Clearing CAT 2014

Ayush Nargotra
MBA is the career of the 21st century leading to positions of CEO and top managerial positions.
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the first step towards your journey to IIM`s and top B-Schools. CAT is a computer based test (CBT) to be conducted on 16th and 22nd November 2014 with two test slots each day.
This year there have been many changes in the CAT test pattern. The number of questions has increased from 60 to 100.Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation will consist of 50 questions and Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability will have 50 questions each. Exam duration has been increased to 170 minutes from the existing limit of 140 minutes. In CAT 2014, one can switch over from one section to another section at any point during the examination timing as there is no fixed time limit for each section as it was in CAT 2013.Hencecandidates have the flexibility to devote more or less time to each section according to their ability.
Note that such a change is not intrinsically good or bad. Whether the CAT chooses to have 60 questions in 140 minutes or 100 questions in 170 minutes (or, as they once used to, 185 questions in 120 minutes), the competition is still the same. At the end of the day, the number of aspirants has not changed due to this. Neither has the number of seats available. The more things change, the more they remain the same! What it means is that one should understand the implications of the change, and accordingly devise strategies that make the most of one’s own peculiar strengths and weaknesses under the new paradigm. This brings up some obvious questions, a few of which I shall attempt to address
“Which section to do first?”
In the last few years this decision, for good or for bad, was not in your hands. This year, however, you have the freedom to choose. But if you don’t choose wisely, this can prove a liability. So then, do you start with your strongest suit? Or should you instead choose to do your weaker section (assuming you have one!) when you are still fresh?
Let’s do a little experiment to inform our strategy: take 4-5 section tests of similar type and level, and write them continuously one after another, sticking to the time limits in each. Note the scores. If the scores are nearly the same across all the tests, then stamina is not much of an issue and you are able to maintain a similar (and hopefully high) level of performance throughout the test.
But if, as more often happens, you notice a sharp drop-off in performance as time goes by, then chances are your stamina is not what it should be and that nervous exhaustion is taking a heavy toll (this might also explain some of the instances where people with otherwise good VA skills scored a depressingly low section 2 percentile in the past few CATs).
If you find that you have a good stamina and no appreciable drop in scores over a 3 hour stretch, then it might make sense to do your strong section first, totally annihilate it, and then aim at clearing a cut-off in the other section. An advantage would be that you would most probably have performed well in the first section and therefore there would be a morale boost, a feel-good factor, which would stand you in good stead when attempting the relatively weaker section.
However, if stamina is an issue and you find that your concentration tends to drop sharply over time, a safer strategy might be to get your weaker section out of the way while you are still fresh (so that you can at least ensure the cut-offs), and then do the stronger section.
Whichever approach you take, if your stamina drops off too fast, then whatever you do later is going to suffer. So a valid question at this point is, how can one increase stamina?
“How do I maintain my stamina for 3 hours?”
Concentrating for 3 hours at a stretch can seem quite a daunting task, given that 2 hours 20 minutes seemed like forever in the previous format.
It is certainly a good idea to at least get used to concentrating hard for three hours at a stretch. Next time you sit for a test at home, firstly eliminate all distractions (keep your phone, gmail, twitter, facebooketc off!). Secondly, make sure that you have no commitments for at least the next 5 hours. Thirdly, plan that immediately after finishing the test, you will take a section test. Give your mind as little opportunity for distraction as you possibly can. Just maybe, you will find that you can concentrate for 3 hours at a stretch after all.
“Should I give equal time to each section, or more weightage to one of them?”
In the old days, when there were no sectional cut-offs in many exams, some people would choose to be “specialists”. In other words, they would strive to be really really good at one section and devote most of the time in the paper to that section, thus clearing the overall cut-offs despite a negligible score in one section.
So nearly all the top colleges have moved to a scenario where there are sectional cut-offs; thus ensuring that one needs to spend a significant amount of time on each section.
Having said that, one can still choose to be flexible about time allotment. Very few people are equally proficient in both sections; and it is an established fact that the overall cut-off exceeds the total of the individual or sectional cut-offs (the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, after all!).
So it is generally necessary not only to clear the cut-offs in each section but also to totally ace one section. You need to create a strategy which plays to your strengths; one of the most important things benefits of the Proctored Mock CAT’s is that they allow you to experiment with different strategies and work out what suit your style.
Preparation Strategy for the Test Day
The first thing to do will be to move away from the dichotomy of Quant & Verbal and look at the test as comprising five Areas: QA, DI, VA, RC &LR. Also every area will have a certain number of difficult questions. The task is to pick out Easy & Medium questions from each area. The reason most people do not cross a particular threshold or cut-off score is because they choose a favorite area and try to attempt even the tougher sets which are better left alone. One LR Set might be better left alone under test conditions, a few Quant problems are better ignored altogether. Focusing on five areas will ensure that your attempts are higher as well as better chosen. Always remember that marks of One EASY Question is equal to marks of One DIFFICULT Question. So Question selection will play a key role in deciding your percentile.
Ensure That You Do Not Miss Out On Easy Questions: How many times have you gone back home and analysed a MOCK CAT only to find that there was an easy set or question that you could have done but did not since you did not really read it. This division ensures that you take a look at all areas and pick out easy questions from them.
Ensure That You Can Gauge the Difficulty Level of Each Area: If you consistently use this strategy in all your MOCK CAT’s, come test-day you will be able to gauge the difficulty level of the section-based on the number of attempts at the end of the defined time-limit. This will enable you to define what you need to achieve in the next time-slot. For example, if you attempt fewer than usual in Quant at the end of 45 minutes, then you will know that you need to amp up your performance in the DI time-slot. If you have a really good day on the Quant then may be instead of tackling DI next you can do VA and RC and then come back to DI later.
Ensure Timely & Better Performance Tracking: It is quite common for test-takers to realise towards the end of a test that their performance was below par. This is not because they performed poorly towards the end of the test but because they did not keep track of the deficits that were building up during the course of the test. By measuring yourself over smaller time slots with specific targets, you will be able know how your test is progressing and formulate your strategy in stages depending on your performance in the previous time-slot.
Following above strategy you can devote at least 30 minutes to “Buffer Time”on the Final Test Day.
Why the”Buffer Time”
Anything can happen on test-day, for some reason an LR Set you might have otherwise done might pose a stubborn problem. Quant might throw up more questions that usual from your least favorite area, Geometry or P & C. How do you deal with this? Can you allow these minor setbacks to jeopardizeyour test?
The buffer is to help you deal with test-day uncertainty. It is that safety net at the end of 140 minutes that helps you ensure that you deliver to you clear sectional and overall cut-offs despite any setbacks during the 140 minutes. In the buffer time of 30 minutes try to maximize your score as you would have finished most of the easy and medium level questions. This buffer time will ensure your 99+ percentile.
You can customize the plan by changing the time-limits here and there by 5-10 minutes but you should not let your buffer time go below 20 minutes. More importantly you should stick to the plan.
(The author is Director Career Launcher Jammu)

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