CAT Crackers

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Somesh Vajpayee

InstituteIIM Indore
Year of Graduation2008
Percentile99.82

1. What does it take to crack the CAT?

Smart work. Nothing comes out of blindly studying for 10 hrs a day without sitting back and thinking what you achieved in those hours and where you stand. Play by your strengths. Know your weaknesses. If you cannot do a particular type of question then leave it. Remember you don't have to score 99% but 99 percentile. Strong English is a must. Read as much as you can. If you cannot cultivate a reading habit then maybe CAT is not for you.

2. What was my strategy for CAT?

My quant was weak so worked hard enough on it to know I can clear the cut off. I was strong in English and DI so I made sure I dint loose a single mark I could get there. I always kept in mind that the scoring is relative. If I am not able to do something chances are most of the others are struggling.

3. Tips for Various Sections:

a. Reading Comprehension

Remembering as much as you can saves a lot of time. If you have to go refer the passage for everything then it's a waste of time. While reading the passage itself you can form a broad structure of how the passage is written. That would help in remembering the passage and answering most questions.

b. Logical Reasoning

Pen and paper I guess. Forming a mental image of things is the best but if you are unable to do it in the beginning then start by using the pen. Take down things, make boxes, connect them and the answer would come easily. Also if an LR problem is not solved by a particular approach in the first try I would suggest leave it. Revisit it later. An LR problem can be the easiest way to waste time in CAT.

c. Data Interpretation

I always found that estimations help in DI. Instead of doing exact calculation go by rough estimates. It saves a lot of time. Some questions in DI will have very close answers though. So take a look at the choices before you start solving. At times just a look at the choices can point you towards the answer.

d. Quant

If you are good at it then you probably don't know English. So work on your English. If you are not good at it then practice enough and know enough to clear the cutoff.

4. CAT Course / Books that I followed

Career Launcher Test series and material

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