Besides the mark that Lee left on the so-called modern pop culture and the world of superhero comic books and entertainment, Lee is also a fantastic example of collaborative work. He called it the “Marvel Method.”
Every character in the Avengers is (or was :P) a lone wolf — individuals that are highly talented but not necessarily work well on a team.
Now consider these wolves with different strengths, personality traits, you as a CAT aspirant possess. The starting goal is to bring together these Avengers together within you to work well in a team & prepare yourself for - The Thanos Crisis (aka CAT 2020).
So how should you go about it? How did Stan Lee recruit all of them?
Nick Fury — (Headhunting): Nick was a fictional character created by Stan Lee. Nick’s moral compass, ability to pack the team motivated, and compassionate yet powerful persona makes him a talent magnet.
You have to be in the shoes of Nick, a leader whose goal is to assemble and maximize your strengths, work on the weaknesses, and keep yourself motivated.
So what can we learn from each of these characters that can help you to ace CAT?
- Plan your weeks. Set the right targets!
None of it was possible for the Avengers if it wasn’t well planned. This is not just about setting percentiles but also your dream B-school & specialization you’re targeting. Here’s “Why MBA?” question comes into the picture. The interviewers want to know whether you have the clarity of it or not. If you’re a fresher and don’t have much knowledge - start networking like Nick Fury and do background research like Tony Stark, seek people or a mentor to gain understanding, and set your targets right. Plan when should you be done with all the topics or that study material so that you can start solving difficult problems, mark those 20 take home mocks in the period left on the calendar, and stick to it. Setting targets also works as great motivation when you’re low – for example, setting up a laptop wallpaper of your dream B school or its picture on the wall.
2. Right Attempts, Accuracy and Score Targets
Once you have the above clarity, you must set score & accuracy targets in Mocks.
The first fewer mocks must be done & handling these initial results isn’t easy. CAT aspirants typically begin full-steam, thinking 99 percentile — IIM-A/B/C —then when faced with the initial disappointments tend to lose heart & start doubting themselves.
You would need to be patient & hold-up till around the September end to see your best scores. But how does one set mini-targets?
On average, scores correspond to percentiles as stated below (range accounts for difficulty levels)
Aspirants who have a percentile below 80 & are feeling bad about it, try viewing it from a discrete lens (numbers of attempts & questions correct).
A reliable no. of questions you should be attempting in a section have stated below. Start getting more and more right attempts slowly and keep the avenger inside you motivated.
Also, the percentiles that you should be targeting to reach in the coming months - slowly work your way up the ladder.
3. If nothing goes right, sincerely play on your Strengths
If you’re scoring low, focus on the section you find relatively easy, cover easy topics and go back to the mocks, try solving the same, attempt questions from those topics,
or sections in the coming mocks. It will boost your confidence and bring you back on track. Bring out your Captain America’s strengths- Stay calm & patient, play naïve. Slowly move towards more challenging sections.
4. But in reality, CAT isn’t a game to play on your strengths nor where you go with fixed strategy or set target about several attempts (D-Day)
Strength lies in flexibility. Learn to leave the right balls before you’re ready to dispatch every ball to the fence.
One of the significant psychological barriers towards CAT is not very different from what batsmen face when they come to bat — the desire to get off the mark.
Right from the start, aspirants are always desperate to score and get some marks under the belt, which brings you negatives. So, the key in test-taking is also shot selection or rather choosing the right questions.
Now, Later or Never
When you read a question, imagine wearing the CEO hat and take a decision —attempt it NOW, LATER or NEVER! Our mentors called it ABC approach: A – “Abhi Karo” (Do it now), B- “Baad me karo” (Later), C- “Chhod do” (Leave it).
FINAL THOUGHTS-
Remember, topics are not tough; it’s the questions that vary as Easy-Medium-Difficult. Geometry might be tough for you as a topic, but you might get easy questions from it. The same goes for easy topics; difficult questions might appear. Hence, it is crucial to take enough Mocks to reach the level where you can easily apply the ABC approach.
Take risks, take calculated risks, experiment as much as you can, figure out what works best for you & against you, and finalize it before the D-Day.
Remember, we talked about flexibility as a strength. Do not go with a fixed mindset that I’m going to attempt 60 questions or attempt 20+ in VARC. Change your strategy as per the difficulty level of the exam. Every year 1 or 2 sections in CAT had been slightly more difficult. Hence it is advised to make the attempts wisely.
MOST IMPORTANT, once everything is done, even if you don’t win at the end…
Do NOT lose HOPE. Try harder, eventually, you will WIN the End Game.
Some of the topics that I would be writing in the future-
1. How to analyze Mocks?
2. How to improve accuracy in VA/RC?
3. How to select sets in LR/DI?
4. Should I quit my job to prepare for CAT?
Let me know in the comments what you would like to know about, and Assemble the Avengers within you to ace CAT-2020.