Students’ Speak: What should you do next if you have not done well in CAT?
In this article Naresh shares some tips for students who have not performed as per their expectations in the Common Admission Test (CAT).
CAT Exam
CAT is one of the toughest exams aspirants appear for to get admission in top B-schools in India with limited seats. Some of the premium institutes one could get admission into include Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), SP Jain, etc. However, even after hard work and sleepless night some students are unable to crack the exam. Some students do not score good percentile and some students do not make it through Group Discussion and Personal Interview process.
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However, failure is the part of life and the main thing is that the aspirant should stand again after failure and bounce back. The key is that the aspirant needs to understand is that this is not the end of life. There are lots of options in hand even after not scoring well in the CAT examination. If the aspirant has one more year to give CAT examination, then they can repeat this examination with new energy.
If you do not score well in CAT, then you need to analyse the paper and need to understand where you made the mistake. Some basics mistakes such as spending too much time on a particular question. In reasoning, normally we take most of the time to solve the puzzles. Do not get nervous when you are giving examination. This might lead to a bad score even after having the capability. Try to avoid small mistakes, sometimes we solve with right approach but do small mistakes and it costs us. Every single mark is important in this type of examination.
If you do not score well in CAT, then there are a lot of options and you can go with it like preparation of other entrance exams such as CMAT, MAT, NMAT, XAT, SNAP and MHCET. There are many examinations and the main advantage is CAT preparation. Most of these examinations have the same syllabus and pattern. So, if you have prepared well for CAT, then you may find these examinations a little easy compared to CAT. Shiksha is one of the best platforms to search alternative colleges and their ranking and which exam score they accept. It will give all the information regarding colleges, you can ask questions on it and you will get a quick reply as well.
To increase the score I would suggest mock tests are important and simultaneously analysing each mock. Try to solve questions where you have taken more time and marked it wrong. Play on your strength and solve those questions first and then come to another question. Do not spend too much time on one question, if you are finding it difficult then mark it and solve another question and if left with the time then come back and try to solve it.
Commonly asked questions
Yes CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.
CAT is a speed-based test of analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or Commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advanced-level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.
Hope it was helpful!!!
Ideally, XAT preparation takes six to nine months, but if candidates have prepared for CAT too, XAT preparation can be done in lesser time as one will have to only work on Decision Making and General Knowledge topics. Those who are weak in English Comprehension must start reading practice early on. The ideal time to start XAT preparation is May, so you can cover the whole syllabus by October and dedicate two months to mock test practice.
If you start studying for XAT late, by July or so, make sure you complete the syllabus by October only. Remember that XAT syllabus is tough, so you’ll need to study at least 6-8 hours daily from start until the end. Give ample time to yourself to complete the XAT syllabus.
I would like to give a suggestion to students who are in the final year of graduation. If they have a plan for MBA then they should start study in the final year itself. It will help them because if they don’t get through examination then at least they will have an idea about the level of examination.
About the Author:
Naresh Pawar is a student at Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE), Mumbai, pursuing Master in Management Studies (MMS). He has interned with Aditya Birla Capital Limited. He is also inclined towards social work and has been a part of Swapnapurti Foundation.
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