Guidelines to Crack CAT

Having given the title for this article, I would like to take some time out to elaborate upon it.
I could have easily used the word 'Strategy' instead of 'Guidelines', but this word has been overused to such an extent that it has become cliched among the coterie of CAT aspirants.

"What is the proper way to prepare for the CAT ?"
This ever-persistent question has given sleepless nights to CAT aspirants since time immemorial.

Frankly, there is no concrete answer to this. But there are certain "general" guidelines to follow. Hence the title.

Well, what better place to begin the analysis than the paper-pattern itself.


The CAT 2011 will have only two sections.
1) a) Quantitative Ability.
b) Data Interpretation.

2) a) Verbal Ability.
b) Logical Reasoning.

Both sections will be of 70 minutes and 30 questions each.

Observations and Learning :-

1) Each section can be attempted in its exclusive time zone only. Hence you cannot steal time from one of the sections to utilize it for the other. Once you are done with section1 or the first 70 minutes, which ever be the earlier, then only can you move on to the next section with a no options to return back.

2) Given the fact that we have sectional cutoffs in CAT, It is good news that we have fewer sections to clear this time. The less the merrier :)

3) But the individual break-up per topic can never be guessed.Hence a sufficient grasp on every subsection (Quants, DI, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.) is something that we all should aim for.

Moving on to the finer details of preparation:-

1) EMBRACE TRUTH: Let us face the fact. It takes a very honest effort to crack CAT, or more precisely, to receive Calls from IIMs. The preparation time can span from anywhere between 5 months to 15 months and believe me Ladies and Gentlemen, that nothing else will ever test your temperament better than this phase.

2) WHY CAT: Keep yourself motivated. It will definitely take more than just a love for Brand Names to bell this pretty CAT. You need to have a very good reason for taking up CAT and choosing MBA as a career; something, that will keep you motivated during those tough times when you want to quit and when your hard-work seems to be unfruitful.
Keep that fire burning.

3) Rough Picture: Have a rough plan for how you will go about preparing for this exam. For example, you can divide the total time under - 'Brushing Up of Basics' 'Mock Tests' , 'Dealing with weak areas' 'Mock Tests part 2' and 'Final touch Up phase'.
You must aim to finish each phase of preparation in a stipulated amount of time.

4) Aim high: That is, always keep yourself on toes academically. Attempt as many quality questions as possible per day.

5) Mock Tests: Throughout preparation, beware of falling into the very destructive practice of "Finishing Up the Syllabus". Remember that the CAT syllabus is something you have already finished when you were in 10th standard !!!

So the suggested approach is to think about the applications of the basic knowledge that you already have with you; and hone it with attempting as many questions as possible. Also, it is imperative that you fully understand a concept rather than mugging it up. Take up as many mocks as possible, irrespective of the phase of your preparation. This may sound a little inconvenient for most of us, as most of us want to be through with the syllabus before attempting question papers. Thanks to our orthodox education system :(.
But leaving our comfort zone is the sole purpose of this activity.
The joy of exploring the unknown will fascinate you and will encourage you to study more, and will add to the much needed "Fireworks" to the seemingly boring process of MBA prep.
The learning curve really takes a full up-swing, once you adapt to this kind of preparation-culture.

6) REVISION: Revise, Revise and Revise. This again underlines the importance of taking mock -tests. Use of flash cards also may work in your favor. But it is a bit cumbersome to maintain them, so I will vouch for the MOCKS. The aim is to avoid losing track of any of the sections. This applies especially to Quants preparation.

7) Mental Stability and Importance of Good Spirit :