How much should I score in CAT to get a call from A, B, C, L, I if my 10th, 12th (CBSE) and grad (state university) are 87, 81.2, and 69.11 with 49 months work experience?
Your 10th and 12th performance seems to be good. But your Graduation performance is average. Of course your work experience is an added advantage.Undoubtedly, the CAT difficulty level is high. I mentioned some valuable points along with the strategy for preparation below,TargetTry to score a minimum of 95+ percentile in each and every section in CAT Exam to get calls from any of new IIMs. However, it is advisable to score 98+ percentile and above in each section to get calls from IIM-A,B,C,L,I. Kindly note that the CAT Scores is only one of the criteria used for the selection process and even with a very high percentile, there are no hard and fast rule that for sure you will get calls from old IIMs. My suggestion is that you try to score the maximum in the CAT exam rather than worrying much about the cut-offs. Still with a very high score, there is no guarantee that you will get selected.The reasons could be as mentioned below,Academics, Previous Work Experience, Diversity, Extra-curricular and your past performance. Please note that the selection is based on u2019nu2024 number of factors and not the scores alone.Strong in Academics (Getting very high CAT percentile) but weak in personality development like lack of good effective communication skills (Includes Writing + Speaking Skills) might lead to student not doing well at all in WAT and PI.Each and every IIMs are autonomous institutions. They have their own criteria to select. So no one can question them when it comes to their credibility during the selection process.Overconfidence. Donu2019t be overconfident if you get 99 percentile in CAT. Please donu2019t forget that you have WAT and PI. Prepare well and give your best.Be careful at the time of personal interviews. Kindly respect and be very humble with the interviewers (IIM Professors). Donu2019t act way too smart and No Heropanti Please.Over smart. There might be many others like you who get selected. Even if they got 95 or say 97 percentile, they might run over you at the time of WAT and PI.Finally, the committee must feel convinced that you are the right selection for their prestigious institution and if they feel that you are not, then you are out.Preparation StrategyThere are no hard and fast rules that one can crack CAT if they start preparation very early. Some of them with just 2 months of rigorous preparation have been able to pull it off. Yes indeed. If you start early, you will have lots of time and can prepare with ease. If not, then it could be pretty strenuous but still you can pull it off provided that you have the sheer determination to do it so.Focus on the Basics/Fundamentals.Then increase the pace and also the level of your preparation.I have explained some simple strategies which you can effectively follow,Simple strategies but could prove to be very effective:Please follow 20 mins strategy. Prepare seriously for 20 mins and then give a small break. Break depends as you can take a 1 min break to an hour. It solely boils down to you. With this strategy, even if you prepare for 10 times a day (10 x 20 mins = 200 mins = 3hrs 20 mins), then you would be able to put in 3hrs and 20 mins of valuable effort. More importantly, you will not have any starting problem as some students struggle to even start.Further, keep yourself fit by doing meditation, yoga and exercises like walking, running etc to keep yourself fit. Staying fit helps you in enhancing the body & mind and in turn helps in increasing the concentration level.Have a clear goal for your preparation. Work everyday with a plan. Systematic and consistent preparation helps you a lot. More importantly, learn it with passion. If you learn with passion, then you can enjoy studying and not creating self inflicted unwanted stress.Clear Plan and GoalI come across students at times who say that they want to do this and that and so on. Have a clear plan, stick onto your goal and learn with passion. You can then achieve what you want.Self Study or Joining Online/Classroom CoachingOne always has an option to go in for self study. But that requires a high level of self motivation, sheer hard work and lots of time to understand the concepts.In turn, if you join coaching institute, it really helps you as you get to learn from the expert faculty in respective areas and it helps you to save a lot of time, as understanding concepts can take time. Further, you tend to learn tips, strategies and short cuts from the faculties.Further for preparation, student can choose online coaching. But then, the rigor of online and classroom coaching definitely differs. Coaching institutes play an important role in imparting strategies and giving a systematic structure to the student.Other than this, student should be sincere to classes and must put the best effort as their is no substitute for hard work.Factors to be Considered for Classroom CoachingIf someone has to choose coaching institute, then the factors to be considered are1) Faculty profiles (that also include qualifications) [In my opinion, that's one of the most important factor],2) Small class size i.e Faculty : Student Ratio (Even this is a very important factor) [It is still fine if the class size is slightly large provided that very good faculties handle the class]3) Materials,4) Online Test Series (Since most of the exams are online),5) Training for Written Ability Test & Personal Interview,6) Post Counselling [To help students to choose the best of the B-Schools]Online test series, training for interviews, post counselling etc will be missing if you were to prepare on your own. Itu2019s not how early you start or you prepare in a rush with few months to go, the most important thing is that you enjoy the journey & learn it with passion and work hard with clear goal of getting into the top B-Schools no matter what.Take Mock TestsFurther, take lots of Mock Tests (after your preparation) and do a lot of self analysis after each and every test. Through this, you would be able to analyze your strengths and weakness. More importantly, you will not repeat the same mistakes again.NOTE: SIGN Consulting has created a mark in the field of CAT Coaching because of itu2019s rigor and for the individual attention given to each & every student. Please feel free to contact us for any queries.VijayAlumnus of IIT Madras and IIM KozhikodeChief Faculty, SIGN Consulting [An IIT & IIM Alumnus Initiative]training@signconsulting.comTraining and Consulting - SIGN (An IIT & IIM Alumnus Initiative) [Corporate Training |Coaching GRE | GMAT | IELTS | TOEFL | CAT | Bank Exams | CRT]
