Calm is key to belling CAT, say toppers

According to students of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), who have cracked the competitive examination a calm mind is one of the prerequisites to bell the CAT.

“The key to crack the test is to be calm.  It is better to be right than to be quick and wrong. The examination often contains many surprise elements, so one should train the mind to be ready for any such surprises,” says Nitin KV, a second year management student of IIMB.

Don't cover new topics

The student who had scored 99.92 percentile in the examination adds that it is extremely important to build familiarity with the questions. “It is important to constantly revise the topics that you have already covered, rather than learning a new topic in the last few days,” adds Nitin.

As strengths and expertise varies from student to student, it is best to formulate his/her  own strategy, many toppers noted. "Every one has his/her own strength, so it is important to tap your expertise. For example, if a candidate is good at verbal, and attempts that section first, it would boost his/her confidence level," added Rajesh Rikame, a first year student of IIMB. Many students  also noted that one thing that candidate should do in the last week is to prepare a reference book which contains all the formulae required for the various subjects. "A note book with the formulae will be extremely useful before the examination. One will not get enough time to go through all the documents before the examination. This might save a lot of time," added Rajesh.

Familiarisation

One of the first things that candidates should do now is also to familiarize with the format of the online CAT. Several students faced difficulty in navigating the question paper on their computer screens for the first ever computer based CAT. Indian Institutes of Management has already uploaded mock test papers on their official website to help students.

"Few students might find it difficult to navigate through the question paper. If you are not familiar with the numerous buttons on the question paper layout, you might mess up," warns Rajesh who scored 99.97 percentile.

Mock tests

Another important step that the aspiring managers should do is to take mock tests to maintain their speed as well as accuracy for the examination. There are a number of coaching centres that conduct national tests now. According to students, it is important to solve the papers set by different institutes to get a feel of all of them.

Before the ‘D’ day

Many CAT toppers believe that it is better to take a break before the examination. Rajesh who had appeared for CAT twice claims that the best way to tackle stress is not by studying a day before the examination. "It is better not to do any thing on the eve of the examination. It is better to go out for a movie with friends," added Rajesh.