'What Strategy should I follow in order to ensure a good percentile in CAT?' This is the most asked question if we go to any CAT exam related portal.
Every CAT aspirant that has actually cracked this code and is sitting in his/her dream college will tell you many points. Everyone formulated their own strategy while preparing for CAT, but all of these strategies had one thing in common.
MOCK TESTS.
Each one of them had this very common answer. Why?
Let us assume 2 conditions.
The first situation is:
You are fighting and leading an army on the battlefield (CAT Exam). You have examined the battlefield once or twice. Suddenly there is an attack from the enemy side that is uncalled for (Tough questions, Heavy RCs, monstrous DI). Here you know your strategy: you have to avoid the powerful soldiers and strike the ones who can be tackled and leave the stronger ones for later. More than knowing your strategy you have to know how to execute it properly in one go (because CAT is yearly.DUH!). Since you have not visited and conditioned yourself on the battlefield more often you tend to lose your confidence and after the enemy army starts striking your soldiers you start panicking. You might pick yourself up and come up with a winning strategy instantly and luckily or You might lose the battle completely.
The second situation is:
You are fighting and leading an army on the battle field. You have examined the battlefield at least 40 times, you know all the hiding points in the field, the battlefield is like a second home to you. Suddenly the enemy attacks (It always does). You have played this game many times before with a tougher enemy and at a tougher level. Here you know how to identify and strike down the easy soldiers and since you have known the stronger enemies too, you attempt to strike the stronger soldiers too. You are guaranteed to win, not because you have known the soldiers but because you knew your strategy, because you executed every plan beforehand and set it down perfectly like your reflexes.
Winning a battle is more about Strategy and knowing your strong points. Having a strong army is a plus point (Knowing how to crack difficult questions).
I suggest you take a “blow to the head “ approach and kill the CAT in one go. Pun intended.
Attempting as many mocks as possible and analysing where you stand with each mock is the most basic and most important approach. Plus, this is tried and tested.
You can see a sense of confidence developing in you when you give mocks. After giving 4 mocks you see a sense of confidence prevailing in you even if you don’t score well. This confidence is the confidence of knowing the battlefield. Now all you have to do is groom yourself along the way.
Giving mocks conditions you for the D-Day and gives you a sense that you have already done this before.
With only 5 months left for CAT, give and analyse as many mocks as possible.
Go for it, All the Best.