6 MONTHS PLAN FOR CAT
Preparation forms an important, if not the most important, piece to the jigsaw key that unlocks the door to a seat in a good management institute. With six months left for CAT 2010, it is the ideal time to prune out the non-serious , haphazard approach to preparation that most people might be following at this pre 6 months stage to a more organized and efficient manner . Also since a lot of people might be retaking the exam any number of reasons, and as most of the results are out and it has become clear whether a person is going to retake or choose any college options that is available to him/her right now, it is the ideal time to plan and put forth the next year preparations into full gear.
People who are currently in jobs need to be very serious about preparations as the time available to them might be very less compared to other student aspirants. They need not despair as it is very likely that they are more familiar with concepts already have had the experience of going through the preparation cycle at least once. But it is even more important for them to start their prep and prep planning for the 6 months ASAP. Some common pointers to keep in mind while planning for preparation for the next six months include
1. Get your fundamentals right – CAT and other similar exams like XAT,FMS etc are known for changing patterns and differing levels of difficulty every year. Like Einstein said “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it” a lot of people jump straight into problem solving and finding shortcuts to do “commonly occurring” problems. Though this is not a bad approach to simpler exams, this would be equivalent to giving your seat away even before you start your preparation in case of important top tier exams mentioned. Shortcuts must come from a deeper understanding of the fundamentals rather than from some black box formula like approach. So whether you are starting preparations for the first time or are writing CAT for the nth time, make sure that you get your fundamentals right. Take as much time as required to get it done since jumping into exercise based preparation without getting the fundamentals right is like rushing to a business meeting without shaving.
2. Respect and practice the element of “TIME” in problem solving – Most problems that come in management institute exams do not require knowledge of rocket science. It is said that if you double the time given to a candidate in these exams, most of the candidates will score 90%+ marks. So problem solving in these exams is not just about skill and knowledge but also the ability to manage time that has been allotted to the candidate in the most efficient manner. Hence more than just learning how to solve problems at this stage, it is important to focus on 2 more questions and get proficient in them -:
a) How much time will it take me to solve this problem?
b) Compared to the problems that I have seen what level of difficulty do I think this problem lies in?
Though this is not an exact science, the pondering over these questions and the ability to answer them will give an important skill in time to the candidate, which will enable the candidate to decide which questions to attempt and which questions to leave and in
which order - which might very well end up being the most important thing esp. in exams where time is the crunch.
3. Test, Test and Test!! - There are very few things that can emulate the whole set of mental control and skills that are required in the actual test. Hence it is advisable that one starts taking timed tests as early in the prep cycle as possible (ideally once the basic fundamentals are in place but run parallel if required or run on a per section basis initially and then move to full paper as fundamentals are covered from all sections)
4. Don’t forget analysis – One of the main objectives of giving mock tests is to understand one’s strengths and weakness and to use, develop or compensate for them as required. A lot of candidates go and enrol for mock tests or meticulously take tests on their own but then forget about or run through the analysis. Ideally for a 2 hour test, one should spend at least 4-5 hours analyzing things like
a. What went wrong?
b. What went right?
c. Where am I consistently strong
d. Where am I consistently weak?
e. Did I attempt questions that where time sinks? Why?
f. Did I skip or not attempt simple questions? Why?
Six Months of this analysis would put you in a perfect position to understand yourself thoroughly and ensure that you play to you strengths in the exam.
5. CAT is just the first step, Interviews and GD are equally important – It is the normal for candidates to just focus on the exam first and then start preparing for the interviews and GD’s only once the call come out. THIS IS A HUGE MISTAKE. In personal interviews the candidate needs to show that he has a well rounded personality. This is not something that one can pick up in the 2 months gap after the written exam and the interviews. This requires the candidate to start orienting him/herself on this aspect long before even applying for the b-schools. But in case this has not happened, no need to despair, picking up a hobby in the last 6 months will also do. Understand that once you project something to be your hobby in an interview, they would expect a good understanding of its history, personal association, current news items related to it and finally your views on its future etc as applicable. So ensure that in the 6 months, while pursuing these hobbies these aspects is given their due. Similarly for GD preparation, it’s advisable to get a taste of the real thing as much as possible and in that respect preparing in groups of friends is a good idea. In case your work/schedule does not leave much time for interaction for GD, at least ensure that you keep your debating and discussing skills sharp by debating with yourself and also trying polish them at any opportunity that you get.
6. Be Aware – Another step towards the interview/GD requires that you be aware of your surrounding and current affairs. Make sure that you make it a point to read at least one good newspaper and a weekly magazine of current affairs (and 1 business magazine preferably) regularly. Also understand that most publications from same media houses would be a bit biased in some respect and a variety of views from different media houses would strengthen your knowledge of the subject and help you especially in GD.
7. Experiment: - At least till you have found a rhythm keep changing things – the section you attempt first, the target number of questions you want to attempt, the time you spend on each section etc. Only this kind of experimentation will prepare you for the surprise that you may find on D-Day .Also you will be able to perfect the optimum CAT-solving strategy which strikes just the right balance between speed and accuracy, ensuring that you clear all cut-offs and are well on your way towards that coveted seat.
8. Study in bursts - If you are one of those that need to warm-up for an hour before beginning to be able to concentrate and study productively, now is the time to break that habit. The entire CAT evaluation (including GD/PI) is designed for people who can switch on and switch off for short periods of time. You need to be able to start concentrating almost immediately, and don’t need to do the same thing for more than 40-45 minutes. This is why the CAT paper itself has three sections, instead of only one long section. Practice studying in short productive bursts (typically 45-60 minutes) and take breaks in between. It will be hard to start concentrating immediately after a break in the initial stage, but soon you will get used to it.
Section Wise Structure
Verbal Ability
Vocabulary
This is one area that one can never know enough. Ideally this is not one area that one tries to cover in the last 6 months, but one must make sure that one has a continuous learning approach to the same. Make sure that you maintain a book of new words that you encounter in real life and also while giving the mock tests. Also make sure that you use the words that you learn in your day to day life. This is help in internalizing the same.
GrammarGetting you basics right is probably 80% of the work here. Take as much time as you need to get the basics, like say even till 4 months into the 6 months if you want, but make sure that you get most of the basic right and know to use the same.
ReasoningThis is more to do with logical reasoning than verbal and should be tackled as we would tackle the reasoning section.
Quantitative Ability
Cover the basic fundamentals by July end. Along with covering the basics, also make sure that you understand your strengths and weakness so that you can revisit them with appropriate rigour near September once you have done some timed tests.
Data Interpretation
Finish of basics of speed math by June end. Even a fast run through them would help as here the mantra is practice, practice and more practice.
Logical Reasoning
Try to expose yourself to as many different types of problems as possible. Develop shorthand notations etc to speed up the reasoning.
Last but far from least make sure that you don’t over-prepare and suffer a burn out. There is a limit to how much a person can do, and every person has his/her own threshold. The idea is to work under the threshold and slowly increase it without burning out. The minute the preparation starts getting to be a drag, take a break. It is important that you enjoy what you are doing as these things will later be key skills in your career as a MBA. Unless you enjoy them you are going to drag yourself into a very boring life. There’s absolutely no harm in doing nothing for three or four days until you feel like solving CAT questions again. Treat it is as a challenge, not as routine work. Ideally stop cramming up near the last week of CAT and other exams and focus on other things to rejuvenate and hit your peak on D day.
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