CAT 2014: What to expect on November 22?

 

by Manish Harodia

The second slot of CAT 2014 is scheduled to be held on November 22. Over the past two days, Shiksha.com has received several queries. We decided to talk to MBA expert Manish Harodia to solve all you queries.

 Know CAT 2014 Second Day Live Updates here!

Well, much has been said and written about the couple of CAT 2014 slots that tested students on November 16, 2014. About 92,504 students took the test on Sunday and almost an equal number of aspirants are slated to bite the bullet on Saturday. With the stakes being so high, it is natural for aspirants to feel jittery and nervous.

We have received hundreds of queries over the past 48 hours and this article is a small initiative to bundle them together in broad areas of concern and answer them for the students.

Mistake to avoid in CAT 2014 third and fourth slots

1. Should we expect same paper pattern as CAT 2014 slot 1/ slot 2?

Well, the paper for both the CAT 2014 slots are considered to be slightly on the easier side by most aspirants. With basic mathematics and an above average Logical reasoning, most were able to attempt a higher number of questions. Similar concerns were raised after the morning slot on November 16. The speculations were put to rest when almost an identical level of paper was provided in the second slot on the same day. With the number of slots being only four this year, we feel that the level of questions should be more or less similar to the ones asked earlier.

Students are therefore advised to avoid last minute panic and focus on fundamentals to maximize their scores and attempts with accuracy.

Key learnings from CAT 2014 first day

 

2) Will CAT 2014 third and fourth slots also be lengthy?

This is a slightly misguided thought process. The questions are doable does not necessarily mean a student needs to solve all 100 questions. Students feel that since questions are solve-able, they should have a go at all the 100 questions, if not less. This assumption is flawed and misplaced. For any national aptitude test concerning thousands of test takers, it is always the relativity of performance which defines success more than the absoluteness of your attempts.

CAT 2014 second slot analysis

CAT 2014 first day first slot analysis

 

 

3) What kind of questions / topics should we expect in QA & DI section?

Questions and topics that need to be focused are basic quantitative areas like Numbers, Algebra, and Geometry. Students can decide to miss higher mathematics since only a couple of questions were seen and which can be left non-attempted. However, fundamentals of number system (not including complex Fermet, Euler, Mod functions), Arithmetic (Percentage, Ratios, TSD, CI, SI, can be just brushed up for higher comfort level.

Data Interpretation also had basic questions but they were calculation intensive. So a student may want to practice a little on approximation techniques as most of the answer options were wide apart and could have been cracked with a little effort and less of putting pen to paper.

 

4) What kind of questions / topics should we expect in VA & LR section?

Allaying the fear associated with FIJ questions that sprung up in the demo test, the real CAT had no questions on FIJs or other contentious areas in the VA section over the past years. Students should do good to focus on critical reasoning (Inference, essence of the passage type questions). Vocabulary was a complete miss in the first two slots and the same trend should hopefully continue.

 

 

5) Which section should I focus on more?

If you are aspiring for the top 10 B-schools and MBA colleges, focus on both areas. Since there is tremendous flexibility to switch back and forth from sections, try to at least clear the cut off of your weak section and maximise your score in the other.

 

6) How many attempts for a good score?

A decent number of attempts, without a compromise on accuracy, should be about 22-23 in first section and about 25 in the second section. This statement goes in with a few assumptions.

1. Paper level remains almost same
2. Attempts are indicative for an average student. A well prepared student can take the attempts to even 200% of the indicative attempts. 

 

7) Is the new format more difficult?

We don’t feel the new CAT format is more difficult. Historically, people have managed to score 100 percentile in CAT by leaving one-third of the question paper. In the days of late 90s and early 2000, when the paper had 120-150 questions to be solved in two hours, a crack at 65 questions would generally fetch a call. With a higher number of IIMs and more seats, we see the same trend continuing, albeit, maybe, with a different intensity.

 

8)  Last minute tips based on CAT 2014 November 16 experience.

Nothing much but to relax for the next 2 days. Do not start anything new or get bogged by your Mock percentile scores. CAT is the most realistic mock one can ever take and therefore should be taken with a lot of aggression.

Try to take your CAT as your best Mock Test and the scores should be good!

Last minute tips from coaching experts

Last minute tips for LR, QA and DI  

Last minute tips for VA section

 

 

9) Can you suggest some questions that came on November 16.

Strongly no. This is a violation of the Non-disclosure agreement. No one should share any information on the question that appeared.

10) IIFT is on Sunday. CAT on Saturday. I am freaking out here. What to do?

A lot of students have this added trauma of taking the test in Pune, Nashik, etc in the second slot on Saturday. They need to report to Mumbai IIFT test centres next day at 10 am.

So, yes, students who are in this situation would be inconvenienced a little. But, you should take it in the positive stride. A good show in the evening might rev you up for a better one early morning. Since, this is an area, no one can do much about, it is best to have it absorbed in the right manner.

CAT 2014 and IIFT 2015: Strategy to tackle back-to-back exams

About the author

Manish Harodia is the founder of Genesis Mentors, an institute that claims to send almost 75% of their students to top 20 colleges in India and world every year.They can be connected here for any queries:www.facebook.com/genesismentors