My CAT '07 performance: 99.6%ile with 99.73 in english, 96.5 in DI and 96.3 in Math
My CAT '08 performance: 99.91%ile with 99.56 in english, 99.1 in DI and 98.1 in Math
The following ingredients are NOT required.
Rule Number One. CAT's way easier than what they make it look like. All your coaching institutes, every one of those, without exception, have the intention of mortifying you. Not their mistake. They make money out of those who dont clear the test, than those who actually do. Sad state of affairs I must say!
If you're seriously serious about cat, think it over. Are you really game for letting go of all that you have learnt during undergraduate days, to get a formal training in selling shampoo? If you're really convinced, then half the game is won. You can continue reading below. Else, if you've suddenly realized the parody behind your decision, you can happily navigate away from this page.
The CAT examination is a test of how you can keep your head straight. There are three sections, Data interpretation, mathematics, and english. Data interpretation tests your comfort levels with graphs, charts, and puzzles. Mathematics simply sees whether you really deserve those 80-85 odd marks you scored in your high-school board exams. And English is all about habit.
So how should you go about it? Lets look at each section in a bit more detail:
English: Read your newspaper regularly for 30 days, (if you haven't been doing it already, its high time you wake up). How much of it? Well, read the bits you find interesting. Start with one article a day, and gradually go upto 5-6 perhaps... Just follow a few simple rules while reading.
Data Interpretation: There are broadly two kinds of questions you can be pitted against. Puzzles, and Charts. This section of your paper, I believe, is one that can be improvised upon by practice. Spend a fortnite prior to cat, touching upon puzzles and charts. Try locating charts such as these, and spend time analyzing them. See what you can derive out of these.
Can you tell me, in the above chart, which commodity's import into China registered the sharpest increase, between 2001 and 2006? And how much more was it than the runner-up?
See the table above. You have some Rmb's, which can buy you a Broc-Chocolate in China in 2007. However, you exchanged all your Rmb's for dollars. Three years later, you exchange back those dollars for Rmb's. If your Broc-Chocolate's price increased as per the Consumer Price Inflation, how many more Rmb's will you need to buy the chocolate?
To conclude, do not get intimidated by the test. Its very much possible, and very much do-able. I scored a 43 percent of the maximum marks, and was comfortably in the top 0.4 percent of all appearing candidates. While taking the test, my suggestion is that you spend your time evenly on each section, since you need to put up a good performance in each of them independently too. However, if you feel you're rather dicey in one particular section, I would recommend you start with it, and spend more time on it compared to the other two sections.
All you need a cool-head, and do remember to relieve yourself before you enter the exam hall ;)
The following ingredients are NOT required.
- An IQ > 150
- Super fast Number crunching
- An Absolute fetish for bar graphs and charts
- English sweeter than that of an Elizabethan Courtier
- Atleast 12000 words in your vocabulary
- Tables upto 99 by heart
Rule Number One. CAT's way easier than what they make it look like. All your coaching institutes, every one of those, without exception, have the intention of mortifying you. Not their mistake. They make money out of those who dont clear the test, than those who actually do. Sad state of affairs I must say!
If you're seriously serious about cat, think it over. Are you really game for letting go of all that you have learnt during undergraduate days, to get a formal training in selling shampoo? If you're really convinced, then half the game is won. You can continue reading below. Else, if you've suddenly realized the parody behind your decision, you can happily navigate away from this page.
The CAT examination is a test of how you can keep your head straight. There are three sections, Data interpretation, mathematics, and english. Data interpretation tests your comfort levels with graphs, charts, and puzzles. Mathematics simply sees whether you really deserve those 80-85 odd marks you scored in your high-school board exams. And English is all about habit.
So how should you go about it? Lets look at each section in a bit more detail:
English: Read your newspaper regularly for 30 days, (if you haven't been doing it already, its high time you wake up). How much of it? Well, read the bits you find interesting. Start with one article a day, and gradually go upto 5-6 perhaps... Just follow a few simple rules while reading.
- Never, ever, let a word go by, without knowing its meaning.
- For a new word, always look up a few synonyms, and if possible, jot it down somewhere.
- Try to recapitulate all that you read, analytically.
- Enjoy it.
Data Interpretation: There are broadly two kinds of questions you can be pitted against. Puzzles, and Charts. This section of your paper, I believe, is one that can be improvised upon by practice. Spend a fortnite prior to cat, touching upon puzzles and charts. Try locating charts such as these, and spend time analyzing them. See what you can derive out of these.
| Key indicators | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 11.4 | 9.8 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.4 |
| Consumer price inflation (%; av) | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
| Current-account bal. (% of GDP) | 11.6 | 10.4 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 8.9 | 7.6 |
| Bank prime rate (%; yr end) | 7.6 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Exchange rate Rmb:US$ | 7.61 | 7.05 | 6.77 | 6.50 | 6.25 | 6.03 |
| Exchange rate Rmb:¥100 (av) | 6.46 | 6.78 | 7.05 | 6.95 | 6.81 | 6.57 |
See the table above. You have some Rmb's, which can buy you a Broc-Chocolate in China in 2007. However, you exchanged all your Rmb's for dollars. Three years later, you exchange back those dollars for Rmb's. If your Broc-Chocolate's price increased as per the Consumer Price Inflation, how many more Rmb's will you need to buy the chocolate?
To conclude, do not get intimidated by the test. Its very much possible, and very much do-able. I scored a 43 percent of the maximum marks, and was comfortably in the top 0.4 percent of all appearing candidates. While taking the test, my suggestion is that you spend your time evenly on each section, since you need to put up a good performance in each of them independently too. However, if you feel you're rather dicey in one particular section, I would recommend you start with it, and spend more time on it compared to the other two sections.
All you need a cool-head, and do remember to relieve yourself before you enter the exam hall ;)
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