CAT Exam (Common Admission Test) is a computer-based selection test
conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as a prerequisite for
admissions to their business admissions program. The 2020 CAT exam is supposed
to be held on 20th November 2020.
Are you employed and aiming for an MBA degree? Want to crack the CAT
examination? I’m sure there are plenty of doubts and queries going on in your
mind right now, the most common one being “will I be able to prepare while
working?” the answer is YES! It is seen that most CAT aspirants are working
professionals who prepare for the exam while working. Then the next question
that may come to your mind is “how can I study while working?” That’s easy! All
you need is good wits and persistence. Now, how can you use these two
characteristics to prepare for CAT?
Here are some tips and tricks that can help you prepare for the exam while working for your company or firm.
Do not quit your job
The most foolish thing that you could do in the process of clearing CAT will be to
quit your job. Many people have the tendency to think that CAT is such a difficult
exam that utmost preparation is required and they quit their job in order to study
well. However, that is of course not a good solution. CAT is surely one of the
difficult exams of management, yet you need not lose your jobs in order to crack
it. It is a fact that humans tend to work more when they are under pressure.
Therefore if you are already under pressure because of your work you will be able
to study more during the limited time you have after work. Moreover working
professionals have an advantage over fresh graduates. The work experience that
you gather from your current job is basically the factor the IIMs and top b-schools
give significant weightage to. Work experience of 3-5 years is considered desirable by management institutes.
Set a routine
Experts say that one only needs 3-4 hours a day and 6-7 months to be able to pass
the examination. Setting up a time table in order to sort out your preparation
time will be helpful. First, list the common things that you do on a daily
basis. For example, commuting from your home to office and then back home,
breakfast lunch dinner, and other such things you are habituated with on a daily
basis and also mention the duration of time you need to complete those tasks.
From among the prepared list pick up those timings which can be utilized for
further preparation. Your work hours may extend from 9 to 5 or 10 t 6 as is the
case for most working people. You have an ample amount of time to study after
your work hours. However, do not exhaust yourself and try to wrap up before
midnight. Getting enough sleep is important because disturbance in the sleep
schedule may affect your studies as well as your health. Apart from this, you have
time while commuting. Many people use this factor to continue their preparation.
You might need 1 to 2 hours to commute from your house to your workplace. Use
this time to revise the stuff you have learned the previous night. You can do this if you
are in a metro or a train or a bus and might not have to use a book in your hand.
Use your break timings or lunch periods to extend your preparation. Try and
found out timings from your schedule which can be used for studying. If you have
found suitable timings frame a proper timetable with a view to the following for one
month. After getting used to the preparation routine extend it to one or two
months.
Make use of weekends and free time
If you have your weekends off, without having a second thought make complete
use of them. Study during the weekdays and take as many mock tests as during the
weekends. Do not waste your time on unnecessary activities especially during this
preparatory time. Prevent hanging out with friends and family as much as
possible especially during the weekends. It is already difficult for a working
professional having to work 8-9 hours a day, to prepare for an entrance exam.
Hence try and cut out unnecessary activities from your schedule and focus on
your preparation. Most importantly inculcate the habit of saying NO!
Attend your coaching classes on weekends either online or in-person. Coaching
classes help in reducing the mental pressure to an extent as you are at the option to
outsource the task of theory learning to another individual who can do it professionally and quickly than you can at home. Also, you can learn various question-solving techniques and tricks.
Divide the course plan
You have 6-7 months and during which you have to invest 3-4 hours daily.
Therefore start with formulating an extensive course plan. Here is an example:
divide 7 months into 3 halves. Keep the first half for learning, the second half for
practicing, and the third half for testing. In the first half, you should focus on
clearing your basics. Make a list of important things that you need to cover for
each section- Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation and
Logical Reasoning. Try to cover all the topics within 2-3 months of your
preparation period. Take one subject per day, for example, Quantitative Aptitude
on Monday, Verbal Ability on Tuesday, Reading comprehension on Wednesday,
and push this to the end of the preparation period. Clearing your basics at the
initial stage is very important so that you are not left with any last-minute
learning. Now come to the second half, i.e. practicing. While you were in school
teachers used to say that practice makes a man perfect. Yes, with unlimited
practice you are already at the peak of achieving success. Take 2 months in your
hand and keep practicing all the sections thoroughly. Keep solving sample papers
and other materials daily. Various online apps and sites have emerged for
different entrance examinations where you have the scope to practice and give
tests. Choose such sites and keep practicing. There is no limit to how much you
should practice. Lastly, keep your last 2 months for tests. As I said there are
several online apps and sites where you can give tests to measure your approach.
Also, you can join coaching classes where you get access to the previous year's exam
papers and sample papers. Enroll in a good institute and give mock exams and
test your progress. To put in simpler words, learn the practice, and test yourself.
That’s it! you are halfway through clearing your CAT examination.
