It is a well known fact that CAT is the toughest one to crack among all MBA entrance exams in India. Typically, it takes an aspirant seven to nine months to prepare for it. During that period, an aspirant is required to dedicate 6-8 hours to study on daily basis. So, what should a working professional do? They cannot devote that many hours to studies daily. So the question for them is how to prepare for CAT? Preparing for CAT requires time - quality time. Working professionals may not need 8 hours daily. Even if they are able to study for four hours but with complete focus then, they can crack CAT exam.
CAT 2024 will be held on November 24, 2024 so there are about eight months to prepare. Working professionals can do it without quitting their jobs. All they need is proper planning and smart execution. In this article, we will share a few tips and tricks for CAT preparation for working professionals.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.First of all, CAT aspirants need to analyse where they stand viz. their knowledge and practice of CAT 2024 syllabus. For example, finance professionals or engineers may not have to worry about Quantitative Aptitude as much as English. But a Humanities student may face challenge in handling Quants and Data Interpretation. Thus, the starting point should be having a look at the CAT syllabus and identifying one's strengths and weaknesses. The second step should be to assess how much time they can devote to studies every day. Let's look at other aspects of CAT exam preparation strategy for working professionals.
Q: When should I start preparing for CAT exam?
Aspirants should start preparing for CAT exam at least nine months in before the test date. CAT preparation requires long-term planning thus one must start early. The best time to start CAT preparation is in March. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not.
Divide your preparation into two phases -
- Covering the CAT syllabus
- Practicing mock tests, sample questions and revision.
The CAT syllabus includes the following topics:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: Parajumbles, Parasummary, Sentence Completion and Inferences, Questions based on passages, para meaning, order of sentences
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Caselets and Syllogism
- Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra, Number System, Arithmetic, Mensuration.
You can read the following CAT books for exam preparation:
- CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
- Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
- Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
- How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay
- 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis/ Simon and Schuster
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Sharma and Upadhyay
- High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha.
Q: Is the CAT syllabus difficult?
Yes, the difficulty level of CAT syllabus is very high as compared to other MBA entrance exams. However, if you prepare well and follow the CAT exam pattern well, you will be able to score well. Besides having an understanding of the CAT syllabus 2024, candidates also need to be well aware of the CAT exam pattern before they start preparing for the exam. The CAT exam pattern was revised in 2021 and the number of questions were reduced from 76 to 66. The structure of CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 was the same. The syllabus is still tougher than other exams.
The most important things to keep in mind are:
- CAT exam mode is online
- Each question carries three marks
- There is negative marking of minus one mark for wrong attempts
The section-wise distribution of questions and difficulty levels as per the latest CAT exam pattern are listed below:
- Quantitative Ability (QA) - 24 questions, difficulty level - moderate to high
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) - 20 questions, difficulty level - moderate
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) - 22 questions, difficulty level - moderate. to high
Q: Is CAT exam tough for an average student?
CAT is a speed based test which is designed to assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.
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CAT Preparation 2024: When to Start?
Experts say, you don't need more than four to five hours daily for about five months to prepare for CAT exam. So you don't need to quit your job; just alter your daily routine. With office work, meetings, travelling time, it may seem difficult to spare four to five hours daily for studies, but it isn't impossible. In fact for other MBA entrance exams like MAT, XAT, CMAT or SNAP too, four to five hours of study every day is good enough as these exams are quite similar to each other in terms of pattern as well as syllabus. However, you must realise that each individual's capabilities are different from others. Thus, make a plan accordingly.
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CAT Preparation 2024: Set a Daily Routine
No doubt, balancing CAT preparation with a nine to five job is a tightrope walk, but a little bit of planning and minor changes in daily routine can do the trick like in the case of Ravi Prinshu.
Ravi Prinshu, who scored 99.78 percentile in CAT, balanced exam preparation while working full time with Cognizant and cracked CAT without taking any coaching. He credits his success to his disciplined and focussed approach and regular mock tests.
Q: Are six months enough to prepare for CAT?
Q: How would I know my CAT exam centre?
Candidates will know their allotted CAT exam centre only from the admit card. There is no way to know the test centre before the release of the CAT admit card. The examination authority allots a test centre to aspirants in the city of their first preference as mentioned in the city. So, candidates can atleast be assured that they will get a test centre in the city they had chosen as first preference in the CAT application form. However, the venue will be mentioned only on the candidate’s admit card. So as soon as the CAT admit card is released, candidates must check the test city and test centre details. In order to avoid any confusion, they must visit the centre at least once before the exam day.
Q: Which CAT exam slot is the toughest?
Q: What are the best ways to prepare for the DILR section?
