How to schedule mock tests

How to get the maximum out of your mock tests?

"Learning without mocks is like learning in a vacuum, with no parameter to judge how effective your learning is, It's like sending a soldier without combat training, directly to the war front-Pranshul Verma

Well, if you fall into the category of those who believe in executing rather than just blabbering then the best time to start off is NOW. It does not matter even if you have just started your preparation just remember one thing CAT preparation is all about accuracy, consistency, and practice; not about completing the syllabus. Start off with your mock test journey as soon as possible, you can even start ‘today’ after reading this article. There are few things to keep in mind in order to schedule your mocks after which you can easily ace through CAT; let us discuss it here one by one.

Month wise schedule 

 JUNE-JULY 

 As rightly mentioned by Aristotle, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them” early learners always have an edge over others, so it’s better to start off early probably somewhere around may end. You can easily begin by taking one or two mocks every alternative week. 

 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 

 By the end of July, you will get familiar with the way of attempting mocks. Now all you need to do in the month of August and September is avoiding ‘silly mistakes’ and re-attempting previous mocks before moving to the next one. By this time it should become organic for you to attempt at least one mock per week. 

 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 

 As you come near to the D-day, one thing should become your sole mantra and that is to practice! Practice! And practice! As mentioned earlier CAT is all about accuracy, consistency, and practice; you should try to give at least three to four mock tests every week and your primary focus should be accuracy and time. By the end of the first week of November, you should at least attempt 30+ mocks. 

 Practical approach 

One thing which is as certain as day and night are ‘you know yourself better than anyone in the world’. You know yourself inside out, you know your weakness/strengths, you know your preparation level, your circumstances, financial status, time constraints, and a lot more. Having a practical approach while scheduling your time becomes extremely crucial especially when you spend 8-9 hours in the office or college, taking out time from your busy schedule for CAT preparation can seem next to impossible after a long tiring day. Having prior knowledge about QA comes in handy in case you are an average candidate; you can try out the Quantitative aptitude course from https://www.percentilers.in/ 

check out this link: https://www.percentilers.in/s/store/courses/description/Quantitative-Aptitude-For-CAT 

 On average you should spend at least 4-6 hours every day completely dedicated to your studies. Practice having small targets and then achieving them no matter what, include reading in your daily routine, dedicate at least 1 hour daily for reading books. A practical approach would be to read 30-40 pages daily instead of trying to finish the book in one go. You can refer to the New York Times, The Guardian, Economist, and the Hindu for improving your reading skills. For acing at Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) try to read 1 book per week then gradually increase to 2 books and also try to solve the previous year's paper’s RCs at least 2-3 months before your examination.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) is a region that demands practice, solving the previous year’s paper can help a lot, it is also advisable to prepare from ‘Face to Face with CAT’ by Arihant publication. You can find all the important questions which have the potency to repeat in the current year on https://www.percentilers.in/. 

Related to articles