CAT Preparation Strategies For The Last Two Months By An IIM Lucknow Student

Ask yourself the following kind of questions while analysing mocks –

•     Where did I make silly mistakes?

•    What questions were simple but I did not attempt them?

•    Was there an easier way to do this question?

Spending time doing so will not only make you more confident but also help you uncover areas that need more practice.

3) Re-visit your fundamentals: Spare a few hours each week for revising fundamentals.  Solve the easy questions, revise the formulae, take topic based tests, etc. This will allow you to revise the core concepts of different topics.

4) Build a strategy: It sounds hi-fi, but it is pretty simple. If you follow the above three steps diligently, it may even come naturally. All you need to do is figure out how you will attempt the paper on D-Day. E.g. this is what I used to do:

- Begin with the sitters. Look for questions that you can solve in 1-2 minutes. Usually, these are the questions from topics you are most comfortable with.

- Leave the questions from topics you hate for the end, but not without reading. You may not like geometry, but there may be a really easy question that you cannot miss out on.

- Keep your ego aside while solving the paper. You may be really good at algebra, but the question may be really tough. Do not let that play with your mind. CAT is an exam of attempting but equally an exam of skipping. Remember, an easy, and a tough question both fetch equal marks. So do not spend too much time on one single question just because you considered yourself an expert in the topic.

5) De-stress: Do something to take your mind off CAT at times. Go for a movie, play a sport you like, hang out with your friends and family. Do absolutely anything that makes you relax. The time you spend enjoying is not really wasted. It will help you revitalise for the coming day.

I hope these tips help you ace CAT, but as I said before, these are not words from the Bible. These are merely some tricks that worked for me. I wish you all the best in your endeavours.

I’d be more than happy to answer the queries you may have. Good Luck!