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24 August, 2021

19 minutes Read

From Less than 50%ile In Mocks To 98.5%ile In VARC - Aayush Khandelwal, CAT'20 99.95%iler

Hence, I wrote such an elaborative blog detailing how I found the best preparation method and strategies for my CAT, my thought process of why I adopted these particular strategies. By telling you about me, my personalized way of preparation, my personalized strategies for CAT, I want to tell you about the ways in which you can “personalize” these for you.

I wrote extensively about what I think about CAT, objectives of different sections. I believe understanding the objective will help you in developing techniques for preparation and solving paper. I explained all three different sections separately and ended it with some overall recommendations. But before that a small introduction about me so you can get an idea about my profile.

WARNING: A VERY LONG READ.

If you are determined enough for CAT, I think “VERY LONG READ” shouldn’t bother you.

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It was in August of 2018 I decided that I want to pursue MBA and it was my dream to get into either one of the IIM A/B/C. I started preparation for CAT in January 2020. I was enrolled in TIME, Varanasi. And I feel, coaching really helps in increasing your percentile and chances of selection. I gave the CAT when I was in my final year. Usually, people prefer doing MBA after having good months of work experience.

I appeared for CAT’20 on November 29 and secured 99.95%ile. My section-wise score

VARC - 98.36 %ile | DILR - 99.97 %ile | QA - 99.60 %ile

I got shortlisted for all the colleges. I appeared for IIM A, B, C, L, K, I, and FMS Delhi. I converted all the top B-Schools except IIM C.

I have accepted the admission offer from IIM Ahmedabad and I will be joining IIM A in 2022. I have taken a one-year deferment.

About CAT

Common Admission Test (CAT) is an entrance test for the best MBA colleges in India including all the IIMs, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, IITs’ Business School, etc. The CAT 2021 exam will be held on 28th November 2021.

CAT has three different section -

a) Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
b) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
c) Quantitative Ability (QA)

With a changed pattern in 2020, CAT became a two-hour test, 40 minutes for each section. CAT has +3, -1 marking system (no negative marking for integer-based questions).

My Perspective About CAT

CAT is a game of Strategy, Speed, and Accuracy.

Strategy in CAT means preparing a plan where you know how much score you need in each section to reach your goals; how to approach every section in a structured way by being selective in attempting questions, prioritizing certain types of questions according to their easiness and your familiarity with the questions; how to spend time in a most efficient manner. You must have a “personalized” strategy for CAT depending on your strengths and weaknesses. Retesting different strategies and experimenting with AIMCATs while preparing will help you in identifying proper strategies that you should adopt in the CAT exam. You will know its best strategy when it has yielded you the best percentile.

In 120 minutes of time, you will need to solve 76 questions. Pretty obvious you need to be fast. Attempting 40+ questions will fetch you a decent percentile, but you need to be fast to attempt a question in less than 3 minutes. Practising a lot, appearing in AIMCAT consistently will help you gain speed.

Speed in the wrong direction is futile. You will never reach your destination. The right direction in CAT is Accuracy. No matter how many questions you attempt, accuracy will determine success. CAT has a negative mark system, so it becomes more important to take care of your accuracy. Having clear concepts, reading questions patiently to avoid silly mistakes will improve your accuracy.

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My Take on VARC

During and after MBA you will spend a lot of your time reading various stuff like case studies, theories, reports etc. Hence it becomes obvious that an MBA aspirant must be a good reader with a sharp skill to critically analyse and reasons arguments provided in content and draw proper conclusions. VARC exactly tests this skill of the aspirant.

VARC section is very subjective, unlike DILR/ Quant. It doesn’t have a definite method to find answers and finding the right option is difficult. Still, there will always be a subtle distinction between options identifying the right choice. Reading extensively will hone this skill of yours.

