I went back to NITJ, because my test centre was also there, with only 2 days before the exam and All of my final week prep had gone for a toss.
I had prepared to go through the fundamentals of every section and go through some hard mocks I encountered the last week. With two days I just scrambled to catch up on whatever formulas there were and went to the exams.
It was after giving that exam I realised that this exam is a marathon if you want to be consistent and not a one-shot lucky pony. My one year of preparation took me over the finish line unfazed by the disruptive 1 week. Towards the ending of my prep, my scores in mocks had more or less become consistent instead of all over the place, which was the plan.
My advice is, like every other competitive exam, CAT is really a long term exam. Though the syllabus is simple if you hear people made it in 1 or 2 months. There is a lot of luck involved in it and finally, it’s up to you if you want to leave your life to a lottery but if you have been consistently working hard, then the last week go through your basics, your trouble sections, those tricky formulas. Don’t experiment with new strategies and stick with whatever is working and rather hone it.
Lets Sit In One Spot (And Travel) By Suvendu Nayak (99.56%ile), IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
The last week before CAT was quite hectic for me as I had returned just a week before from a long business trip and been unable to prepare in the slightest. The focus for the last week was not to increase my knowledge of the topics but rather to acclimatize myself to the rigours of the exam. Sitting at one spot for 3 hours with undivided attention is a chore for someone not used to it. So I tried to give as many full-length mock exams as possible. I aimed to give at least 2 and maximum 4 a day. If time permitted, I would review the answers but the goal was to get used to the "sitting". This was my strategy barring the day before the exam. That was the planned de-stress day where I would simply enjoy the moment and try to reduce the pre-exam anxiety to its minimum, which translated for me into a nice road-trip to Pawna and back
The Step By Step To-Do List By Jeswin Joy (99.79%ile), IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
- Writing mocks and solving questions in the exam time slot to get in the zone during that period of the day. Along with this, adjust the sleep cycle and rest of the activities to be ready for the CAT day (especially if you are used to sleeping during the afternoon slot timing).
- Revising the common mistakes that were repeated during the mocks and becoming aware of them on the CAT day
- Revising QA formulas reading an editorial per day
- Solving moderate QA and LRDI questions to boost confidence and avoiding the tough questions/new topics in the last week since it is too late to study and improve the concepts now.
- Just solve maximum 2-3 mocks in the last week with a gap of 2 days and relax (maybe go for a walk or do some exercises daily for some 15-30 minutes) if you have been preparing well and given enough mocks beforehand. If you are preparing for a short duration, then try to write as many mocks as possible during your exam slot to get into the habit of giving exams.
- I have also practised the exam day in mind like visualizing the exam…like how I am going to leave the tough questions and find the easy ones during the exam, how would I react to an easy question, tough one, a familiar one, unfamiliar one, etc
See No Evil (Mock Scores) List By Mayank Shah (99.20%ile), IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
For the last week before the cat exam, I had planned to give two full-length mock tests on the first two days of the week. I had already decided to not look at the percentile of the tests and just identify the areas that I was still lacking which can be looked upon in the next two days. I took the test religiously by keeping three hours uninterrupted and analyse the final areas for revision. At my workplace, I was using the short notes which I had made for my revision whenever I got time. Luckily, the workload in the last week was also very low which helped my revise the quants area thoroughly. For the next two days, I just revised all the formulas of the weak areas and areas which had the highest probability of coming in the exam. On Friday, I just relaxed the whole day, didn’t read anything and didn't worry too much about the exam. On Saturday, I took leave from work and relaxed at my home.
Mock Test Till I Die by Archit Panda (99.21%ile) , IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
So the last week is very crucial in terms of the mindset, but not so much in terms of the learning. Trying to learn new concepts and putting them to practice at this stage would not help a person much. Rather, the last week can be used to further finesse the exam strategy to be pursued on an actual day.
Approaching the dreaded Sunday, I planned two mocks each for the first five days of the week. Starting from the previous Sunday, I spent six hours on exam time and three hours of analysing time to further perfect the strategy of what to attempt, how much etc and all that strategizing. If I found any more time in the day, I would go over mistakes committed in previous mocks to keep in mind for avoiding them.
The sixth day, i.e. Friday, I reserved solely for the gameplan. Went through all different types of questions and the approaches needed for them. Put to memory which questions to attempt first and which later and which to leave. Worked a few problems for a couple of hours to finish off the day.
The final day before the exam, i.e. Saturday, I kept for relaxation and chilling. Now, this is because I find that I am more productive if I am calm before the exam. But if you're the type of person who is more productive if you're working problems till the last minute. Do whatever it is that gets you in that mindset to be fully effective. Possibly create a plan to do something fun after the exam. Make sure to sort out the travel arrangements to your exam centre. Make sure to get enough sleep so that your mind is fresh.
And lastly, don't put added pressure of performance on yourself. This is not the end of the world, and there is always a factor of the Universe's randomness coming into play.
Pressure Nahi Lene Ka by Sashank Sharma (99.84 %ile), IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
The last week before CAT I stopped taking any mocks as I felt that the pressure of not scoring well here will ruin my actual exam. I focused myself on revising whatever concepts I have spent time on during the preceding 2-month preparation. New models, concepts and techniques, however better they maybe will confuse you and add more pressure on you. I was very well confident of Quant, being an engineer. For me personally, DI/LR felt to be too time-consuming and hence I attributed 80% of my efforts in revising different models from a website that I registered in while preparing for CAT. The time just before the exam should be utilized to make yourself more confident in the preparation you did during all this time. The more calm and confident you are before the exam, the more chance to crack CAT with good percentile.
What Not To Do By Rishabh Singh(99.25%ile), IIM Kozhikode 2019-2021
It was just the week before CAT and I had given a really good mock. I was happy and confident going into the last week. I had decided to just give sectional tests and revise all my notes of formulas, errors & tips and tricks. But I decided to give another mock since I wanted another boost of confidence! And I got one of my lowest scores to date. I didn't know what to do and I was shaken. I left mocks totally alone and slowly built my confidence back up by doing many sectionals. And I revised my notes even more. I did solitary questions and spent the last 2 days relaxing. I had worked hard for the last 5 months, I felt nervous but knew that I couldn't have done any better in terms of preparing. The day before CAT I stayed at a nice hotel near the centre and slept peacefully with dreams of getting 99+. On the day of the CAT, I had arrived pretty early. It was a cold day. I had taken appropriate precautions. Just the right amount of clothing to not make me feel too hot or cold. They allowed us to wear our socks and that was great. I diligently wrote the tables, list of prime numbers and other things on my rough pad that could prove useful.
And then CAT began!
The main outcome of this article is that
DO WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU :)
There are a few common pointers that you can follow. But the journey until now was totally yours. The last week should be too.
ALL THE BEST FROM IIM KOZHIKODE.
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