Busy with CAT preparation? MBA expert Sidharth Balakrishna has doled out a few tips on what aspirants should or shouldn’t do during this period to prepare in the most effective manner.

1. Be Regular: In general, be regular with your preparation and do not neglect any area. Practice doing at least 4-5 passages daily to become good in Reading Comprehension skills. Similarly, do at least 20-25 Quant questions (across the major thematic areas such as Algebra, Arithmetic, and Geometry etc.) and at least 8-10 ‘Analytical Reasoning’ and Data Interpretation sets. Also work on your Vocabulary by trying to learn a few new words daily.

Make an effort to improve on your ability to make correct mental calculations and approximations by making this part of your daily routine. For example, while filling up petrol, try and quickly calculate how many litres of petrol you will get for Rs 500 or whatever amount you pay. While watching a cricket match, calculate the current run-rate of the team that is batting, the required rate to win the match, the bowler’s economy rate etc. on your own.

2. Don’t overdo it: I would advise candidates to be consistent while preparing; but not to overdo their preparation. If an aspirant has decided to devote four hours a day then he/she must adhere to it. The mistake that students often do is that they go easy during the week and study for twelve hours over the weekend. This does not work!

Do not overdo the number of mock tests you take. This may cause fatigue and burn-out. I suggest you attempt three-four mock tests per week. It is also important to spend time analyzing the results of these tests as it will give you a good insight into your strengths and weaknesses and help you decide a strategy. (Take free mock tests now!)

3. Don’t ignore weak areas: By this time, the candidates would have got a fair idea of their strengths and weaknesses. I would suggest that if they are weak in a critical area (in which more than one question may be expected) such as Algebra or Reading Comprehension, they should make a final effort to work on it.

At the same time, they should build on their strengths, by practicing more varieties of questions in that area etc. To be more precise, it is your strengths that help you get a call from a good B-School by giving you a good score, but if you are too weak in a particular area, there is a danger that you will fall short of the sectional cut-offs. So make sure you have a bare minimum comfort area in both sections of the test.

About Sidharth Balakrishna

Sidharth Balakrishna is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and has been employed with the world’s top Marketing, Management Consultancy and energy firms. Besides his regular corporate job, he has written a number of books and articles for various reputed publications and has taken several guest lectures and seminars across the country. He is a Faculty in several Management Institutes.

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