Preparing for CAT 2008 Exam
Common Admission Test (CAT 2008) for MBA Admissions in Indian Institute(s) of Management in 2009 will be held on Sunday, November 16, 2008, for their various programmes:
Post Graduate Programmes in Management (PGP)
IIM Ahmedabad PGP, PGP-ABM
IIM Bangalore PGP, PGSEM and PGPPM
IIM Calcutta PGP-PGDM and PGP-PGDCM
IIM Indore PGP and Exec-PGP
IIM Kozhikhode PGP
IIM Lucknow PGP and PGP-ABM
RGIIM Shillong PGP
The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) or Persons with Disability (PWD) category], of any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under section 3 of UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing higher secondary schooling (10+2) or equivalent.
For More Information Log on to http://www.catiim.in/
CAT tests the skills of candidates in five broad areas:
Verbal ability and reasoning
Reading comprehension
Quantitative skills
Data interpretation
Analytical and logical reasoning
The duration of the test is of 120 minutes. The number of questions asked in Common Admission Test vary every year and a typical CAT question paper can have anywhere between 75 and 150 questions. All the questions in the CAT exam are of multiple choice questions with four or five alternate answer choices mark it on a special Optical Reader answer sheet. For every correct answer, one mark is awarded and for every wrong answer, 1/4th of a mark is deducted. Differential marks are allotted to the questions. A question may be of 0.5 marks, 1 mark or 2 marks.
Time is a major factor here. In the stipulated time period, one is expected to solve a set number of questions. CAT is a test of one’s mind and its application on strategy, decision taking ability, performance, stress management, presence of mind etc. CAT adopts the percentile system of evaluation. This means that the student who has given his best performance of all other students scores 100 percentile and the other performances follow.
8 TIPS to CRACK CAT 2008
CAT 2008 Tip 1: As time is critical make sure you practice and get a good balance of speed and accuracy.
CAT 2008 Tip 2: Give as many MOCK CAT exams as possible and analyse your CAT performance trends carefully. Don’t mindlessly slog but understand that you need to crack each section. You should join some classes and also get hold of mock tests online.
Remember, CAT is a test of your managerial aptitude and managerial skills like:
Time management
How you handle pressure and uncertainty
Decision making
Sites for CAT 2008 MOCK EXAMS:
CAT 2008 Tip 3: Also, CAT is not about solving 150 questions in 120 minutes but about solving 90 to 95 questions with 85 to 90 percent accuracy. Handling pressure and uncertainty is a crucial part of the CAT EXAM.The CAT examination spans 120 minutes, but if you are able to handle the pressure in the first 15 and last 10 minutes, your chances to crack the CAT exam increase.
Play the Word Search Game and Improve your Verbal Ability
CAT 2008 Tip 4: Have a flexible strategy. Scan your question paper for the initial three to four minutes to locate easy questions that you are sure of. Attempt the section that you most confident about. Remember CAT is just another name for uncertainty. The patterns will continue to change to test you so remain calm. It has been observed that CAT formats are changed every five years. The last time the pattern was changed was four or five years ago.
CAT 2008 Tip 5: Prioritise | Prioritise | Prioritise: Decide the sequence in which you will attempt the sections. Allocate an approximate time to each section. Prioritise questions within sections. Decide the sequence before you walk into the CAT exam hall. As a result, you don’t waste to shuffle between sections and lose time. Once you have scanned the paper, allocate an additional five to 10 minutes to a tough section and take out five to 10 minutes from an easy section. Try to attempt your favourite section first.
CAT 2008 Tip 6: Attempt Quantitative Ability section FIRST. QUANT utilises your core fundamentals and formulae; sometimes, they are difficult to recall under pressures of time and mental fatigue. The other two sections are practice based and quicker to solve and not mentally tiring.
CAT 2008 Tip 7: Here are some section wise tips to crack CAT 2008: Quant Ability Attempt questions in three rounds.
Quant Ability
Attempt questions in three rounds.
Round 1
Attempt all one liners.
Attempt all two liners.
Attempt all four liners.
Round 2
Come back to the leftover questions of Round 1. Under pressure, you might just have left easy questions from Round 1 unattempted. Try to solve them again.
Round 3
If time permits, tackle the lengthier questions on your favourite topics.
Verbal Ability
Students attempt English Usage or Reading and Comprehension questions first.
In Jumbles, look out for logical connectors.
Scan the questions once before you attempt Reading and Comprehension section.
Grammar questions should be your strength.
Data Interpretation/ Data Sufficiency
Make sure you revise your percentages and approximations.
Data Sufficiency questions are independent of each other and should be attempted first.
Once you are done with the Data Sufficiency questions, attempt single graph questions followed by the double graph questions.
CAT 2008 Tip 8: Speed Killer questions. CAT Will also have a few speed killer breaker questions. Watch out for them. These questions are normally about two to five percent of the CAT paper and best avoided.
Best Wishes and Enjoy this Video on CAT:
