Five months to CAT 2013: ‘Must Take’ steps
1. Plan now for next 5-months
Besides Fresh graduates, it is also high time to begin CAT preparation for those MBA Aspirants who are taking CAT 2013 as their second attempt. As MBA Admission season is ending for 2013-15 academic year now, such candidates must have decided on re-taking CAT. If you also wish to appear once more, you should not waste your time any further and begin your CAT preparation as soon as possible.
For working executives also, five-six month of planned preparation is required for scoring a high percentile in CAT. As they get very little time after their work for CAT preparation, they need to allot their available time very judiciously for different sections of CAT.
2. Know the Pattern:
Before moving on the tricky path of CAT 2013 preparation, you necessarily need to know what and how to prepare. The best way is to analyse the previous year question pattern along with thePast CAT patterns. CAT 2013 exam pattern is, however, expected to be the same as the previous year CAT exam.
The CAT 2013 questions are broadly expected to be divided into two sections comprising areas like Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.
Total No of Qs - 60
Verbal Ability – 30 (Logical Reasoning- 10)
Quant- 30 (Data Interpretation- 10)
Duration: 140 minute
The duration for these two sections will be 70 minutes each. Within the 70 minute provided for each section, candidates can revisit questions and review their answers. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back.
3. Strengthen your basics
The most competitive MBA Entrance Exam Common Admission Test (CAT) is also known for its difficulty level. Since most of the questions are application-based in CAT, you first need to strengthen your basics in each of the sections.
For CAT basics, you need to brush up your Mathematics and English concepts of high school and 10+2. Applying the basic concepts to solve the different twists in questions holds the key to your high percentile. These basic concepts are like building blocks as more often than not, multiple concepts are required to solve a CAT question. With the right blocks, you can construct a building of any shape. Similarly, you should be able to use the right concepts to solve any problem thrown at you.
So, first clear and shape your basics.
4. Identify and Improve weak areas: Try to find out your strong and weak areas under each section. While beginning your preparation, devote more time to your weak areas in the first three months.
5. Keep yourself updated: Keep yourself updated with newspapers like The Hindu, Times of India, business dailies and magazines. It will not only enhance your general awareness, but also help you increase your hold over English section which carries questions on comprehensions. A high level of general awareness will also help you during your personal interviews at Top B-school admissions.
6. Time table: Maintain a consistent and routine time table to score high percentile. You need to schedule your days/weeks and devote your time to CAT preparation accordingly as this practice will keep you away from distraction. Ideally, an Aspirant should devote 4-5 hours of serious study on daily basis. Further your daily CAT preparation timing can be divided such as - 1 hour for reading, 2 hours for quantitative aptitude, & 1 hour for verbal ability.
7. Weekly quiz: After finalizing time table and study plan you should schedule at least one sectional quiz a week to judge yourself. Quiz and mocks are very important factor for CAT Preparation. Doing such self-analysis on regular basis will help you understand the effectiveness of your preparation. After you go through the quiz, spend some time to analyze your preparation level. The process will give you an opportunity to introspect on how you need to proceed further or whether you need any change in your preparation strategy. The key factors that you must analyze include
• Speed
• Concentration
• Time Management
• Accuracy
• Weak points
8. Keep yourself motivated: It is very important to keep yourself motivated during your CAT preparation journey. Reserve one-two hour every week for reading some Inspirational and motivational stuff like Stories of successful MBAs like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, HCL VC & JMD Vineet Nayar, McCannWorldgroup South Asia President Prasoon Joshi and many others. Your dream of getting into a prestigious MBA programme like IIMs and your honest preparation will together help you get into your dream B-school.
1. Plan now for next 5-months
Besides Fresh graduates, it is also high time to begin CAT preparation for those MBA Aspirants who are taking CAT 2013 as their second attempt. As MBA Admission season is ending for 2013-15 academic year now, such candidates must have decided on re-taking CAT. If you also wish to appear once more, you should not waste your time any further and begin your CAT preparation as soon as possible.
For working executives also, five-six month of planned preparation is required for scoring a high percentile in CAT. As they get very little time after their work for CAT preparation, they need to allot their available time very judiciously for different sections of CAT.
2. Know the Pattern:
Before moving on the tricky path of CAT 2013 preparation, you necessarily need to know what and how to prepare. The best way is to analyse the previous year question pattern along with thePast CAT patterns. CAT 2013 exam pattern is, however, expected to be the same as the previous year CAT exam.
The CAT 2013 questions are broadly expected to be divided into two sections comprising areas like Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.
Total No of Qs - 60
Verbal Ability – 30 (Logical Reasoning- 10)
Quant- 30 (Data Interpretation- 10)
Duration: 140 minute
The duration for these two sections will be 70 minutes each. Within the 70 minute provided for each section, candidates can revisit questions and review their answers. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back.
3. Strengthen your basics
The most competitive MBA Entrance Exam Common Admission Test (CAT) is also known for its difficulty level. Since most of the questions are application-based in CAT, you first need to strengthen your basics in each of the sections.
For CAT basics, you need to brush up your Mathematics and English concepts of high school and 10+2. Applying the basic concepts to solve the different twists in questions holds the key to your high percentile. These basic concepts are like building blocks as more often than not, multiple concepts are required to solve a CAT question. With the right blocks, you can construct a building of any shape. Similarly, you should be able to use the right concepts to solve any problem thrown at you.
So, first clear and shape your basics.
4. Identify and Improve weak areas: Try to find out your strong and weak areas under each section. While beginning your preparation, devote more time to your weak areas in the first three months.
5. Keep yourself updated: Keep yourself updated with newspapers like The Hindu, Times of India, business dailies and magazines. It will not only enhance your general awareness, but also help you increase your hold over English section which carries questions on comprehensions. A high level of general awareness will also help you during your personal interviews at Top B-school admissions.
6. Time table: Maintain a consistent and routine time table to score high percentile. You need to schedule your days/weeks and devote your time to CAT preparation accordingly as this practice will keep you away from distraction. Ideally, an Aspirant should devote 4-5 hours of serious study on daily basis. Further your daily CAT preparation timing can be divided such as - 1 hour for reading, 2 hours for quantitative aptitude, & 1 hour for verbal ability.
7. Weekly quiz: After finalizing time table and study plan you should schedule at least one sectional quiz a week to judge yourself. Quiz and mocks are very important factor for CAT Preparation. Doing such self-analysis on regular basis will help you understand the effectiveness of your preparation. After you go through the quiz, spend some time to analyze your preparation level. The process will give you an opportunity to introspect on how you need to proceed further or whether you need any change in your preparation strategy. The key factors that you must analyze include
• Speed
• Concentration
• Time Management
• Accuracy
• Weak points
8. Keep yourself motivated: It is very important to keep yourself motivated during your CAT preparation journey. Reserve one-two hour every week for reading some Inspirational and motivational stuff like Stories of successful MBAs like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, HCL VC & JMD Vineet Nayar, McCannWorldgroup South Asia President Prasoon Joshi and many others. Your dream of getting into a prestigious MBA programme like IIMs and your honest preparation will together help you get into your dream B-school.
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