InsideIIM conducted a live chat with Hemang Panchmatia - Verbal Expert and Founder Director at CREDence Academy. The idea was have a discussion on CAT 2014 - given that there are roughly 100 days to go. The discussion focussed on test prep strategies and techniques for Verbal, Quant and CAT in general.
For those of you who don't have enough time to read the entire transcript, we are summarizing some of his best responses to the questions posed by our users….
Rohit Baheti: Sir, do you think CAT 2014 will be different in pattern since TCS is taking over from Prometric?
Hemang Panchmatia: Looks unlikely. the pattern is working well for last 5 years and there is little reason for IIMs to change it.
Rohit Baheti: I have been scoring on an average of 90+ percentile in my online mocks. However, major fluctuation in Verbal percentiles. I am not being able to figure out the reason.
Hemang Panchmatia: Look at your performance in 5 sub sections of Verbal - RC , Vocab, Grammar, ParaJumbles and Paracompletion. If accuracy is less than 80% in any of these, write sectional tests to work on the same.
Deepa Sekhar: Sir, I am having problems in certain sections like permutations combinations and probability. being from a commerce background, do you think i should leave these sections and concentrate on other areas
Hemang Panchmatia: Hi Deepa, Non-Engineering Female is a brilliant profile - focus on the postives of the same . :) I would say, you need to know the basic concepts of the mentioned topics - you can skip LOD 3 (Level of Difficulty 3, i.e most difficult problems) of the same. Quant Focus on : Number System, Algebra, Geometry , Maxima Minima & Functions. Maxima Minima & Functions may pose diificulties to you but please spend time mastering these topics.
Kathan Bhatt: hello sir,what should be the strategy to score 20 correct in verbal ? i am good at quant but not so good in vocab ,with GEM profile. Also give me a plan for DI and Quant.
Hemang Panchmatia: Hi, I would say master Logic first . You should be confident of getting atleast 6 Logic questions right ( out of 9) in 20 mins.
Step 2 : RC : get 5 on 7 ( very possible). You can read this -
Action Guide: 60 Days to CAT on InsideIIM to get an action plan. Basically,
Grammar : Solve around 200 questions in next 2 weeks.
Vocab : Do High Frequency Words and Phrasal Verbs.
For Logic and DI : Do two sets a day ( 20 mins for Logic & DI each) for the next 50 days and you will become a pro. Basic comfort level with Percentages Module will also help a lot.
For Quant: Step 1 : Go through the concepts. Step 2 : Go through few direct questions on the topic. Step 3 : Solve a section test ( LOD 2) around 30 questions. Complete all modules in next 3 weeks. Start writing MOCKS only after you have completed all quant modules. Also, after 5 Mocks, you will know the specific topics that trouble you. You can skip a few questions in that specific topic. Quant should be 60-65% of your study time.
Deepa Sekhar: Dear Sir, I am sometimes prone to overconfidence in Verbal. It is my strong section and I sometimes end up attempting too many questions from this section, compromising accuracy and affecting score. What should I do?
Hemang Panchmatia: Hi Deepa, a good strategy is to put a upper cap to your number of attempts . i think 26 is a good number there. This will force you to NOT attempt to over attempt.
Rahul Arora: Hello Sir, I'm Rahul Arora, a fresher. My 10th and 12th are 85+ but my Engineering is a little less (<70). Is IIM A out for me?
Hemang Panchmatia: For IIM A, B, C you will need more than 99.8 percentile. Focus on top 30 B schools. Refer to list of top 40 schools here :
http://idealcredence.com/smart_CAT.php. Among IIM ABC, C focusses on CAT percentile. That is your best bet.
Anmol Vaid: Hello sir.... I am a 2k14 graduate, Btech. from a Private College, BBD.... My acads are ... 10th... 80%, 12... 78%, Btech..... 64.12%... No work ex and currently searching for job. Gave cat in 2013and scored 87.37%ile,... with quants... 65.75%ile...& VALR..95.45%ile... If I don't go for a job and drop the year for self prep and write cat again this time.Will it be considered negative in interview? If I work in a startup.... then will it be considered as a work ex??
Hemang Panchmatia: Anmol: A gap of more than a few months will raise eyebrows. It is okay if you focus on CAT prep. You can do a short internship / few additional courses to compensate for lack of work exp. Of course, work at a startup will be considered as work-ex.
Shashank Jha: Can you also guide me with good study material and mock tests series for CAT?
Hemang Panchmatia: For Mocks, Look at TIME, CL , Test Funda. We get our students to write around 25 Mocks from these three. Study Material : We are one of the best in Mumbai. We do classroom coaching for CAT & CET-NMAT-SNAP. You can get in touch with us on
idealcredence.com or call us on 9022980010 / 14256.
Soham Sarkar: I am not able to remember all the vocabulary......I am really finding it difficult to mug up the words.......Any solutions for this?
Hemang Panchmatia: @ Soham : Common Problem. When you learn words, refer to a source which gives you sentences. Will aid in contextual learning. Research proves : Revision at end of 24 hrs & end of 7 days is the most effective method. So I always suggest students to do 25 words a day for 6 days a week. Also , reading editorials is the best way to prepare - CAT tests contextual Vocab and not " how many words have you mugged".
Hitesh Chawla: Sir do you think working and preparing for CAT puts me at a disadvantage with freshers? I find it difficult to get into the study groove. What can I do to focus on the CAT?
Hemang Panchmatia: @ Hitesh : Freshers fear they lose out because of no work experience - As they say ' Grass is green on the other side". I would strongly recommend 6-8 weeks of leave for you to focus on CAT. Extended sabbaticals also help a lot. 90 mins of study a day on weekdays + 4 hrs on Sat & Sunday each will be the bare minimum work you can do.
Final Note by Hemang Sir: Thank you. I hope you found the LiveChat session useful. You can contact me on
hemang@idealcredence.com. We do classroom coaching for CAT & CET-NMAT-SNAP. You can get in touch with us on
idealcredence.com or call us on 9022980010 / 14256. Use this guide for the top B schools in India to get an idea of which B schools to target -
http://idealcredence.com/smart_CAT.php.
Final Note by Team InsideIIM: We hope you found this chat insightful. Here is a
repository of all content created by Hemang Sir on InsideIIM. To solve questions live on InsideIIM alongwith hundreds of other aspirants go here :
http://insideiim.com/admissions/