Every management guru & CAT guru has something to say on the same.
But till today it is difficult to answer what makes the CAT most difficult whether the no of questions, time limit, difficult questions, no of sections, no of student taking CAT or the selection Procedure.
Definitely CAT always stands out to be the toughest exam because most of you plan your mission without any proper vision.
CAT is an example of “intelligent people doing things differently”. So the mission calls for an intelligent vision firstly. Next what should be the vision? Definitely you need to have proper dedication, motivation and tenacity throughout your preparation duration, and then only you will be able to make it to the much coveted seats of CAT among lakhs.
You need to understand that definitely your work is not over by just joining the Coaching Institute but you need to is put in something extra i.e. Planned CAT Preparation, hardwork , developing your intelligence.
The key tips to crack CAT are
Joining possibly a Coaching institute and starting CAT Preparation from the basics of each section. This would give you the platform to start the preparation.
The Strategy to crack CAT revolves around 4 major factors – Intelligence Level, Speed, Time Management & Clarity of basic Concepts.
Identifying the intelligence level is a difficult task. You need to know how much work you have to do on yourself. Identifying the key weak areas i.e. English, Maths, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation or all Thus, for instance, in Quantitative Ability if you are weak in all areas, you would need to solve and learn from around 5000 questions in order to match your skills with the best. Over a 150 day period this means 30 to 35 questions per day. Of course you can apply selective studying by focusing on some of the more important topics to take to the highest skill level - while others you can just solve the basic level of questions.
After understanding the key strong areas & weak areas you need to work on the other aspect i.e. Time Management and Speed as you need to solve the maximum no questions correctly to clear the Sectional Cut- Offs.
So to crack CAT focus more on visualization, frequent revision, understanding of basic concepts rather than cramming.
The biggest monster for every CAT Aspirant is the Vocabulary section. Build your vocabulary by reading vocabulary builders and learning new words regularly from newspapers and magazines. There are several free vocab practice lessons available online.
Build your practice on the fundamental maths concepts like integers, fractions, decimals, percentage, ratio & proportion, algebra, permutation & combination, etc. Master the skills to solve complex calculations involving larger numbers by practicing shortcut methods. You can find several of these methods in Vedic Mathematics. Online math practice sessions are very helpful as they also give you answer explanations. Tear away all the answer sheets, try and solve all the questions without depending upon the same, solve each question to the point where you can be sure of the answer (without needing to check). If you can do so, I don't think CAT or for that matter any aptitude exam would ever trouble you.
Data Interpretation requires good analytical skills.Take your time and read both the questions and data set carefully. Understand what you are being asked to do before you begin figuring out the information. Check the data and types of information required. Be sure that you are looking at the right part of graph or chart i.e., on proper columns or rows or lines.
After getting the basic concepts clear, start taking the Mock Test preferably online - one test daily in the initial days, and two or three tests per day at least one month before the actual CAT 2011 exam. This will help you gain control over your speed and prepare you for the best time management during the exam, as it helps to do the GAP Analysis.
Wishing you,all the best for your preparation of CAT 2011.