CAT 2021 has been done and dusted and it is now time for students to look beyond it. There would be two types of students in the country right now. Formerly the ones who will have miserably failed or performed under expectations in CAT 2021 and are willing to write CAT 2022. Latter are the ones who will write CAT for the first time.

 

CAT is all about applying the right strategies at the right moment. There must be some students who will be thinking that they will start their preparation three or four months prior the CAT exam. But from our experience, Students who start their preparation early have a head start. The journey to CAT 2022 preparation has already begun and many students are still living in ignorance. CAT is one of the most daunting entrance tests and is held annually in the month of November. It is the gateway for admission to elite MBA institutes such as IIMs, FMS, MDI, and several other world class B-Schools. If you wish to achieve a high score in CAT 2022, you need to start with your preparation at the earliest.

 

There are four things that you must consider before kicking off your CAT 2022 preparations:

1. Knowing your Exam

2. Understanding the syllabus

3. Working on your basics

4. Giving as many as mocks possible

Knowing your exam:

 

CAT refers to Common Admission Test and comprises of three sections i.e. Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation and Quantitative Aptitude. There is no doubt that it is the biggest MBA entrance test in the country. The IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) conduct this Common Admission Test on a rotational basis.

 

Earlier this exam was conducted for three hours in two slots on the last Sunday of November but after the corona pandemic there are some changes to this pattern. Now, the exam is of two hours and is conducted in three slots. This year there were 66 questions overall consisting of 24 questions in Verbal ability section, 20 questions in Logical reasoning and Data Interpretation section and 22 questions in Quantitative Ability section. +3 marks are awarded for every right answer and -1 marks is deducted for every wrong answer. Usually, if a student scores 50% marks they score 99+ percentile.

 

Understanding the syllabus:

 

It is extremely crucial to be aware of the exam syllabus before initiating the preparation for the same. Although IIMs do not provide any standard syllabus for CAT but with the help of last year's papers and with the guidance of our experts we have prepared a syllabus for you. You can find out the CAT 2022 syllabus on the website. The CAT exam syllabus remains the same every year, but the distribution of questions in each section of the questionnaire changes each year.

 

Working on your basics:

 

Mastering the basics is crucial to your success. Whether we are talking about playing chess, playing golf, or investing in real estate, a good foundation is critical to accomplishing your goals. While getting lost in the details can often be easy, master the basics first and you stand a much better chance of winning in the long-run.

 

Same happens with CAT as well. Students who have their basics cleared have more chances of getting succeeded in the examination. At TCM we first try to know the weak areas of each and every student and then help him get improved from the basics. Many students want to rush through the basics to get to the more interesting information. Or perhaps they believe that the more advanced work is where real power lies. But even with just a mastery of the basics, you can have huge successes.

 

Giving as many mocks as possible:

 

Millions of people appear for competitive exams but only a few can clear it. One thing that makes these people stand out among the other candidates is ‘Mocks’. A mock means solving a real test for practice while following all the rules of the actual examinations. This helps a lot while appearing for the actual examination.

A candidate can analyse his/her performance in the mock and make the necessary changes to avoid the same mistakes in the actual examination. Solving the mocks will help you to get to know how the actual test will be. It will give you an idea about various things like the paper pattern, what kind of questions can be asked, the difficulty level of the questions, and how much time it takes to complete the test.

 

Without taking the mocks you will not know how good/bad your preparation is. You can take the mocks and make strategies, plan your study schedule and make your preparation to the mark.

 

Practice makes man perfect and for competitive exams, mocks are what make a difference between any candidate and the topper.