Nail The Final Lap: Last Minute Exam Preparation Tips For CAT 2023

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The CAT 2023 countdown has begun. The dream of getting into the top MBA colleges in the country is soon going to be true for the best-performing candidates. But what will be the difficulty level of the exam? Will you be able to make it to the top percentile? What if you don't?

All these thoughts must be crossing your mind, making you nervous or anxious about D-day. But it is time to strengthen your grip. This last lap of the exam is the most important part and fumbling here can be disastrous. Hence, some important preparation tips can be extremely helpful to glide through the crucial final phase of the exam preparation. Here are some last-minute exam preparation tips that can be handy for you.

CAT 2023 exam last-minute exam preparation tips 

Maintain your speed and accuracy

Apart from conceptual clarity, CAT expects the candidate to be both accurate and fast. Hence, as the exam date approaches nearer, one must focus on maintaining both these factors. How? By solving as many questions as possible in a timed manner. doing mental calculations is another way to speed up your question-solving ability. Learning shortcuts for solving questions, and keeping all the formulae at your fingertips can be really helpful. 

Get on a question-solving spree!

Solving as many questions as possible is the best way to revise in the final lap of any exam. With a few days at hand, you must get exposed to as many questions as possible so that you are fully confident when you step inside the exam hall on D-day. From solving previous year's question papers to random online quizzes, your fingers must get itchy to solve any CAT question that you encounter!

Hear this out: Do not get discouraged by the mock scores. Instead, analyze the tests thoroughly and understand your mistakes. Remember mock tests are for practice, the real exam is yet to come!

Use Flashcards

Flashcards can be your best friends in the final revision. These are last-minute notes that help you in knowledge retention.  You can go through them before you sleep, while taking a walk, or even while watching TV for relaxation. You may make your flashcards as you like, colorful or simple, a little detailed, or with only the keywords. The aim is to revise anything that needs to be memorized, for example, the formulae. So keep your flashcards ready and revise them thoroughly. This will give you a good grasp of all the difficult portions. 

Don't spend time on untouched topics

CAT syllabus is vast. Hence, there is a high chance that you may have skipped certain topics maybe because they were very difficult or you thought of taking them up sometime later. What you have to know now is that this is not the time to pick them up. It is better to leave them untouched. Reading new topics days before the exam day might confuse you and would only increase your exam stress. On top of that, you have no time to practice such topics sufficiently.  Hence, stick to your study routine, maintain your revision style, solve CAT mock tests and get exposed to different question types but avoid indulging in the uncharted domain. 

Adhere to the guidelines

As trivial as it might sound, adhering to the exam day guidelines is as important as any of the points discussed above. Keeping your hall ticket ready, reading the instructions for the candidates carefully, confirming the address of the exam center, figuring out your conveyance for exam day so that you make it to the center well in time and any other points pertaining to the exam day must be taken care of. 

Important Topics for CAT 2023 Preparation

Quantitative Ability

• Number System
• Percentage
• Simple Interest and Compound Interest
• Ration & Proportion
• Geometry
• Algebra
• Modern Mathematics
• Mensuration
• Tables

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

• Graphs
• Charts
• Puzzles
• Ranking
• Syllogism
• Blood Relations
• Seating Arrangement (Circular, Linear, and Matrix)
• Alphanumeric Series
• Venn Diagrams

VARC

• Reading Comprehension
• Passage Summary
• Para Jumbles
• Critical Reasoning (Paragraph Completion)
• Correct Usage of Phrasal Verbs (Grammar Based)

Give your best and leave the rest

Everyone knows that CAT is a highly competitive exam. Lakhs of candidates appear for this MBA entrance test with a dream of getting into the best MBA colleges in the country. While everyone is striving hard to get that perfect score, it is important to keep oneself mentally and physically healthy during the preparation. Eating a healthy diet, taking regular breaks, and keeping exam stress at bay through some mood-lifting activities are absolutely important to perform well on the CAT exam day. So, make your own preparation plan for the final days before the exam, follow a proper schedule, eat nutritious food, sleep well and brace up for the exam.

Remember, everything will fall flat if one doesn't perform well in the exam, no matter how well-prepared they are. Hence, strengthen yourself physically and mentally before the exam day. Have faith in yourself and pump up your confidence level. At the end of the day, a good knowledge base, a healthy body, and faith in yourself will help you succeed in whatever you do. 

Hope you found these tips for CAT helpful. Here are a few more helpful articles. 

1. How To Prepare For Quantitative Aptitude For CAT Exam? A Complete Guide
2. MBA Entrance Exams In India- CAT Exam Alternatives To Get Into Top B-Schools
3. Reading Comprehension For CAT Exam- Intro, Questions, Tips, Resources, And More!
4. Definitive Reading List For CAT Preparation