Gauri Chhabra
The Indian Institute of Management Indore announced the dates for Common Admission Test (CAT) 2013, declaring the test will be held in a 20 days window between October 16 and November 11, 2013.According to Prometric, the agency which will conduct the computer-based CAT on behalf of all the 13 IIMs, the candidates can register for the test online until September 26.
The CAT scores are the gateway to the admission for MBA Aspirants to most coveted Indian Institute of Management and other top B-schools in the country including FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, JBIMS, IMT etc.
There are four basic areas which arc tested in the MBA entrance exams.
Quantitative Ability (QA)
Data Interpretation (DI)
Verbal Ability (VA)
Logical Reasoning (LR)
Here are tips to crack these:
Quantitative Ability:QA is looked upon as a challenging section even by students who have been regularly in touch with mathematics during their graduate studies. Since the eligibility to appear for CAT is graduation in any discipline, the expected comfort level with mathematics is as much as a student would have who has not studied mathematics in the graduate level. The content is pretty well-defined. It is the time to apply the concepts. That means using the concepts in problem situations: This requires a good two months with the basics followed by regular dose of practice with CAT type problems.
Data Interpretation:
This needs a knack for reading graphs and pie charts.The key is to form a corridor between able to read graphs and working mathematically to answer questions based on these is the second step. You need to work on your X-XII basics.
Verbal Ability:
Questions in Verbal Ability check your dexterity in the use of words in different contexts, difference between the shades of meaning while using a word/string of words in different situations etc. Remember, language is like cooked spaghetti. Words change their meaning according to context. While brushing up your vocabulary and working on word lists will help, the real comfort comes with actual usage and making words your friends rather than acquaintances.
Reading Comprehension banks upon your ability to skim through the passage and also dive deeper to understand the exact nuances of the presented passage – in the manner in which the author intended it to be conveyed. It is not just about picking out bits of factual information from a pile of text, it also involves the ability to read between the lines – the innuendos, the sarcasm, the criticism to a certain approach, the adherence to a certain type of ideological code throughout the passage, are just some of the finer points that need to be understood while reading a passage. This kind of critical appreciation can be developed only with good exposure to unfamiliar turf ie reading passages of diverse nature.So try to read articles, essays and commentaries on topics that do not necessarily interest you. Re-read the passage and understand the flow of thinking and the logic build-up. For example, if you are interested in sports and have been following cricket closely, take a detour and read up on essays on anthropology and particle physics. Also you could test your real love for your favorite subjects by getting deeper technically. Let us assume again that you are a cricket fan. Search for an article that details the theory of evolution of species byDarwin. See if you are comfortable in understanding the logic of the theory and with the arguments favoring and the criticism leveled against it.
Logical Ability
Exposing oneself to as many types of Logical Ability questions will help in generating enough practice and to quickly identify any patterns in the given data set. The one thing that is central to cracking Logical Ability Questions is the flexibility in assimilating the conditions presented. Since there are no formulae here – unlike in Quantitative Ability – the ability to quickly map out the resources and constraints in a problem situation becomes the key in arriving at the solution quickly. The advantage with a clear positioning of the problem parameters followed by adequate mapping of “resources and constraints” in a set of questions is that multiple questions could be answered with the initial time spent.
So one should try to solve as many types of Logical Ability questions as possible as part of the preparation. This could also include puzzles, brain teasers etc. for variety. While these may not appear in an actual CAT examination in the form of questions, the flexibility that one would generate for logical thinking will definitely help in the CAT preparation also. Any preparation should be enjoyable to the student.
Take a good All India Level Mock CAT exam series to check how you are progressing. This time-series check will be your best barometer for the actual CAT examination. Regularly participate in the mock exams and understand why you have secured a certain percentile. You can then target a specific percentile and develop exam strategies based on that target.
Use of Apps:
You can also use the technology savvy outlook to crack CAT. One of these is CATapp by Information Works, lets you keep your books at home and revise and take tests on the go.
The iOS and Android apps have been around for some timenow owe their genesis to Ashish Chowdhary, who was tan aspiring MBA student and could not find such apps on the Play Store or App Store. While he prepared the entire answer bank and designed the layout of the app, his partner developed the app.
Today there are a number of Android apps which have a similar feature set including CAT / MAT / XAT MBA Exam Prep, CAT Exam MBA – Pocket Exam and MBA Test Prep. Similarly there are a number of apps on the App Store.
The app helps you revise and make sure you are getting things right. You still have to study with books and other reference materials.It contains CAT papers from the previous years to help students prepare for the entrance exam.
You can choose to take the test by year or by subject like cubes, linear and quadratic equations and set theory. While taking the test you might still want to keep a pen and paper handy to solve the equations. It also has a timer option so that makes you keep track of the time.After taking the test, you will be marked and shown your results. You can go through your incorrect answers and see the solutions thus learning a lot. The Progress Report section keeps a track of your results and once can easily review which sections one is weak in and prepare harder for that.
The app also has cloud sync so you can keep track of your progress on multiple devices. The Android app also has a CATapp store, which has a number of additional tests you can download from across categories like additional CAT tests, GK, Brainteasers.
So, follow the tips for cracking the CAT and script your saga of success…
For queries contact gauri_nagpal @yahoo.com
Follow our WhatsApp channel
