70 Days to CAT 2016 – Strategy

The game of cracking CAT requires a good strategy. To develop a sound test-taking strategy one must do a few things after a mock CAT which have been documented in my previous post Things you must do after every mock CAT you take. Having said this, a consolidated preparation strategy is as important as a sound test-taking strategy. 70 days is sufficient time to analyze your strategy and ace CAT 2016.
My suggested strategy is as below:

1. Ideally, by this time, a student should have learnt and revised each and every concept that is supposed to be learnt. Going through the basic questions should have also been done along with that.

2. Solving the MCQ questions of the funda books is necessary as it would iron-out any conceptual deficiencies that might be there.

3. Any concepts that are still to be revised should be done within the last two weeks of September. One good way of making the best use of the remaining time could be to divide the 30 days of September into 10 chunks of 3 days each. One practice test each on DI, LR, RC and one test from different topics of VL and QA should be solved in the three days.

4. All through this while, a student must attempt at least one mock per week followed by a session of in-depth analysis and deep introspection. By the end of September, the student will be exposed to different types of questions from each of these topics.

5. Come October, the students should get cracking and should start attempting 2 mocks per week. Needless to say, analyzing the mocks within the same week is non-negotiable.

6. This would also be the right time to start solving previous year CAT questions (2000 to 2008). If the preparation is thorough, sailing through this previous year CAT questions will surely prove to be a great confidence booster.

7. For students taking NMAT, one CAT, and one NMAT mock every week would be the ideal strategy. Even for a student aspiring to be at an IIM, a solid preparation strategy for CAT should certainly include taking the NMAT and IIFT exams before CAT.

8. Starting from the last week of October, it’s advisable to attempt a few IIFT mocks. IIFT is an extremely volatile exam in terms of its structure. Cracking IIFT is the prime-product of adopting a good test-taking strategy. One week before the IIFT exam, the students must get back into the concept revision mode and should make sure that every trick and concept is at their finger-tips.

Remember, test taking strategy differs from person-to-person and 70 days is enough time to discover a strategy of your own and crack CAT.

Good luck!

66 Comments

  1. Hi,

    I’ve been using SIS since quite a while for CAT and it’s pretty good but I’ve a few issues.
    Firstly, The sectional tests of VRC in test gym classic section have an equal distribution of VA and RC questions but, CAT became more RC intensive since last year so these tests do not provide a fair picture of my preparation.
    Secondly, whenever there’s a non MCQ question, i can use the question paper button to see the options. that’s a loophole while defeats the purpose of a non MCQ.

  3. Sir,my VA scores are consistently stuck at 44-47 ,which gives a 95 round percentile .How to improve more,say to around 55-60? and in Quants also my marks are between 40-50 and it goes even lower when the paper is tough? So how to improve accuracy in quants?

    • Neel, the only suggestion for this would be to take more sectional tests. Sectional tests will help you improve in each section. Analysis of these is extremely important.

  4. Hi Sir,
    A fantastic article I must say.
    My query is after having a work-ex of 24 months and a expecting results at 98+ %ile (CAT)which BSchool forms should I fill considering my weak academics as follows:
    10th- 81% ;
    12th- 52% ;
    Graduation (BSc I.T.)- 52%.
    General category.

    • Neel, except for IIMs, IIT B and MDI most of the other institutes have a low/no weight for past academics and given your expected CAT score plus a 2 year work experience you should apply for all the top 20 MBA institutes.

  5. Sir, I am not able to complete QA with the required time. I have to leave some of the questions even i know how to solve them. Please, help me out here

    • Amit, you must get down to taking more number of sectional tests. This will help you deal with this section more closely. Also, try finding out faster methods of solving questions as it would save a lot of time.

  6. Thanks Sir for such informative motivating articles. Sir, in QA and DI section I am confused that when we apply approximation technique , if our answer is near to option like 12 is option for answer 12.56 but there is none of these option also then which option to tick. Or again solve without approx. to find right exact answer.

    • Piyush, with none of these option its, preferable to either do the complete calculation or if the calculation is too tedious then leave the question and move on.

