IMS, CL, TIME - Which Mock Test Is The Best? | A Detailed Analysis

Before you analyze your first mock, and start judging yourself from that performance, you should do the homework of analyzing the various mocks available. But then, life would be easier right if you get honest advice on this from someone who has been there, done that. So, here’s it. The most famous mocks you would have likely heard of are from CL TIME and IMS. I would analyze the in this article. For the other mocks available, I would have a separate article covering that.

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IMS: VARC is good enough but at times it is a tad bit difficult to comprehend. There were also instances where all RCs were from the same genre, say philosophy or medicine or history or art. In that case, selection fails because there are not ample genres to choose from. DILR sets were always something different from before. You can learn good set selection from them because there were a few sets which shouted “avoid at all costs” and others which were “attempt at any cost”. QA section used to be very standardized and sprinkled with questions from all areas of the syllabus. Though I felt the QA questions could have been more varied from one mock to other.

Interface of the test is exactly like CAT, best for mocks. Analysis was provided by videos. VARC sometimes had ambiguous explanations and could confuse one more than help them. DILR videos were top notch mostly with insights into set selection techniques and also order of attempting, and a ranking of set difficulty at the end by the faculty Amit Panchmatia Sir. Same goes for QA, they give you more than one standard approach to solve a question. And the tips and tricks shared by Shashank Prabhu do come in to be very handy.

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Career Launcher: VARC was a bit on the easier side. The ones which could play the role of confidence booster for you if you’re struggling with VARC. DILR is mostly doable, and has a very nice variety of sets. They will not be very tricky and one can get the approach to solving them too on thinking a little. Just sometimes they make unnecessarily difficult DILR sets which doesn’t really help when it comes to framing and executing strategy. QA I could not find a better match. QA was exactly like a CAT aspirant should be doing, questions were testing aptitude, less calculations and more of logic approach can be developed with this type of QA.
Interface of the test is not exactly like CAT though.
For Analysis, free zoom sessions are conducted after every countdown mock. And GP ka Funda for QA was a well framed video series, the way a question should be approached is very nicely taught. The most difficult questions would have the easiest solution if GP sir would guide with the step wise procedure.

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T.I.M.E: Very well researched VARC, I loved reading the passages. And the answers had such good
explanations, that one can learn from them what is the approach to think for the RC section and how should one go about it henceforth. The articles were just like CAT level. Good DILR too, with a new variety of sets which can be thought-provoking. QA, I found to be on the difficult side, topics went beyond the expected CAT syllabus. It can prepare you for a bad day in case the situation arises.
Interface isn’t CAT type.
Analysis is well defined for the mocks. Explanations would not just answer the questions, but go way beyond and give alternative viewpoints and alternate approaches to the same question. They are nice for someone who likes digging deeper and having an ace up one’s sleeve.

My two cents: Since all of them have their pros and cons, and a single mock won’t suffice, it is always better to get a taste of all of them. You can learn something from each of them. Thus, my suggestion would be to get into a group where everyone takes a different mock, and for about 2-3 of them you can exchange your test series with your friends. Also you should have a primary and a secondary mock, primary among these3, seconday I would write in an another post. But two mocks is a good way to go forward. This way you can get the best out of each and be prepared for the D Day, however good day or bad day it turns out to be.
Till then, stay true to the prep!

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CAT Notification is released, Now is the time you take your preparation seriously and go the extra mile. To aid CAT aspirants, we have compiled a few sectional tests as a giveaway. Take them now and see how your accuracy turns out!

#	Section Name	Test URL
1	VARC Sectional Test	Click here
2	DILR  Sectional Test	Click here
3	QA Sectional Test	Click here