In the previous article of this series on CAT repeater strategy, I discussed what would be a good way to go about your CAT preparation for those of CAT repeaters who had scored an 85+%ile in CAT 2015. Here, in this post, I suggest a CAT repeater strategy for those who scored below 85%ile in the last CAT exam.
II. CAT Repeater Strategy for CAT score below 85%ile:
Assuming that those of you falling in this bracket have a fair idea about the exam, I say that the most prominent reason for a below par performance can be attributed to the lack of practice. This lack of practice can, in turn, be attributed to either insufficient time devoted or lack of proper guidance. My suggestion to the students would be to do a sincere analysis of what went wrong in the previous CAT attempt and start afresh.
You can follow the instructions in this particular order:
1) Focus on Fundamentals: Read the points mentioned in “Lack of Proficiency in one section” above. You need to put effort across the sections and you are advised to follow the points which I have mentioned for each – Maths, English and LR/DI. Needless to say that you can be a bit selective about the instructions since you have already made a head start by preparing for previous year CAT exam.
2) Write Mock Tests: Read the points mentioned in “Lack of Sound Test-Taking Strategy” in CAT 150 day strategy – Part 1. I suggest you be unconditional about the points mentioned above.
I believe that an approach with the right mix of practice, test taking and analysis will see you through. And yes, most importantly, be confident and enjoy your preparation.
In the next series, I would discuss a similar elaborate strategy for the CAT aspirants for whom CAT 2016 is their first attempt. Students will be able to appreciate the difference between the strategies that different students need to adopt as per their level of proficiency and their previous experience with this exam (if any).
All the best!
Siddharth Mehta
Career Launcher, Bhilai
Hello Sir,
I have scored only 60%tile in Cat’16. I left my job after working for 1 year 4 months. I’m currently preparing for CAT’17.
Where should I devote myself (in terms of extra curricular) excluding my study hours, so that it can boost my profile ?
I haven’t started appearing for mocks yet. Please guide me whether I should take the mocks in terms of no of questions as a safe attempt or prefer to attempt only which I’m sure about?
Rajib, you can devote your extra time in pursuit of your productive hobbies, part-time work, volunteer work or work with an NGO or anything that justifies your reason for quitting the job and dropping a year. You should have already started taking the mocks by now and if not you must start practicing the mocks at the earliest possible time.For your mocks strategy refer to the articles: Things you must do after every mock you take and Are you choosing the right questions in your mock CAT?
Sir,
I didn’t perform well in Cat 2016.i need to devise strategy for XAT and TISS for better performance. What books n method should be used. Kindly provide your personal guidance in same regard.
Pallavi, pardon the delay. I hope you got some good calls this year.
hi sir
I AM IN THE BIGGEST DILEMMA
AM I A ENGINEER OR NOT ( ACCORDING TO IIM’S)
I AM A B.SC COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATE
Himanshu, fortunately from CAT perspective you are a “non-engineer”.
Sir,
I am preparing for CAT 2016 and this is my first attempt.
I have a work experience of 27.5 months
I am still not well prepared with the quants section. Though other sections i am well prepared with.
Please help me as to how difficult the sections will be this year.
Thank you
Sameer, while one cannot estimate the level of difficulty of the paper, I do not expect it to be a difficult paper and your job will be to attempt only those questions that you are comfortable with.
X-89% cbse|XII- 69.93% MH State|2015 Mech engg. graduate-62% tier III private college. took drop for GATE 2015-16 but didn’t get into NITs. This year 2016-17 trying again for GATE-17 in Feb. but not sure if i can make it & hence planning to change to finance(banking). My que : If i take CAT or other mngmt exams in 2017, can i hope to get decent college with this 2 year drop & no work experience ??
Nikhil, given your profile it is suggested to take up a job to fill in the further gap year. You can target forward those B-schools, where less or no academic scores are considered such as FMS, JBIMS etc. The gap year will not pose any problem if you are able to give logical reason for the same.
10 th 74 % , 12 th Science stream 75 % and
Graduate in Agricultural Engineering with 7.08 CGPA.
I seeks admission at IIMA in FABM. Tell me minimum %ile required for Food and Agribusiness Management Programme at IIMA .
Sir I appeared in CAT 2015 and I got in VRC 0%ile ( minus 11), QA 70 %ile and LRDI 68 %ile and now preparing for CAT 2016. But my VRC section is weak RC etc. Please suggest me.
Devendra, the minimum percentile for FABM should be somewhere around 95%tile. If you feel your VRC is weak,then take number of mocks and sectional tests to iron out deficiencies.
Sir
I had done a 1 year classroom program at CL from 2014-15. My %ile in CAT 2015 is 66
I’m an IT engineer graduated in 2016 and placed in capgemini. I’m very much confused whether to go for the job or drop a year and join a crash course for CAT 2016.
Please help me out
Nitin, you can take up our night classes where you can manage job along with studies. To know more about night classes, you can refer to this link http://www.careerlauncher.com/cat-mba/night-classes/
Hi Sir,
I graduated in 2012 and started preparing for civil services, deciding not to take a job at that time. But later in April 2013 I starting working in IT company and now I am planning to take CAT. But the issue is that My total work experience will be about 3.5 years at the end of this year.
My main concern is that how will my work ex more than 3 years and almost a gap of 1 year after college hamper the chances of getting into a good B school if I am able to secure really good marks in CAT. Please guide.
Amit, your work experience will act as an asset during selection process. You should try for ISB Hyderabad,so prepare for GMAT as well. There should be no problem if you score well in CAT and is able to give logical answers.
Sir which insitute is best in dehradun for mba?
Rajesh, there are many B-schools in dehradun. Out of them, UPES is the most preferred one.
GP Sir i am preparing for CAT 2016 and i will be completing my all basic fundas n practising for each chapter in next 30 day.after that i need to practise.but sir i don’t have a continuous internet connection to do online mock tests. Full length mock are essential for accessment of strngth n weakness n time management etc.so plzz suggest how can i prepare n practise offline.m using ims study material.
Suseem, you should take as many proctored mocks as possible. These mocks are important for CAT preparation. Had it been any other exam like IIFT and XAT that are paper based exams, you could have worked offline only. For an exam like CAT, you need to take online CAT mocks.
hello sir,
i am a CL student. i am appearing for 2016. it will be my second take. cat 15 was pathetic for me. i am focusing on basics right now. i had scored 75% in both QA and LR DI. verbal was horrible as i managed just 50%. i am not that bad in verbal but still i am working on it. Right now i am focusing on basics. one problem which continues to follow me every time is low attempts. i can only attempt 40 questions(average in mocks) total. Lack of guidance is affecting a lot to me. please guide in proper direction.
thanks
Satyam, you should first focus on sectional tests to get accuracy in sections. Then take up sufficient number of mocks to ensure overall high accuracy. Also refer to this article Are you choosing the right questions?