Year after year, lots of questions keep pouring in to know ways and methods to get a 99+ percentile in the QA section of CAT 2019. While attempting QA section in mocks, students are unable to choose the right questions and end up attempting difficult questions that not only take time but also get them negative marks. However, after the paper, while analyzing the Mock or going through the solutions, you discover that there were many easy questions that could have been attempted in the paper. Over the years, watching so many make the same mistake I’ve realized that this usually happens because either you’re not aware of your strengths and weaknesses in different topics of QA or you’re just plain afraid of leaving questions!
When you’re taking a competitive exam like the CAT, it’s not important whether you know more than the others. How you attempt the paper makes all the difference. In the one hour at your disposal for the QA section, correct attempts have to be maximized by attempting all the questions from your areas of strength. Let us first understand what the level of difficulty and raw score for a 99+%ile in QA section was in the past 4 years. In 2015 a raw score of 67 led to a 99%ile, in 2016 the raw score for a 99%ile dropped to 53 marks while in 2017 it went up to 78 marks and in 2018 raw score dropped down to 63 marks for a 99%ile. 2016, 2017, 2018 saw a rise, fall and rise respectively in the level of difficulty of QA section. So, keeping the 2018 CAT-QA trend in mind, I have to attempt a meager of 21 questions with 100% accuracy for a 99%ile. However, if the level of difficulty rises in 2019, the raw score required for a 99%ile would fall, thus, leaving me with more options to pick from. And I use this to my advantage by being picky and hence, no matter what the level of difficulty is, I’ve always achieved very high scores in QA and cleared many competitive tests due to the way I attempt the section. I have devised seven simple rules for myself – and they work every single time!
Here’s how:
Rule 1. I believe that a paper is not a place for R&D; hence I attempt only those question types that I am familiar with. I do not want to attempt any new kind of question in the paper. R&D has to be done at home and not in the examination hall. Basis CAT’17 expected trends, I know that I should first pocket 60+ marks in QA for a 99 percentile. Therefore, I focus on getting 20-22 questions right in the first round and then I go for the others.
Rule 2. I believe in attempting the QA section in 3 Rounds starting with the easiest questions and am not afraid of leaving difficult questions unattempted.
Rule 3. In Round 1 (R1), I will go through the questions sequentially but will attempt only those questions:
- that are from my area of interest or topics that I am comfortable with
- that are not lengthy
- that do not confuse me in the first reading
- that can be attempted in about 90 seconds
Rule 4. Lengthy or difficult questions from my area of interest will be marked in Round 1 and attempted only in Round 2 (R2).
Rule 5. If time is available, I will attempt remaining questions in Round 3 (R3).
Rule 6. My attempt preference in the QA section is:
- Number system and rest of Arithmetic
- In Algebra, I am partial towards progressions, inequalities, quadratic equations, maxima-minima and operators.
- In Algebra, I prefer solving questions by substitution of choices and avoid questions that have to be solved by the conventional methods.
- Maxima – minima questions, I usually solve them by differentiation.
- I attempt most of the Mensuration questions.
- I avoid questions from Geometry and P & C in Round 1 unless I have solved a similar question earlier.
- I attempt Probability questions that do not require fundas of P & C in Round 1, the ones that need P & C are usually attempted in Round 2.
- I usually attempt Grouped questions in Round 2 since logic has be cracked in most cases which can be time consuming.
Of course, this preference is based on my strengths and weaknesses and will differ for everyone.
Rule 7. I read the choices along with the question as it helps in deciding the amount of calculation, elimination of choices and in substitution.
One can look at allocating 30-35 minutes for Round 1, 20 minutes for Round 2 and the remaining time for Round 3. Considering the one-hour time limit, for some students there might not be any Round 3 which is perfectly fine.
What Next: Based on your strengths and weaknesses work out a similar set of rules for yourself and attempt a Mock CAT using them.
In the next blog-post, you will discover “7 Rules to Excel in VA” followed by a similar post discussing my “Rules to Excel in DILR”
All the best.
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sir my profile is as
x-95%
xii-84.8%
btech-70%
sir how much should i score in each section to fetch a call from iims. also i am sc candidate.
Try IIM Profilizer http://www.careerlauncher.com/profilizer/ to know which IIM will select you and at what percentile.
Hello Sir..
I want to ask ..how can I increase my score in RC passage
Namita, to increase your score in RC ensure that you minimize the errors. Carefully read the passage and try to understand the meaning of the passage even if you don’t know the meaning of few words in the passage.
Hello sir,
I’m appearing for CAT’17
And it’s my first time. Please advice me in which way I can score a good percentile. I think I’ll be able to handle QA and LRDI section but the issue is with English section.
Sir please help me out.
Sneha, you can improve your VARC section by analyzing your strengths and focusing only on them. Focus on RC passages and try to solve as many as possible within a time frame. Analyse each mock and recognize and avoid the common type of mistakes that you commit.
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Hello sir,
This is my overall profile
10th-79%
12th- 71%
Graduation- 55%
Last year CAT score 89.36 percentile. If I manage to score above 90 this time what b-schools can I expect?
Saurabh, With the most top B-Schools giving high weightage to past academic records you need to have a good past academic record. However, with your past acad. records and an excellent percentile in the entrance exam you can aim for FMS, TISS, IIFT, SIBM etc. as these do not consider past academic records.
sir its my overall profile
10th-91%
12th-92.20%
graduation-61%
Last yr CAT score with almost no preparation and just 2-3 mocks -83.33%
CA inter cleared,would be appearing for CA final in NOv-18
what are chances of getting in top IIM-A,B,C
should i take cat after CA completion or this year 2017.
Radhika, you have good past academic records and therefore you can hope for a call from the top B-schools given that you clear the cut-offs. However with your CA finals and CAT being close to each other you have to make a decision basis your interests. You will have to juggle both preparations. And if you plan to write CAT this year, a good strategy would be to take a mock every 7-10 days and spend a qualitative time on its analysis.
Hello Sir,
I attempted CAT 16 and scored an overall of 91 percentile with a 94 percentile in VA, 97 percentile in quant, and an extremely poor percentile of 45 in LRDI. I am looking forward to CAT 17. My performance has improved since then. But in LRDI I am not able to score a percentile above 90 if the sets are new or too difficult. My performance in mocks fluctuate from as high as 97 with average of 93 to as low as 84. My concern is that how to increase speed and improve insight in to problem solving. Will constant practice with solving as many different types of question help me achieve my goal at end. I am skeptical about this since one cannot predict that a practice of different types of question will help me approach if I encounter something extremely new on exam day.
Kanica, for LRDI, you need not attempt all questions. The trick lies in picking up 4-5 sets or 16-20 questions in the entire section that you are comfortable in and focus on solving these. A score of 50+ would be sufficient for a 99+ percentile in CAT. First focus on getting 50+ marks in LRDI and then if time permits solve other questions/sets in the section. But to ensure that you have options to make your selection from in the test, practice different kinds of sets daily. Set 2 hours daily for LRDI practice only.
Hello Sir,
I am appearing for CAT 2017. Since its my first time pls advice me in which way i can get good percentile and crack top B-colleges.I am giving mock exams and only in english i am able to get over 80 percentile.In QA and DI/LR i am not able to cross 40 percentile.Please advise.
Suvankar, you still have 4 months to improve your score. Spread your time wisely over the 3 sections. Since QA and DILR are your weak areas you should identify few topics that you would be comfortable in and focus on mastering these topics. Each topic carries a different weightage. Select your topics accordingly and spend 3-5 hours daily on your CAT preparation. Take topic and sectional test regularly. Go through all the questions while writing the test and take out time for a qualitative analysis of each test and identify the areas of improvement.
sir, I have given 5-6 mocks . i am able to get a percentile of 85+ in lr di everytime and in rc va the progress i slow but its happening . Bujt my concern is quant sometimes i get 30 other day 60 thn 45 (percentile) . its not consistent at all . i really need a good motivating advice please .( a non maths student)
Deep, focus on your strengths and practice as many questions as you can from the topics you are comfortable in. First master few select topics, this will boost your confidence and then you move onto easy level questions of other topics. Set level-wise targets and keep practicing.
sir my marks in CAT 16 are as follows:-
va- 44.55/percentile- 81.30
dilr- 17.98/percentile- 75.63
qa- 18.25/percentile- 69.95
sir please advise me on how to improve my qa and dilr.
Arghya, You need to improve in all the three sections equally. You must look at enrolling for a program, either classroom or online. This will help you ensure regular learning. You must start-off by taking your mocks and take one mock every week. Needless to say, each mock should be followed up with its in-depth analysis
Hi sir,
I gave CAT in 2015 and acquired 78.86 percentile.As this score was not enough to get into a good b school,I went for the job I got in campus placements. Currently I am working and I would like to try for CAT 2017 .please guide me how I should go about it
Narasimha, you might want to download the CAT 2017 study plan.
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Sir ….
My name is abbu….im from b pharm background and im a physically handi capped person ….how much percent i have to get to join in iims i got 75% in 10 and. 65% in intermediate…. And currently im in 3 year as i want to face my exam in my final year….my gpa in graduation will be 70% pls help me …..how should i prepare for cat ? For PHC is there any exemptions pls help
Abbu, you can check your chances for top IIMs by using our tool IIM Profilizer . You should join classroom programme and study from reliable study material. Take up mocks and practice tests. This would be really helpful in preparing for CAT.
