CAT 2013@'Immerse yourself into CAT to gain stamina, conceptual clarity and speed'

NOIDA, India - June 1, 2013 - PRLog -- This article brings you some questions asked by MBA Aspirants and answer shared by Mr Sandeep Manudhane during the Live Chat session on May 31, 2013.

Akriti: I have started CAT preparation (http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-exam-preparation/CAT_Preparation/mba_preparation_package.php) now. Please guide me how to prepare for the exam now onwards. Which books should I prefer and how should I do it by self study?
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: A few tips for you: (1) First of all, decide which all tests you want to write this year. I recommend at least five different tests. (2) Start preparing IMMEDIATELY. There is no time to waste now. (3) Join some preparatory institute. It is strongly recommended as you have only 4-5 months left (for the exams to commence). An institute with its experienced faculty will help you minimise wasted efforts. (4) Focus on your core strengths. Do not waste too much time on weak areas. (5) Take a lot of Mock Tests and once you have taken them, please sit and analyse/revise. That is crucial.

Amol: I am in BBA 2nd year and want to prepare for CAT. Please suggest me how to prepare for it. Is this good time to start?
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: It is the best time to start. The IIMCAT is a test of your commonsense, speed, accuracy and command over basics of 3 Rs - Reading wRiting and aRithmetic. Start by revising all fundamentals in English and Quant. NCERT books (6th till 10th) are good. Basic books in grammar and usage should be referred. You can also talk to your friends or visit various Prep institutes to find the best option for you.

Basant Maheshwari: Please suggest how can I improve my QA speed and calculation speed, what should be the strategy for next 5 months especially for quant section?
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: Practise, Practise, Practise. Take tests. Solve all the questions after the time is over once again. See which of them you could have done using the options. See where you got stuck. See which sitters you missed out on. Keep doing all this diligently till the last day. These all things add up to your preparation slowly and steadily.

Pranav: I have 74% in Engineering, 88% in 10th and 78% in 12th. I come from general category. What are my chances of getting into old IIM or top 15 B-schools, provided I score a good CAT percentile?
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: Going by the present trends (at least till this year), it seems slightly difficult. But once you start preparing for the IIMCAT, you are automatically preparing for most other exams (CMAT, MAT, IIFT, SNAP, NMAT), and a large part of the other big test - the XAT. So your prep will not go waste. My advice to you (and thousands of others who are dead-worried about this aspect) - forget all this and focus on maximising your performance in the exams.

Noor: How should I approach DI Questions? Please help me with steps.
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: Step 1. Read the DI data carefully. Be sure about what is the unit used, and the calibration of the axis. Step 2. See if one of the questions in the set given (3/4/5 questions) can be helped to untangle the entire set. At times, this can be a great help! Step3. If nothing works backwards, start working forward. Pick the first question, and apply your brains!

Achal: How should I divide my 130 days for CAT Quant preparation (http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/6945/)?
Mr Sandeep Manudhane: (1) At least 2 to 3 hours (raw) per day doing problems and tests. (2) At least one long revision session per weekend of everything done in the week. (3) At least one full length mock test per week.

MBA Aspirants seeking guidance and advice from renowned CAT Experts can login to MBAUniverse.com Chat page and post their query to the expert who shall revert on real time basis and guide them with their CAT insights. The Aspirants can also post their pre-chat queries on editor@mbauniverse.com to seek information and guidance on preparation for CAT 2013 (http://www.mbauniverse.com/mba-exam-preparation/CAT_Prepa...).

In the first Live Chat session on May 24, Mr Abhishek Gupta, National Product Head, MBA Test-Prep, Career Launcher India had guided CAT Aspirants on their CAT preparation related queries.