Time Management is Important for Success in CAT
Here is an all-rounder who is interested in just about everything from painting to photography to acting. An electronics engineer with multiple passions, Archit Shrivastava of Indore has scored 97.9 percentile in CAT 2009 and has decided to take admission in IIM Indore.
Archit has 42 months of work experience in IT industry as a research and business analyst in several key projects at Mahindra Satyam. He is, in his own words, an "Engineer, IT professional, social activist, shutterbug, nature lover, social media enthusiast, actor, painter, philatelist, budding entrepreneur and perpetual student." Here's what he has to say in a free-wheeling interview:
Which were the MBA exams that you took in 2009-10 and what were your percentiles/scores?
I took CAT, XAT and MICAT this session. I got 97.9 and 91 percentile in CAT and XAT, respectively. MICA has given direct offer letters this time instead of scorecards.
What to you are the main differences in the various exams?
I feel all the three exams primarily test basic managerial skill sets, including aptitude, communication ability and time management. I felt the testing methodology was somewhat different in these exams. As far as CAT and XAT are concerned both held no major surprises except for the fact that CAT is now computer-based.
MICAT on the other hand was conducted on the national scale for the first time. Differentiating factors of MICAT were the psychometric and creative writing sections. MICAT was more challenging on the verbal part and XAT on quant. CAT was the one which had evenly spread difficulty levels throughout the sections.
What was your strategy for the written exam? Please share the details.
I followed a simple method; I started with the section I was strong in so that confidence built up. I divided the total time equally in all the three sections and attempted a full section at one go. I felt keeping buffer time and going to and fro between sections was not working for me. I strictly followed the clock to switch sections and tried my best not to stick for long with any particular question.
How should the CAT 2010 candidates plan their study on the basis of different sections in the paper and also manage time effectively?
I have no authority to comment on how others should devise their study plan as I did not have one for myself! Also, I think each aspirant is at different environmental and mental levels. So there cannot be a generalised approach for all to crack CAT.
As of now, CAT 2010 will continue to be CBT with the same exam pattern so I think the basic study approach will not change. One has to identify his or her strength and weakness to capitalise on strength and work on weakness. Time management can come only if you practise hard.
You were among the first batch of CBT CAT takers. How was your experience and what is your take on that?
CAT went computer based for the very first time and we were the guinea pigs. Personally speaking, I did not have a good experience with it. In the first 30 minutes the link failed - not once but twice in my room. In fact we had to reboot our system once. You can imagine the tension and anxiety that built up inside me.
Taking CAT online is a great eco-friendly move by the IIMs but it has its own pros and cons. On one hand it reduces paper consumption and speeds up the complete process, but on the other I felt it made the DI section more time-consuming as you cannot mark anything on the question paper. Switching focus between the paper and the computer screen was both annoying and time-consuming.
Glitches like this can really shake confidence of any aspirant.
Considering this was the first time and assuming infrastructure and connectivity problems will be taken care of, I still feel overall this is a nice move and candidates will adapt to it with time. In the long-term perspective it will be a win-win situation for everyone - the IIMs, students and the society.
Source: HT Horizons
Date: 22nd October, 2010
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