2.5 hours. We do not want red, watery eyes during the exam now, do we? Get accustomed to using the computer. No time should be lost trying to figure out the computer mannerisms on the D-day. Selecting the right radio button and calculating on a sheet of paper and shading the circles may seem not much different, but on the day of the exam, trust me, even a sneeze is enough to ruffle a few feathers. Get used to the atmosphere, the methodology of the exam.
To this end, attend the mock cats diligently. I know it is difficult getting out of bed on a lazy Sunday morning, but keep the end in sight. It is just a month more. Attempt as many mock CATs as possible. Understand the undercurrent of the questions. Analyze your answers. Examine where you went wrong. It is as important to analyze your answers as it is to write them. If you take the exam for 2.5 hrs, analyze it at least for 3-4 hours. Make a calculation of how much you score, where you could have scored. Cherry pick the questions that are walkovers. Every paper has them. Search for them. Do not leave them unattended.
That’s enough gyaan for now, I think. Wish you all the best for your final preparations. Amen!
For Jokatimes
Brijesh Unnithan
November 29th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Its nice to see you make a post on this topic, I should bookmark this site. Just keep up the good work.