How to crack the CAT and get into the IIMs!
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| I am going here! |
Ok, so as you might have heard, my efforts of the past 3 years have born fruit; and I have been offered admission to the prestigious WIMWI, better known as IIM Ahmedabad. Now that I am on the other side of the fence, I can start writing cheeky posts with subjects like this about how I made it :P
The below lines are taken as is from an email that I wrote to a junior some days back.
1. Check out this site http://www.handakafunda.com/ . It’s a good starting point for CAT preparation. It has good (and free) videos on topics in quant and DI, and the download sections has old CAT questions arranged topic wise.
2. Join TIME/CL/IMS and give their mock tests religiously. It is very important to track your performance throughout the year and analyze each performance. Identify your weakness and strengths.
I personally felt that CL’s papers were the best in terms of closeness to the actual CAT, and I would recommend it to you. But at the same time, I would also strongly recommend TIME, simply because a LARGE number of people give TIME’s mocks, and you will get a better estimate of your percentile here. Your actual CAT percentile will generally be a few percentile points more than what you generally score in the mocks.
3. Keep reading the newspaper daily, and a magazine or two once in a while. This will not only keep you updated of current affairs, but will also be helpful for you in Verbal. Read Hindu/Business Standard/Mint/IndiaToday/Outlook. Don’t read TOI. Try to read online editions of TIME/Economist.
4. Don’t get disheartened by low scores in mocks, or get overly elated by a good score. Consistency is the key. Your mock percentiles will give you a realistic expectation from the CAT.
5. Understand that CAT can be unpredictable, and that all you can do is give your best and leave the rest.
6. Respect the CAT. Not because it’s a flawless exam, or that it’s a fair one (I feel it is quite flawed and luck plays some role). But respect it because what it represents. It represents the aspirations, ambitions and the hopes of a quarter million people. Don’t take it lightly, or for granted. You might be brilliant, but CAT can screw you. You will have to work hard to crack it.
7. Give all the other exams –FMS, IIFT, XAT (and JMET & SNAP if you want to). You might only want to go to the IIMs, but these exams will make you stronger, and if you get called for interviews, its always good to give as many of them as possible. Finally if you convert, you can even join one. They all are excellent institutes in their own right.
8. Practice practice practice. Try to find some friends who share this common goal with you and study together.
2. Join TIME/CL/IMS and give their mock tests religiously. It is very important to track your performance throughout the year and analyze each performance. Identify your weakness and strengths.
I personally felt that CL’s papers were the best in terms of closeness to the actual CAT, and I would recommend it to you. But at the same time, I would also strongly recommend TIME, simply because a LARGE number of people give TIME’s mocks, and you will get a better estimate of your percentile here. Your actual CAT percentile will generally be a few percentile points more than what you generally score in the mocks.
3. Keep reading the newspaper daily, and a magazine or two once in a while. This will not only keep you updated of current affairs, but will also be helpful for you in Verbal. Read Hindu/Business Standard/Mint/IndiaToday/Outlook. Don’t read TOI. Try to read online editions of TIME/Economist.
4. Don’t get disheartened by low scores in mocks, or get overly elated by a good score. Consistency is the key. Your mock percentiles will give you a realistic expectation from the CAT.
5. Understand that CAT can be unpredictable, and that all you can do is give your best and leave the rest.
6. Respect the CAT. Not because it’s a flawless exam, or that it’s a fair one (I feel it is quite flawed and luck plays some role). But respect it because what it represents. It represents the aspirations, ambitions and the hopes of a quarter million people. Don’t take it lightly, or for granted. You might be brilliant, but CAT can screw you. You will have to work hard to crack it.
7. Give all the other exams –FMS, IIFT, XAT (and JMET & SNAP if you want to). You might only want to go to the IIMs, but these exams will make you stronger, and if you get called for interviews, its always good to give as many of them as possible. Finally if you convert, you can even join one. They all are excellent institutes in their own right.
8. Practice practice practice. Try to find some friends who share this common goal with you and study together.
That sums up my advice on the CAT as an exam. Maybe a post later on the interview prep.
Current favorite song: Aaj din Chadeya from Love aaj kal
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