Authored by: Gautam Bawa, Principal Director, BYJU’S and Vice President, BYJU’S Exam Prep
The common admission test or CAT is a centralised test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission into their business programs. Various prestigious business colleges in India too consider CAT scores for entry into their courses. With the date of CAT 2022 fast approaching, aspirants across India are ramping up their preparation to put their best foot forward on the day of the exam.
The CAT 2022 exam will be conducted on November 27, through online mode. The official CAT 2022 result is expected to be announced in the second week of January 2023. It is crucial for candidates to know what score they need to get into their dream B-school. Therefore, the CAT Score vs Percentile becomes extremely important as the CAT Exam pattern keeps on changing depending on the level of difficulty.
The CAT is famous for being unpredictable, with formats often changing over the years. During Covid the pattern was changed, and CAT became a 2 hr exam with 40 mins allotted to each section. For the sake of CAT 2022 it would make more sense to focus on what CAT 2020 and 2021 analytics. Based on that, here are a few things to remember while preparing for CAT to ensure a 99-percentile score.
CAT is about the way you think:
Blindly learning maths concepts for the Quantitative Aptitude section or speed reading without comprehension in the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections cannot help you perform well. CAT is an exam that measures the way you think and how efficient you are in approaching problems. Make sure that while analysing your preparation, examine how you’re approaching the problem and if you are using the basic concepts of quant and verbal to quickly analyse the outcome of the problem posed. Not only will this higher-order thinking help you in CAT, but this will also come in handy in your actual business program once you enrol.
40% of a CAT paper is categorised as Easy year after year. If you look at Table 1 above, 40% of the total marks over the last 2 years was close to 95-96 %ile, add the 10% questions categorised at Easy-Moderate and you are well on your way to a 99%ile. Identifying the easy questions and accuracy therein will be the key to get a high score. Thus, the myth that CAT is a difficult exam is exactly that, a myth!
Practice and analyse your performance:
A 99-percentile performance in CAT requires great match practice and the ability to tackle any googly thrown at you on D-day. To ensure the same adequate number of mocks need to be taken so that you are not in for any major surprise come 27th November. Writing a plethora of Mocks exposes you to myriad questions and also to different situations. It’ll help you learn how to keep your emotions in check and think on your feet. Equally or perhaps more importantly is ensure that you analyse every mock that you take. Analysing Mocks helps you identify any achilles heel that you might have. Are you attempting the right questions? Are you repeatedly making any errors? Are you leaving any sitters unattempted? Did you solve every question in the smartest possible way? This and many more such questions get answered if you analyse Mocks well.
‘I’m a stud‘ mentality
Lakhs of aspirants attempt CAT every year, and it is certainly one of the more challenging entrance exams in our country. However, despite the challenges, be persistent in your efforts. Attempting CAT for a 99-percentile score requires calmness and confidence that come from practice and effort. If you face difficulties with certain sections in your preparation, do not get hassled. Strategise your prep and attempt to ensure that you get the maximum marks. Do not give up.
In addition to these tips, make sure you focus on the important topics for CAT that generally appear in each of the sections. Here is a brief list of these important topics:
Quantitative aptitude: Arithmetic & Algebra carry the most weightage. It is recommended that the candidates are well versed with the 2 topics
Verbal ability and reading comprehension: Reading comprehension pages, para-jumbles, para-summary, odd sentence out, and fill in the blanks. Maximum questions come from Reading comprehension making RC the most important aspect in VARC.
Data interpretation and logical reasoning: Matrix or Arrangements, Reasoning-based DI, Venn diagrams, and Games & Tournaments
Most importantly do not fret if one section isn’t going the way you desire. For all you know it’s the same for most of India at that point in time. Thus, maintaining your calm, believing in yourself and telling yourself ‘I’m a Stud’ during those 120 minutes is the key. Feel invincible in those 120 minutes and be the most humble that you can be on either side of those 120 minutes.
Armed with the right information and the right preparation, you are sure to give the exam your best shot. From all teachers at BYJU’S, here’s wishing you the very best for CAT 2022!
News Mania Desk
