This is the most crucial time of the year for MBA candidates who desire to take the CAT exam. This is the time to work hard and give your best. Remember there is no substitute for hard work, and this is your only chance to get closer to your goal. Start your groundwork today. The common Admission Test (CAT) is the toughest management entrance exam. About 2 lakh applicants appear for the exams every year, yet not even 25 % of students make it to IIMs each year. This is not just an entrance test, but it shows your capabilities to adhere to the timelines. Therefore, managing time is the most critical aspect of this test that decides your performance. In this blog, we will be discussing a few widely used and effective time management tips and techniques for CAT exams.
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A lot of emphasis is laid on the time to be devoted to each section in the CAT exam. The ability to manage time and put to use your most precious resources is what decides your success in the exam. Although there is no perfect answer to what is the right amount of time to be allotted, definitely there is a right approach to bring out your best performance.
CAT is fundamentally a different exam that throws a large number of questions in insufficient time, necessitating choosing which questions to attempt. The marks and difficulty levels do not parallel with each other, therefore spending more time on difficult questions will lead to losing more marks. This compels candidates to pick less time-consuming questions. Also, there needs to be a big focus on the accuracy of your attempt, to shrink the chance of scoring less. Your performance in CAT depends upon how you strike that balance between accuracy and time management. The more you maximize when more you optimize.
Start focusing on preparing for the exam as early as possible. Having close to 6 months is ideal for preparation. Verbal Ability and reading comprehension, quantitative aptitude, data interpretation, and logical reasoning are the four sections of the CAT Exam Syllabus. Bifurcate your time for preparing each of these sections. Start with covering the basics in the initial stage.
When you are aware of the key components, sections, topics, and kinds of questions asked in the CAT exam you will be clear about the preparation strategy. Gather the best CAT study material, before you decide to prepare. Since the coming months are crucial, devise a well-chalked-out timetable to cover maximum topics from the syllabus, moving from the most important to the least important chapters.
You need to ensure a high score in each of the 3 sections because there is a CAT sectional cut-off score that gets you into the shortlist. Make day planners and weekly schedules to determine how sufficient the available time is. Plan a period for the end of the term preparations also. Keep studies your only priority during this period and practice regularly to ace the questions.
Now that you are familiar with the syllabus and have the basics covered, recognize your strong and weak sections. This empowers you to see how much time needs to be assigned to each section and each topic. Focus your time and energy on the areas that you are not comfortable.
There are some questions, particularly in Data Interpretation that needs a lot of calculation effort. Utilize this time to perfect these areas. Practice calculation-based questions regularly. Also practice questions from Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, and Reading Comprehension that demands a lot of practice.
Practice is the key to perfection. Reading through a few chapters and questions does not suffice for a good score in the CAT exam. Practice as much as possible to perfect your weak subjects. This will help you stay confident when you start attempting the mock tests.
Once having completed the CAT syllabus, it is advisable that you attempt as many mocks as possible, with time limitations. The ultimate purpose of the mock test is to train the candidates on how to distribute time wisely during the exam between sections and questions. It gives you a tentative idea about how well you can score. Mock tests are not for practicing more questions, but they help you fine-tune the timings during exams. Take at least 1 mock per week towards the last days of the exam. Analyze it properly to identify your strengths and weaknesses and use it to improve your test-taking skills.
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Having a better judgment about what questions to leave, saves you a lot of time towards a better performance in the CAT exam. This comes only from the extensive practice of questions and a clear knowledge of the basic concepts. Always practice under time pressure. Being able to determine what questions to attempt and what to leave gets you to a higher possibility of scoring to your maximum potential. Deciding which questions to drop is an important skill that you need to develop during preparation time. Preparation is all about nailing the art of cracking it. So now, we hope that the above CAT Exam time management techniques are surely going to help you ace a good performance in the exam.
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