23 Jul 2014

CAT experience: By Gaurav Bakliwal


Background: CAT 2009: 99.98 (quant); 99.79(DI); 89.77(verbal). 99.92(overall).

Well, took the CAT 10 and I am happy to share the experience. Last year I got the call from IIM lucknow and after surprisingly converting it at this age…was really tempted to join. Though I finally declined it, I realized that I really might end up joining IIM A , of course if I make it.

I took CAT on 8th November, Monday afternoon slot. I reached the venue in time and after getting the registration on the ground floor, went on the fourth floor to get the biometric and other tests done. Please carry only three things: photo id, voucher and the admit card. Apart from these nothing, absolutely nothing will be allowed to carry in the exam hall; not even your handkerchief!..yes ..clothes are exception!..and that too with thorough checking. Literally…the way the security guards were checking..it seemed to me that I might have done some crime or I am the the real culprit and they will soon find something objectionable!!! But yes…it was a free body massage and I enjoyed it! Anyways…I went in the exam hall after getting the finger print check done and was assigned a computer for the test. I was told that if I need to get fresh or something I should do now as I will not be allowed to go out for whatever reason even before 15 min of the test time. And yes, if you go out, again your full checking will be done! So actually there is a motivation to go out again!!. Well, my suggestion is you should drink as less liquid as possible so as to allow you to concentrate for 3 hours at stretch without any natural hindrances! Well..that doesn’t mean you starve from thirst!.

My paper began..3 sections…20 questions each…I started with my favorite quant section. First I read all the questions fast by not trying to solve them…just reading and doing next on the screen. I guess in 2 min I read all the 20 questions and realized that 13-14 of these can be solved in 15-20 seconds each! So friends I did exactly that. In the first 10-12 minutes of the paper I solved those 14 questions of quant with 100 percent surety as well. Then I tried solving those difficult ones and gave 5-10 min for each question. Solved 4 more. Was sure on them. Could not solve the remaining 2…exactly 45 min later, I went to the English section. I already budgeted 30 min for English as I wanted exactly 1 hour for DI section. I knew that my English is not great as you might have realized by my percentile scores in the past and also by my article!!!! But to be honest with you guys, I was blessed by god in the exam as I was able to understand the RC, able to figure out spellings, able to identify flaws in the usage based questions…really don’t know how and why…but I was so happy that I was really understanding!( my understanding is right or wrong..will come to know on 12th January! But at least I am loving to be in illusion now!!!). well…attempted all 20 questions in English in exactly 30 min. Went to DI section and again read all questions first by clicking next on the screen. To my horror, I realized there were 10 caselets(big data questions) having exactly 1 question each and 5 caselets having exactly 2 questions each. Oh..so that makes 15 caselets. Honestly guys, around 2-3 minutes I could not do anything and was just thinking is it fair? How will a person do that much? I must have given 10-12 slangs to the exam setters all taking up my time and nothing more! Where do I start from? Do I solve 2 question ones or single ones? Suddenly, my eyes went on the timer which is so non emotional and professional!..just keeps moving on and on..no matter what condition or state of mind u in! and almost immediately I started from the last question only..and kept solving one by one from back to front of DI. I solved the entire DI( leaving 3 questions) in around 45 minutes. I distinctly remember I had 13 minutes with me to go back and solve 2 quant questions or these three DI questions. I went back to quant section and after giving some 8 more minutes, marked both out of which one is wrong! I came back to DI and marked 2 out of the remaining three out of which honestly, I am not sure of any of these two even now! So here are my final attempts( 20/20/19; total 59).

Well…learnings which can be drawn are:
In quant and DI its always better to read and scan the paper as fast so as to have an idea as to how many sitter questions are there to pounce upon!
135 minutes is not at all a less time if you actually plan properly and be in fullest of your concentration and alacrity.( suggestion: don’t look at your neighbours or for that matter anyone in your hall…just focus on your computer and your test. You can always look at those people once your test is done!!!!)
CAT is always surprise package….so no matter what surprise element you see, you should not panic and always remain focused. I have seen some students who make plan for next year CAT preparations during the CAT exam itself!
Most importantly, enjoy the preaparation as well as enjoy the process of exam. Please don’t get pressurized because of these factors: its my last chance; I have taken year drop; what people will say; I have to prove to my family and peers and so on…..trust me..if you really have enjoyed the preparation without cheating yourself ( self deceit syndrome), things will surely work out for you.
Thanks and regards
Gaurav Bakliwal

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