  7. sir, i had a very poor maths base since i failed from class 6 to 9 continuosly in my maths paper. i joined CL, Kolkata in 2012 but left it within 3 months since the teachers were moving at their own pace and the students with me were, i guess, gurus at the subject. hence i couldnt keep up with their speed of teaching and was discouraged from asking basic simple doubts that were popping up with every questioned that was solved. so i dropped out. but this year i prpared on my own and have strenghtened my base in maths. i am familiar with the basic formlae and concepts. but what else will i need to do to get an acceptable score ?

  8. Hi,

    I’m a student of CL. My classes are over as the syllabus was completed. But i missed many of my sessions. How useful is the Smart QA Cracker for me? Will it have videos only for short cuts or will it contain videos for regualr sessions also?

    • Suhitha, Smart QA Cracker is the best way to learn smarter and faster techniques for the toughest of questions. It will help you in developing an approach of looking at the questions in a different way.

  9. Hi Sir,

    I began with sectional CAT Tests about a month back. I have given three of them..however i have not got any percentile for it.

    Below are my scores in them :

    QA DI VR total

    20 48 37 105 mock1
    51 25 44 120 mock2
    31 41 38 110 mock3

    Can u give me a rough idea of percentile in each section and overall percentile?

  11. Sir, I want to ask that what will be the cut off for nmat for NMIMS this year? And they are saying that students can give second or third attempt but even after giving the exam also how can be someone sure that he/she will score the cutoff in the first attempt only and that is also without knowing the cutoff.

  12. Sir,

    Apart from CAT rest all exams have a section on GK. Request you to throw some light on which all topics should I concentrate on for the GK section as it I quit vast.

    Thankyou

    • Nikita, the daily GK update in your SIS account is sufficient for the preparation of the the GK section of any exam. Please follow it daily.

  13. Sir,
    I gave my first mock last week i.e. Proctored 12 and scored 70 percentile.
    Can you please guide me on how can I improve my score in the next 2 months to score much better and higher. Would love to hear from either you or your team at your earliest convenience.

    Thank you
    Sushobin

    • Sushobin, you should see CAT 2015 as a string of three sectional tests of one hour each. Analyzing each and every mock is very important.
      Each practice test and Mock CAT should be analyzed in detail to ascertain what worked or did not work for you. During this introspection you will realize which type of questions you are comfortable with. The analysis process is explained in my blogpost Things you must-do after every mock you take. Next mock onwards always go for these questions first. Please follow the R1, R2, R3 strategy.

      You must immediately begin with taking Sectional Tests. This way you would be dealing with each section more closely. If you realize that there is a problem with your basics, solve more and more Test Gym questions from the topics that trouble you.

  14. Dear sir,

    I attended your Quant program i liked very much.
    when will the video be available so i can correct my mistakes

    regards

  15. Sir, i am getting 92-97 percentile in mocks, and my english scires are consistently in the 90s, but after every 2-3 mocks i tend to screw up either quant or Lr/Di section or both in the mock, and by screw up i mean very poor(15-20 marks in that section).
    I don’t know what to do about it, plz tell me how to proceed in the coming days.

  16. Sir I’m a student of B.tech-4th year
    Academic details:
    10th-91.2%
    12th-73.6%
    graduation-72% upto 6th semester
    I’m confused whether to go for an MBA with or without work-ex
    please repy me

    • Nitin, you should start preparing for CAT right away. Work experience will not increase your chances of getting selected. CAT score is the most important component for interview short listing, followed by your past academic record. Work experience is usually not considered for the purpose and wherever it is considered, it has a low weight.

      In the final selection criteria also CAT score along with your performance in the personality assessment process (Interview, GD, WAT etc) together have over 85% weight in almost all institutes.

  17. Hi GP.
    I am Vedant. I am from Kolkata but I was born in Mumbai. My mother is from Mumbai. She did all her schooling, college etc from mumbai. But after marriage she moved to Kolkata.
    I want to know whether I fall under Maharashtra category students in MAH-CET. I am confused about Domicile criteria.
    Please help
    Thanks

  18. Dear sir , I want to know is it possible to get a good school in india with a GMAT.I have a score of 600 if not then how much score is required and the second thing i want to know i gave CAT 2014 and scored 75.98 percentile and now i again want to give CAT 2015 but i have not studied is it possible to prepare and score above 90 in around 53 days.If possible then what strategy should i follow.
    B.Tech-62.9
    XII-73.7
    X-79.8
    Fresher

    Please reply soon
    Kind regards
    Chhaya Sharma

    • Chhaya, apologies for the lat reply, you must refer to our Expert strategy for CAT’15 to get an exact idea of how to prepare for CAT’15. A score of 600 will certainly help you get through IMT Ghaziabad. The Tier-1 B-schools might be possible as well.

  20. hi!
    i am student of CL north campus, delhi. i am not able to plan efficient strategy for verbal. Kindly help me with a strategy to fight verbal!

    • Sanket, you must immediately begin with taking Sectional Tests. This way you would be dealing with your section of difficulty, VA, more closely. This way you will also be able to develop a proper approach of attempting questions in the VRC questions. Also, you must start reading newspapers, editorials, magazines. This will not help you in the RCs but exposure to new styles of writing will also give you a better understanding of grammar. A student aspiring for the top IIMs should ideally be attempting 25 questions in VRC in 60 minutes.

  21. hi sir,

    Do miracles happen on the CAT day?
    I mean do ppl whose percentiles lie between 60-70 in mock, get 95+ percentile in there CAT exam?

    • Aspirant, quite unlikely because the mocks (at least the CL Mocks) are extremely close to CAT in terms of difficulty. Your performance in mocks is more or less a reflection of your result in CAT.

  22. Hi.
    Iam a female with 10th %= 93.1
    12th= 69%
    Eco hons % from DU= 60%
    Iam from NC OBC criteria.
    What are the chances of making it to a top IIM? And the percentile that I should be aiming for it?
    I have an internship experience of 4 months, too

  23. Sir,

    What would you advice for quants at this stage: to push harder and do tougher questions (advanced in test gym) or revise the intermediate questions again nd again?

    Thanks 🙂

    • Sourav, you need not go beyond the Advanced level in Test Gym. Spot the questions that you find difficult, bookmark them and revise them every week.

    • Isha, if you are enrolled in a classroom program, it is important to always stay ahead of the class. Take a couple of weeks to go through your classroom and coaching material. Go through the concepts to ensure that you are thorough with all the basic formulae & techniques of solving different question types by August end. Practice all the Level-1 and Level-2 MCQs. Avoid the very difficult questions as this year too CAT is expected to be easy-moderate level of difficulty.

      2 weeks into your preparation, start taking 1 Mock CAT per week. Each practice test and Mock CAT should be analyzed in detail to ascertain what worked or did not work for you. Spot the important questions that appeared in the mock. These important questions should be revised once a week.
      The analysis process is explained in my blogpost Things you must-do after every mock you take.
      Effective mid-September you should move to 2 Mock CATs per week and once you finish your practice material start attempting CAT 1990-2008 papers.
      In addition to the above you should be reading the editorial, business and international pages of an e-paper daily (Indian Express or The Hindu).

  25. Hi,

    Kindly address my following queries :

    a) NMAT BY GMAC has came up with a Official study material consisting of 4 Offline Practice Mock for its preparation. Is it worth buying it or CL materials and 5 Mocks are enough for it preparation ?

    b) Moreover, what would be expected cut-off score for NM-Bangalore,NM-Hyderabad & IBS Hyderabad when applying through NMAT?

    • Prakash,
      a)The CL material, which includes the booklets, test gym and the mocks, is sufficient to crack the NMAT exam.
      b) If the paper comes to be exactly similar as last year, the cutoff for NM Bangalore and Hyderabad would be around 195. However, it is tough to speculate this as now GMAC will be conducting NMAT

  27. Hi gp sir,
    I regularly follow your tips and strategies , which i really find very helpful.
    currently i m doing one sectional test everyday alternately for QA, RC, DI and LR, alongwith that i do
    some ques. out of CAT actual paper and revise some particular topic of quant (considering quant is my weak area). For reading i m following the hindu, the stone(NY times), plus a book (the story of philosophy). my concern is dat i m giving on an average 1-2 mocks a week(along with analysis), and my percentile hovers in the 75 to 85 band( mostly quant sectional being pathetic ).
    please advise me as to where i m lacking in my prep as well as overall approach, and wat else should be done by me to improve my scores.
    my profile is:-
    10th-86%
    12th-95%
    grad-72% (b.com)
    wat other exams should i target ?

