CAT, one of the most sought-out entrances written to ace into the topmost B-schools in India. Talking about the top b-schools in India, there are 20 IIMs, including the baby IIMs. Besides that, there are other b-schools in top rankings. To mention a few – FMS Delhi, XLRI Jamshedpur, IIFT Delhi, ISB Hyderabad, NMIMS, and S.P Jain Institute of management.
Every year there are more than 2 lakh students who give CAT. Out of which, one-fourth of them try to get nearer to the percentiles required to get into the aforementioned b-schools. The rest one-fourth would be hanging on for a second chance, by sacrificing for one more year. The other one-fourth would join some b-school based on their relevant scores, instead of wasting a year.
The other one-fourth includes students who are preparing for other competitive exams, professionals from MNC companies, staff who train CAT students, and well not to mention but, students who were forced by their parents/neighbours/peer pressure to take CAT.
Out of the whole group of people who give CAT, three-fourth of them have certain questions in their minds, which they keep asking everyone.
Some questions seem undisputed, and guesstimated, while a few would be ridiculous. So, here are the answers the most asked questions by almost every CAT or MBA aspirant!
How many questions should I attempt in CAT to get 99%ile or 100%ile?
Okay! Someone’s gonna say to attempt all the questions. Your friend might say to attempt only X-number of questions. Your professor, based on his/her experience might say another number.
You go and read a lot of answers on the Quora site to find out what’s the right number of questions to attempt, to achieve 99%ile or 100%ile. And this creates a surety of incertitude that discombobulates your thoughts.
Let’s make this simple – If you’re clear with the concepts and good with your preparation, you already have achieved 50%ile here, by doing this. Pick the right questions, which you are sure that it’s gonna be 100% right. Attempt them first, and make sure that whatever you are attempting is right.
This boosts your inner confidence after every question you attempt gets right, adding another 50%ile, which is required while attempting any competitive exam. Your unfaltering attempt and confidence would lead you to the right place, which is more than the 100%ile.
Is there any qualifying percentage to qualify for CAT?
This isn’t a semester test going on in your undergrad college anymore. CAT is an entrance test conducted to check your analytical, quantitative, logical and verbal skills. The scores give an idea to the colleges/universities to understand where you stand in terms of the aforementioned skills. The score you get in CAT, exhibits the skills that you are good at, such as problem-solving and logical thinking. Also, there isn’t any qualified score to say that you did pass/fail in CAT. But there are cut-offs that you need to meet, to get an entry ticket into the desired college you want to study.
Could you tell me the list of top b-schools to join, other than the IIMs?
There are some amazing b-schools other than IIMs, which are ranked among the top 25 b-schools in India. To mention a few – ISB Hyderabad, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, IIFT Delhi, NMIMS, SPJIMS, IMI Delhi, and XLRI.
Is IIM-A better or IIM-B better?
This is a rhetorical question, but still, the answer is both. It’s not just about IIMA or IIMB. Technically, it’s completely juvenile/naive to answer this question.
IIM-Ahmedabad is the oldest IIMs of all, and it has its strengths. Talking about IIMB, it’s the most chosen one by faculties. They also support startups, they have plenty of publications, and also teach online courses (MOOCs - check Coursera/Edx). Both A and B have foreign exchange programs, but if you talk about brand networking IIM-A has its perks.
So, the point here is every IIM has its own speciality/spark/aura, where the student should figure out their needs and requirements they are looking for before joining the college.
If I score 90%ile in CAT, will I get a call from IIMs?
Sometimes a yes, and maybe no. It varies from student to student. There are a lot of x-factors that depend on getting a call from IIMs. Other than the CAT score, the additional factors include diversity (commerce/engineering/medical), caste, the quota for women, defence people, experience, etc.
If I write 30 questions, and if all of them are correct, how much percentile would I get?
This question is absurd. How can one assume a percentile based on the number of right questions you wrote? There is a list of factors that are based on percentile presumption. From the number of students who write the exam to the strenuousness of the paper, scores differ every year.
Well, to answer this question in a practical sense – it differs from +5 to -5 from the actual percentile one presupposes. Example: 75%ile +5% or -5%ile (Percentile could be anywhere between 70%ile to 80%ile)
Should I have any work-experience before applying for CAT?
Not necessarily, but a lot of them would prefer working after graduation. Some companies need an MBA degree to escalate to senior positions. So, a lot of corporate employees would prefer giving CAT to get hold of those top positions in the corporate world.
However, IIMs do take freshers as well. But, it’s pertinent for you to explain and articulate the reason for taking up the course after completing your under-graduation. Also, the call-convertibility depends on the veracity and the way you answer the questions to the panel members.
Will the paper be easy this time? What’s your insight on this?
This question is quite tricky and ridiculous to ask. Honestly, the answer would be depending on how well you prepare for the entrance. The better you prepare, the easy the paper will be, and the easy you take the preparation, the arduous the paper would be. So, everything depends on how well you prepare for the test.
How many hours should I prepare in a day for CAT?
There isn’t a particular number to mention. But whatever happens at the classes you take, whether online or offline, be thorough with that to ease/lessen your pressure at the end week of CAT entrance. And in case, if you lag behind a particular subject, spend as many hours as you can (until your concentration stays with you).
Preparing for CAT needs enthusiasm, patience, and you need to enjoy your preparation. If you feel tedious preparing quant for 3 hours, pick up a novel, read for one hour, go for a break – like meet new friends and run some errands, if any.
Watching an English film would also be a decent idea too. Then, get back to studying again. However, spending one hour on every subject to revise what happened on a particular day in class would be good to compete.