CAT Strategy for Repeaters

With over 2 lakh CAT aspirants, naturally some of us would not get selected or might not get the desired results in the first few attempts. You need not lose your hope and confidence, many 99.99 percentilers give more than one attempt to get there. This article will help you navigate through building your CAT Strategy if you’re thinking of reattempting it. From assessing the past mistakes to analyzing the mock test, this article will tell you all you need to know about CAT Repeaters Strategy.

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Category of CAT Repeaters

Category 1: Aspirants that have done good in one section but poorly in others. Try to find the gap and work more on the other two sections while maintaining a good score on your strong section.

Category 2: Aspirants that have done well in two sections but poorly in one. Find the gap and work on it. If the gap is small, work on your fundamentals and practice more.

Category 3: Improvement is needed in all three sections. This is the hardest category as you will have to devote more time to all the sections. You can start with the fundamentals and relearn all the topics one by one. Then switch to mock tests and past papers to gauge your progress.

Step 1: Understand what went wrong last year

You need to assess where you stand and where you want to reach.

• Did you score low across the sections or did only one section go wrong?
• Was it a problem of speed and time management?
• Did you not do your revision on time?
• Did you have the wrong strategy?
• Did you let the nerves get the better of you?

Step 2: Avoid making the same mistakes in CAT Repeaters Strategy 

• Be clear and thorough with the syllabus. Many times students only have a vague idea about the components of the CAT syllabus and hence skip practicing on some parts of the syllabus. It is important to check whether you have missed anything from the syllabus, as knowing the syllabus minutely is of utmost importance.
• Don’t have a pessimistic attitude. CAT is a competitive exam and it is a big hurdle that only a few aspirants are able to cross. If you have a negative attitude or lose hope and confidence when things don’t go as expected, then you need to change your outlook. Be positive and keep on trying as once somebody said, “Hard Work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
• Build a different strategy. If your past year’s CAT strategy failed then most likely you need to build a new strategy. A detailed CAT Repeaters Strategy is provided in this article.
• Don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is the practice of postponing or delaying an action or task to a later time, often resulting in a feeling of guilt, frustration or anxiety. You might think that since you have already attempted CAT and scored a decent percentile, you only need to practice a little. This might lead you to think you will do it at a later stage but if you keep procrastinating then you might end up in the same place as last year. To get motivation from your peers, you can join this Facebook group that has more than 3 Lakhs aspirants to learn about different CAT Repeaters Strategy.
• Do Mock Analysis. Not doing your Mock analysis might be an important factor in getting low percentiles. Therefore, one must do a mock analysis to find areas of improvement as well as one’s strong areas. It should hold an important weightage in CAT Repeaters Strategy. Check this article to learn how to do a Mock analysis effectively.
  

  Step 3: Building the Best CAT Strategy for Repeaters

  Once you understand what you did wrong in the last year, it’s time to devise a strategy customized to your weaker areas. This a strategy that will help you ease exam pressure and anxiety as well as work on improving your percentile.

  If you have problems across the sections meaning you got lower scores than required in all sections, then you need to devote more time to each section. You have to assess if your conceptual understanding is poor or if you need more practice to make your understanding stronger. You can go for the IIM ABC practice batch by iQuanta where you’ll be getting 7500+ CAT level practice questions from all three sections.

  If you have a problem in one section, then only practice and practice can take you to a better position than where you already are. Step 4 in this article gives a detailed explanation of how to work on each section for CAT Repeaters.

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• Create Short Term Goals

  Jot down the things you need to solve or work on and maintain a “To-do List” every day. Have achievable goals so that you feel empowered when you have completed them at the end of the day. Stay motivated and ensure you complete your “To-do List” and give yourself a pat on the back. This will push you to stay on track and go beyond your limits. Slowly build up on doing more each day and celebrate accomplishments.

• Review your progress regularly 

  

  It is an integral part of the strategy as keeping a check on your progress will help you understand how much you have accomplished and how far you need to go. This will keep you on the right track and boost your motivation to achieve more and more.

• Include more Mock Tests in CAT Repeaters Strategy 

  A mock test helps you gauge your level of preparedness for the CAT exam. Since you have already prepared for the CAT, appearing for more mocks, again and again, will hone your existing understanding and application. Taking mock tests has manifold advantages and one of the most underrated benefits is that it gives you exam discipline. When you sit for Mock tests for 3 hours, you are also getting better at controlling your nervousness and exam anxiety. Hence, taking plenty of Mock Tests will help you build on fighting exam fatigue and build confidence for D-Day.
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• Mock Analysis

  Mock tests will have a combination of easy, moderate to difficult questions. When you’re attempting the mocks, there will be some questions that you might not be able to answer and that is completely fine as long as you work on it. Mark them and move on to the next question. Come back to the marked questions and revise the concepts of that questions. Once you do that, practice more of that question and then try to solve the questions. Some questions are meant for breaking your speed but no need to spend so much time on one question. Promise yourself not to repeat the same mistakes in CAT Repeaters Strategy. Check your progress and keep practicing accordingly. This will help you in increasing your speed and accuracy.

  Step 4: Section-wise Preparation Strategy 

  • Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

  As CAT focuses more on whether a student is able to comprehend the basics instead of the complicated ones, one should start with revising the concepts first. Focus on understanding the approach required in solving the problems instead of trying to work on increasing the speed. Generally, in this section, students skip the part they don’t like and hence miss out on even easy questions on the day of CAT. Therefore, it is highly recommended that one go through all the concepts and basics of all the topics. Also, remember to keep revising the older topics as you go on practicing more and more.

  • Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

  This section will not take as much time as others, however, a dedicated one hour-one and a half hour should be enough. Start with reading what you like and read lots of articles of different genres so that you are exposed to different writing styles. RC can be scoring so try to figure out a way that suits you the best. Some people like reading the questions first and some prefer going through the content first and then heading to the questions. Find out what works best for you and keep reading till the day of the exam.

  • Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

  This section demands patience and practice. Assuming that you have learned most of the topics earlier, it’s time to revise and practice. When you keep practicing, try to memorize how certain types of questions are solved so that you can attempt them even if there is a slight variation in them. It’s important not to lose confidence. Keep checking your progress and attempt harder questions each day. Make sure one set of DILR is practiced every day. You will get a hang of it and by practicing relevant questions and past papers. Remember, practice is the key in CAT Repeaters Strategy.

  How to work on your weaker areas for CAT?

  Now that you have gone through the CAT Repeaters Strategy, it is time to reflect on your preparation. After the analysis and understanding of your weaker areas, you can opt for iQuanta’s CAT course 2023 to brush up on your concepts and build on your fundamentals. The course will help you clear your doubts 24/7 with its dual pedagogy of teaching concepts as well as its application. Any courses you opt for will bring no meaning if you don’t work on filling the gap.

  Take help from tutors, free online materials, and peers, and continuously work on improving yourself. Don’t let your past performances affect your confidence. Also, remember to go to the exam center without any preconceived notions. Revise well and go with an open mind. Believe in yourself and in your capabilities.