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The right and shortest way

The Common Admission Test is fast approaching and with just two months to go aspirants must dedicate most of the…

The right and shortest way

The Common Admission Test is fast approaching and with just two months to go aspirants must dedicate most of the time available for preparation to stay motivated for the final challenge. By now most would have strengthened their basic concepts to start attempting full mock tests to acclimatise with the pattern and time constraints.

Every test needs to be reviewed completely and the best and shortest way to approach each problem should be identified. Here are few pointers on how to utilise the resources available efficiently:

Preparation material: It is important to choose the right preparation and ensure that you do not stick with just one source. This may include various guidebooks previous years’ question papers material from coaching centres in the form of booklets cheat sheets etc. Try to choose a good mix as this will give you exposure to different kinds of approaches for the same problem.

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A book by a specific author might solve every question on probability using formula substitution but a coaching centre’s cheat sheet could have simpler shortcuts. The former would impart conceptual clarity where you learn how to solve any problem on similar topics. The latter would impart time management skills as easier questions could be solved in lesser time. One does not necessarily have to spend money and join classes to get their hands on materials. Networking with previous Cat aspirants and getting the books and soft copies will reduce costs and you can also talk to them for advice and tips.

Online test series: This forms an integral part of preparation as the general mindset of aspirants is quot;Let me get the concepts right first and then begin giving testsquot;. However it is ideal to start off with mock tests at the initial stages as this is a test of time and bearing as much as it is of concepts and logic. Devising a strategy to approach the exam is aided by giving online tests. Also give a fair idea of standing amidst competition and decide the test series wisely. Choose one that is the most popular to get an experience of the competition and the one that is closest in terms of difficulty to the actual exam. Appearing regularly for mock tests also helps one ensure that preparation for all the sections are at the same levels. More importantly one must give time to analysing every test taken. In many cases the time taken to review a test is more than the time devoted in writing it. Every test should be considered a learning experience and it is necessary to know both the right and the shortest way to approach a question.

General tips on D-Day: It is important to keep a check on stress levels because allowing pressure to dominate the senses does little help. One should understand that Cat is a relative examination. If a particular section is hard and the candidate is well prepared heshe must understand that it is difficult for every other competitor too.

Keeping this in mind helps ensure that difficult questions don’t affect further performance. This is not an exam that is filled with questions of high difficulty but has a fair mix of easy moderate and difficult questions. It is important to note that all questions carry the same weightage thus choosing efficiently is a great skill to possess. Wasting time on getting the answer right for one question doesn’t help. To put it in a nutshell at this stage of preparation one should focus on the strengths more and use the above mentioned tips to succeed.

The writer is from the PGP-HR batch MDI Gurgaon.

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