How I Improved my Quantitative Ability Percentile?
Before I go ahead with what I did, let me tell you what my percentiles in CAT were :
My QA sectional percentile was 98.98 and 98.58 in CAT 2018 and CAT 2019 respectively.
What did I do in my mock tests?
Like most of you, even I prepared well and used to give mocks at regular intervals. On an average I used to score 80 odd percentile in the QA section initially. Most of the time, there used to be some questions left at the end of the test which I couldn’t attempt due to time constraints.
I used to feel bad as there were questions which I could solve but couldn’t due to the time issues. Most of the time I was not able to see through all the 34 questions given because I used to be busy in solving the questions which I know. It is then; I decided to increase my speed so that I can increase my number of attempts. After doing so, the attempts got increased and I was able to read more questions. But on the other side my accuracy dropped. Concentration on speed led me to make more and more silly mistakes. After each and every mock, I took a review and noted down all the mistakes I did.
Points that hindered my performance :
1. Solving questions in an
order
Due to this, I was not able to read the questions that were at the end.
2. Trying to
memorize formulas from the topics which I was
not comfortable with
Due to this, I wasted my time trying to remember formulas and sometimes tried to derive the formulas in the middle of the test.
3.
Getting stuck in some problem
Due to this, I used to waste time in re-solving and checking for the mistakes that I had done in that problem
4.
Taking too long to solve some questions
Due to this, I ended up spending more time on some questions, which I could have utilized fruitfully on some more questions.
STRATEGY THAT WORKED FOR ME
· Segregating the questions into
Easy, Medium and
Hard levels before attempting
Easy – problems that can be solved within 2-3 minutes
Medium – problems that can be solved in 3-5 minutes
Hard – problems that require more than 5 min to solve
· Attempting all the
Easy ones directly and leaving the Medium and Hard levels by marking in the respective categories in the first round. Once the easy ones are finished, I started attempting the
Medium level questions in the next round and post that started attempting
hard level.
· Doing this way, not only I could read all the questions but also I could attempt more number of questions in the given time.
For example, I could attempt 2 easy questions correctly instead of 1 Medium level question in 5 minutes. In this way, I used to score 6 marks instead of 3 marks at the same time limit.
· Since I’m attempting easy level questions first, my chances of getting it wrong got decreased. Moreover, my
accuracy increased along with the number of questions attempted. In this way, my
score increased and I could see a good
increase in my
percentile.
·
Knowing when to leave a question – The 3-minute limit: Whenever I get stuck in a problem, I made sure that I won’t spend more than 3 minutes in that thinking on what mistake I made.
·
Never ever derive formulas in the middle of the test.
· It is
okay to leave some topics which you are not comfortable with; from preparing
In my case, I was not comfortable with the topics
Simple Interest and Compound Interest, Number System and
Probability. But through my preparation, I made sure that I’m ready to solve any question from the remaining topics. Since I left few topics from preparing, I prepared mentally that I won’t be able to attempt some 5-8 questions at max. So my target is to attempt the remaining 26-29 questions smartly. And this worked wonders for me.
People do tell us to take as many mocks as possible and there is nothing wrong in taking more mocks. But you need to know,
when to stop taking mocks. Some students take mocks till the previous day of the CAT exam, which in my view is not recommended. If you don’t score well in that mock, your confidence may drop and you start doubting yourself. It affects the mindset of the student and can cause a great impact on your D-day. So, it is better to stop taking the mocks 1 week prior to the exam day. Also, make sure you
end your mocks on a high percentile. This will boost your confidence and will have a positive impact on your performance in the exam. The previous day prior to your exam, don’t prepare anything and if possible try to spend time on your
hobbies which relaxes you. Your mind should be fresh, so have a good
8-hour sleep before the test.
Never discuss anything with the students before the exam. Especially if your exam is the afternoon slot,
never enquire anyone on how the morning slot paper was.
You need to
stay calm. When you cannot attempt a question, do not worry and think of how it is going to impact your score & percentile. If you feel a question is tough for you, obviously it will be tough for the majority of the test takers. Whenever you are attempting a section, all your
focus should be on that
section alone. When a section is completed, shift your focus on to the next section without thinking much about your performance in the previous section.
NEVER EVER LET YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE PREVIOUS SECTION IMPACT YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE NEXT SECTION.
Choose the
right set of questions that you think you can answer and never try to guess any answer, which may impact your score negatively.
Remember this:
“BY FAILING TO PREPARE, YOU ARE PREPARING TO FAIL”
I hope this helps you guys. Wishing you all the best for your upcoming exam!!