We started our CAT preparation when we were in the second year of our undergrad in Economics from Delhi University. We had joined the same coaching- Career Launcher. After a year and a half of rigorous preparation, we secured a reasonably good percentile in CAT. Now, when we reflect on our preparation, here are a few resources and tips that we believe would be helpful to CAT aspirants in their journey.
- First and foremost, if you have enrolled for a course on CAT regardless of the platform and institution, focus a major part of your preparation on that. The preparation material is prepared by exam experts and based on previous year questions asked in the exam. Also, the material is very crisp and covers all the topics in a comprehensive manner. Coaching materials of CL, Time, IMS are equally good, even if you have not enrolled in any of the institutes, you can find material on multiple CAT forums and groups. We would recommend that you refer to books and other online resources as secondary sources of your preparation.
- The preparation strategy for different sections of CAT would vary as per your level of comfort with each section.
(i) QA: Arun Sharma’s book is the most sought-after resource for the preparation of this section. The book is bifurcated into three sections of varying difficulty levels.
Strategy: Start with understanding the concept through books or videos. After getting fairly comfortable with the topic, start solving easy level questions (LOD-1). Post that, try intermediate level questions, if you face any difficulty go back to the concept and revise it. Also, if you get stuck anywhere, just google the question, it is highly probable that someone would have solved the question. CAT generally asks till (LOD- 2), but if you have extra time, you may attempt high difficulty level questions as well.
Supplement your preparation with coaching material questions along with Arun Sharma. (LOD: Level of difficulty)
(ii) LRDI: In general, there are very few relevant resources for this section. if you’re moderately comfortable with reasoning and data. You may resort to Arun Sharma or get your hands on different coaching materials if you’re keen on starting from the basics. However, solving past year CAT papers is the most authentic and relevant resource for this section. Also, try to find previous year mocks from reputed coaching institutes, there you will find CAT level LRDI sets.
Strategy: Initially, you might take a lot of time in solving intermediate to difficult level sets. Focus on getting the answers correct, even if it takes a lot of time. Once you have done 100-150 sets on varied topics, automatically your speed will increase along with accuracy.
(iii) VARC: This section is all about your comfort with the English language across a range of diverse topics. The most organic and sustainable way of improving in this section (especially if you have more time at hand) is to follow the newspaper regularly (especially
the editorials), read novels and articles from a diverse range of topics and sources. Here are a few that we followed during our preparation
- Pick any newspaper The Hindu, Indian Express, Economic Times, Business Standard, Livemint and the Print. Ensure that you read editorials and get the hang of articulating your opinions, beyond mere facts. It will not only improve your comprehension skills for the exam, but also help you during your WAT-PI preparation. Aso, reading is a life skill that extends beyond mere entrances and interviews. Working on it with that mindset is the most sustainable approach to adopt.
- Reading novels from varied topics was of great help to us, it exposes and familiarises you with a plethora of topics and makes it easy to comprehend the passages in the exam.
Here is a list of suggested novels -
- Sophie's World (Philosophy)
- A Brief History Of Time (Science)
- Checklist manifesto (Medical)
- 1984, Animal farm (Polity, Revolution, History)
- India Unbound (Economics, Indian economy)
- Klara and the Sun (Genetic engineering, Kazuo Ishiguro)
- INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (Technology, Marty Cagan)
- Annihilation of Caste (Polity, Indian History)
- The Alchemist (All-time Favourite)
This list is just a starter, once you read them keep diversifying your reading choices.
For practice, using coaching material and a book by Meenakshi Upadhyay. Once, you are fairly comfortable in solving passages, to improve your accuracy try the book
IMS RC 100. This book is a collection of 100 RCs of varied difficulty, coming from various topics. Interestingly, it also has a detailed explanation of each answer which helps in improving the accuracy. We personally found this immensely helpful for practice.
Eventually, whichever source you opt for your preparation ensure sincere dedication and discipline towards it. Plan a weekly routine for your preparation and religiously stick to it. The other two essentials for your preparation are a good mentor and study partner, which helps you stay determined towards the goal. We hope this was helpful, please share any other resources that you found helpful in the comments section :)
About the authors: Harshita Arora is an economics graduate from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. She secured a 99.59 percentile in CAT 2018 and has recently completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Ayush Goel is an economics graduate from Hansraj College, University of Delhi. He secured a 99.24 percentile in CAT 2018 and has recently completed his MBA from IIM Kozhikode.
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Note from the Editor → Harshita Arora was recently a panelist on a live webinar on 'Best Books For CAT Preparation | Free Resources & Material For MBA Preparation'. We recommend you to watch the session here!