Good morning sir!
my academic record :
Xth-82.8%
XIIth-71.8%
Graduation(B.tech)-72%
Is there a chance of getting a call from IIMs..?If yes,then what should be the target percentile for getting a call?
Amit, we have a tool to help you out with this. Please us the IIM Profilizer.
Hi!
10th ICSE- 82%
12th CBSE-Science – 81.4%
Graduation(BBM)- 91.16%
I have attempted about 61 questions with an accuracy of 85-90%. What might my CAT Percentile be this year? Also, Can you please let me know If I will get a call from any of the top IIM’s!?
Sushy, you can get an estimate of your score an your percentile using the CL Score Calculator.
My score in
10th-80%
12th-71%
Graduation-8.1(74%).
currently working in an IT organisation.(experience 3 years)
What is my possibility to get IIMs if I achieve the desired percentile in cat???
Pabitra,you have a decent chance of getting calls from almost all IIMs and given your work experience the chances of conversion are also high. You are unlikely to make it to IIMA as per its current criteria IIMA. Please check CL’s IIM Profilizer for the list of IIMs from where you can get a call and the score required for the same.
Sir,
How would the difficulty level of the sectionals in CL’s Test Gym Classic compare to the expected difficulty level of CAT ’15?
John, TG Classic is more difficult that the expected difficulty level of CAT 2015.
Sir,
What should be my net score to get a 90 percentile in cat’15?
Aman, my estimate is that 90%ile in CAT 2015 should be possible at a score of around 115.
Sir after updating my iim profilizer it showed 86 in iim kozhikode and 90 in iim indore and shillong. Sir this means I need 86 percentile in cat’15 to get a call from IIm kozhikode?
Abhirup, these percentiles should be taken with a pinch of salt. These percentiles are the lowest percentiles at which a candidate got admission at that institute. You should be aiming higher.
Sir,My profile is as follows:
10th-76%
12th-76%
B.E.(MECH)-8.31 CGPA
fresher
which top institutes for regular mba under CAT,XAT,SNAP and NMAT can I get from these profile if I will clear their institute cutoffs?
Dhiren, as per the current criteria IIMA may not be possible for you but all others should not be a problem, please check the IIM Profilizer for the list of IIMs from where you can get a call and the minimum score required for the same.
Hello Sir, my academic profile reads:
10th – 80%
12th – 80%
Graduation – 60% (B.A Hons history) from DU
assuming i crack the 90% barrier in CAT, what are my chances of getting a call from one of the top IIMs (A,B,C,L,K)
Any input is appreciated
Arun, graduation marks are important for IIM A and B but not for the others and a score of over 99%ile in CAT get you calls from almost all the IIMs. Please check the IIM Profilizer for the list of IIMs from where you can get a call and the score required for the same.
First take a look at my basic profile:
X:94%
XII:91%
B.Tech(ECE) – 7.3 (65.4%) One of the old NITs
General, Male
CAT2014 – 99.82
Currently working as an Analyst in a reputed Investment bank.
Appeared only for IIM-A and C’s interview, Didn’t get a call from B.
Result, Waitlisted(Not cleared) for A and Rejected by C. As far as I know both interviews wen smoothly except a couple minor hiccups here and there. Stayed a bit longer then I would have liked on my lets say below average (though I consider them to be above average) graduation marks.
Now to my question, How much effect does the GEM part as well as subpar graduation marks have on my selection criteria. Does this only affect my score quantitatively as disclosed on IIM sites or does this affect my interview score as well. If so should I just give up on CAT and start working towards GMAT/GRE for better prospects (even though it would cost way more)?
Arush, in the top MBA institutes (including the IIMs) it is only your interview performance that determines the interview score and it is not impacted (either way) by your X or XII or graduation marks. In your case I believe it is the interview performance that we need to look into to identify the reason of last year’s unsatisfactory outcome. At present you should focus on repeating (or improving) your CAT 2014 performance but immediately after CAt write down your complete interview experience, staring from the time you entered the room to the time when you left the room, the more detailed it will be the easier it will be to identify the area that we need to work on. Email the interview experience to me along with your resume at gp@careerlauncher.com
This year interview call IIMA is unlikely due to your graduation marks but due to your work experience IIMB is possible.
Hi Sir,
I am a final year student and belong to SC category.
My profile is :
X- 91.2%
XII-86%
Graduation-6.9
I did not join any coaching classes and prepared myself. I am not performing good in Mocks. I want to be in top IIMs.
Can you please suggest me how much marks and percentile will be good to get IIMs. Also can you please suggest to keep my motivation high.
I have always been your follower.
Shubham, with good marks in X/XII and average marks you can get calls from almost all IIMs with a CAT score of 85%ile, however to be sure you may want to target 90%ile. Please call me at 9811155160 in the evening tomorrow to discuss the reason for the not so good performance in Mocks and the way forward.
HI Sir,
My Profile is
X- 85.16
XII-84.2
Graduation-6.2
Did i have a chance of getting call letter from IIM’s, if YES, then what is the percentile should i get in CAT to get call letter from IIM’S
Vamshi, IIM A & B may not be possible due to your marks in graduation. However most of the other IIMs do not consider graduation marks and hence are possible. The cutoff score is a function of your category, please check the IIM Profilizer for list of IIMs from where calls are possible and the score required for the same.
hii sir
my academics are
10th-74%
12th-67%
B.com(hons)-57%
sir i want to know whether going for a regular mba and giving cat is a feasible option for me as i think my scores are not good and i do not feel comfortable doing maths questions
Gaurav, you should go for a regular MBA> You will be eligible for some good B-schools.
Hello My academic performance are as follows:-
10th (CBSE) = 89%
12th (CBSE) 85%
B.tech(IIT BHU) = 84%
What are the chances for me to get an admission in the top IIMs ?
Kanwardeep, with over 80% in X, XII and graduation you have a good chance of getting calls from all IIMs.
good evening sir,
I found DI and RC very complicated in most of the mock tests that I have done. I actually found difficulty to find out the meaning of sentences in RC and in DI most of the questions goes over my head which spoils my performance. Please guide me so that I can improve.
vinod pandey
09410517575
Vinod, the only way to go about is by viewing the analysis videos of the mocks for which the videos are available. Apart from that, regular practice on the test Gym and sectional tests will certainly help.
sir I am not able to attempt more than 3 to 4 sets in DI/LR.sir how to improve in this section.
In quant I am very weak in probability,binomial,mensuration,CI/SI nd TSD in circular motion sir plz tell how to improve in these topics and how much time to devote on them.
Abhishek, firstly, if you are unfamiliar with the basics of these topics then it is advisable that you go through the basics by devoting the next 5 days for it. After that, get down to solving the Test Gym questions. Hopefully, your level will escalate and you’ll be able to solve more number of questions from these areas.
Also, you must take a good number of DILR sectional tests in order to improve your performance there.
I’m student in the third and final year of graduation. Having my University exams this year, I couldn’t focus much on prepping up for CAT. I am weak in the area of qaunts and DI. Having 40 days in hand, how do I prepare to get a decent %ile? Please advise.
Khushi, you might consider downloading the 45 days to CAT’15 study plan here.
Good day sir,
My academics are
X- 87
XII- 80
BSC nautical science- 70 (pass grade)
Total ex- 55 months
Sailing ex- 38 mnths
Last yr I took my first attempt without any prep in 2014; scored 84%ile
VA/Rc- 70
Qa/Di- 93
Assuming I have 40 days in hand to prepare for 2015, I would like to know how should I plan to get calls from iim a,b,c,i,l,k n FMS??
My strong point is quant, and verbal and rc section am quite weak!!
Vishnu, 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.
Thank you,GP Sir!
Hello Sir,
Please share some Rules/Strategy to excel at DI LR section; I used to do well when it was combined with QA and VA, but now I feel somewhat exposed to extreme variations in this section. I still have two months, any particular strategy I should?
Amit, the DILR blogpost will come out soon.
hi sir
I am very week in quant and from last two years i am trying to crack the cat exam and got 40 & 60 percentile in cat 13 & 14 in QA sections till yet i was taking support of DI in this section but now it has become impossible for me to crack it .Please suggest me what i can do to clear atleast IIM QA sectional percentile so that i can focus and hope to crack it bcoz i left my job after seeing poor scores in mock to concentrate on it but output is still missing I tried around max 22 & min 18 ques but i only get 30-40% accuracy.Please help i am very demotivated feeling right now.My scores are 10=50%,12=62%,B.B.A=66% and work ex of 7 months.
Thanks & regards
Shashank, you must immediately begin with taking QA Sectional Tests. Analyze all the mocks that you have appeared for. Notice the type of questions that are consistently getting wrong. Go back to the basics in each of these topics and practice the Test Gym questions. This will help you solve a certain number of questions in a given time limit.
Mark all the questions that you find difficult and revise them at least once a week. Try to apply the SQC techniques wherever possible. This will considerably increase your QA score.
