CAT 2020 is scheduled on November 29, this Sunday. With two days to go, it’s a crucial time to focus on a workable exam strategy. It’s not only thorough preparation but also a well-planned strategy that helps the aspirant to improve CAT percentile. It is necessary that the candidates should not experiment with anything new, and only spend time in revision.
It's natural for you to be slightly anxious before the exam. But the application of concepts and ability to perform in the exam can be achieved with a calm mind. Here are some tips for CAT aspirants that will help in their last-minute preparation and during the exam too.
Prioritise your strengths
Make a list of topics. Prioritise them based on your preparedness and allot time for revision as maximum to the most prepared topic.
Maintain a timetable
Have a scheduled timetable for your last two days of study and decide on the outcome of every study session and try to achieve it. Having a set routine will make it much easier for you to tackle the time related stress on the day of exam.
Revise important concepts
Spend some time today and tomorrow to revise all important concepts and formulae of quants. Do not try anything new at the last minute.
Be healthy and stay fit
Maintain healthy routines with good sleep and healthy food intake. Do not eat junk food and endless cups of tea and coffee. A healthy body and a healthy, alert brain will lead to better performance. Eat well, rest well, and sleep well.
Avoid brain fatigue
It is vital for you to relax and calm your mind. Do not take stress and get anxious. Spend some time on meditation to improve concentration. A sound mind will help you to stay focused.
Do not panic on the exam day
It is important for aspirants that they do not panic on CAT exam day, under any circumstance. Preparing yourself with all the necessary documents and reaching the centre on time is very important. Be flexible instead of having a pre-decided strategy. Decide your approach according to the paper pattern and difficulty level of the CAT. Sticking to your basics will help you avoid unnecessary stress. Take the exam as any other exam and freeing yourself of any other mental block paves the way for relieving pressure and performing better in the exam.
Start with known and easy questions
On the exam day do not right away start answering the questions without first going through the instructions. Find out easy questions/ sets in each section that you are confident about and try answering them first. It will help you to gain confidence and will help you save time for answering the difficult ones. In the passages, in logical reasoning and data interpretation the questions are already in sets, thereby making your job easier. Make sure that you do not miss any question in the paper unread.
Avoid guesswork
It is better to leave a question unanswered rather than giving the wrong answer. Avoiding negative marking is crucial. Your sense of judgement is important for obtaining a higher percentile. Read all the questions, identify the ones you can attempt and attempt only the ones you are sure of answering correctly. Accuracy is of utmost importance. It saves time.
Time is a precious resource
If you feel a question is difficult that requires a lot of time, then do not waste your time and energy trying to solve it. Move on to the next questions. You can attempt to solve a difficult question after you are done with all the easy questions. Any mistake in time allocation will take you away from your goal. Divide and spend your time judiciously.
Always double-check the answers
Always have some time on your hand at the end to double-check the answers. Go through the answers thoroughly and check if it has been answered correctly. Make sure to check if you have missed any questions.
CAT exam has relative scoring and a difficult paper will be difficult for everyone. The key to success is to have a good presence of mind and tackle the exam within the given time limit. Wishing you all the very best!