Mock Tests
Since the CAT exam is all about speed and accuracy, practicing mock tests are helpful
in increasing your speed and also helps you discover new shortcuts to solve the
questions. By solving each mock test you get to know your mistakes and you
can focus on the part that needs more attention. This way you will have smooth
and steady progress towards your target. If you are availing coaching classes from
any institution you can easily get mock test booklets and sample papers from the
respective institutes. You can also avail them from the internet. The more mock
tests you give the more beneficial it is for you.
Using Social Media to study
The Internet has emerged as a boon towards self-tutoring. Gathering experiences
from other CAT aspirants may be helpful to expand your knowledge base.
Connect with other CAT aspirants as well as MBA degree holders to know about
their experience and recommendations. Various online groups are emerging on
the internet where members help each other to qualify for various entrance exams.
Join such groups that are beneficial for you. You can find them on Facebook,
Quora, etc. Various study apps have also come up that you can download on your
phone and study on the go.
Section-wise preparation
In the CAT exam, there are three sections: Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Verbal Ability
(VA) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR).
Verbal Ability is Reading Comprehension, for this section you have to practice
and improve your vocabulary. This can be done by reading newspapers, journals,
articles, etc. Try and practice 2 RCs per day. You can do this while traveling or
even at your office. You can browse online sites to give a lot of vocabulary tests
and measure your strengths and weaknesses.
Quantitative Aptitude- if you are pretty good at Mathematics with respect to conceptual understanding, give a lot of tests and revise the basics. If you are not on good terms with Maths, try to focus more on the basics first and improve the conceptual understanding. If you want you can take a short break and focus on the required areas. If you are somewhere in between being good and bad, I will still suggest you start with the basics and keep giving tests so that you can keep a track of your development. Make sure you cover the basics of the 4 major areas i.e. Number systems, Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. Once you learn the basics try to maximize your strengths in these areas. Try to solve 10-20 questions per day and solve all previous year CAT question papers from a particular topic.
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Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning- Data Interpretation has a major role to
play in post-MBA life. “Charts/Graphs talk more than numbers do”- an accepted
rule in the corporate world. Therefore it is important to be thorough with data
interpretation questions that include tables, line charts, pie charts, bar charts, etc.
Your mental calculation must be well refined which includes tables till 20,
knowledge of fractions, basic addition, and subtraction, etc. Strengthen your
mental ability by spending some time on basic operations daily and try to
minimize the use of calculators.
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Logical Reasoning includes solving puzzles that require basic common sense and practice of solving a variety of questions. The questions for LR include the arrangement of data in a tabular structure, directions, blood relation, decision making, coding-decoding, visual reasoning, cubes, etc. To solve these types of questions you need to practice daily and try to solve as much variety of questions as you can. Therefore to put it in simpler terms, all you have to do is PRACTICE. With sufficient practice and dedication, you are definitely going to secure your target.
Take a break at the final stage
I’ve stated earlier that you must not quit your job for the purpose of clearing CAT.
However you can take a break from your work in the final stage of your
preparation, maybe 1 or 2 months before the examination. This will help you
increase your focus and you can pay more attention to the required areas. Use
this time to attempt more mock tests and solving sample papers.
Health and Fitness
It is evident that work pressure doubled with exam preparation leaves no time to
be spent on oneself. However, it is equally important to keep your body and mind
healthy. Take out at least one hour from your schedule towards body exercises,
yoga, or meditation. It is scientifically proven that doing some kind of exercise or
yoga improves your blood circulation and promotes your brain development.
Even meditation can help you release stress from your shoulders. I know it is
already difficult to cope up with your studies besides work, but trust me if you
dedicate even one hour to fitness activities, you will be able to function well
even in a limited period.
Confidence and Hard Work
Firstly, have the courage and confidence to sit for the examination. Self-
confidence plays an important role in achieving any goal. If you are not confident
about your participation in the preparation you will not be able to reach your
target. The second important factor is hard work. Even if you get limited time to
prepare make proper use of that time and give your fullest. Hard work and
perseverance can never fail to amaze one.
Benefits of preparing for CAT while working
Work experience as an added advantage- I’ve already stated earlier that MBA
schools tend to pick up working professionals because of their work experience.
Hence you already have an advantage in your hand.
Time Management- working 8 hours a day and then adding an extra period for
your studies with other miscellaneous activities, you are bound to acquire the
skills of time management and trust me Time Management is also another
an important factor that is demanded by the MBA schools. Moreover, time
management is something that is going to help you throughout your life.
CAT does not become a do-or-die exam and hence as a working professional, you
will be more relaxed with regards to exam pressure as compared to someone who
has taken a break or a non-working person.
One of the best quotes I came across while writing this article was “start
wherever you are, do whatever you can, and use whatever you have”. If you have
established enough confidence in yourself so as to sit for the examination start
right now and do not waste any more time. If you are scared of not being
accessible to resources and materials, do not worry because the internet has
everything that you need. You are just one click away from your utilities. You are
bound to get an ample amount of information and study materials without any
hustle. So without wasting time devote yourself to the preparation.
I hope you get your queries cleared through this article. All the best!
Launch your Graphy