There is a myth that the Common Admission Test (CAT) for admissions to the country’s best business schools is the best fit for students with a background in engineering. Those who believe this point argue that unlike engineering students, students from the humanities, arts and commerce streams lose touch with mathematics and quantitative aptitude, which are necessary to crack CAT.

However, Indian Institutes of Managements emphasize that CAT is not designed solely for engineers. Business schools like to have a good mix of students from different academic backgrounds. Nishant A (B.A. Economics), Shubham Goyal (BA English), Priyanka Shah (BCom), Surbhi Singhal (BCom) are a few examples of CAT toppers who do not have an engineering background. They not only aced CAT but were also successfully placed in renowned IIMs following it.  The preparation for the entrance exam remains the same for all candidates. Here are some tips that you can follow to crack CAT if you are from a non-engineering background:

Study plan

Candidates should build a concise study plan ensuring adequate time for each section. Depending on one’s strength, they can give more weightage to the sections that need more focus.

Brush up the basics

It is important for candidates from a non-engineering background to understand the foundation. One of the easiest ways to do this is to brush up on their mathematics from the syllabus of classes 6 to 10. After revising the formulas from algebra, geometry, arithmetic and number system, you can switch to solving problems.

Read every day

Verbal ability is one of the most important sections in CAT. This section tests a candidate’s strength on reading comprehension and vocabulary. One should build a habit to read every day and pick a variety of texts like magazines, newspapers, articles and novels that are easily available online and offline.

Mock tests

Take CAT mock tests and analyse your performance. This will help you identify your weak areas. Depending on the analysis, you can then focus on solving more questions from the weaker sections in order to master each concept well before the exam. Time-bound tests help in improving the problem solving speed.

Avoid guess-work

Last but not the least, candidates should focus on accuracy. As there is negative marking in CAT, it is a must do to avoid guess work and to answer accurately. Candidates should spend adequate time in understanding each question in order to avoid faulty answers.

Rest assured that by making the best of the preparation time, non-engineers can definitely crack the CAT with a high percentile.