- Panicky Situation - The strictest advice that I will give is that take this section as a separate paper. Please! Forget that you had a Verbal or LRDI section just a minute back. The final day is always like a boiling cooker. Some of you will make mistakes in the initial two sections that will be jeopardising. Make sure you do not carry that baggage and render a cascading effect on the final section. It will be disastrous, especially because the tension and mistakes pile up, either linearly, or to be worst exponentially. Stay calm and composed for the final one hour.
- Elimination - I hope the aspirants have accepted the truth that the CAT is a process of elimination, not selection. Remember that! The GD and PI rounds that come later are the processes of selection. So, deploy the same formula. Skip questions, that too readily. Do not waste time even on a second look if you do not understand the question on the first go.
- Mocks - Embrace them! They are the only alternatives that will help you in gaining speed. Practice at least 2-3 sets every day from now to get an idea as to how many questions you can touch in an hour. You need not attempt every question, but yes, a significant number is always better. I knew people who at least went through the whole of the question paper under 40 minutes. Develop speed.
- Three rounds - The first round should result in getting the correct answer in the first go. It should come automatically, or through intuition. Second round should be focussed on the ones which are long questions, require multiple calculations, or the usage of calculators. The final round (if you have time) should be dealt with getting the bonus. If you can solve them, well and good; if not, those questions were never from your safe basket. Smile and accept!
- Accuracy - Whatever levels of accuracy you have presently, it will be entirely different in the final paper. The responsibility is on you whether you render it a positive growth or a negative downturn. I will definitely not suggest blind guesses in this section.
- Calculators - Do not use it unless the options are very close to 5-10% difference. If the options are far enough, CAT does not want you to use the calculator. Mental calculations and approximation techniques are a must. The ones that have very close answers, leave them for the last.
Please instil in your mind that CAT is not a war. It is just an exam which is highly unpredictable. So, keep the pressure off. During the paper, lock the negative thoughts back at home as to what will happen if things do not work out. You will still be alive. Appreciate that!
I know it is difficult for you since I am on the other side. But the more significant battle lies after CAT. With PI shortlists strolling in with minimalistic percentile gap, expectations might see a dip. The focus now should be performing equally well as you do in the mocks (I did not though). Relax and good luck!
Comments
Avani Tiwari
I am a computer science engineer currently working with Worldpay as a technical analyst since September 2016. I'm a sincere,dedicated, hard working and sensitive person and want Ann internship since I'm thinking of leaving the job to prep for CAT this year.
Thanks for this article devanshu. This was a much needed boost of positivity at this dire hour. Fingers crossed for the D-day parade! :)
20 Nov 2017, 01.29 PM
+Read Replies (1)
Devanshu .
Devanshu is currently pursuing his MBA from IIM Lucknow.
Good luck!
23 Nov 2017, 01.55 PM |
Simran Nagpal
A CAT aspirant. Appearing for 2019 CAT.
Thank you so much for this! Can you suggest me some way that how could I boost myself through the prepration when I'm not able to solve simple and basic questions....even after proper learning of basics.Its frustating and developing QuantPhobia :(
3 Aug 2019, 06.49 PM