How To Prepare For CAT 2021 || Anuj Gupta, FMS Delhi'22

To be honest, there is no right or wrong time. It totally depends on you. It depends on your speed of learning, how much time you can contribute on a daily basis (If less, start preparing early), whether it's your first attempt (If yes, start early), etc. One wrong assumption that aspirants have in mind is that the more time they contribute, the better will be the results. But there is no such direct proportion relation between success and number of hours contributed. All that matters is how effectively you study in those hours. There is a possibility that an aspirant scored well by preparing for just 2-3 months but a person preparing for 1 year could not.

And lastly, there is no harm in starting early. It's better to start as early as you could as that will reduce the daily burden and will give you an ample amount of time to work on weaknesses.

Q2: Should I enroll myself in a coaching institute?

This is the question that no one can answer better than yourself. Consider the below things while making a decision:

If you are:

Self-Learner
Disciplined
Able to solve problems by yourself
Less dependent on guidance
Self-motivated

Then, you should better prepare by yourself, but do enroll yourself for the test series. And if you feel like you can't prepare by yourself, or if you are not that disciplined to form a schedule and follow it regularly, or if you feel like you always need some sort of guidance, coaching can be beneficial for you. And yes, no can surely tell what is good or bad for you until and unless you experience it by yourself.

Q3: Should I drop to prepare for CAT?

To answer this, you have to consider two scenarios:

Scenario 1: You scored good and are sitting for a B-School interview
Chances of being asked that why did you drop are high. But there is a misconception in the minds of aspirants, that a drop is considered bad in an interview. Firstly, you sitting for the interview proves that you have not wasted the time you got after dropping out. Secondly, if you have any other thing to show that you took up during the drop period (like any hobby, volunteering experience), then it serves as the cherry on the top.

Scenario 2: You didn’t score well and are sitting for a company interview
Firstly, it depends on your skills in your undergrad area of study. It would be less difficult for you to bag a job if you are skilled, even if your resume has a gap. Secondly, if you are not that much skilled, it will take a lot of effort and patience to secure a job. If you are ready for that, go ahead with the drop. But, personally, I would suggest better have a job and prepare side by side as the number of hours you need to contribute for CAT are less than other competitive exams. There are very few concepts and all you need to contribute is mainly towards practice for which 2 hours a day on weekdays and 6-7 hours on weekends is enough and manageable even while working.

Q4. What are the various sources to prepare for CAT?

What materials you use to study vary a lot in the case of CAT aspirants. Some prefer books authored by Mr. Arun Sharma. Some use coaching modules for preparing. Some read different books to improve in VA & RC while some just practice RCs from books. So, to cover such a wide variety I would dedicate a separate article to this question in the coming few days. Wait for it !!

Q5: How much percentile is required to get into a particular B-School?

Firstly it depends on your category. Then, it depends upon whether you are a fresher or an experience holder. But what I feel is that this question is a bit irrelevant.

The percentile to get into a particular B-School varies on yearly basis and there is no sure-shot guarantee that after scoring this much, you would be in this particular college. Always strive towards achieving the maximum. It’s always better to aim for a 99+ percentile (Category: GEN) as this will make your work easier in the further process. Freshers should aim for a 99.5+ percentile. Always aim higher than what you feel you can achieve.