CMAT 2016 last month preparation tips: Focus on Accuracy, not speed

 

By Mikin Shah

CMAT 2016 will be conducted on January 17, 2016. The million dollar question that students are now facing is how to excel in the upcoming CMAT exam.

A look at the results of previous CMAT exams tell us that the exam has become progressively more difficult and only a few students have been able to score beyond 250 in the recent times.

The following aspects should be noted while attempting CMAT exam –

• Reasoning section in CMAT February 2015 was tougher than earlier versions. There were a lot of questions pertaining to arrangements.
• The quantitative section has continued to be difficult during last two years. The section has sprung surprises in terms of four to five questions that are extremely difficult to solve.
• The verbal section is dominated by reading comprehension with very few direct or easy questions such as those from vocabulary and grammar.

Although the above mentioned factors explain some of the underperformance at CMAT, my considered opinion is that the students have not been able to optimise their scores with respect to the format and time aspects of the test. It must be understood that unlike other management entrance tests, CMAT is purely a test of accuracy rather than accuracy vs. speed. Many students are simply too fast and too inaccurate!

I have appeared for CMAT in each year since its inception and these are my key take-aways:

1. To score well, you need to be ACCURATE. Speed is not an issue at all as you have ample time available.
2. The range of topics covered has become very important. For an exam like CAT, my strategy would be to focus on a few areas of strength. But, with CMAT the student would need to have a certain minimum level of comfort in ALL TOPICS. This is especially true for the Quantitative section as questions from exotic topics like co-ordinate geometry, conics, and advanced trigonometry have cropped up with regularity. CMAT syllabus
3. Do not try to “Study” too much for the General Awareness section. Your score will ultimately be decided by how good or bad your reading habits are and whether you have been attentive enough to events that occur in the business and economic environment. Also, do not attempt too many questions in this section.
4. Be very careful in selecting questions in the English section. It is extremely easy to lose marks in this section. This is especially true of the critical reasoning questions that are asked in this section.

 

Last month preparation strategy for CMAT 2016 exam 

Unlike other management entrance tests, CMAT is purely a test of accuracy rather than accuracy vs. speed. Many students are simply too fast and too inaccurate! 

1. With the clock ticking, an average student would do well to concentrate first on the high impact areas of the exam. These would be Basic Maths (mostly arithmetic from standard 1 to 10), Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.
2. With a month remaining for the exam, a candidate would do well to appear for at least 10 mock tests. It would be a good idea to take a mock every alternate day.
3. Aspirants must remember that a thorough analysis of each mock is absolutely necessary. For a three-hour exam like CMAT, the analysis should take at least the same time (3 hours). Such an exercise would educate the aspirant about her strengths as well as gaps in the present level of preparation.
4. All aspirants must clearly work out a sequence of attempting various areas which works best for them. My recommendation is to go for GK, English, Maths and Reasoning. The basic idea is to get done with English and GK sections within 40 – 45 minutes and devote the rest of the time for Maths and Reasoning sections.

 

Hard work and a judicious approach will allow every aspirant to fulfill her potential and achieve success at the upcoming CMAT.

All the best!

 

Mikin Shah is the Founder & Director of foresight school – An educational institute which specializes in MBA Entrance & MBA Tuitions. He was ranked first in CMAT Feb 2013 and fifth in CMAT Feb 2014. He has also cracked CAT (99.11 percentile in 2004). He can be reached at foresightschool@gmail.com

 

 

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