Do not commit this mistake while preparing for CAT -By Rituraj from XLRI Jamshedpur

I started studying for CAT in my B.E. 2nd year (2016) after studying for 2 years on and off with the college studies, I gave CAT for the first time in November 2017 and scored 99.21 percentile. Since then I've been giving mocks while working. This time, I was focused on CAT mocks since July 2019. So, here is an anecdote of my journey and some valuable lessons that I garnered while preparing for CAT.

A sneak preview of my percentiles is as follows:

• CAT 2017: 99.21 percentile
• CAT 2018: 99.54 percentile
• CAT 2019: 97.81 percentile
• XAT 2020: 99.49 percentile

Beware: Are you completely dependent on coaching material?

I enrolled in IMS since 2016. While the classes helped me a lot in understanding the concepts better, the classes back in my UG days in Ranchi helped me in getting the concepts cleared. Ironically, one of the reasons I was not able to perform well in CAT 2020 was high dependence on the coaching materials and mock patterns while preparing for CAT.

I had to improve my Quant as I was scoring well in VARC and LRDI since the last 2 attempts. The mocks I gave before CAT 2019 were from IMS and I formed an unconscious understanding that 3 sets in LRDI were good (based on the mocks). I was scoring 99+ percentile in LRDI for the last two years and this year LRDI section betrayed me. Thankfully, the setback and then XAT came to the rescue.

A hard row to hoe

We are talking in 2016. I was bad at quants, VARC and time management. Whether it came to the completion of passages or remembering what I read, VARC was a challenge. A lot of readings (novels, articles, newspapers, etc.) helped with it and I was able to improve my reading and comprehension. Somehow, humans have an instinct for language and reading improves one's verbal ability and reading comprehension skills. 

For quants, practice is the key. It took me a while to understand that but tricks like making a funda & formula book and revisiting it with every question help a lot. Lastly, managing those three exams of one hour each on the same day is a key which many miss. 

Tips and tricks that actually work

LRDI was a strength as I always liked to solve logical problems. But I was bad when it came to VARC & Quant. Here are some tips that I followed while preparing for CAT:

• Give mocks and analyze them! This has been stated in every article and still can't be overstated. Understand that it is an exam to choose and not to solve everything. Nobody who attempted 300 marks in CAT has made it to anywhere. It's a game of high accuracy and right choices and only mocks can help you ace them.
• VARC automatically improves when you start reading a lot. The improvement in reading speed is a key factor. While all the tips and tricks are helpful, nothing beats an extra 10 mins at hand after reading everything. 
• For Quant, nothing beats practice. Even though I am from an engineering background, Quant was the toughest nut to crack. The key to Quant stays to be practice. I would recommend making a funda and formula book and keeping it handy. By the end of your theories, you'd have a 25-30 pager document with all your Quant answers. Don't be afraid to refer it as often as you want, but ensure that you keep re-reading the formulas and fundas as you use them. They make a lot of difference.
• While analysing mocks, see what went wrong, perfect your question picking skills and you're good to go.
• Explore the multiple resources all around. Apart from IMS for mocks, I used to refer to 2IIM & Cracku videos. I also used to watch D2C videos to perceive the world I was planning to enter.

Do you also have this realisation?

While there are numerous brilliant articles on the preparation strategy, the realization (and not just the knowledge) that it's fine even if this exam doesn't go well makes a lot of difference.

After the blunder in CAT 2019, I was certain that I'm about to face another year of preparatory hardship. The other two exams that I appeared for, I had realized that it's fine. These are just to end this year and I've to start again anyway.

The realization that it's just an exam and you'll get enough chances in the future improves one's performance on many parameters which can not be measured otherwise. No matter how seriously one takes the mocks while preparing for CAT, the D-day always tries to get onto your head. While I wasn't able to figure it out on the CAT day, thankfully, IIFT and XAT days were different.

Overall, it may be said...

I can't stress enough on the fact that do not let the exam get over your head. I always wanted to get into one of the top 5 colleges and couldn't get a call earlier due to multiple parameters, but things were improving.

While I was preparing for CAT, I figured out how to study while working and improved significantly in terms of mocks and expected a stellar percentile which can get me calls from the best IIMs. Then, stress happened. One and a half hours into the exam hall, I was still on my 3rd set in LRDI and with no clue of what's happening. All the thoughts of work commitments and another year's preparation started haunting me even when I was just 50% into the exam. I took the luxury to spend time in recovery as I was somehow comfortable with just three set attempts (because it felt good enough, based on recent mock experiences).

I was able to get myself back on track in the next 30 minutes but too late. Although this was the best year for me in terms of VARC & Quants (99+ percentile in both), my dependable LRDI betrayed me.

I always told everyone that LRDI comes naturally to me when I helped my friends with tricky puzzles and problems. It will always be amusing for all of us that I couldn't clear the cut-off of LRDI the year it mattered the most.

Verdict: I had only two calls this year, XLRI & IIFT and both were converted. Finally, I will be joining XLRI Jamshedpur (BM). 

If you are preparing for CAT this year, I hope this experience will aid you in oneway or another.

Good Luck!