Nervous? Just a few days left for
D-Day to arrive. Some of you might be happy with the improved mock score while some of you would be puzzled by the sudden dip in the mock score. For few these 20 days are like months to pass and for few, the time is flying. With winters knocking on the door, I know it’s becoming difficult for all the
dreamers out there to burn the midnight oil.
But
HOLD ON! Hold on a few days more to see your dream turn into reality. Hold on for a few days to tread the road to your
dream B-School. Hold on because you know you have worked hard. Hold on because you know you will be able to make it. And hold on because this is the best option you have as of now.
Walking one year down the memory lane, I can see myself scratching my head with
so many doubts and questions as CAT’19 was approaching fast. And I know many of you are in the same situation trying to answer the questions popping up in your mind. So, in this article, I have tried to answer some of the questions that are common before CAT.
Q:1 How to revise all the concepts in a short time span?
No one wants to see his/her score going down just because a particular formula or concept vanished from the mind while attempting the exam. So, it’s of prime importance to make sure that whatever you have learned in these past few months is in your mind on D-Day. So, let's talk about
how to revise each section in these 20 days.
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
For me, each passage was learning. Each passage used to tell me something which is important while attempting this section. So, the key to revising this section is to go through the passages you have solved in mocks or sectional tests. Only focus on those
questions that sound tricky and can make you remember something valuable you learned while solving it in the past. Below are the few points that should be in mind while going through the attempted tests:
- Focus on questions where choosing one option out of two was difficult.
- Opinion and Inference based questions should also be the priority while revising.
- Go through passages of varying length and difficulty level.
- Revise strategies you have made for attempting passages on the basis of their difficulty, length, or genre.
- Be prepared with at least two strategies one if the section is Easy/Medium and one if the section is Difficult.
- Apart from reading comprehension, try to maximize the attempts in Verbal Ability as these can act as a major score booster.
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
Practice! The only way to crack this section. And with only 20 days left, the focus should be on variety.
Variety both in terms of the difficulty and the type of questions.
For Data Interpretation:
- Revise the tricks to boost calculation speed.
- Revise sets of different types like the table, bar chart, pie chart, etc.
- Past year papers also help in brushing up this section.
For Logical Reasoning:
- Revise the basics about how to deal with different types of sets like linear arrangements, circular arrangements, etc.
- Revise sets from past year papers and mocks.
Quantitative Aptitude
This section involves
numerous concepts and formulas that need to be on the fingers while giving the exam. And the only way to remember all formulas and concepts is to revise them multiple numbers of times before D-Day.
- Download cheat sheets and formula pdfs that are available online.
- Each day, revise the formulas learned the previous day and learn a few new formulas.
- Revise the whole formula sheet a day or two before the CAT exam.
Q:2 How to manage time during these stressful days?
Making a plan and sticking to it is the key. I have a habit of planning my coming week beforehand and this always helps me in making the most out of my time. Here are some tips to plan well in the coming days:
- List out all the work you have to complete in these 20 days related to your CAT exam.
- Decide each day into three parts: For me, it used to be 9 A.M to 12 P.M, 1 PM to 6 PM, and 8 PM to 11/12 PM.
- Now map these tasks to the three slots each day. I used to keep the difficult tasks like giving a mock to the morning hours and easy tasks like going through the formulas to the night hours when I used to feel less energetic and sleepy.
- Don't forget to take breaks in between.
Q:3 My Mocks scores are low. What to do?
First, let's see what could be the possible reason for low scores:
- Concepts are not clear
- Few topics are still not covered
- Concepts are fine but the practice is less
- Lacking in strategy
- Silly mistakes
- Lacking in speed
Now let's see how to address these issues:
- Go through the modules provided by coaching institutes. As time is less, search for short notes online or ask friends.
- Find out the weak areas and spend more time on it.
- Attempt more sectional and mock tests to be able to apply the concepts learned.
- Practice questions but with the presence of a timer.
- Try to do correct calculations on the first attempt itself to avoid silly mistakes. Read the questions properly.
- Work out a section-wise strategy to attempt the exam. Make sure to make two strategies for each section one when the section is easy/medium and the other when the section is difficult.
Q:4 My mock scores are good. What should be my strategy for the coming few days?
A good sign! But make sure this doesn’t make you over-confident. Good preparation is a plus point but how you perform on the main day plays an important role and to give your best shot do consider the following points:
- Maintain consistency in the scores you are getting in mocks.
- Try to improve as much as you can in the coming days to score as high as possible.
- Find if there are any weak areas left. If yes, then work on them.
- Keep emotions balanced and be confident.
Q:5 How to manage stress?
Live life one day at a time. This has always helped me in my life. Instead of thinking about what will happen on the main day, try to focus on what you can do now to make the main day one of the best days of your lives. But it’s always easier said than done, so here are some tips to manage stress in the coming days.
- Don’t exhaust yourself. Take proper rest.
- Take breaks in between. Have tea/coffee with your family. Go for an evening walk. Listen to your favourite songs.
- Hope is a powerful weapon. Don’t lose hope and be confident about yourself.
- Make acceptance a part of your life. Be ready for the result of D-Day, be it positive or negative.
I have curated a list of a few articles that can further help you with the answers to the above questions popping in your head: