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As only few days are left for the CAT Exam, students have lot of queries in mind. So i have found this article to be very useful.

MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone organized a live Expert Chat on 'Countdown to CAT: 30-days Strategy to Crack CAT' on October 18, 2008. The chat was organized to discuss how students should plan for next 30-days of CAT '08, to be held on November 16.
CAT experts from test-prep companies like TIME, Career Launcher and IMS Learning participated in this chat. On the MBAUniverse.com expert chat, Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep answered lots of queries posted by MBA aspirants from around the country on October 18.

While responding to a query on 'How to prepare for last 30 days to CAT', Mr Srinivasan said, "In the last 30 days, mainly concentrate on improving your test taking skills. Do not take too many tests, 7 to 8 tests with a thorough analysis must be sufficient. What is more important is that you should analyse your performance in each and every test and use the learning to improve your performance in the next test. Do not try too many different strategies. Understand that you cannot use someone else's strategy to crack the CAT. You need to build your own strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses."

Mr Srinivasan holds the degree of PGDM from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. At IMS, he has been instrumental in launching ICAP (Interlinked Concepts and Application Based Pedagogy) -- a new approach to learning and taking CAT.

Here is the edited transcript from the students-chat with Mr Gejo Srinivasan on October 18 on MBAUniverse.com:

Gauri: Hello Sir. What is your advice on how to prepare for last 30 days to CAT.? Please elaborate.

Mr Srinivasan: In the last 30 days, mainly concentrate on improving your test taking skills. Do not take too many tests, 7 to 8 tests with a thorough analysis must be sufficient. What is more important is that you should analyse your performance in each and every test and use the learning to improve your performance in the next test. Do not try too many different strategies. Understand that you cannot use someone else's strategy to crack the CAT. You need to build your own strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses.

Rahul: On the basis of last 2-3 years of CAT exam, I wish to know that how would be the difficulty level in each of the sections. Please comment
Mr Srinivasan: The difficulty level of the various sections varies every year. The Quant section of CAT 2006 was relatively easier compared to 2005 or 2007. The verbal section of 2006 was much tougher than that of the previous years. So, do not speculate. Be assured that everyone is taking the same test: so if some section is easy it is so for everyone and if some section is tough it is so for everyone. It is relative performance that finally matters.

Onkar: I'm a 3rd year Engineering student. I have above average skills in most of the areas, I still need practice. As I have 2 yrs for my graduation, what methodologies (plan) will help me to crack CAT?

Mr Srinivasan: I would suggest that you should take the free preliminary test at any of the IMS centres to evaluate where you stand w.r.t competition vis-a-vis CAT. This test is closely based on the CAT and will also give you a fair idea of what it takes to clear the CAT. Your performance in the test can then be used to chart the future course of action.

Raghav: I am in a mindset to give CAT next year. From next year, CAT would be going online. What should one expect on pattern, difficulty level etc... How is IMS planning to offer particular type of preparation for online CAT.? Thanks

Mr Srinivasan: Understand that whether the CAT goes online or not, the skills that will be assessed by the CAT won't change. So the fundamental preparation required to build conceptual clarity does not change. Do not mull over what would be the pattern/difficulty level etc. Leave this thought process to the IIMs. You concentrate on building a strong conceptual base. Test taking skills (paper based or online) can be built in the last stage of preparation, i.e. 3 months before the CAT.

Sambhav: How to improve Quant area in next 4 weeks. Rest I am confident.
Mr Srinivasan: Work on your weak "areas" and "question types" by doing a thorough analysis of the tests you take.. Out of these, concentrate only on topics that occur very frequently (do not practise probability, etc) Then you can fix one of these topics for every day and practise problems on only that type on that day. Solve Qs in sets of 5 Qs and track your progress.

Ritu: Hello sir, what would be your last minute tips on CAT prep. What are the important things one has to keep in mind while attempting the paper...Thanks a lot....

Mr Srinivasan: Following are the tips while attempting the paper:
1. Arrive early for the test (not just CAT, even SimCATs)
2. Choose a spot and ensure that you have enough room to work, maintain a comfortable posture while taking the test, don't "slouch".
3. Remind yourself that you are well-prepared and are going to do well. If you find that you are anxious, take several slow, deep breaths to relax. Don't talk about the test to other students before the test; remember anxiety is contagious.

Sambhav: Sir, should I read/scan the full paper on CAT day, or should I go section by Section. Scan full paper will take 10 minutes or so. Is it worth the investment? Also how much time to give to each question before rejecting it and moving forward?

Mr Srinivasan: As you open the test booklet, first glance through the pages to see if all the pages are printed properly. If not, get the test booklet changed. In the process also note the order of the sections. This should not take more than a minute. Then as per a pre-decided strategy, solve the various sections in your preferred order giving almost equal (if not equal) time to each of them. Whilst solving each section, questions can be solved in any order( Algebra first or one-liners first or DS first) For each question, read what is given, understand what has to be found and ask yourself whether you know the right approach to reach the answer. This should not take more than 40 sec to 1 min per question. Once you are confident that you can solve the question, go ahead and actually solve the question.

Prakash: After CAT, how to work on XAT and FMS Delhi test sir?

Mr Srinivasan: Preparing for any test has three major steps – 1. Know the test 2. Learn the concepts that are assessed in the test 3. Develop good test-taking skills. In terms of areas assessed FMS and XAT are very similar to the CAT. These tests only vary in terms of test structure and difficulty level. So orient yourself to the test structures of these tests and plan a strategy for these tests. You need not take too man practice tests for the other tests if you have prepared well for the CAT. Remember, if you have prepared for the best, you can take any test!!

Dilip: What is the importance of appearing in other MBA entrance exams like XAT, IIFT, FMS etc…while I have am giving CAT as well? How do you see these exams different from CAT?
Mr Srinivasan: It is interesting to note that most of the tests mentioned above assess more or less the same concepts that are tested on the CAT. Hence, you will find that there is really not much difference when it comes to concept building for any of these tests. However, the various tests differ in terms of the test structure, question types and overall difficulty level of the test. Therefore, we only need to understand the test structure, get acclimatized to the different question types and develop specific strategies to ace these tests. More often than not, if you have prepared well enough for the CAT, then there is a high chance that you will perform well in the other tests.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone for more highlights from the expert chats with expert faculty from TIME, IMS Learning and Career Launcher and other leading institutes.

FMS 2009 Entrance Exam Notifications are out.

FMS Test Date for full time mba program is January 11, 2009

Forms can be purchased from SBI Branches and through online also.

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