Among all the three-section, I was weakest at this. I was unaccustomed to reading highly proficient passages. I had difficulty in speed reading and grasping the passages. I used to lose attention frequently while reading. It was quite clear to me within the first 3-5 AIMCAT tests that I need to prepare very hard and improve my VARC skills exponentially. I devoted almost more than 60% of my preparation time for VARC.

I read daily for at least one hour since January’20. My reading content involved News Articles from New York Times, The Economist, Guardian, blogs, and passages from AEON. I read articles, blogs of different genres varying from fiction to psychology. (I will strongly recommend reading from Bharath Curated Reading List). Reading daily helped me to improve my speed and comprehension capabilities. Along with this, I also read books of various genres. Some books I will recommend reading - Sapiens, The Kite Runner, 21 lessons for 21st Century, Outlier, The Four.

Apart from my Reading drill, I solved the “Sectional Test” from TIME every day. I tried to solve at least 3 RC passages daily under timelimit. I analyzed every test to keep track of my improvements, mistakes, and shortcomings. I used those analyses to improve myself again for the next test.

I read TIME modules to prepare for verbal ability(VA) questions. TIME modules have good content on how to solve VA questions, finding connections between different sentences of the paragraph, and selecting a properly structured answers.

VARC Paper Pattern: 4 Reading Comprehension Passages (RC) consisting of a total of 18 questions (5*2 + 4*2), 3 para jumbles (PJ) questions, 2 odd one out para (PO) questions, 3 para summary (PS) questions, totalling 26 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes. Anything above 40 marks will fetch you >99% in the VARC section.

After giving the initial AIMCAT tests, I analyzed that when I attempt with speed reading I would lose my accuracy in RC. I was terrible in PJ (<50% accuracy), I was good at PS and PO (>90% accuracy). Under 40 minutes it was impossible for me to read all passages and VA questions.

So I knew I had to attempt at least 15 questions with high accuracy to achieve the goal. So in 40 minutes, I planned to devote my time to those 15 questions I am best at. For me, those were 3 PS questions, 2 PO questions and 3 most familiar tone RC passages (13-14 questions). I hardly attempted PJ questions, because I knew they were a total waste of time for me.

How do I attempt the VARC section?

The moment the timer starts, I will scan the first passage very quickly under 30-40 seconds by reading the first line and last line of every paragraph of the passage to determine whether I am familiar with the tone, topic, genre of the passage. If yes, then I will spend another 2-3 minutes reading the passage. After reading and understanding the whole passage in under 4 minutes, I try to solve each question in 80 seconds. While solving questions I will reread passages to determine answer taking time properly to avoid inaccurate answers. I will follow similar scanning, reading and solving procedure with other familiar passage. I will directly discard attempting passage if I find them difficult to grasp and I am unfamiliar with that tone.

In the remaining time, I will solve VARC, prioritizing PS over PO over PJ. In the last one minute, I will fill random answer for integer based questions as they don’t carry negative marking in the hope of lady luck being with me (xD).

From my personal experience, using this strategy my VARC score increased drastically from 25 to 40+ marks. Even despite being a slow reader, my strategy allowed me to score a great percentile by focusing on accuracy and prioritizing questions.

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My Take On DILR

Logical reasoning skill is important to make crucial decisions. And good decisions are always supported by facts i.e data. A manager must be good at decision-making. Therefore it becomes important for aspirants to have a knack for playing with data and logical reasoning puzzles.

LR sets are like puzzles. You need to untangle and then organize all the information provided to decode the sets. LR sets are easy if you have a knack for solving puzzles. They don’t require much time. While DI sets are comparatively time-consuming but aren’t brain teasers like LR.

DILR was my forte. I feel I was naturally good at it. I was able to understand and solve sets easily in comparison to my peers. My AIMCAT's results were good in this section so I didn’t prepare much for DILR.

