Imagine there are only seven days to go for the CAT. Some hearts might be beating faster. Some minds must be thinking that extra bit, and some will have sweaty hands but yet a smiling face trying to charm everyone by saying “Chill yaar…. It’s only an exam…. Look I am so cool”.

So no matter who you are, this article goes out to those CAT aspirants who want some idea of what to do when there are only seven days left to finally bell the CAT.

Monday - Wednesday

Formulas: Formulas alone will be of little help in the CAT. Yet, once you decipher the reasoning behind certain questions a knowledge of formulae may help in solving them. So you need to revise your formulas from all the topics. No matter how well you know them, remember to write the formulas and freshen up your memory.

Revision: Don’t forget to revise those typical questions, that  you may have marked in your material, which taught you some unique concept. Also revise the basic material by just glancing through the solved examples. No point looking at or trying to solve new questions at so late a stage.

Numbers & Geometry: We are not trying to predict the CAT but these two topics together do constitute a significant portion in the test. So REVISE some solved questions. Even if you are looking at an average of eight questions across 20 papers, you will be revising 160 questions from Numbers & Geometry in three days.

Data Interpretation 

Calculation: Again pure calculation speed will not help you at all. But, total lack of practice will make you feel uncomfortable on the day of the CAT when you might have to solve one case-let with slightly large calculations. So try playing with numbers (normal multiplication, addition, division and subtraction) for approximately 20 minutes a day spanning two stints of 10 minutes each (one in the morning and one in the evening)

Analysis: DO NOT try solving new graphs or reasoning problems. Just spend some time discussing old questions. Try looking at the macro picture like what was this question about, how were the two or three graphs linked in this question.  

English Usage

Just revise the errors of the papers you have solved. That would be enough for three days.

Reading Comprehension

Editorials: Just read the editorials of three general (not business) English newspapers. Try reading those newspapers which generally have good quality editorials. And it’s important to read them back-to-back.

Only RC, NO Test: Just read the articles from any of the Reading Comprehension tests you had taken without solving the questions. Read them not like a novel, but the way you would read  them in a test. But this time you don’t solve the questions.

Thursday

Sit for a full-length paper, and analyse it in details. That’s it for the whole day. Do not study or do anything else.

And remember; do not allow the scores of the paper to affect your confidence negatively. The paper is simply taken to stay close to the habit of appearing for a test.

(Caution: For people who are really nervous, don’t solve a paper. It might unnecessarily dent your confidence)

Friday

NON-CAT DAY!!!: Hang out with friends, Go out for a movie. Avoid stuff like rock climbing or a marathon race.

Jokes apart it’s important to chill out and relax. Take your mind completely of the CAT.

Venue: Check out the venue of your examination centre if you have not been there before. So that you are comfortable with the route, conveyance details and time taken to travel.

Saturday

Try reading newspapers or magazines for four hours at a stretch in the CAT timings (typically from 10–2). During that time practice filling up an OMR sheet for 15 minutes at a stretch. Firstly you are conditioning yourself to sit for four hours at a stretch, and also filling up the OMR at a stretch.

So the two and half hours of sitting the next day will be easy. Get your pencil box ready: pencils (lots of sharpened pencils), erasers, sharpeners, etc. Also your admit card. Make sure you pack all that you will take for the exam the next day in one bag. And sleep well.

Sunday

Enough Gyaan……….. Go ahead and crack the CAT…. It’s just an exam.