An effort is a vector. It can only produce the desired result if applied in the right direction. These are pretty common lines but apply for CAT prep as well. Here goes:
- Keep it simple.
- There is more stuff to solve for CAT than there was for JEE. So don’t get lost in what people say around you. CAT is an aptitude exam and that is what it always will be, regardless of the hype. So just pick up a book, learn the basics and get done with it. No need to solve the same problem with different values, ten times. Do little, but do it religiously.
- Take a note.
- Maintain a notebook from the start and take note of all the important Quant formulas, VARC hacks and LRDI terms. Try to note down the mistakes as well, mock wise, so that you may remember what went wrong as CAT approaches and you don’t repeat it again.
- Revise.
- This is the key to any competitive exam. No matter how good you are if you are out of touch, you won’t make it. So keep going back to the old problems every once in a while and skim through. This suffices. Keep reading your formulae and your mistakes.
- Take it easy.
- People have now started preparing for CAT as if it was JEE. Don’t prepare for 3–4 years. 1 year is more than enough. And even then you stand a chance of burning yourself out. So do practice, but save your hardest blow for the last. You need to be at your peak around December, not Jan-Sep. ;)
- Live life.
- Counter-intuitive to what people say when it comes to preparing for CAT, I’ll suggest you don’t give up your hobbies, at least, if not more. Reason being-CAT is just to get you an interview call but what matters more is the interview performance. It depends mostly on your personality and what you do with your life on a regular basis. They like all-rounders, not just CAT maulers. So do maintain your hobbies.
- Don’t believe in the hype.
- People say all kinds of things about CAT, but for me, it always was and always will be a basic aptitude test. Just like life comes a full circle, your preparation will come a full circle, too. You take a look at CAT 2017 original papers. I’m sure you’ll find them way easier than what the hype is made out to be. But as you start preparing you’ll find that you don’t know a lot! The mocks will be very tough and it could take a toll on your confidence. Don’t let it. Eventually, you’ll find yourself coming to a position in order to see this same paper with the same eyes as you are able to now. Easy. But only that time you will be acing it like never before. That’s practice!
Good luck! :)
The author is an IITian, who scored 99.98 in CAT 2017, had calls from IIMs A,C,L,K and I, and is currently studying at IIM Lucknow)