Cracking CAT in 3 months : Debarshee Mitra, IIM Calcutta

Where do I start, my CAT journey has been a crazy ride. I joined CAT Preparation in July end and then after a few weeks of solving questions on the group I decided to take the CAT. In August, mind. First attempt, nervous decision but I suddenly knew what I wanted to do. Maths has been a childhood passion and so when I couldn’t solve some of the questions on the group I started to grow desperate. Took mocks but scores continued to range in the 95’s. After one mock(scored 98 percentile) while reviewing I realised that I had seen a similar question on the group. Immediately I pinged Indrajeet asking him for course details and joined iQuanta by third week of August.

With the weirdest shifts and working in an underground mine, I used to take screenshots of iQuanta CAT Classes on my phone and solve them underground and sometimes in office. Not much, but staying in touch helps, especially with quant. One hour of quant and one hour of either of the other 2 sections is all you need to do per day. Ever since the results came out, a lot of people have asked me what would you suggest, how many hours to study, which course is best, etc. My suggestion is join CAT Preparation and solve questions. Don’t look at the comments, just solve any and everything you come across. With time, try to do the same exercise faster. 2 hours of study everyday is enough if you’re serious in those two hours. You don’t need to quit your job, you need to find ways past your job to get yourself ready for the test.

First question that most students have is–where do I start? My answer to that is simple. Join CAT Preparation and take an unprepared mock before you start. That helps in two ways. CAT Preparation gives you an idea of your competition. An unprepared mock gives you an idea of what your base is, what is the worst you can do. If you get a 65%ile in it, I can guarantee you that if you prepare thereafter in a diligent manner, you will at least score 85 when the main exam comes along. That doesn’t mean if you scored 85 you will get a 100. It’s a percentage increment.Next question that I face a lot since the results is, I am weak in English/DI LR, what should I refer, etc. From what I believe, and I am a very strong believer in self-study, nothing can hone your skills better than practice. I knew i suck at DI because I lack patience, so the first thing I did was buy a DI-LR book and started solving 5 questions a day with a time binding. Once I started to stay focused and not lose concentration with those big charts and numbers, only then did I move to mocks. And for DI-LR/VA mocks are gold dust. The more mocks you take the better you get. The first mock I took was in August first week with 0 preparation, I scored 25 in VA and 34 in DILR. That’s where most students get it wrong.

Firstly logic is something you either get or you don’t. Logic can’t be taught and that is why people struggle the most in LIDR. While it can’t be taught, with practice you can hone the skills and train your mind to be more logical. Now coming to VA, which on the surface appears very attractive, you tend to attempt everything, but over time you will need to rediscover yourself and know where you strength lies. Do not attempt a question if you’re not at least 95% sure. Preferably 100%. And that assessment of your own confidence comes with time and practice, the more mocks you do, the more comprehensions you solve. People will tell you, you need to read more, read novels and what not but believe me when I say this you need to know basic English, after that VA is a game of logical analysis and option elimination based on your logical understanding. The mantra is simple, try to be professional in your approach. Don’t put extra efforts, when you can get the same or better results with lesser work. Don’t work hard, work smart.

My score was 99.68% with 99.5+ in both Quant and DI/LR and I like I started, I only started in August. If I can do it so can anybody. Believe in yourself, fall at hurdles, practice hard, fail again, learn from them, and finally rise and fly. Results shall follow. And results speak for themselves. Be it me, or iQuanta, the results are for all to see. Beer sirf peene se nahi hota, beer banna padta hai. Free yourself and fly. Do what you want to do, disobey people and break conventions. Ordinary people don’t become great.

Just last not so important information- IIM Calcutta convert(Others don’t really matter now, do they?)

End of the day, don’t lose hope and don’t be afraid to fail. But be afraid to fall behind. Be afraid of never making it. Nothing can drive you more than the fear. The fear of failure. And that is what motivates you to the heights of success. My journey has just started. Yours is about to. Good luck and good wishes to you. Cheers.

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