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CAT is about one's managerial ability
Published on Thu, Nov 16, 2006 at 14:59, Updated on Thu, Nov 16, 2006 at 15:09 in Nation section
Tags: Bell The CAT, Expert Talk , New Delhi
New Delhi: Talking on the CNN-IBN special show Bell the CAT, Ulhas Vairagkar, Director of Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME), New Delhi, shares tips and answers last-minute queries for CAT candidates.
And 72 hours before the D-day, his advice to the CAT aspirants is to revise things in the next 24 to 48 hours and then sit easy for the last 24 hours. "I think, you have done enough now," says he.
Should one decide the sequence of attempting the paper on the spot on the day of examination or should he or she decide it on the basis of the score in the mock CATs? (Ankit Avasthi from Delhi)
Ans: My suggestion, Ankit, will be that you should certainly have a plan before you go and attempt the paper. But the plan should not be rigid. Your plan should certainly be to start with the best section first. Because, that’s something which will give you confidence and that should help you score more marks.
It’s just two days to go for the big day. What’s the one tip that you want to give to all the students? Because preparation, I am sure, they are doing for long time. What is it that they have to do now?
Ans: I guess, I would say next 24 to 48 hours just revise and after that just take it easy for the last 24 hours. I think, you have done enough now.
Why the mathematics paper is set to the standard of engineering and IT students? Shouldn’t more of general questions be set in the mathematics paper so that management students equally compete with engineering and IT students in CAT? (Gunjan Agrawal from Bangalore)
Ans: The whole issue of engineering students having an edge, thanks to the Quantitative Aptitude test in CAT, is an old one. But if you look at the level of Quantitative Aptitude in the paper, it’s not very high. You will still get 80 per cent of the questions based on Quantitative Aptitude, which are of 10th level. I think you don’t need to worry about engineers having an edge. You just say I have to go and get some questions of 14-15 marks right. And if you can do that, I think you would be in.
Apparently, you don’t have to waste a lot of time on any question. You just look at it and you know you can do it or you can’t.
Ans: That’s right. There are enough questions you will not know. And if you don’t do, no problem at all.
Can you tell me why this extra half-an-hour is given this year? Can you also tell me what will be the surprise which they are going to give this year? (Kapil Jain from Guwahati)
Ans: Why this extra half-an-hour is given is not disclosed as yet. My own guess is that the level of difficulty of this paper is going up and they wanted to give all of you an extra half-an-hour and see how many of you can use that extra 30 minutes well. So, I think it is a test of your managerial ability, how well you can utilise this opportunity.
And as far as the surprise element is concerned, I guess CAT surprise itself is more of a surprise. Because, essentially the paper doesn’t change - some minor changes only take place. So, don’t get too much worried about the surprise. Just think that this will be a similar paper with three sections - Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation or Reasoning and Verbal Ability. Just go ahead and do it.
After doing my BSc, I am doing my job and also preparing for CAT. I want to know which subject should I give most importance? (Ravikant Singh from Ahmedabad)
Ans: CAT is a three-legged stool. You can do well in CAT if you are equally good in all the three legs - Verbal, Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. You need to do well in all the sections to maximise your score. So, don’t focus on only one thing. Ensure that you focus equally on all the three areas.
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