Sir, I feel or rather I know that I am not at all prepared for CAT. i am almost at level 2 or 3 out of 10. This is how i feel! I don’t get good %tiles in the mocks even and had an ignorant sort of an attitude towards Cat and my preps for it. Sir I realised my mistake after giving MAT Sept. attempt. The fact is that, i know that i can do well and now i want to strive for it. Sir could you please guide me as to which road should i take so as to re-enhance my preparation and o get in a very good pace and that too in a speedy way? how should i prepare and proceed further?
Prateek, if your concepts are not clear then probably you should get down to revising them. Smart CAT Cracker will help you immensely in this. No matter what, start taking mocks every week. A lot of learning can happen just by analyzing these mocks carefully.
Sir,
can you suggest some tips to get a great score in NMAT because i will be giving it in Oct end. Do i need to solve any extra material apart from CL material, test gyms, sectional test etc.
Please guide me on this.
Harshvardhan, the CL material, which includes the booklets, Test Gym, CAT Booster, sectional tests and the mocks, is sufficient for you to crack CAT. Make sure that you don’t stick to just CAT mocks. Sufficient NMAT mocks should be taken to get familiar with the exam pattern.
Sir,
In QA am not able to attempt enough questions , though my accuracy is about 95% .
I am able to solve only 14-15 questions in which mostly 14 questions are right.
What shoud i do?
Sakshi, at this point of time, taking more and more sectional tests will really help you in tackling the QA section.
Hi,
My scores are as follows:
10th ICSE (2009) – 88%
12th ISC (2011) – 92.5%
B.Com (A&F) Mumbai University (2014) – 81%(SemV&VI) Overall CGPA 6.77/7
I am consistently scoring well in in VA section (52-56) and getting a 99.XX percentile there but in QA and DILR I am not able to score much (15-25 each section) my accuracy in both these sections is 85%+ but I am not being able to attempt as many questions as I would like to, what should I do to improve? Also with the above scores is it likely to make it into any of the old IIMs (which ones?) with just about 75 days left.
Thanks
Rahul
Rahul, please take as many QA and DILR sectional tests as you can. It is important to look at CAT 2015 as a series of three sectional tests of 1 hour each. Please give a lot of emphasis to learning through mock analysis. It is the best way to revise concepts. This should help you out.
Please have a look at the IIM Profilizer for your chances at the IIMs.
Hello Sir,
I m weak in Quants. Please suggest me some topic that will be sufficient in clearing the cut off. And how many questions do i need to attemp corrrectly for clearing cut-off in Quants?
Also sir, i want to know that how to prepape DI.
Thanks.
Priyanka, it is not possible to clear the cutoff by studying just one topic. Usually, the quant questions involve more than one concept. An attempt of 22-24 with 85% accuracy will give you a decent score.
For DI, please attempt more no. of sectional tests.
Sir, I am afraid of QA, in the mocks I try to look for sitters. Usually there are 5-6. I do them and although my accuracy is 100% because I don’t solve beyond those questions.I want to know how can I come up in the category where my percentile reaches 90+?
Max, you must immediately begin with taking QA Sectional Tests. Analyze all the mocks that you have appeared for. Notice the type of questions that are consistently getting wrong. Go back to the basics in each of these topics and practice the Test Gym questions. This will help you solve a certain number of questions in a given time limit.
Mark all the questions that you find difficult and revise them at least once a week. Try to apply the SQC techniques wherever possible. This will considerably increase your QA score.
Hi, I have scored the following marks:
10th (ICSE-2009) – 88%
12th (ISC-2011) – 92.5%
B.Com(A&F) (Mumbai University-2014) – 81%
I am consistently scoring 52-55 in my VA section in the CL mocks, but I can manage to attempt only 12-15 questions in QA and DILR each, and score about 20 in each section. How can I improve my score and with 75 days in hand are IIM A,B,C a realistic target?
Thank You
Rahul, please take as many QA and DILR sectional tests as you can. It is important to look at CAT 2015 as a series of three sectional tests of 1 hour each. Please give a lot of emphasis to learning through mock analysis. It is the best way to revise concepts. This should help you out.
Please have a look at the IIM Profilizer for your chances at the IIMs.
Hi, i will be appearing for the cat 2015 and i have completed arun sharma for quant, now i want to do a revision and attempt other questions. My question is what should be the next step for quant prep? And is there any other book i should refer or solve ?
Mohit, you should now focus more on taking Sectional Tests and Mocks. If deficiency is left in the concepts of any area, get back to the book and brush it up.
Sir
My acads are 66/56/54% in 10/12/grad level with 4 yrs work ex till date. If I manage to score >90%ile in CAT, do u think I can get calls from old IIMs. I also belong to SC category.
Thanks.
Dip, please check it using the IIM Profilizer.
Hello Mr.GP,
10th – 91.80%
12th – 96.92%
UG – B.E CSE – 2015 passed out (from one of the top 50 engineering colleges in INDIA) – 65%
2 months of work experience as of Now.
General category MALE
Any chances of calls from IIM C, IIM I, IIM S and other new IIMs ? If so, what should be my CAT score?
What is the possibility of getting calls from IIM I bombay campus, IIM Ranchi PGDHRM and IIM L (SM) ?
Please help me sir. I am very confused and in search of funda for setting up goals.
Thanks in advance
Purushothaman, with excellent performance in X and XII you have a good chance of a call from almost all
IIMs. 65% in graduation could lead to missing out on Bangalore.
Please refer to IIM Profilizer for details.
Sir i generally attempt 22-23 out of those 19-20 will be right . Do you think is it good enough for 99%le in CAT
Manish, assuming the same level of difficulty as CAT 2014, the estimate for the score required for a 99%ile in CAT 2015 is:
QA – net score of 70-75
DILR – net score of 65-70
VRC – net score of 55-60
Overall – net score of around 175
hii sir ,
i m student of cl ranchi .i m not able improve my score in mock.i have not started DI n reasoning yet. TEST GYM ques i m finding difficult solve even though i have completed my book of numbers and many other chapter.help me sir i want to score 85 percentile above. And tell me how to improve gk for other exam.
Niharika, after every Test Gym test you must analyze the solutions to understand where did you go wrong. A good amount of learning can be done through this analysis. Wherever possible, try to apply SQC techniques and solving the questions with the help of options.
For GK, following the Daily GK update on your SIS will suffice.
hello sir ,
sir i am having problem in solving QA questions . since my childhood i am afraid of maths may be because of that . i am not at all good at maths .. please help me out ….
Pranav, you must immediately begin with taking QA Sectional Tests. We are coming up with 24 sectional tests based on the new pattern of CAT. Analyze all the mocks that you have appeared for. Notice the type of questions that are consistently getting wrong. Go back to the basics in each of these topics and practice the Test Gym questions. This will help you solve a certain number of questions in a given time limit.
Mark all the questions that you find difficult and revise them at least once a week. Try to apply the SQC techniques wherever possible. This will considerably increase your QA score.
Hi.
I posted my queries but wasnt sure whether they were submitted.
My issues are basically with
1. Time management. I take far too long just reading and understanding the question , then solving them. Also im not sure which questions to leave, because so many times I feel I must try and maybe after trying I can get the question correct. This leaves me wasting time in many questions which i dont know and get negative or no marks with valuable time wasted.
2. While practicing concepts and questions at home, I find it difficult to keep my concentration up and end up wasting alot of time for a single topic.
3. I am stuck around the 85 percentile in the Mock Tests (TIME). I really to improve that or else I end up nowhere. So how important are taking multiple Timed Tests. Also how should i approach my preparation. And how do I save time while Practicing
Anish,
1. Analyze all the mocks that you have appeared for. Notice the type of questions that are consistently getting wrong. Go back to the basics in each of these topics and practice the Test Gym questions. This will help you solve a certain number of questions in a given time limit.
2. Concentration is directly linked to your motivation and interest in the job in hand. Try in short spans of time to maintain your concentration throughout.
3. Needless to mention it but you must know that 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. You must immediately begin with taking Sectional Tests. This way you would be dealing with each section more closely
Hi.
I really found your post helpful. Also nearly everything you said in the beginning describes me.
I am weak in Quant, not really because of concepts but because of not Bieng able to attempt right questions, doing RnD as you said.
Now while practicing outside of tests, I can solve questions with reasonable time, but Mostly for questions I find difficult it takes me a really long time. Moreover I find it difficult to keep my Concentrations up while practicing at home, and I end up taking hours to complete and particular topic. I would like you to help me in these little things.
Also how important is taking timed tests for practice. And should i use this approach while doing my Concept building and Practice of concepts ??
As of now i am in the 85 percentile level in Mock Tests (TIME) and i would like to improve my percentile and accuracy
Anish, focus on revision, it could help you cut down on time wastage in the Mocks. Regarding your inability to concentrate, I am not the right person for guidance on the issue.
Given that CAT 2015 will have 3 sections of 60 minutes each the timed tests are very important. Even otherwise timed tests help you increase your speed.
I’ve been following your tips. I just clicked 99+%ile in mocks. But what I feel is that there are still some areas from which I am unable to score well. Every time I miss out on some sitters and do some calculation mistakes.
What are your tips sir to prevent them from happening.