Though I was attempting AIMCAT once in three weeks since January, I started practicing DILR in late June. I attempted at least one sectional test in two days. I also practiced the module's difficult level questions. In DILR, I observed that I was very good at particular types of sets. For eg. - seating arrangements, ranking-based sets, ratio, percentage, graph-based sets.

I reattempted unsolved/incorrect questions from sectional and AIMCATs. It helped me more than modules to hone DILR. Modules questions can be solved using some template but AIMCATs will expose you to different types of questions that can’t be solved with any mentioned method in books. No two DILR sets will have any particular method that will definitely yield answers for both sets. Every set will have a unique approach to solve that particular set. So it becomes important to practice a variety of questions and eventually, you will become good at determining an approach to solve a set.

Apart from modules and tests, I practiced speed mathematics. It helped me to quickly calculate percentages, ratios. I was able to handle mathematical operations mentally saving me a lot of time. This also helped me to solve Quant's questions quickly.

DILR Paper Pattern - Total 5 sets comprising of 2 sets of 6 questions each and other 3 comprising of 4 questions each. Anything above 40+ will also fetch here greater than 99% in the DILR section.

Attempting 4 sets should be the goal. The key to ace the DILR section is selecting the easiest, familiar, and less time-consuming sets. Why? Let me give you an example.

Consider a typical DILR section with 6 sets of four questions each. Out of these 6 sets, 4 sets can be solved within 8 minutes and are easy and the other 2 questions might take 15 minutes or hard to solve. Now taking 5 minutes to scan all the sets to select which you want to attempt and then attempt those four easy sets in the remaining time will fetch you better marks than getting stuck with difficult questions without proper scanning.

In DILR if one has solved a set without any silly mistakes, accuracy will be always 100%. Unlike RC sets you won’t need to visit the set again for information (except some DI sets) so please take a good amount of time but not more than 8 minutes (not strictly) to understand every information provided and organize the set. Use Pen and Paper frequently to avoid missing any vital information or possible cases. I preferred solving LR questions before DI as I was more convenient with them.

How do I attempt the DILR section?

I will read all the LR sets. I will prioritize solving easier, less time-consuming, and familiar LR sets straightforwardly. If I encounter a difficult set, I skip it directly. In this manner keeping track of time, I will try to solve as many sets as I can. Then I will scan DI sets, solve easy and short ones. If I get stuck in any set that I identified as easy and doable, I will still skip it rather than wasting any more time.

In this manner, I target to solve 15+ questions and If I have any time left, try to solve those sets whose individual questions can be answered quickly. Or, I look at the questions of those sets in which I was stuck.

DILR is the most difficult section for most people. But I believe those who can identify easy and solvable sets properly can score 99.9+ % easily in this section.

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My Take On QA

Quant is the most scoring section of CAT. Quant tests your analytical, problem-solving and mathematical skills.

I was good at Mathematics because of my Engineering background. I already had the knowledge to solve mostly all the questions that appear in exercises, tests. But, I wasn’t able to capitalize on my knowledge. Under 40 minutes, you can’t score well only on knowledge. You need to be both nimble and precise with questions. I had to improve my solving speed a lot with regular practice and shortcut methods.

I learned concepts, rote formulas and shortcut methods, learn tricks of each topic from TIME modules. I practiced each exercise of all the important topics like Number Systems, Time, Speed, Probability, Ratio, Percentages, etc from the modules. After a good practice, I had conceptual clarity on most of the topic. Due to this, I was able to recognize easier questions by reading only. It also helped me in recognizing topics at which I was good and accurate so that I must attempt in the test. Similarly, I got aware of topics that I found difficult. For eg, I had difficulty with triangle, circle questions so I would just skip them and save them for the last few minutes.

I attempted three sectional tests of moderate level every week. I used to look at every questions’ solution again in order to know a better method to solve those questions. I also analyzed every AIMCAT carefully to determine which topics I took a lot of time, or compromised on accuracy so that I will study it later to improve or leave those topic’ questions next time. Reviewing tests questions provided me with detailed information about the right approach to solve questions, improved my judgment.

