See you at the IIMs

The Common Admission Test is scheduled for November 19. And CAT mania has reached a feverish pitch. This year, I will be rubbing shoulders with some of the best brains of the country for a slice of the coveted IIM pie.

Though I haven't prepared extremely well, I would still like to share my strategies with fellow aspirants. Especially those who haven't been able to toil that hard and yet, like everyone else, want to give it their best shot. Here's my take on how to bell the CAT.

• 3 valuable lessons from a CAT aspirant
• Strategies for CAT

Brush up

~ Verbal Ability 

• Go through the word list.
• Brush up on word usage basics.
• Practise a few RC passages.
• Get a feel of ALL types of questions that are likely to stare back at you during the test.

This is important to feel confident and 'at home' while writing the final test. 

~ Quant 

• Go through the list of formulae. 
• Brush up on simple concepts. 
• Revise multiplication tables from 1 to 25. 
• Give special emphasis to number theory and geometry. 
• Again, get a feel of all the types of questions.

~ Data Interpretation

Do at least three different DI questions to chalk out the strategies involved. There only Math involved here is elementary addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. What's important is how quickly you get the answers by looking at and manipulating the given figures or/and diagrams. Keep a clear strategy in mind.

Implement

In all the mock CATs you write, whether at a professional exam forum or at your home, you get a fresh taste of the stress and effort involved.

While writing the mock tests, try implementing all the strategies you know, (you can find loads of them on Rediff itself) to see which ones work best for you.

Pay special attention to clearing the cut-offs by attempting a smart mix of one and two-mark questions. Certainly, there is no point in milking your favourite section to the last drop and not clearing the cut-off in the other. Be wise, be balanced.

Random attack

After doing all this, relax and start attacking problems at random. Don't get bogged down by the hype surrounding CAT being extremely difficult. It is a myth!

Keep your mind open and remember: only the concepts you already know are used in the problems. The trick is to apply the concepts in innovative, smart ways. Be confident and half the battle is won.

Stay cool

Sounds clichéd? Nevertheless, this is crucial as stress and anxiety can be destructive to your performance.

All the best. Hope to see you all there... well, I mean at the IIMs.

-- The author is an M Tech student at IIT Kanpur.

 Have you taken CAT? Or are you planning to take CAT 2006? Post your tips.