The best way to prepare for DILR section is through practice. Before starting the preparation, aspirants should be accustomed to the question types by going through previous years’ question papers and solving those. Since there is not much conceptual understanding required in this section, practice is the key to excel in this area.
Some of the most popular books on DILR section that you can refer are How to Prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit Sinha, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Pearson, to name a few.
Q: How can I improve my score in Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT?
The key to improving score in Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT is practice, practice and more practice. Listed below are some tips you can apply while preparing for CAT.
- Practice Mental Maths to be less dependent on calculators
- Make short notes of formulae and sample questions to revise them on the go
- Develop the ability to choose which questions to answer in the exam
- Avoid negative marking. Don’t attempt questions you are not sure of
- Practice Quants questions in a time bound manner to be able to utilize maximum time in the main exam
- Solving a sample question is not enough. Practice the same set of questions multiple time
"I started my preparation from May-June. I started preparing by taking one diagnostic mock test to identify my current preparation state and chalked out a detailed preparation plan thereafter which mainly focused on managing my strengths and weaknesses," Ravi told Shiksha.
Making a daily routine and following it to T is the key. For a working professional, the most important thing is discipline. It is imperative to follow the daily routine and not waste a single minute.
Prepare a schedule for one month and follow it diligently. Once you get used to that routine, extend it for another two months and so on. Initially it will be taxing, but once you get used to it, you will find it easy.
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CAT Preparation 2024: Importance of CAT Mock Tests
All the CAT toppers recommend practising CAT mock tests. The more mock tests you attempt, closer you get to your target. The greatest benefit of attempting mocks is that with each solved mock test you get to know your mistakes and progress. With each mock test, your speed increases and you discovers new shortcuts to solve the questions. Since, the CAT exam is all about speed and accuracy, mock tests are the best platform to develop them.
Mock test booklets are provided by all coaching institutes. You can also get them on internet. Try to solve as many CAT mock tests and sample papers as you can. We are not giving a definite number here because every aspirant is different and so are their capabilities but 30-40 CAT mock tests should put you in a good position.
| CAT_Mock_Test_1 | CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
CAT Preparation 2024: Using Social Media to Study
- There are various groups on the internet that help each other in preparing for entrance exams. Social media platforms like Quora, Facebook, Reddit etc. are popular platforms where you can find student communities.
- Connect with other CAT aspirants, ask questions, share insights and expand your knowledge base. In such forums, you will also find many experts who help students in preparing for such career defining exams.
- Interacting with people going through the same grind as you are, is important to keep the motivation level high.
- Downloading study apps is also a good idea. You can log on to these apps and study on smartphone while travelling.
Also Read:
- CAT Preparation Plan For VARC
- CAT Preparation: Your Love For Reading Can Get You Desired Result
- CAT Preparation Plan for DILR
- How to Crack Logical Reasoning for CAT
- Time Management in CAT QA and DI
- CAT Preparation Plan For Quantitative Aptitude
- Master the Secret of Acing QA in CAT Exam
CAT Preparation 2024: Use Your Advantage
Working professionals have an advantage over fresh graduates – work experience. All the IIMs and top B-schools give significant weightage to work experience while screening students for admission. For example, IIM Bangalore gives eight marks for work experience so you can well imagine its value where people miss admission even .01 mark. Typically, work experience of three to five years is considered desirable by management institutes. Also, working professionals are better communicators. They can hold their own in GD and PI, whereas freshers may not be able to. So if you are a working professional planning to take CAT 2024, don't quit your job, instead, make the best of it.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 16 hours ago
Hii, The difficulty of XAT, CAT, or CMAT depends on individual aptitude and preparation, but generally:
- CAT: Considered the toughest, with high competition and emphasis on VARC, DILR, and Quant.
- XAT: Moderate, with an additional Decision-Making section and essay writing, testing analytical thinking.
- CM
A
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Yes, you can consider getting a Masters degree even if you have more than 3 years of work experience.
You can als
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Beginner-Level 4
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It is common knowledge that the result date of CAT is normally in the first week of January every year for Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Management Studies And Research. Predicted dates for the CAT 2024 exam for the academic year 2024-2025 are November 24, 2024.
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Management Studies and Research 2024 cutoff was concluded for MMS admission via MAH MBA CET. During the last round, the cutoff score for MMS was 93.44 for the General AI category students. The first-round cutoff score for the same course stood at 94.9.
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No, FMS offers entrance-based admission to all its courses. To get admission to MBA/PGDM, candidates are required to have a valid CAT score. Without CAT score, candidates cannot join FMS Delhi. Further, candidates must also fulfil the basic eligibility criteria i.e. pass graduation degree with 50%
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Answered 3 days ago
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Which entrance exam is easy among XAT, CAT and CMAT for admission to MBA at Assam University?