Though I had the knowledge to solve more than 90% of the questions, the real challenge lied in terms of solving so many questions in only 40 minutes. Apart from this, rushing to solve questions made me do silly mistakes which fetched me incorrect answers. So, be sure to not compromise on accuracy while improving speed.

Paper Pattern - 26 questions to be solved in under 40 minutes. Some questions will be integer-based with no negative marking. 45+ is a must to score >99% in quants. An attempt of 20 questions with good accuracy should be the target.

You can answer every question in quant but you won’t have the time. You feel have the urge to give more time to a question so that your already spent time don’t go in vain. But, believe me, it’s the wrong thing to do. You need to be courageous enough to leave the question if you already spent 120 sec and answering a question will still take more than 100 sec.

It was a very straightforward strategy. I will read questions carefully, if I am sure of the approach to find the answer and know it won’t take more than 90 secs, I will solve that question. If I encounter 3-4 lines question, I will skip it and save it for later. Reading long questions will take too much time and chances are high you will miss important info. So it’s better to save them for later. I will avoid solving those PnC or Probability questions in which I need to make cases. Because I found most of the time I will miss one or more cases, fetching me an incorrect answer, also loss of crucial time. Similarly, in this manner, I had the idea of what questions I should attempt and even the shortest approach. Keep your eyes open and see if you can solve questions through wit like solving through options, substituting values of x, and something like that.

How do I attempt the Quant section?

The moment the Quant section starts, I will read the questions, solve it or save it for later. After solving the easiest questions, I will visit the moderate ones and try to solve them. Also, I will try to solve most of the steps of easy questions mentally saving me a lot of time to write them down.

In this manner, I prepared for three sections of CAT. Practicing questions consistently, testing my practice through sectionals and AIMCATs, and finally analyzing them to prepare a personalized strategy is the most effective way to crack the CAT. This approach will put you ahead of the rest of the people.

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Advice To CAT 2021 Test Takers

If you have trouble concentrating while reading, try to read aloud for 2-3 weeks. If you have trouble comprehending, summarize articles you read till you get better.
For LR questions, there are always some points that will render you the definite position of subjects. Use such points first. All information will collectively provide a solution, so look at the bigger picture. It’s very rare that some points might be redundant so use every information of the set to determine answers.
Learn Speed Maths. It will save you a lot of time for DI and Quant. It will also increase your mental ability.
Missing a mock test is a crime. Attempt mock tests as many as you can. The number of mock tests attempted is directly proportional to your scores in CAT.
If you are fresher, there are high chances your CAT will coincide with end-semester exams. So please schedule your practice accordingly.
Prefer reading online to become comfortable with online CAT exam.
Give your mock tests at a time matching your CAT exam slot time. This will stimulate your brain to be ready at that particular time for D-Day.
Don’t fret if something didn’t go according to your plan during the CAT exam. Have confidence and attempt the remaining paper with patience. Because everybody will face minor inconveniences and victorious will be those who were unbothered by it.
Begin with the end in mind. Set goals in the beginning only, what you want to achieve through CAT. Goals should be tangible.
Only getting a high percentile in CAT won’t ensure your admission to your targeted college, you will need an overall good profile. So please evaluate your profile by yourself on the basis of college criteria and the past cutoff of those criteria. Then, determine the CAT percentile you will need to get shortlisted. Otherwise, it will be a wasted effort.
Only hard work won’t deliver you percentile. Smartwork is as essential as hard work. Have strong reasons for “Why it is a must for you to score well in CAT?”. Because having reasons will keep you persistent and consistent to prepare very well for CAT.
Sleep well a day before the exam, sleeplessness will reduce your speed and concentration.
CAT is just an exam. Enjoy preparing for it like a game, not some code you must have to follow. Don’t overburden yourself, it’s more important to stay happy, be content with life.