Yaj, the areas where you are unable to score well could be because of lack of knowledge or lack of time or silly mistakes. With 4 months to CAT 2015 you have sufficient time to iron out these issues. Call me at 9811155160 tomorrow evening to discuss and find out a solution.
Sir, I have scored 94.23 %ile in CAT 2014.
I need help regarding the approach to follow in order to reach 99+ %ile in CAT 2015.
Please guide me regarding the same.
Viashnavi, please go through http://www.gpkafunda.com/?p=3463 to know more about the same.
Hi Sir,
Need to have a talk with you regarding some issues in my prep.
With 3 months left I want to know what xtra I shud do to gain the edge on the D-Day
Shanky, call me at 9811155160 any time after 7 pm on any day.
Hello GP
I wanted to know how one should formulate the revising strategy for oneself. For instance I am solving topic wise quant question as i started the preparation last week, then at what frequency I should revise the important question and how to make a note of important trick or concept. PLease also advice how to revise the question or topic in VA. One more thing how to practice quants VA , DI/LR simultaneously in a day. Should I focus all in a day or should divide them over a period of week.
Mohit, once a week revision of important questions, shortcuts, tricks etc is good enough. If you are unable to manage revising all areas in one day then break it into 2 days. In case of VA revise all vocab based and sentence correction questions along with the difficult/important questions of para jumbles, para completion and critical reasoning.
Hi GP,
Should we be revising the difficult questions while analysing the Mocks??
Also I have this thing ….where every time in the mocks 5-6 min are left in my alloted time for that sec and I cant decide which should be attempted
IN VALR, RC and LR will take atleast 7-9 min atleast to read or carack the logic resp.
IN QADI DI will take the same thing or I will have to find those specific ques that will easily be solved..
What do you suggest..especially for the VALR??
Hi Sir,
Kindly reply
Shanky, time stamp is available for Mock 3.
If you are unable to view it kindly contact the help desk with your details so that it can be verified.
Hi Gp
How should I go about practising DI as I find this the most boring part .I have got A run Sharma book for Di and cl package but seeing the analytical reasoning type Di of 2014 what should I practice and will CL packages and mocks suffice??
Shanky, CAT 2014 had both analytical and calculation based DI. CL Material is sufficient for DI and go for Arun Sharma only after you have completed the CL material.
Hi Sir,
A request , the last time in the mock analysis the time spent on each question was also provided and also the accuracy percentage .This would help us students in the long run. COuld you get in touch with your IT team regarding this
Shanky, this will be available in all subsequent Mocks.
Hi Sir,
The time analysis for Mock 2 was given but it is not present for MOCK 3
Shanky, it will be available shortly.
Sir,
I have done for all the mocks that I have attempted till date the steps that you have suggested made the tables analysed the mistakes.
I have come to the following conclusion
1. there are 3-4 silly mistakes on my part that lead to wrong ans marking and a further 2 silly mistakes that leads me to a wrong ans but I dont mark it.
2. I will be able to attempt 24-26 questions and it will actually take me 80 min of my time if I am able to correctly identify the questions and that too without falling for those or trying to attempt those which will be unsolvable even after spending time(which is more than I can afford as this does not leave me time for DI what with the new analytical reasoning types questions).
3.In my first round I normally take 50 min where I can mark 10-12 questions attempt 4-5 more without any answers and then go back for round 2 which gets me 20 min more time I am able to do 3-5 questions more .and then for DI 20-25 min in which I attempt 6-8 questions.
My QADI attempts are fluctuating between 23-27 with 5-6 wrong .
CAn you please provide some suggestions for my dismal performance on the above 3 points provided.
Also I have one major question which is In round 1 I attempt questions which look easy to me or are short in length. And then in round 2 i go about sequentially solving all the questions that have been left one by one. The problem with the above approach is due to my speed a major chunk of the time goes waste in round 1 only and there isn’t much time to go through all the questions . And also on analysing I have found that there are also some easy questions which although not from my area of interest get left behind as I leave them anyways in Round 1 and in round 2 due to time crunch I wasnt able to reach them on time as I am going sequentially.
I need to fine tune my R1 R2 strategy please help.Becoz I know I can better my score and have the capability to better my score but due to speed or lack of concentration I am lagging behind
Also I would like to mention that I tend to read all the questions sequentially in Round 1 even of the topics that I am not comfortable with as closely as possible as in the back of my mind I have this thing which says that I need to read all the questions as I might find an easy question and this also leads to a time loss as sometimes i try to solve the question (varying from 4-8 questions) as well and am unable to find the answer
Shanky, it is okay to read the questions from your uncomfortable topics in R1 but you should attempt then only if you are 100% sure of solving them. If you are unable to resist the temptation then it will be useful to read them only in R2.
Silly mistakes: 5-6 (3-4 marked and another 2 not marked) is a very high number and you need to identify the reason for the same and reduced these to 1-2. Silly mistakes can usually be avoided if you read the question carefully and do not rush through the calculations.
To increase your attempts in QA you will need to improve your performance in R1 where you are doing only 10-12 questions in 50 minutes you are attempting only 10-12 questions. Rather than increasing attempts in R1 I would look at reducing the time to about 35 minutes for the same number of questions. Hence my suggestion is to leave the questions for uncomfortable topics for R2. It is your inability to leave questions that is leading to a higher time requirement. Even now you are attempting only half the questions (around 25 out of 50) which means that you have to leave 25 questions and if you are decisive and leave questions then your performance will improve.
Use of choices will also help you increase your speed and hence the attempts.
Speed in QADI is a function of familiarity with questions and data sets hence revision is something that I stress upon a lot. Hope you have identified the important questions in all papers and are revising them as suggested in the post Things you must-do after every mock you take
Hi GP,
Can you please provide a blog on LR and DI. Bcoz even though I am practising the LR DI from ARUN Sharma, I am still not able to correctly identify which sets are easy and which ones difficult in the mocks. Tips on this would be highly appreciated. Also if you could provide any suggestions on this . As in the last CAT 2014 it was mainly due to these two topics that I was unable to score good. The sets were moderate to difficult and I wasted a lot of time in deciding which ones to attempt and which ones to leave. I started panicking and the whole paper then went bad after that>kindly help sir
Shanky, will write one on LR and DI shortly. Meanwhile call me at 9811155160 in the evening to discuss the issue.
K..sir
Hi GP,
In regard to QA section what all suggestions can u make to get a better score. Also wanted to know if we should still practice the Advanced level questions or level 3 questions from our Books packages etc.
In regards to DI, will we be getting the same type of questions ,i.e., Logical reasoning related DI and caselets.?
Shanky, my suggestions on QA are given in this post. Additionally you should look at using the choices to increase your speed & accuracy. Attending the SQC workshop will be useful when it is conducted in your city. At present you can ignore the very difficult questions and focus on the lower level of difficulty questions.
Comparing with CAT’14, my expectation is that CAT’15 go up slightly in terms of level of difficulty in QA and RC but remain at the same level (and type) in VA, DI and LR.
Is it safe to quit my job and prepare for my exam.. will it not be a factor when it comes to personal interview where we have to justify my career break ? Please help how to cope up with this.
Rahul, while the question will be asked in the interview but it will not be an issue and can be handled comfortably.
Thanks for the useful information. Need to add your blog to bookmarks
Hi Sir,
I do have a query, I am Lakshmi from chennai having a decent academic record. I am with cognizant for 2 years. I feel i don’t have enough time to prepare for entrance exams. I neither do well at office nor with my preparations for CAT. Can you please suggest me any ideas. I’m thinking of quitting my job so that i can prepare full time without work pressure. Am i doing the right thing ?
Lakshmi, if you are unable to create time for your preparation then the only option you have is to quit your job. However leaving your job and preparing for MBA is a risky affair and should be considered only if you are sure of a decent performance in MBA entrances. Even if you decide to leave suggest that you work till end July.
Hi GP,
I am aiming for the Top institutes and want a score of 99 % or above .
I am constantly scoring a 98 percentile in MY VALR section but my weak area is QADI where I am neither able to attempt as many questions as required nor with the correct accuracy. How should I go about this to improve my scores.
Also based on your experience could you tell me the number of questions i should be attempting in the QADI section with the required accuracy.
Also the same for the VALR section.
Shayantu
Shayantu, attempts of around 25 questions with over 80% accuracy is likely to get you a score of around 95%ile in QADI and this coupled with your 98-99%ile in VALR will take you to an overall score of around 99%ile. With three months to CAT I am sure that with some practice and revision you will be able increase your attempts in both the sections. Target an overall attempt of 65 questions with an accuracy of 85% in CAT.
Hi GP,
You have mentioned that I should target 60 – 85 questions in CAT.
But in your Video for CAT 2014 you said to attempt about 25 in QADI and 30 in VA/LR will be good.
Will an attempt of 55 questions not be enough for 99+ % as I am able to get 98 % in VA by doing 27 questions with accuracy of 85-90 %??
Also Sir,
I am a General Engineer Male.MY academic performance is given below:
Xth – 90
XII th -88
B.Tech -73
Experience : 24 months as of july.
What is the minimum percentile required for NITIE, FMS, IIT M , IITD, and for IIM. and do you think I have a chance to go to IIM A B or C.
??
