Acing CAT 2017 Like A Tiger

Githa and Samir are worried to death as the nerves are acting up in anticipation of the dreaded test CAT 2017. They know their career depends on the same and there is a huge family pressure on them to perform. Even slightest mistake will push them out of the rankings and not get them their dream institution.

They desperately want to crack the CAT 2017 and be selected for the top tier institution. Being stressed about it is good but they if they are under tremendous stress, it would be very difficult to run the same. To make sure that they do their best, they need to focus and relax.

Students, who make it to the top institutions, swear by the following tips that have been time tested in helping them to come up with their best. While there is no guarantee, following these tips would help you get an extra edge of 5-10 per cent over what you would have scored otherwise. It can make a difference between making it to an institution in Sikkim or in Bangalore! With the same amount of preparation!

Remember the question is not only about the preparation; it is given, but is more about doing your best on the day. CAT 2017 is not a 3-hour test; it is three 1-hour tests, one by one. Each individual sectional test is of 1-hour duration, and has around 100 marks each so treat it that way. Each mark is important and it does not matter which section you get the marks from, a mark is a mark! So if you have not done well in one section, forget it and concentrate on next section, do not let it affect you in any way.

Each Section Should Be Handled Similarly

Always relax yourself by taking a couple of deep breaths, clearing your mind of all thoughts and relax. You should be battle ready but not stressed out as a stressed mind makes silly mistakes. Your aim should be to work as fast as you can without making silly mistakes. Even if you think you have wasted five seconds, do not crib over it, move on.

The biggest mistake people do is to take up the first question and get into a slugfest with it. No need as this spoils your mood, stresses you out, and wastes time that could have been more beneficially utilized. Best performers recommend that for each section spend the first two minutes glancing through the whole section, both MCQs and non-MCQs. The goal is to familiarize with the easier questions (the low hanging fruit) so that you can answer them first. This is essential to build confidence, reduce your stress levels and put you on a positive mindset pedestal. Do not think about difficult or non-understood questions at this stage; just answer the questions that are easy to answer (by your standards)? Spend as little time as possible here; time saved would be very handy for difficult ones.

For the difficult questions, always focus on eliminating the unlikely choices, if you cannot eliminate, performers recommend that you skip the question as the probability of getting a positive score is low and it would only reduce your scores. Indiscriminate marking does not help. However, if you can eliminate 2 choices, you should attempt (even if it is still a guess) as the probability of the scoring is positive and you would add to your marks. Again, focus should be on the questions where you can eliminate choices fast. Performers recommend that for guessing, go with your gut feeling, it is probably right!

You should always keep a tab on “not visited or answered” questions as they may contain a few questions that you can probably answer fast. Always remember that you do not have to answer in the same sequence as the question paper is set, you can choose your own sequence!

If you have spare time at the end of the section, recheck the answers and run the above mentioned process again for the questions that you were unable to answer. Use the last thirty seconds of the section to relax yourself and prepare for next section.

Hints For Performing In Various Sections

You should ensure that you are familiar with using the formats and on-screen calculator for the quantitative section. Practice as much as you can on mock tests online so that you are used to it. Write down the formulas and practice fast calculations as speed and accuracy is of essence. Again, do not rush; work at a speed that you can comfortably manage. Going fast but making mistakes is worse than going slow but making no mistake. For difficult to solve questions (whether you forgot the formula or are not able to apply it), go for elimination of unlikely solutions, if you can eliminate two choices, you should attempt as the net benefit would be positive.

Time management is of essence in each section, especially so in quant section as students get lost in calculations, so try not to spend more than a couple of minutes for each question. There are several warning bells as well, equations getting long, not able to eliminate choices, getting weird numbers or solutions, etc. Move on, you can always revisit with a fresh perspective if time permits. Spending 5 minutes on one question is not a good idea so keep an eye on the time.

For the reading comprehension section, voracious reading habits would be very helpful, as it would make it easier for you to comprehend different languages and styles fast. As the probability of your reading the same or similar section improves, so does your speed of comprehension. Performers recommend that you should always read the questions first before you read the passage, as the answers will strike you as you read through the passage, saving you precious seconds. And each second is precious.

Similar methodologies apply for data interpretation and logical reasoning section speed and accuracy are always of essence, so be careful.

In the end, it always comes down to eye for detail and speed of performance, though the knowledge and application of the same is as essential. Controlling your nerves and having a strategy always go a long way and I am sure the above tips from performers will help you improve your performance by a notch, which can make all the difference for you to be able to reach your dream institution. All the best!