EXAM PREP
CAT Preparation: A 99.92%iler’s guide to acing the exam
Swarnadeep is a final year undergraduate pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering at Kalyani Government Engineering College.
He has aced the CAT 2020 exam with a 99.92%ile overall in sectional %iles of
VARC: 98.24 DILR: 99.71 QA: 99.77 .
In this exclusive conversation with Team InternClick, he shares more about his preparation strategy and his tips on how future test-takers can crack the CAT code.
When did you decide that you wish to take the CAT?
I decided to take the CAT when I was in the second year of my graduation. When I came across the 2018 CAT question paper, I realized that an MBA curriculum, as well as the CAT exam format, were in accordance with my skill set. It was then that I decided to pursue an MBA as a means to establish a career in Finance.
How long did you prepare for the CAT?
I started with my serious preparations during the lockdown with 8 months remaining for CAT. It was during this phase that I solved questions in a time-bound methodology. Although I solved a few DILR sets in my free time during the previous year, a properly planned full-fledged preparation began only during the lockdown.
Tell us more about the materials/books you followed for each section.
When I started off with my preparation, I was more concerned about consistency across all three sections rather than being too dependent on one for boosting my overall score. VARC was my Achilles heel and so I devoted more time in my preparation for improving my performance in this section. The editorials of esteemed English dailies like The Times of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times helped me improve my vocabulary as well as comprehending power. I also found the TIME VARC practice workbooks really helpful. For Quants, I consider Arun Sharma’s Quantitative ability as the Gospel book. The concepts are tested thoroughly with problems of varied LoD.
For LRDI, I did not follow a specific book, rather I was focused on solving sets from different sources- previous year papers, TIME practice workbooks, IMS sectional tests.
How many CAT mock tests did you attempt?
Mocks were the most integral part of my preparation. Rigorous Mock analysis proved to be beneficial in assessing my strengths and weaknesses across the various sections. I attempted 50+ full length and 30+ sectional mocks during the last 4 months of my preparation. I used to appear for sectional mocks in between full length mocks as and when I thought there was a need for a change in strategy in any of the sections.
What was your CAT exam day strategy?
I had my exam in the 3rd slot. I got mixed feedback from my acquaintances who had appeared in the first two slots. I decided to not have any pre-meditated strategies and simply attempt the exam as it comes.
Initially, I was having a few doubts about RC questions and so I decided to maximize my attempts in this section in order to offset a reduced accuracy rate.
In the DILR section, I spent the initial few minutes glancing across the sets to have a clear priority order in which I wanted to solve them. In the quants section, I first searched for the absolute freebies, and solving them got me going. The paper was heavy on the arithmetic front and the use of shortcuts helped me maximize my attempts in this section.
What piece of advice would you share with future test-takers (2021 and later)?
My advice would be to attempt a lot of mocks and analyze the results in order to have a fair assessment of the areas one needs to work on. Attempting numerous mocks will not just help the aspirants to get accustomed to the exam stress but also expose them to exams of varying levels of difficulties. Also, the temperament on the D-day plays a big role in the outcome of the exam. Hence my advice to the aspirants would be to enjoy their exam without any fear of failure.
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