CAT Preparation
It’s that time of the
year again. CAT 2017 is merely a few months away
and the barrage of freeadvice is about to break loose. While only a handful
manage to crack the exam, many feel obliged to share the elixir behind the
perfect CAT preparation.
In its essence, CAT
preparation is a long six month slog needing all qualities worth mentioning.
Unique in the skills it requires, CAT isn't predicated on testing scientific or
historical facts, but in the application of logical and reasoning skills. Your
patience will be tested, your will be corroded, your ability will be questioned
and your sanity might leave you hanging.
Still interested? Let’s
go.
With the world directing
you in all directions, it is imperative to keep a clear head and adopt
the right approach for CAT
preparation. Even though candidates move heaven and earth to perfect
their CAT preparation, missteps arise across every turn to hamper progress and
dampen spirits.
The key in CAT
preparation is making the least possible mistakes. Generic it may seem, it
remains the key behind success in any major undertaking.
Though Robert Frost told
us the road not taken doesn’t matter in the end, you can be rest assured about
taking the one correct road to establishing a quintessential CAT preparation
paradigm.
You aren’t Robert Frost
and CAT preparation is far from poetry.
Rather than giving you a
list of things to do, let’s discuss practices you should avoid while honing
your CAT preparations.
1. Do not suffer
negativity during CAT preparation
Have you ever watched
Rocky 1? Rocky Balboa surrounded himself with people who loved and trusted him.
He avoided media attention and unnecessary glamour to compete against the
world's best boxer.
The buzz around your CAT
preparation should be of a similar ilk. Hanging around people who sour the mood
and squeeze your optimism is the last thing you need. These people could be
your roommates, friends, even your parents.
Establishing a coherent
study environment is crucial for ideal CAT
preparation. Confidence and positivity will wake you up every
morning to be ready and motivated for the task ahead. CAT preparation will bog
you down and make you question your ability and self worth. A constructive and
affable surrounding will bolster you in those weak moments and power through
the pain.
2. Do not ignore
your strengths or over emphasize weaknesses
The killer amongst many
first-time candidates. In the race to finish all targets and goals during CAT
preparation, many candidates choose to pay less attention their strengths and
repeatedly target sections where they are weak. CAT preparation is about strengthening
weaknesses and sharpening strengths.
If quantitative section
is your strength, make sure you have solved every quant problem under the sun.
Your weak section will test you, but your strong section should always reflect
an air of invincibility. At the same time, stressing too much on your weak
areas will never be helpful. Try forming easier ways to tackle your drawbacks
and turn them into strengths.
No one will breeze through a
CAT exam. Some questions will stump you and prompt a different
approach. The key lies in converting each part of your preparation into a
fortress of solitude. If James Bond movies taught us any valuable, it was the
famous saying: Never let them see you bleed.
3. Do not rely on
your coaching for CAT preparation
We always hear the
question: How to prepare for CAT at home?
First of all, the
question to be begged for remains: Is it advisable to prepare at home?
Ideally, no. If you have
sources such as money and time, going to coaching classes for CAT preparation
is not a bad idea. Besides getting updated and challenging study material,
competing with fellow MBA aspirants can be a strong motivator for CAT
preparation. There is also the added benefit of learning from the best in the
business as far as CAT preparation goes.
If such resources are
not available, studying from home is also an option. CAT syllabus isn't an out
of the world knowledge fest, but rudimentary lessons up to 10th standard. The
nature of the questions is the challenging part, something prompting a
different approach from a candidate. If you can sit at home and formulate the
flawless model for CAT preparation, go for it.
Coming to the underlying
point, relying on your coaching classes to power you through the CAT is a
recipe for disaster. Without painstaking effort and gritty determination from
your side, you might as well burn the stack of cash you're paying to the
coaching centre for CAT preparation. Always remember, CAT is a competitive exam
and CAT preparation is the only factor which will decide your fate. Be ruthless
with yourself and challenge yourself more and more.
4. Do not surround
yourself with a pile of books and materials
A confused student is a
bookseller's best friend.
Buying assorted books
before sitting down for CAT preparation always seems
like a good idea. The smell of new books is all the motivation one
needs to get down to business. The truth lies elsewhere.
Select one book, maximum
two for each topic. Consulting five books for quants and another five for
verbal is detrimental for CAT preparation. Without going so far as to
suggesting specific books, the ideal advice would be to stick with a small set
of trusted material. If you are proficient enough to finish the material you
started with, move on to other sources to challenge yourself further.
