Starting with what CAT exam essentially is;
It is a common entrance examination for post-graduation. It is considered to
stand on the highest pedestal among all the other post-graduation enrolling
exams. Business school aspirants are the center target market of the CAT
conducting industry as all the A-grade business schools enroll students according
to their CAT scores.
The eligibility factor for appearing in this particular examination just asks you to
qualify your bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% in your scorecard for
general category and it falls down to 45% in the case of SC, ST, and OBC.
Coming to the objective that is to discuss the correct time to
start preparing for CAT:
The correct time to start studying for CAT or rather any other examination is rather
subjective. It depends on individual to individual. The grasp they have overconcern subjects, their concentration, availability of time, division of time, a lot of factors decides “when to begin”. Therefore, to give a generalized statement we will dive deeper and find out the difficulty criteria of the examination.
CAT is an examination given by a very large population of our country.
Almost 70% of the graduates end up applying for it none the less. A student from
a science background to business background (Commerce) to Humanities
backgrounds, MBA is aspired by all-cause; all of them end up working in the
corporate field as it is the holder of a majority of elite employment. On yearly basis,
more than 3 lakh graduates fill up CAT’s forms and more than 2.5 lakhs of them
appear for the same. Whereas the colleges and seats are rather limited given the
number of students appearing for the exam.
Coming to the portions needed to be covered includes all the important topics of
Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation, Logical
Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). CAT papers are published to
be from moderate to tough. The real competition is said to be between 2k to 30k
students.
Now how to ensure yourself to be in those 20k to 30k students?
Ideally, the CAT exam asks for preparation of 300 to 500 hours to get a full-fledged knowledge of its core subjects. These hours should be the hours of
serious and most focused preparation. The time given to each subject
should be divided with the utmost sincerity.
The candidate should sit and introspect areas of their excellence and areas
of their weaknesses and work on them accordingly.
If the candidates are unaware or do not have previous engagements with
the concerned subjects, mock tests should be attempted in order to know
where they lack and what they find easy to crack.
To qualify for this exam the students need to do smart and targeted
preparation. Some management experts claim that 6 months of dedicated
preparation is enough to crack the CAT examination. But again a lot of things
are supposed to be taken under consideration.
It is an undeniable fact that every individual is different and so are their
situations and circumstances. A graduate who is a gradual learner should
take almost a year to prepare in-depth. A graduate who is planning to give
his CAT exam just after the completion of his degree should take almost 2
years of preparation as he’d be juggling a lot of subjects in one go.
Knowing your exam properly is one of the most essential keys in
determining your scope and getting an idea to begin your preparation.
Know the exam duration, the number of questions given, mode of
examination, marking scheme, whether risks can be taken or not, are there
negative markings, etc, research whether they have certain benefits like if
they allow us to use the calculator or have an open book method. Research is the
a most essential way of determining the time to be needed for preparation.
My conclusion with respect to this topic will include the importance of
discipline.
Discipline is a constructive word we hear every now and then, not realizing the
power it holds. Every successful man present today has manifested the power
he/ she possesses by practicing discipline. Likewise, the candidates should start by
constructing a routine that is effective and efficient. The routine should have
the day processed in a way that all the subjects are covered at least one month
prior to the exam to have a thorough revision of all the subjects.
To carry on with a more productive day the candidate should make a progress tracker. All the major objectives to be achieved in a day should be jotted down
and should be worked on accordingly. To make a progress tracker alone will give
the students an estimate of how much time they have to invest in order to get
through the exams.
The students should also keep themselves motivated. They should keep on
reminding themselves why they are on this particular path and what will it lead
to. Success and glory should never be forgotten. These techniques help in
bringing out the optimal results.
Many students opt for coaching classes in order to clear the exams
and score high percentiles.
Coaching classes help the candidates by laying out their study plans, directing and counseling them, and helping them reach their highest potential. The fact that this could be done by the candidates themselves does not pry. Some candidates need constant fuel of motivation and a sense of competition to reach their maximum potential. Constant mock tests give the students a sense of responsibility and insight about where they stand and how long and how much more effort will it take to reach where they want to reach.
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