Kindly do reply
Shayantu, with a good academic record and a 2 year work experience you have a good chance from all institutes (including all the IIMs). NITIE, FMS and the IITs do not consider past acads or work experience for interview call and use only the CAT score.
For IIT Mumbai and FMS you should target over 99%ile, over 98%ile for other IITs and over 97%ile for NITIE.
Apologise for the delay in responding to your query.
Shayantu, there was a typo in the earlier answer that has been corrected.
To ensure that you clear the sectional cutoff you should have at least 25 attempts with a net score of over 50 (55 is safe) and your overall target should be around 65 attempts with a net score of around 150.
Sir, in the DI section the major hurdle for me is my slow calculation speed, specifically percentage calculations. Can you please help me improve my calculation speed?
Sorabh, you will need to work on your tables and for percentage calculations you should remember the reciprocals and also try working on the concept of 10%. For example:
1/7 = 14.3%
1/23 = 4.35% etc
10% of 2374 = 237.4
1% of 2374 = 23.74 or approximately 24
15% = 10% + half of 10%
Try applying this
GP sir,
I am having a lot of issues with my quant questions.
When I give mocks there are rarely 2 or 3 quant questions which I am sure about which degrates my performance further in the section.Since I am not yet taught complete syllabus in my class,I understand that my Geometry ,algebra etc questions can be excused.But before questions from numbers,ratio,TSD,Percentages cannot be excused.
I am doing fairly well in my class completing all my sheets,but suddenly when it is the mocks,I just forget the basics or specific techniques.
Please guide me on how can I feel fresh about these concepts in my mocks.
Ayush, you possibly need more practice in the topics that have been covered in your class you are comfortable with. Additionally you should bookmark thee important questions in Test Gym and revise them regularly. You should do the same for all the Mock CATs that you have taken so far. Please refer to the post Things you must-do after every mock you take for the process. PRactice and Revision will hopefully get you out of the problem.
Hello sir..this is the first time i am in this blog…i am sorry if i am posting my question at a wrong place..I am balaji from chennai..my academic profile : X – 88% XII – 97% B.E. MEch from college of Engg Guindy 2012 passout cgpa – 9.02 ( 90.2 %)…worked in L&T for 1.5 yrs…resigned and started to prepare for cat…last time i gave cat without any prep and scored 95.xx in VA and 40.xx in QA…this year i have completed arun sharma QA and solving questions from mocks…pls tell me whether this will suffice my prep and do i have a chance from IIMS/ top 15 colleges…thanks in advance..
Balaji, you have an excellent academic record and with a good performance in CAT you can get calls from all IIMs and all other MBA institutes. Given your CAT’13 QA score I believe you will need more than a book/Mocks to do well in CAT’14. While your CAT’13 VALR score of 95%ile is good but the 40%ile in QADI meant a negative raw score. Hence my suggestion is to join a classroom MBA program. If you cannot join a classroom program then you could consider CLs online MBA preparation program Smart CAT Cracker Comprehensive.
definitely i will join sir….thanks for ur reply…
Hi Sir,
I have just started preparation for CAT 2014 about a 10 days back. I have Enrolled with correspondence course of CL. I am working Professional and thus have kinda stringent time schedule. If you can help me with a high level view of how to prepare and which topic to complete first in quant as time is limited.
Thanks.
Akash, in QA Algebra and Geometry contribute about 6-7 questions each out of the 21 QA questions and these two should be taken care of first. Number System which is about 4-5 questions is the next in line. Frm DI perspective (9 questions) you should focus on the chapter of percentages and improve your calculation skills.
Sir,
I attempted CAT with lot of negativity in 2012 and scored a mere 56 percentile. Can I improve my scores in the time left for CAT 2014.
Subrat
Subrat, 56%ile is a very low score and if it came after a good preparation then it may not be worth while attempting CAT’14 but if it you did not prepare well and took the paper with a negative mindset then you should start your preparing for CAT’14 as a genuine effort can improve your scores significantly.
Sir is there any shortcut to the questions that ask :
Maximum amount of money can’t be paid with denomination of a, b, c, d….. ??
Sabyasachi, none to my knowledge.
Sir, then how to approach such questions ? Say we take an e.g
X’ is the largest sum of rupees which can never be paid using any number of coins of denominations Rs.4, Rs.8, Rs.13 and Rs.18. What is the sum of the digits of ‘X’?
Sabyasachi, I do not have any specific method for such questions and will work with choices or by hit and trial.
Sir,
I am a CL student. I’ve attended SQC held in Chennai it was absolute phenomenal. It is first time I’d be writting CAT, thing is while practising QA it goes good but in MOCKs I do not score well, it lies somewhere aroud 60-75. As time is less now what should I do to make things fall in order as I’m working professional so not having much study time apart from weekend. And one more thing, I’d be completing two year as Software Engg in MNC( Syntel Inc.) by November how it’d help me.
Thank You 🙂
Abhisar, apologise for the delay.
Given that you are working and have less time available for preparation, you should be selective but intensive. Since you face problems only during the Mock I presume that knowledge is not an issue. My suggestion is to go through all Mocks that you have attempted so far and identify the important questions as suggested in the article Things you must-do after every mock you take and go for regular revision. You could for the next 7-10 days you should revise all the Mocks and important questions from Test Gym at least a couple of times. Suggest that you take another Mock only after you have revised the earlier Mocks at least once. Till mid August consider taking only 1 Mock per week after which you could increase it to 2 per week, obviously the important questions from each Mock have to be added to your list of revision questions.
Do not ignore the revision aspect as it helps in increasing both speed and accuracy.
Your 2 year work experience will help in lowering the cutoff for some of the IIMs but will be helpful in the interviews of all MBA institutes.
Thanks Sir, and you’re never late.
Well in Test Gym for most of the sections I reached Expert and few I’ve finished (it’s popping as no more questions left in this section.) And m taking it 10 days 1 Proc then after that 10 days Unproctered. But I am still not able to push in 80-90 and beyond zone. In analysis I observe m doing silly mistakes which I wouldn’t have done if it was not exam. As I am not selecting questions substantially two or three misses cost me alot. I read your blog for attempting paper and following it but still 🙁 , so if any thing you feel I should put more emphasis on.
Thanks a ton for your advice and time.
🙂
Abhisar, you now need to shift your focus to anylysing the Mocks and identifying the important questions that have to be analysed every week. Do this for Test Gym and MCQs in fundabooks also. Please refer to the post Things you must-do after every mock you take for details.
The revision is more effective in form of just mental revision or revising in form of attempting the selected important question in writing
I agree
Sir
Thank you for an excellent write-up on how to attempt the questions. My worry is despite of having a good knowledge of Maths, when I attempt the Mock Tests, I tend to get around 9 questions right and roughly 5 wrong in a total attempt of 14 question. Since now only 3 months is left for the Big Day, I really want to improve my Quant Percentile to improve my overall percentile. (as I am always having a high percentile in Verbal). Can you please give me some suggestions on how should i go ahead now? Thank you.
Asim, I hope that in addition to practicing you are also revising the papers that you have attempted so far. Most of us focus on practicing and forget to revise because of which the accuracy and attempts both suffer. Suggest that you take a break of one week from all papers and in this period go through all the Mocks that you have taken, solve all questions again, identify the important questions (difficult, with short cut or with alternate methods) and revise them every week which will ensure a better speed and accuracy in the paper.
sir, i have completed few topics in QA but looking at the time left and syllabus still to cover will it be ok for me to cover all the topic of QA and it would be my first attempt .
Sanjay, there is sufficient time to cover the syllabus, focus on covering the basics and the MCQs.Algebra and Geometry are the two most important topics in QA followed by Number System and Arithmetic. However Arithmetic is useful in DI also.
Respected sir,
I have a peculiar problem when it comes to solve the questions in exam situation. No matter how well i do my preparation in home, remembering all the formulas etc. i always feel like i have little time left during the exam, which poses lots of problems. Some time even the problems which can be solved mentally takes so much time in exam.
Can you please recommend me some useful stratifies.
-Thank you sir
Krishna, apologise for the delay in responding to your query.
Possibly you are putting yourself under pressure and hence are unable to perform well in the paper. While some amount of pressure makes us work hard and improves performance if it is excessive then it does not allow you to think freely and makes you extra cautious. Hope you have not made this a do or die effort?
Choose your questions carefully and attempt only those that you are confident of solving. Leaving questions and getting a couple of incorrect answers is not a problem.
Sir, i have not studied maths in 11th and 12th.
So i usually get stuck in QA section.
Recommed me what to do to overcome this.
Vivek, except for 1-2 questions, all other questions in CAT and the other MBA entrances are from what you studied in IX and X. So ignore the coupe of questions of P&C and focus on rest of the questions/topics.
Sir, Please tell how can I maximise my attempts in QA. I am doing fairly good in VA but unable to attempt more than 12-15 questions in QA of the CL mocks.
Neelesh, Will be posting a couple of more articles that should help you improve your QADI performance. 12-15 attempts is not bad at this stage and your first target should be to ensure a 90% accuracy.
Got it, instead of maximising attempts, accuracy needs to be improved.
Thank you Sir.
Dear Sir,
I am appearing for CAT 14. I am working from 7 am to 6 pm in IT company. I am taking Coaching class on weekends. I am not good in verbal Ability. Can you help me how I can increase my vocab and what time management should I follow so that I can score 99%. means what is the practice methodology for RCs , DI and LR ar my sir said I have to make effort in these areas???
Vishaka, will be publishing articles on VA in the next few days, hopefully they will be able to address your problems in this area.
Regarding the time schedule for preparation, suggest that you sit down with your faculty in the center and work out a preparation plan based on your specific requirements.
Dear Sir,
It is to bring to your kind notice that i have been a student of Career Launcher from past two years.What I found most valuable in CL was the classroom course + Test GYM Classic module.Surprisingly,Test GYM Classic Module is removed which has hampered CAT Preparation in a huge way.I request you to find a way out and bring that classic module again into existence.
Regards
Rohit Sethi
Rohit, have asked the acads team to consider making Test Gym Classic available.
Hi Sir,
I attempted three mocks with some decent preparation. But still I am unable to cross 60%ile level in the mock CATs. I am unable to manage time to prepare in weekdays because I have to stay in office for 12 hours a day. Due to lack of time in preparation and low percentile scores, at certain stage I think of quitting CAT. My question is should I give up CAT or to continue with my preparation. If your answer is to continue my preparation, is there any formulation of strategy on how to allocate time for preparation and how to improve the score. Kindly help me in this regard..
Ramkumar, fortunately there is sufficient time for CAT’14 but with a 12 hour job at hand you will have to cut down on all other activities if you want to prepare for CAT/XAT. Try giving a couple of hours early morning on weekdays and 10-12 hours on Sundays and holidays to cover up for the lack of preparation time during the week. Also you will need to be selective in your preparation with a greater focus on solving MCQs even at the cost of not doing any non MCQ. How are you preparing – through a classroom program or on your own? Also is this your first attempt?
Hi Sir,
I am a student of long term class room program at a center in Chennai and this is my first attempt for CAT.
Ramkumar, it is only time management and cutting down all other activities that will help in doing well in CAT.
Thank you sir.
Sir,
Need to get in touch with you.
Can you please give me your e-mail id or phone no.?
AK, it is 9811155160 or gp@careerlauncher.com
Sir, I have sent you a mail. Please reply as soon as you get time.
Ak, will do so.
Hello Sir,
Sir , I am a B.com graduate and planning to face the cat 2014 . My maths and verbal are not so good , so I do realize that I have to work like super hard to get to the 99%ile mark .
Apart from the CL books could you suggest me other extra books for QA,DI,LR and Verbal so that I can get an extra boost ?
I was thinking about quantum cat by S.K.Verma , but I was not sure cause I just saw the review of this book on flipkart.
Awaiting your reply ,
Jackie
Jackie, study material alone is adequate for CAT preparation. Combine that with the previous 15 years CAT papers. After completion of preparation jump on to mocks. This will do.
Hello sir,
I am preparing for CAT 2014. I am having less percentage in my degree and board exams and also I am a fresher. I have heard that it is not possible to get into IIMs with the average past record even if you get good %ile in CAT exam.Sir can you please tell me is this a true fact or a fake information.
10th score- 81%
12th score-75%
degree score-78%
Pawandeep, while most of the top IIMs do have weightage for the X, XII and graduation marks you can get into them with not so good percentage also. For example the top 10 in any section of CAT and overall get a direct call to IIM B similarly IIM A will be giving direct interview calls (irrespective of school marks) to the top 50 students in each category. Further your marks while not excellent are not bad and will not lead to elimination.
GP Sir, a week to go for my CAT..sir can you provide with different techniques inorder to get through DI..some very handy tips n some sort of SQC for Quants section.
Anmol, nothing new should be considered at this point of time. Practice, analysis and revision (of old CAT papers and Mock CATs) is what you need to focus on. Refer to the blogpost 4 Weeks to CAT’13 – Ab billi door nahin
sir wat shud be strategy 4 iift?
Zakomo, will be writing shortly on IIFT, till then take aold IIFT paper to understand the paper pattern.
hello sir
sir i was busy in my job and thus i didnt had much time.
my cat exam is on 1st ie i have approx 40 days left.
i have given some mock in which my percentile varies from 60%ile to 80%ile.
what should be my strategy to get 95+ %ile in cat?? is it possible or impossible??
Tejasv, Follow what I have suggested in my blogpost 4 Weeks to CAT – Ab billi door nahin and hopefully you will be able to get calls from the IIMs.
Hello sir. I was wondering whether the sectional cut off is lower for sc/st candidates? If so, what approximately is the cut off around for sc and st students in both quant and va sections? Also sir, what is the approx percentile required for a sc and a st student to secure calls from IIM A-B-C? Thanks in advance sir.
Shashank, while the cutoffs for SC category will be lower but my suggestion is to target 85%ile in each section and an overall score of 90%ile. The corresponding target score for a ST student will be 80%ile and 85%ile respectively.
Sir, this might be a bit out of place here but nonetheless I will go ahead and put forth this question to you. We keep hearing about the emphasis that needs to be laid on the accuracy. I’ve experimented with the last few mocks and have realised that the more number of questions I attempt, the more are my chances of getting a better score, even at the cost of accuracy. Even if my accuracy goes down from say 80 to around 65-70% but my overall score is higher than what I wouldhave got with a more pro-accuracy, cautious approach.
Sir, do you feel I still need to care about the accuracy as much as it is made to be?
Arpit, go for what gives you a higher score. There is no data to suggest that accuracy is given extra marks.
Sir,
Where I can get the chapterwise tricks of yours for solving QA questions….please reply…
Sourajya, Checkout the Smart CAT Cracker.
Sir each proc IM ritin IM able to attempt 5-7 ques in QA wid max f 2 errors.. IM able to solve oly Som tsd n algebra ques.. Sir pls help me as exam is vry near… I Jus need a decent score…
DJ, Focus on MCQs only. Section tests, Mocks CATs (Procs and Unprocs) and past CAT papers are your best bet. Attempt uestions from these papers, identify important questions and revise them regularly. You can also consider enrolling for Smart CAT Cracker.
Very nice advice. I will make it my habit soon.
Sir,could you please suggest me the right decision to take? I have just begun my final year right now, i want to sit for CAT2013, my basics are clear in Quantitaive Section but the Verbal section is making a tough time to determine if i should actually take the test this year or take a year gap and prepare it with ease.. the Vocabs and esp the paragraph completions are being the toughest nut to crack for me.. solved few CAT papers but not gaining enough confidence in the verbal section .. sir if you could give a better strategy to go about..
Rajarshi, you have about 3 months to CAT and if your QADI is up to the mark then go for CAT’13. In case you are not successful then CAT’14 is in any case available to you. The VALR section has 9 questions from LR which should bot be difficult for you and if you can manage another 10-12 questions between VA and RC with a reasonable accuracy then you will be able to make it to a good B school. With respect to preparation, your focus in all areas now has to be on practicing with MCQs only. Take Section tests and Mock CATs and revise the important questions regularly. If you are already enrolled with CL start using Test Gym adaptive. If not then you can consider Test Gym Adaptive and Smart CAT Cracker for preparation.
thank you sir, but could you give some tips or a good strategy to be good in verbal section as far as cracking CAT is concerned?
Sir,
I am a CL student. After completing all funda books I want some more practice questions other than that on sis.
Please suggest a good book for quant. I am scoring 90%ile+ in mocks. Kindly suggest a book–
1) Quantum CAT by S.K Verma
2) Arun Sharma book
3) Nishit Sinha book
4) Or any other book( plz mention)
Please reply sir.
Arpan, apologise for the delay, missed your query.
Hope you have started solving the “QADI Take Off” after completing the funda books. Additionally attempt questions from past CAT, XAT and IIFT papers.
Among the books mentioned by you possibly Arun Sharma is the best but restrict yourself to Level 1 and 2 problems.
Dear Sir,I have given proc-2,3 and 4.But in QADI,i got in proc-2(8 corr.,3 wrong),proc-3(7 corr., 6 wrong),proc-4 (7 corr.,9 wrong) with 55,61,56 %iles in respective QADI sections.How to improve Sir. My accuracy is decreasing per proctored test.Please help me Sir.
Raj, please go through the Mock CATs again. If you are able to solve the questions without time constraints then your concepts are in place but you need to revise a lot and you should highlight/bookmark the important questions and revise them at least once a week for the next 4 weeks. Do the same for MCQs that you have done so far.
If you are unable to solve the questions you need to brush up your concepts in the relevant topics.
Hope you have started using Test Gym Adaptive, it will helpful in improving your scores
Dear Sir,how to select if a question is important or not. i mark important Qns. as the Qns. which I can’t solve without time constraint.Please tell me about this Sir.
Sir,
I am not very confident in DI. Hence I prefer to see all the QA questions first and then the DI. But the problem is that in the recent mocks,I am not even able to reach till the DI part due to time constraint. During analysis I am seeing that sometimes the DI is taking lesser time compared to the quant i attempted. But again I am not confident enough to see the DI before the quant questions Please guide me Sir on how to improve upon this.
