07Nov,2019
By
Sarada Prasad Rath
Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is one of the most popular courses for students to pursue in order to make a career in the corporate world. To get admission into a good MBA college candidate need to appear entrance exams. Among these exams, the most popular exam is the Common Admission Test (CAT).
CAT is one of the most difficult entrance exams as it offers admission into top B-schools present in the countries and the number of candidates appears this exam every year. The syllabus consists of Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI), and Logical Reasoning (LR). To clear this exam, here we have brought many hindsight and strategies from previous CAT top scores who have placed themselves in IIMs with their dedication, hard work, and discipline.
To know the CAT syllabus in detail, click here
Scoring the Perfect Percentile
Scoring the perfect 100 percentile is very difficult in exams like CAT but it is very much achievable through sheer dedication. For many 100 percentile scorers of CAT previously. it is to be believed that mock tests are the key. It is to be noted that candidates need not have to take a lot of mock tests to achieve the perfect percentile, but a few to look after your approach in order to have thorough knowledge about the minutest details that you lack.
According to Rounka Majumdar, a 22-year-old CAT 2018 100 percentile holder, says only 2-3 hours a day of study but with dedication is enough to score this difficult mark.
Rounka Majumdar says, "My entire preparation was based on taking mock tests. I attempted two mock tests every week and around 40 mock tests in a year. I used to do practice tests on the weekends and analyze my results during the week. Analyzing mock tests are more important than actually appearing for them; it helped me understand my shortfalls and device a test strategy,”
Attempting Different Sections
There are 4 sections in the syllabus of CAT. Among which the quantitative ability (VA) and verbal ability (VA) & reading comprehension (RC) section are found most difficult by the candidates.
Ankit Anand, a 28-year-old electronics and communications engineer, who scored 99 percentile in the VA and RC in CAT believes that for VA and RC section, the traditional method to practice mock tests is not profitable enough.
Ankit Anand says, "Make reading a habit. Read the editorial columns of certain English dailies like The Hindu and The Economic Times and understanding them in one go, just like one would a novel."
Shree Khandelwal, a 21-year-old commerce graduate belonging to the city of Jaipur who scored 99 percentile in CAT sherds his thoughts on how to prepare for the quantitative section. He expresses how attempting a different approach of skills which includes the real-life perspective of problem-solving brought him the marks he achieved.
Shree Khandelwal says, "Try the amalgamation of long hours of self-study supplemented by a practical approach, and visualizing problems as logical puzzles of everyday life and then solving them."
Where to Study
There is a misconception about the CAT that you have to join a coaching centre to clear the CAT exam. However, that is not the entire case. There are candidates who have succeeded by self-studying like Shubham Sangwan. He is a b.tech dropout and has a BA in Political Science, History, and English graduate. His rigid plan of studying by himself and find his strengths and weakness made him a 99 percentile scorer in the CAT. He believes in converting the negativity into positivity is the key to success.
Another 99 percentile scorer Hitesh Lohani who joined a coaching institute and did self-study says, "I believe both are good in their own ways and which is better depends from person to person. If a person has very weak basics and/or is not from a mathematics background or doesn’t have much idea where to start from, then coaching would be the way to go. Taking coaching would not only clear your basics but also provide a structure for your preparation. But for repeaters or those who are comfortable with aptitude papers, practice is the key for them to improve accuracy and self-study would do.”
The Giant Leap
Ayush Khetan, a student belonging to a small town of Rajasthan had scored a meer 14 percentile in CAT 2017. He then went on to score a whopping 98 percentile in CAT 2018. His inspiration was the non-traditional methods of studying. Belong to a non-mathematical background, Ayush Khetal credits his improvement towards the unorthodox style of learning such as reading newspapers, novels, editorial, etc. and learning from youtube videos.
Read here, Top 10 Popular MBA Specializations
These are few words from those who have qualified CAT with their unique approach towards the exam. All the strategies and planning are useless if you do not have the dedication and discipline towards the aim of clearing the exam. Candidates relating to these ideas will find a great deal of help and above all one has to practice in his/her unique way to achieve what they had dreamt of.
Read here, CAT Exam: Things you should take care of on the test day
To know what are the best books to prepare for CAT, click here
Click here to know which colleges accept low CAT score
