How to stay motivated during the CAT preparation? -By Lavanya Borra, 95.73 percentile, IIM Lucknow

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After two failures she decided to give herself a third chance in June 2019 along with keeping up with her responsibility as an application developer. A good 6 months of preparation helped her to prioritize things and progress. Lavanya scored a percentile of 95.73 in CAT 2019. Let’s see what helped her to stay motivated during CAT preparation and what was her winning strategy.

Uncertainty and a lack of strong mind to believe that I could reach miles often held me back. I decided that I would do well in CAT 2019 anyhow. In front of my study table, I pasted a paper highlighting a few targets each month. Whenever I was distracted during study time, this mantra became the source of my motivation. This is how I stayed motivated during my CAT preparation. Also, I am fortunate to have friends who were there to motivate me to put my preparation on track during ups and downs. Such people who listen and self-motivation, both played a strong role in shaping my mind to date.

To manage my job and studies, I took online coaching classes during night time from 9-12 pm after my working hours. The classes were very interactive. We used to practice passages in the VARC section together. We also gave the logics in selecting a particular option in the live chat. It helped me to broaden my thought process while eliminating options. Also, I learned many new techniques and procedures for solving quant and logical questions.

The important ingredients of CAT preparation

Mocks and sectionals were the two important ingredients of CAT preparation. There is a lot of difference when you solve a problem when the timer is on and when there is no timer. Sectionals helped me to have the right mindset under time pressure. I experimented with different strategies for improving score while taking sectionals and figured out what was best for me. Sitting continuously for three hours with the conscious mind to take decisions at each stage is the biggest challenge. I have attempted nearly 40 mocks in 6 months to equip myself for the final day. 

At first, I tried to train my mind to be calm and think to face surprises during the examination.  Here is the strategy that worked for me:

• For VARC, I solved 5 passages at a time within 40 minutes with as much as concentration as I can while reading. Later I used to set para jumbles and solve other verbal ability questions. Also, I preferred avoiding marking answers when I am was sure. 
• For DILR, I  allocated a good amount of 10 minutes to go through the sets and select the familiar ones first. After solving the selected sets in the first round, I used to solve the remaining sets. Accuracy mattered a lot in the DILR section for me since it is my weakest section.
• For quant, I solved questions in a linear sequence.

TIP: Don't give up preparation with the marks in mock tests. Have faith in yourself, find ways to stay motivated during CAT preparation, keep shining and let your shine reach the universe.

Verdict: I got calls from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, CAP, NITIE, IIT Bombay, IIT Chennai, IIT  Delhi, and FMS. I converted IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, NITIE, IIT Chennai, and IIT Delhi. I would be joining IIM Lucknow most probably as I am waitlisted in IIM Calcutta and FMS.