CAT 2009: Last Minute Tips

In these last few days, should I practice or revise?
The last 10 days is the time to consolidate and not experiment. Do not try to study anything new at this stage. Instead, focus on revising concepts and chapters you already know.

What is the best way to revise and prepare for the CAT now?
Most likely, you would have written a large number of mocks in the last few months. Go through all the questions which you got wrong in these tests. It is also important to pay attention to the silly mistakes committed while writing these tests.

What should I do in the last two or three days?
Put away your books and relax. What you have not learnt so far, you will not learn now. Watch a movie, go out with your parents or friends, and have faith in your preparation.

If I don’t know the answers, should I take a guess?
CAT always has had negative marking in the past and this is set to continue in CAT2009. The negative marking is to deter students from attempting an extravagant number of questions even without solving them. It is has been seen in ‘experimental’ conditions that blind guessing almost always leads to a negative/low score. However, if you are able to eliminate two/three choices (out of the four or five) on a proper basis, then, it is not advisable to leave out such a question even if you do not know how to solve the question — it may be worth selecting one of the other two choices as your answer.

What time should I reach the venue?
You need to reach the venue at least two hours before the start of the test.

There is now a “mark” button in the mock test on the CATIIM.IN website. What is this for?
The mark button allows you to “bookmark” a question so that, if there is time remaining at the end, you can go directly that question or set of questions and review them.

How many questions should I attempt to ensure a call?
Targeting a pre-set number of questions to clear the cut-offs is not a great strategy as the cut-offs are a function of the difficulty level of the section and the paper. Hence this call of attempting a certain number of questions is to be made during the exam but not before the start of the exam. It has been seen that even in the most difficult of CATs, attempts in the range of 45-50 per cent with an accuracy of around 80 per cent is enough to clear all cut-offs.

Courtesy: Jaideep Singh Chowdhary, Sr Member of the Academic Team, TIME