    • Nandini, aplogies for the late reply. You just target CAT, XAT, IIFT, and NMAT. In case you have an interest in pursuing HR, go for TISS-NET as well. Your strategy seems to be good. Please revise all the difficult questions every week. revision is extremely important to accentuate the score. Feel free to contact me at 9811155160

  28. Hello Sir,

    4th time posting. Don’t know why it is getting removed. My last 5 mock scores are:87,97,95,99,88. A fluctuation of 3 to 5 % le is acceptable. But here there is a change of around 10 %le.
    I am working so unable to give time to analysis of mocks I wan to know by your analysis what these scores indicate. Whether I am heading towards the right direction or not. Please give me some tips as well to keep the mock percentile steady and up towards the 98+ mark consistently.

    • Ravish, the fluctuation is because of the varying difficulty of the mocks. Please revise the basics of the topics in which you find difficulty. Also, please find time for in-depth analysis of the mocks.

  29. I gave cat-2014 without coaching as i was in last year of engineering but end up getting 44%ile…then i went for feb cmat got 92%ile nd mahcet scored 94%ile without efforts…i completed my engineering in june 2015 and planned to prepare for cat again…. as i wanted to pursue mba from top 15 b schools of india….. i joined CL in july first week….i have worked hard since then completed most topics of QUANT excluding (geometry and modern maths) still to be taught in coaching , same in VERBAL section except grammar, same with LRDI SECTION……whatever is been taught in coaching classes i have covered it….thoroughly. now i have reached a point i have improved in all three section but certainly i dont have any strong section, my scores in mocks shows neither m bad at anything nor best in any section i score almost equally i all as i have given time all three section while my preparation…” I wanna ask should i continue this approach…or should i go for any section particularly to make it my strong point..so that i score heavily in that….” ?? i am comfortable with all three section at equal levels…my mock score are in range of 60 – 70. and i have reached a point that i can put upto 14-15 hours of productive study a day as i m only left with 90 days now..so How should i divide my preparation now onwards , what should be my aim towards preparation ??? so that i can get 99 plus percentile….in cat ?? sorry for length of this post …. and i would like to thanks in advance….. and i would like to tell you that fundabooks of CL are amazingly designed…best course material….:)

    • Dev, you are enrolled in a classroom program, it is important to always stay ahead of the class. Take a couple of weeks to go through your classroom and coaching material. Go through the concepts to ensure that you are thorough with all the basic formulae & techniques of solving different question types by August end. Practice all the Level-1 and Level-2 MCQs. Avoid the very difficult questions as this year too CAT is expected to be easy-moderate level of difficulty.

      Take 2 mocks per week. Each practice test and Mock CAT should be analyzed in detail to ascertain what worked or did not work for you. Spot the important questions that appeared in the mock. These important questions should be revised once a week.
      The analysis process is explained in my blogpost Things you must-do after every mock you take.

  30. HI GP sir,
    i am getting serious problems in vrc instead of trying every measure provided here on blog. i am getting 95% approx but not able to cross, my %ile in vrc is as low as 85, i am first timer with 10th(82), 12th(91), btech(80), please help me with the verbal sepcifically in pj odd man and rcs
    i would really appreciate your help as my score has increased manifold after taking sqc and mock analysis, so please help…
    thanks

    • Nikhil, missed your message, apologies for the same.
      If there are any pending issues pertaining to your preparation, please call me in the evening at 9811155160.

  31. Sir….I m totally confused…wat to do…to score around 99% ile in cat..as I m appearing for cat dis year…I want some strategy to crack cat as I m very much demotivated….plz help…I want to score more in quant and lr di..plz helpme sir…

    • Jyoti, you must start taking Sectional Tests. This way you would be dealing with the QA section more closely. To clear your basics, solve more and more Test Gym questions from the topics that trouble you. Do read our article on ‘7 Rules to Excel in QA‘ to get more insight about strengthening the QA section.
      Each practice test and Mock CAT should be analyzed in detail to ascertain what worked or did not work for you. During this introspection you will realize which type of questions you are comfortable with. The analysis process is explained in the blogpost Things you must-do after every mock you take

  32. Hi,
    I have moved to Mumbai recently after marriage and has changed my address in my voters card to my present Mumbai address from Delhi, where i did my schooling and other education.
    I want to know, will i fall under the reserved category for Maharashtra students as per MAH-CET?

    Thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *