Cracking the CAT is not that hard, if you are very focused on your results. If you haven’t started preparing for the test take heart there are many out there who are in the same boat. These are the compulsive procrastinators who would rather start another day. While there is no time limit to start preparing – some people fail after a year of preparation and some people have cracked it after only some weeks – it is better to be safe than sorry. So if you really haven’t started preparing for the CAT, the best time to start is now.
You basically need to do two things to be prepared for CAT.
- Learn
- Test yourself.
Learning for CAT
Learning includes reading as much as possible. The objective is to increase your vocabulary and comprehension skills. Read books and editorials of newspapers. Be updated on current affairs. Read, Read and then Read some more.
Brush up on your math skills. Revise your theorems and formulae. Get used to the pattern of the test by going through the previous year’s cat test papers and cat mock test papers. Practice continuously and systematically.
While doing all of this do an analysis of yourself to assess where you are strong and weak. Once you know put in more efforts to strengthen your weak areas. Develop a strategy for yourself and test it. You should be able to attempt all questions and within time. Time management is very important when attempting the CAT.
Be a groupie
Find out other students who are giving the exam. If not in your area, then find some online. Start a group or get into one. This will help in exchanging notes and important topics, even some tips. If you are in a CAT study group on social media do not waste time chatting about other stuff, stick to business.
Attempt CAT Mock tests
When you believe you have done enough work it is time to test your skills. These are to be done through CAT mock test papers. There are various free online tests that will give you questions that could be asked according to the test structure. You will be able to further analyze yourself after mock tests.
There are some popular mock tests series that you may need to pay for attempting, but they are an excellent way of gauging yourself in the proper CAT paper environment. The feeling and experience during these tests go a long way to make you confident for the actual exam. At the same time these tests offer analysis regarding you strengths, weaknesses and time taken to answer each question. This will further help you to fortify your preparations.
Be consistent and stick to the schedule till the last day of the exam. It is not hard to crack CAT, but you need to be well prepared.
Now take a Sample CAT Mock test.
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