Debanjan, attempt all the DI sets (twice) from the Mocks (Proc + Unproc) that you have attempted so far to get an understanding of these questions and then attempt these in the next paper. Also if you are unable to cover all the QA questions then most probably you are probably attempting R2 and R3 questions in R1. An analysis of the QA questions in Mocks will be useful as given in “Things you must-do after every mock you take” at http://www.gpkafunda.com/?p=205
Hey Sir,
I consider my self good at the first section, but i don’t have clear idea about my weak areas. I take all the questions as challenge in examination hall….as a result, i end up screwing my paper…and spending up to 15 min in a single question. I will follow whatever u have shared from now onwards.
Deeksha, glad I could help you identify your problem. It will not be easy giving up on questions but do persist with it.
Sir, I am a waiting for your topic wise videos…the way you took for percentage…It would be good if you circulate a brochure with date and timings when you are gonna conduct the same
Deeksha, this will be announced shortly.
sir. please discuss about minima and maxima funda . i am recently facing problem this topic and sir i am practicing on LR DI books but sir only attempting one set of DI in mock. sir how can i increase accuracy in DI.
Ajaj, For maxima/minima I prefer to use differentiation.
To improve your accuracy in DI not only should you should continue with your practice but also should revise the earlier attempted sets/questions at least 3-4 time. This will help in increasing your speed and allow you to attempt an extra set. Do practice percentages, SI, CI and ratios also since these are helpful in solving DI questions.
Dear Sir,I have given proc-2,3 and 4.But in QADI,i got in proc-2(8 corr.,3 wrong),proc-3(7 corr., 6 wrong),proc-4 (7 corr.,9 wrong) with 55,61,56 %iles in respective QADI section.How to improve Sir as my accuracy is decreasing per proctored test.Please help me Sir.
Raj, please go through the papers again. If you are able to solve the questions without time constraints then your concepts are in place but you need to revise a lot and you should highlight/bookmark the important questions and revise them at least once a week for the next 4 weeks. Do the same for MCQs that you have done so far.
If you are unable to solve the questions you need to brush up your concepts in the relevant topics.
Hope you have started using Test Gym Adaptive, it will helpful in improving your scores.
sir i am really thankfull to you..for the above writing..i am eagerly waiting for your lecture videos of other topics..specially of LR… and i will keep your advice in mind while going for further mock test…………
Sir, i suffer from low accuracies.. Generally it is arnd 60-70. I have decided
To lower my attempts. But seems like that too isnt helping.. I will be trying this strategy but is there any other way acc to you to improve accuracy?
Arpit, attempt all the QADI questions in the Mocks and revise the important questions at least twice and then take the next Mock. You will be able to improve n the accuracy and speed.
sir
i am not able to solve quant question properly always i do mistakes and some times i dont even understand the language of the question.
i am only able to solve problems based on ratio, percentage, and TSD. plz help me.
Shashank, Practice the MCQs given at the end of the fundabooks at least twice to have a better understanding of the questions from various topics. After that attempt questions from the topics that you are comfortable with.
Sir, according to u we should divide questions in R1 & R2. For knowing that a particular question belongs to R2 we have to read it with options that only we get know that this is R2 wuestion. But sir it will take 1min to judge that this question is R2. And after completing R1 when we move to R2, we have to again read that question which will again waste time. Please advice about this…
Arpan, The task that you are expected to accomplish in R1 are:
1. Solve the simple questions
2. Identify and mark for review the R2 questions.
3. Identify the DI sets that should/should not be attempted.
For identifying the R2 question you should not need to read the complete question and the choices. For example if TSD is a R2 question area for you, the words speed or time or the units m/s are good enough to mark it R2. Similarly you should have markers for other question. This will become clearer when I will upload my Unproc Mock 4 attempt in a few days.
Thank you sir….i will try to implement it in next mock….
Hello sir, is it possible to cover the entire Quant syllabus in next 3 months? if i study religiously everyday…i had my cs n semester exams couldnt devote full time in preparation for cat…please advice…
Saanvi, you can cover the entire QA syllabus in 3 months provided you are disciplined and focus on the relevant topics. Your focus, if you are starting now should be on getting a hang of the basic/concepts, moving to MCQs and on Mock CATs.
sir, I have attempted all the 5 proctored mocks, but my score is very low in every test. I am not able score more than 60% in any of the test. what should be my next strategy. shall i give more attention to others exam. I have 1 year of exp till now and MBA is must next year….Please give ur valuable suggestin..
Saurabh, are you able to attempt the questions after the paper?
If yes, then it is an issue of inability to pick the right questions to attempt and following the “Round Theory” will be helpful in improving your attempts and scores in both the sections.
If no, then it is an issue on lack of concepts and you should practice more questions in your weak areas from the “Test Gym” which has been made adaptive recently. This will help you improve your performance in all areas.
greetings sir,
i went through all your rules.i m practising my QA by giving much time through unproctored mock tests and test gym.
the problem that i am facing is that whenever i attempt the questions on paper i.e the text books, i am able to solve sufficiently good no. of questions…but in front of the machine i get too nervous and tend to attemp wrong questions more than the right ones…
i want to desperately get rid of this condition…i’ll be facing CAT 2013 and for the first time.
please help me out so that i can improve myself…reply soon.thanku sir.
Harshit, This requires you to be comfortable with the medium. Please practice questions in the Test Gym and hopefully a week of practice will help you resolve the problem. Recently we have made the Test Gym Adaptive, if you have not tried it do so immediately.
thank you sir. i will try to practice as much as possible.
one more thing i wanted to ask sir is approximately how many no. of questions from QA must i attempt (and be right in them at the same time) to score a decent percentile…also tell the same for VA, LR and DI…
thank you sir…awaiting your response.
HArshit, In CAT’12 an attempt of around 20 in QADI and 22 in VALR with 2-3 errors was good enough to clear the cut offs and get a call from the IIMs. You should target a total of 45 questions.
thanku sir…i will definately refer to your information…iyt was extremely helpful as well as vital for me…
thank you once again…i’ll be obliged to ask any queries from you again.
Respected Sir,
When will your GK sessions/webinars start for IIFT’13? I am really looking forward to them.
Praneet, the GK webinars are held twice a month. Please check the schedule with your CL center. IIFT GK webinars will be scheduled closer to the test.
Thank you sir.
My preference is to attempt DI sets in R2. You need to similarly work out the rules for yourself based on your comfort with various question types.
Sir,
I am facing difficulty dealing with specific average based sets on DI and tournament based problems in the LR section.Any thoughts please, on how I should work out?
Karan, the only way to improve on these DI question types is to practice a few sets and revise them a couple of times. If it still does not help then you should look at not attempting these question types in Mocks or in CAT.
sir ,
what should be my strategy in order to clear other exam except CAT.
Mohit, will be writing on the strategy for the other papers shortly.
Sir, I have scheduled my CAT for 2nd November. I have attempted the CAT papers from 1999-2008. could you let me know, based on your experience, if it would be useful to solve papers from 1995-1998 too? If so, only the Quant section or the entire paper?
Tania, yes you could do CAT 1995-98 papers also. Except for RC rest of the sections are relevent. Also focus on Proc Mock 1-4.
sir i was not able to attend the mock with GP session due to serious internet problems. since i registered for it..wont i have an access to the recorded version or directed to any link.??. i do not want to bear any loss. kindly help..
It is avalable on http://www.careerlauncher.com/classapart/index.html
Youre strategy is perfect. Infact your strengths and weaknesses also match mine, and so I will be copy pasting your strategy on the CAT. I looked at your analysis of Mockcat 5, best on the web. It also showed me that I could have easily gotten atleast 12-16 marks more than the 101 I got.(note to self-always READ di/lr initial date VERY carefully)
In fact your analysis is best for guys who already manage around 99 and want to take it to the next level, wish I had found out about your articles, a month before, rather than a week before cat.
Viraj, your note to self has made my day. Thanks.
Youre strategy is perfect. Infact your strengths and weaknesses also match mine, and so I will be copy pasting your strategy on the CAT. I looked at your analysis of Mockcat 5, best on the web. It also showed me that I could have easily gotten atleast 12-16 marks more than the 101 I got.(note to self-always READ di/lr initial date VERY carefully)
In fact your analysis is best for guys who already manage around 99 and want to take it to the next level, wish I had found out about your articles, a month before, rather than a week before cat.
SIR……….plz plz plz reply….,i hav started studying CAT now only…..my exam is ON 30 OCTOBER…IM VERY TENSED …sir i just only need the cut offf….i dont think about iims as only little time is there…..sir please suggest me WAT I NEED TO BE MORE CONCENTRATED OR TIS 2 MONTHS…..SIR PLZ HELP ME
Teena,
While you are a little late to start for CAT, you can still do enough in the next 40 days to get a good score in CAT.
Please start your preparation with past CAT Papers. Suggest that you do all QA, DI & EU questions of CAT 1990-93 in the next 3-4 days at least twice. The short RC passages (less than 800 words) can be attempted and the rest can be left. After this take a Mock CAT and then follow the schedule suggested in my blog . In every section test identify important questions that you should revise every week. Please also go thru the following blogs to understand the paper better:
1. The Mystery of R1, R2, R3 Solved: Presenting the ‘Strengths Finder.
2. The single, most unpardonable, gravest sin you can commit in the CAT.
3. The Ultimate Guide to the VA-LR section: Make every single minute count.
If you could tell me the city you are in I could connect you to a faculty who will help you work out a detailed schedule.
All the best.
sir, i have started prep few days back. just want to know whether there is enough time left to start everything from scratch. I have nothing to do except CAT preparation means i can devote my whole time to CAT. i will be writing CAT on 3rd nov. so 2 months left. please suggest me something where to start from?
Thanks
Hello Sir,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It was really helpful. I want some more guidance. I wrote CAT in 2010 and did well. My strength has always been Quant because I am in love with the subject, However, this time I am not doing very well in QA/DI. My average attempts in the section is around 20 and I am not able to get more than 15 correct. Can you please guide on this? Should I improve my attempts or the accuracy? I also tend to make many silly mistakes.. please guide on how to avoid them.
Ankit, please go thru the following two article on the blog, the solotion to your issues lies within these:
1. The Mystery of R1, R2, R3 Solved: Presenting the ‘Strengths Finder’
2. Things you must-do after every mock you take
Sir, I have realised that my brain likes simple things when it comes to quant. And when questions get slightly complicated in statement or otherwise, I tend to get intimidated by the question. This is very common with me as my strong area is majorly arithmetic and tougher questions always seem to come from that. Whereas, numbers which is not a strong topic always seems to have a relatively simle question for which if I remember the method correctly, I can do the question (but I almost never do).
Also, I have observed that if I just simply leave out questions thinking that a particular area is not in my comfort zone, I tend to leave out questions that are very easy and could have been solved within a minute had I given them a thought.
How do I avoid this?
Saumya, CAT (and Life) is easy to handle if we keep things simple. Remember that CAT QA has to be solved by those students also who did not have Maths after class X, the problem is ki hum log paper ko zyada hi bhav de dete hai. We make the question difficult by assuming that if it is in CAT or Mock CAT it has to be difficult or complicated.
If you find a particular question complicated it menas that most probably you have not understood the question. Remember the questions have to be simple else the non-Maths students will be disadvantaged. If you find that you are unable to solve the Arithmatic question but can comfortably solve the numbers question maybe that is what you need to do in the paper also.
Also are you revising important questions from past CAT papers and you Mock CATs? If no, please start immediately even at the cost of no practice for a week.
Sir,
In Proc 2,3,4 I have got 40, 43 and 46 respectively (in QA) getting a percentile of 95+ in each case. Going through the entire thread above I presume you are advising on attempts above 23 (an equivalent of 70 odd marks). I understand that attempts/marks is a function of the difficulty of the paper but for a ‘normal’ CAT paper how many attempts (with 80% accuracy) you think, should be my goal at this time?
And why does CL give a relatively high percentile for scores as low as 40 odd in QA?
hello sir. i come 4rm commerce background and QA makes me frightened all the time i take mocks. i find myself able 2 solve only 6-7 questions correct in QA. should i go back 2 the basics of chapters that make me scared or keep on practicing the chapters i am comfortable with? really need your help…waiting eagerly for ur reply sir!
Divya, are you able to solve questions after the paper, if yes then it is an issue of practtice and revision. If no then you need to strengthen your basics in the selected areas. This section has around 20 questions of QA and 10 of DI. If you can do well in 2 out of Numbers, Arithmatic, Algebra & Geometry then you would be able to attempt about 10 -12 questionsou of 20 questions of QA. The 10 questions of DI are asy to handle if you are comfortable with percentages and calculations.
sir,
1 thing is not clear.In the 1st section,in round1 should we go through all the 30 questions and identify those that we are comfortable with and also noting the sort of qns that are to be solved in R2?
When are attempting QADI section in R1 you do the following things:
a. Read all the QA questions
b. Attempt the R1
c. Identify and mark the R2 questions using the Review butt
d. Identify the R3 question and if needed write the Q.Nos. on the rout=gh sh
e. Glance thru the DI data sets to understand them wrt difficulty level,amount of calculation and to understand if they are attemptable by you. This too should be noted on the rough sheet.
Very helpful information sir n i am particularly motivated by your academic journey….. and after gng thru this i hav gained a lot of confidence…..
hello Sir. I tried ur 3 Round Approach..But i dont know I make a lot of silly mistakes while solving QA/DI.Also unable to think during test, getting panic.Thus getting very low scores.Dont know why it happens when i know most of the things. When i try solving the questions latter I score markes equivalent to 95+ percentile.Again when i appear for mocks i get less..Plzzz Sir tell me what should i do! Thanking you in anticipation.
Shipra, were you able to choose the right questions to attempt? Silly mistakes are not connected to the 3R method bu are a function of
a) exciement on see-ing a question that can be solved easily.
b) lack of revision
c) concentration lapse
Suggest that you go thru the paper again and identify the following:
A. Questions that I should have attempted but did not – these questions increase your score. These are the R1 or R2 questions that you missed out.
B. Questions that I should not have attempted but did attempt – these questions not only take up a lot of time but also give you negative marks. These are R3 questions and because you attempted these you missed out on R1 or R2 questions above.
Ideally both A and B should be zero, but that will happen over 3 – 4 papers.
The purpose of the 3R method is to ensure you do not miss out on a question that you can solve and at the same time do not attempt any R3 question.
Respected Sir
i m getting a serious problem in facing data interpretations questions
its kind of phobia that has produced in me in facing di problems
i used to crack them down but they take at least 40 to 45 min out of 70 min
how to over come this problem
do reply soon
good night
Abhay,
Maybe you are putting excessive pressure on youirself wrt DI. Relax a bit in the paper and do not be afraid of making errors or leaving questions. You could also revise the DI sets that you have done yo become more comfortable with this area.
All the best.
Sir, I am weak at DI … Can i dare to leave all the questions based from DI section?
Sravya,
DI contributes to around 10 questions out of 30 in QA and leaving all of them implies that you need to attempt the 20 QA correctly to even have an outside chance into a good B school. In CAT, the 10 DI questions are usually in 3 sets of data and the data sets are of varying difficulty level. Yo need to identify the kind of DI sets that you are comfortable with and attempt those questions. In the paper about 5 – 6 DI questions are easy and should be attempted even if you are not good in DI.
thank u sir…
Awesome sir. Perhaps this can lead me to my goal of achieving admission in IIM C. Read your other blog of “pathetic student” . Quite encouraging!!!
good evening sir , i m facing problem in maths first reason i have commerce background was not having maths in 11th and 12th. secondly, i m week in maths so what should i do , i am very much scared always think about this.plzzzz help me sir .
Paras,
Remember that in CAT over 90% questions are from class IX & X so you should be able to handle them. Focus on the QA topics that you are comfortable with and do not worry about the other topics.
For example, if you have not understood graphs till now you are unlikely to understand them in the next few days. You will be better off leaving this topic or you could decide that a particular type of graph questions you will attempt and the others you will leave.
QA paper has around 10 questions from DI and 20 from QA. The 20 QA questions can be further broken up into various topics/sub topics.
Thank you for the advice, Sir! It would work differently for everyone but it still helps! 🙂
Yes, Rule 6 has to be specific to you.
Sr. I desperately need your help. I’m so weak in QA n there are just around 82 days are left. And this is going to be my first CAT. Can you suggest me some strategy that I should deploy. I’m confident that I’ll be able to do well in VA but Quant. Please help sr or anybody out here.
It might be useful for you to be “selective and intensive”. Rather than do entire Quant, Identify the topics/question types that you ae comfortable with and revise tham regularly to ensure that you do not make any mistakes.
Thank you very much Sr for your advice. This is really a great help.
sir,could you also elucidate on the time one must devote to each of the rounds….? 🙂
Govind, this is a functiion of the number of questions you identify as R1, R2 and R3. In R1 you do two things – identify which question in which Round with a cursory reading and solve the R1 questions while in R2 you olnly solve questions. Typically both R1 and T2 would need about 30 minutes each.
real gem of an advice! i will make sure i follow it meticulously everytime i attempt a quants section! 🙂
Thank you Sir!
Could you please tell me how to solve maxima, minima problem by differentiation?
Ash, if you have not studied differentiation in Class XI then this is not for you.
Thank you so much for this advice….I hav been facing this same problem even though im good at math… Ill be applying this method in mr forthcoming test.. Thanks once again
sir,i gave cat last year too and last year i was able to solve quant very easily.as in atleast in the quant section my percentile was above 90 and i was able to do the questions in time.but now this year when i am attempting the section,i am doing it all wrong.i am very scared as to how can this happen.i am like not able to do anything.not even 50 percent of the questions most of them turn out to be wrong.kindly help me sir.i am facing a lot of problem with the timing sir
Pranav, relax a bit in the paper and do not be afraid of getting a few questions wrong. You possibly have performance pressure and are spending excessive amount of time to ensure 100% accuracy and hence do not have sufficient time to go thru all the questions. Follow the 3 Round method to improve your question selection.
Thanks a lot, I had the same problems and my areas of interest are quite similar to the above mentioned. So I hope this technique helps me too in future.
Sir can you also discuss about how to attempt the VA and LR/Di sections
Utkarsh, will be sharing my views on these too shortly.