Learn All About CAT Exam

The Common Admission Test, better known as CAT, is the gateway to premier management institutions in India, the IIMs. The CAT examination is one of the prestigious examinations of India, with almost 2 lakh candidates appearing for the examination every year. The primary course offered is the Masters of Business Administration along with PhD in respective areas.

The CAT examination is conducted once in every year with around 4,500 seats spread across 20 IIMs established in various states of the country. There is no age limit in order to sit for the examination and the candidate should hold a graduation degree with 50% marks in order to sit for the examination. Candidates in the final year of graduation/awaiting results are also eligible to apply. The examination is conducted in two stages: Aptitude Test and GD/PI/WAT. The first stage i.e. Aptitude Test is conducted across two slots on the last Sunday of November. There are 3 sections: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The sectional time limit is one hour per section. While most of the questions are MCQs, there are around 10-15 non-MCQ questions for which there is no negative marking. The VARC section consists of 34 questions, the DILR section consists of 32 questions, and the QA sections consists of 34 questions, totalling to 100 questions. The candidates shortlisted against the Aptitude Test are called for a Group Discussion, Personal Interview, and Written Ability Test (essay) round.

The best time to start with the preparation is 10-12 months before the examination. However, one may start preparing at an earlier or a later stage as well. Some key points to be kept in mind while preparing for the examination include:

For the preparation of Aptitude Test, the candidate should prepare an effective as well as efficient strategy and work on the implementation of the same. In order to improve reading comprehension as well as vocabulary, the candidate should regularly read the editorial section of newspapers like Indian Express or the Hindu. This will not only help in building a strong vocabulary and increasing reading comprehension skill but also will help in the Personal Interview and Group Discussion when contemporary topics are discussed or asked about. Practising regular reading comprehension should be the priority of the candidate. The key to the examination is completing the entire examination within the stipulated time and the same can only be achieved if one has a good reading speed. For Quantitative Aptitude, The first step for the preparation is to learn the basics and make yourself as comfortable with it as possible. CAT is as much as a speed test as it is a skill-based test. Thus, it is important to improve the speed of solving including the speed of calculation. The different tricks and tips can be looked at in this stage to identify the ones which work for the student and which ones to avoid. Candidates can practice questions from 10^th-12^th NCERT books in order to improve solving speed and gaining confidence. By doing this, even choosing a reference book is no longer an issue and therefore one should practice and improve speed through these books before moving on to more advanced material. In the final step, the candidate should appear for as many mocks as possible. Attempting too many tough questions does not make much sense because the number of tough questions in CAT is very limited and usually the benefit of solving these questions are outweighed by the loss of missing out on easier questions. A candidate should improve Calculation speed through practice as well as other techniques such as Vedic Maths. He should build a strategy on how many questions to attempt based on his comfort level with this section. In the exam, the main focus should be on accuracy even if the speed is slightly slower than expected since the level of the paper varies every year. One should attempt different strategies in the mock exams in order to arrive at the final strategy that one wishes to use in the final exam. For Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, data tables, pie charts, bar graphs, data charts etc. with 3-4 variables as well as numerous matrix sets should be thoroughly practised. Writing one sectional test in a week would significantly improve results. Topics like linear Arrangement, Matrix Arrangement, Circular Arrangement, Blood Relation, and Family Tree, Group/Team Formation, Games and Tournaments, Paths & Routes, Directions etc. should thoroughly be prepared by the candidate. In addition, the candidate should practice previous year papers as well as mock tests in order to excel in the section.