Tips for cat preparation

CAT – common entrance test happens to be one of the biggest and most crucial tests for a student’s career in India, as it is very important if one wishes to get into
MBA as most of the prestigious universities take CAT score as a selection criterion.

The CAT exam was started and is conducted by the IIM University and it is considered to be a benchmark in order to get a admission into it, where only for 1500 seats more then 2 lakh candidates appear every year, its standards are so high that many other prestigious universities also take CAT scores into account during their admission process. The questions vary from 75 to 80 questions. It’s a objective kind of paper and the time duration happens to b two and a half hour where not only the knowledge of the student is tested but also how he prioritize his or her answers under a pressure of a limited time frame. This test is conducted in the month of November every year and the results likely come out in the month of January, after being thoroughly screened. The categories of section in a cat paper are:

• Reading Comprehension
• Analytical and Logical reasoning.
• Verbal ability and reasoning
• Quantitative skills
• Data understanding

ELIGIBILITY CREITERIA:

To be eligible to appear for cat one must hold a graduate degree from a recognized university with a min. of 50 % marks, or if the student belongs to SC/ST category then the min marks required is 45%. Incase the student happens to be in his/her final year or the result is awaited then too he she can appear for the cat examination but with a certificate signed by the HOD or the principal as a token of permission and authentication by them as a proof that the candidate is in his/ her final year and is eligible for giving the test.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR CAT?

CAT examis no cake walk it needs serious dedication, concentration and hard work to crack it, but that doesn’t mean one should panic or be scared of it the right amount of knowledge, a bit of hard works and a few tips is the key to crack the cat nut!
Few things that one needs to keep in mind while preparing for cat are:

Strike rate - it is very essential as a correct answer carries 1 – 2 marks a wrong answer is minus 1 mark, hence to crack cat an accuracy rate of near about 85% is very important.

Time constraint – it is next to impossible for one to cover all the questions in the paper, hence a smart choice of which question to attend and that too in a short time span is very essential, cause what is at test here is not only once knowledge but also once ability
To perform under pressure hence to choose the right easy and well practiced question will help one do more questions in a short time period and hence score better.

Not just knowledge - Giving a cat exam is not only the display of once knowledge but many more skills that are being tested here. Once managerial skills, ability to choose best in short time period, to make the right choices, dedication to put in hard work and focus, and most importantly perseverance is at test here.

Preparation time – CAT is not just like any other home, board or semester exam it cannot be prepared by studying for a week or 10 days it needs serious dedication and time to be thorough with its preparation ranging from 8 months to a years period depending upon the candidate, as it varies from individual to individual.

Attitude - CAT is the perfect mix of attitude with aptitude, hence one needs reasoning, logic, speed, and the attitude to solve any problem no matter how big it is with the correct mind set. One should give equal attention to all the test areas, and extra attention to the weaker areas so that by the time the cat appears one is fully prepared.

Tutorials - at times its not sufficient or feasible for one to prepare all on its own, without any external help for which there are many coaching institutes to assist a student as they are all up-to-date with the changing trends of the cat and have all the help ranging from – test papers , books, notes , group discussions, best and skilled tutors , etc to help one prepare the best to his or her ability. But only taking coaching classes won’t help one to be prepared for cat one also needs to put in dedicated and focused 3 to 4 hrs of self study every day to crack cat with good percentile scores.

Well, for those who are ready and set to go crack the CAT then all you need to put in is serious dedication with a hint of hard work. Don’t forget to be calm and composed on the day of CAT, a little stress though can help to bring the best out of you, but a few last minute tips should be kept in mind:

# A little bit of stress is essential for the best output by the candidate, as it keeps them going.
# No last minute preparations should be made, as it only ends up in confusing and panicking one.
# A day before cat all the stuff that is required for the examination should be checked and kept ready together.
# Try and reach the centre an hour before time, to avoid any last minute blunders and problems. One should keep the contingency period in mind.
# A proper and peaceful sleep is very essential to give the best performance the next day in the two and a half hour test.
# Once the cat is over one should start preparing for interviews and group discussions, as they are the next step to be done once the cat is cleared.
# Be completely updated of the latest happenings around, by reading newspapers, magazines, etc.

Hence it’s quite clear that though cat is no impossible task but it surely needs a good deal of focused hard work and speed. If one really wishes to crack CAT then these tips would surely come handy for CAT preparation.

About The Author-- shiksha shk writes on behalf of Shiksha.com. Shiksha.com is an education portal that connects education seeker with education provider. Shiksha.com has wide information over study abroad colleges, Professional colleges and courses. Its education forums enable its users to seek opinion of students, alumni and faculty of colleges and schools through College Groups and School Groups.

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