5. Do not stick to
one way of solving a problem
Ever been stuck in
traffic and regret not knowing the quicker route?
Like a car in traffic,
knowing merely a single path to an answer can leave you stranded and lost.
Having an alternative rhythm while a solving problem opens the mind to
different ideas and perspectives.
This point is crucial
while preparing for the quantitative section during CAT preparation. The
language of a question is often twisted by CAT conveners every year. This can
cripple all your CAT preparation in the final stage and leave you helpless.
Your CAT preparation should
come in handy at that time. Break down a problem to its core and tackle it in
the most efficient manner. This is the stuff which makes
MBA graduates.
After all, what else is
CAT preparation for?
6. Do not under
prepare any section during CAT preparation
A chain is as strong as
its weakest link.
Engineers love quants.
Humanities graduates prefer verbal section. But your CAT preparation is futile
if preferences are anything to go by.
IIMs don't want
engineers or accountants, they want future MBA executives. If your CAT
preparation is going to be ruled by prowess in one of the three sections of the
exam, there is simply no point in giving the exam. Balance is vital for CAT
preparation. If this is the first time you're appearing for the exam, this is
the most essential CAT preparation tip for a beginner.
7. Do not set
unrealistic time related targets
Rome wasn't built in a
day.
The creeping frustration
born from failure to achieve targets is excruciating during CAT preparation.
Knowing your limits is a great personal asset and an invaluable tool for CAT
preparation.
Give yourself ample time
to achieve targets set earlier. Beware of playing too much with time, as the
ticking clock is the enemy in the end. Set realistic goals and achieve them
regularly to create a model environment for CAT preparation.
8. Do not walk the
hallowed path with a blindfold
Leaders are limited by
their vision rather than by their abilities CAT is essentially for MBA aspirants. If you sit down for CAT preparation and do not see yourself
as a top MBA executive in the future, stop going through the trouble. The
ordeal of CAT preparation is only worth the hassle if you believe it will all
be worth it in the end. Nothing is more depressing than wasting good years of
your life for CAT preparation when you could be doing something you really
want.
CAT preparation is not a
vanity project. It takes blood, sweat and guts. Study only if it is something
you really want.
9. Do not ignore
everything else in your life
Despite many rumours
suggesting otherwise, there is a life after CAT.
This aforementioned
point may seem a shot at humour, but many students have wasted good years of
their lives ruled by one obsession: CAT preparation and IIMs.
Forget the coaching
centre taglines. CAT is a very difficult
exam cleared by a meagre number of candidates every year.
Failure to clear the exam doesn't always reflect mistakes during CAT
preparation, but sometimes just pure misfortune. When the entire country sits
down for one particular exam, factors besides CAT preparation or knowledge come
into play.
Don't try to be too hard
on yourself. Live a little and always plan a life after CAT preparation.
10. Do not remain
unaware about anything on CAT preparation
All failure is failure
to adapt. All success is successful adaption.
There is always a new
question everyone is trying to solve during CAT preparation. Always a new word
somebody has learned. Isolating yourself from all other viable strategies being
used by candidates for CAT preparation is a fool's gambit.
CAT preparation is
survival of the fittest. Incorporating new ideas, different tactics and
perspectives is all part of an ideal blueprint for CAT
preparation.
11. Work, Work and
Work
Reality is easy. Its
deception that's the hard work.
This is not a 'don't'.
This is a must do. If MBA is your unflinching desire and CAT preparation is
what stands in the way, the path ahead is simple. Work, Work and Work.
In football, the team
which runs the most almost always wins. It is a simple principle. Hard work
often and always pays. CAT preparation is not any different from some other
lofty goal one might set in life. Technicalities can be dealt with, patterns
can be understood, methods can be incorporated, but there is no substitute to
sitting down on a quiet morning and opening the notebook for another CAT
preparation session.
To conclude, the last
advice for CAT preparation is perennial
improvement. The candidate willing and ready to improve at every
step will always succeed over a closet candidate. Simplicity is eloquent but
CAT preparation is anything but.
There will be times when
things may seem monotonous. Lofty goals always come packaged with doubt and
fear. Those will be the times requiring unhinging courage and conviction. As
mentioned before, CAT preparation is not a syllabus based exercise, but a test
of logic and presence of mind.
Best
of Luck!
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