"There is no substitute for hard work"
The paper is mostly logic, but at the same time, it
IS deliberately confusing. So even a guy with a 140+ IQ might not be able to crack it if he is not prepared because he doesn't know what he is looking for.
Reasons
for preparing:
- It is all relative AND everyone else is preparing. So if you are not, that puts you at a disadvantage.
- The conversion rate for IIMs is really low. Out of the 300,000 odd applicants, only 2000 get into the top IIMs. That comes out to be only 0.67% i.e. only one out of every 150 applicants is successful.
- There is a time limit. If not, anyone could have cracked the exam according to the Infinite Monkey Theorem.
- It is not only Quant. There are sections like Reading Comprehension which require a lot of practice on varied topics, even the ones you might find boring. And I am sure there is no one guy who knows everything on every topic starting from literature to history to science to law to politics.
- The written examination is just the beginning. You have GDs and Interviews next. You have to have a vast amount of awareness about various topics during a GD and also need to know a lot of things during the Interviews. The safest way to crack GDs/Interviews is to get as much practice as possible (mock GDs/Interviews)
Section-wise preparation tips:
- Quant: Quant is divided into topics and each topic contains a plethora of questions that can be classified into one or the other categories. So basically every topic will have say 5 types of questions and hence, 5 different approached to solve them. If you get any question, you can classify it into one of the 5 sections and then proceed to solve it in an efficient manner. I am not saying, you can't solve it any other way, but that would be plain time-consuming.
- Logic: Again, there are some basic types of questions. If you have practiced enough, you will be able to solve the question in a very short amount of time. (E.g. there are 4 guys- A, B, C and D. They own 4 cars- red, blue, green, black. They have 4 jobs- scientist, engineer, doctor, lawyer. They come from different countries- India, US, Australia, Israel. The smoke 4 brands of cigarettes- Marlboro, Camel, Classic, Winston. Then there will be extra information given- For example, the guy from India owns a red car and does not smoke Camel, and so on.This question can be solved by anyone, but someone doing it for the 1st time will need a lot of time)
- Reading Comprehension: Practice, practice and only practice.
- Verbal ability: Completely agree with Amit Srivastava's answer. Also, read Word Power Made Easy- Norman and Lewis (basic) and All About Words (Nurnberg and Rosenblum)
Misc:
- Do join a coaching class.
- Start at least 9-10 months before the exam date.
- Be updated on the happenings in the country and the world (for the interviews)
- Give a lot of mock tests during the last couple of months.
- Work hard and on a daily basis. Talent alone will not suffice.
- Practice and do not rely on luck. Remember, the more you practice, the luckier you get.
This article first appeared on Quora.
About the Author
Deepak Mehta is 27, highly eccentric. He can be found at most party venues. Deepak loves to read (And occasionally write). Originated in the hills (
Nainital) but
lost his heart somewhere on a beach in
Goa.
If found, kindly return to the owner.
A
Computer Science graduate from
BITS – Goa and an
MBA from
IIM – Ahmedabad. Currently resides in
Mumbai. Also, he is one of the top writers on
Quora!