The Common Admission Test (CAT) is India’s most prestigious national-level entrance examination, which permits aspirants to get into top management institutes. Undoubtedly, it is the biggest MBA entrance test in the country. The IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) conduct this Common Admission Test annually on a rotational basis. The exam is divided into three sections, namely Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). Each section is timed for 40 minutes, making for a total exam duration of 2 hours.
If you are starting from the absolute basics, 8 months are enough for CAT preparation.
- You need 3 months for Concept Clarification
- 2/3 Months for Practice & Application
- 2/3 Months for Mocks & Analysis
CAT Section-Wise Study Plan:
As CAT study plan is incomplete without a proper strategy. So, if you are looking for an in-depth section-wise strategy, here we have provided a detailed 8-month strategy.
Starting now is beneficial as you might take a couple of breaks in between your preparation. If you start now and even if you have some gaps in your preparation, you will have enough time to cover it up and still get a 99.5%le.
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How to prepare for the VARC in 8 months
The Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section in CAT tests how well you can comprehend sentences, identify the tone of the passage, summarise and understand the structure and flow. The VARC section comprises of 24 questions which are to be completed in 40 minutes time.
Assuming this year CAT will be of 2 hours, and hence there will be 16 questions on RC, which is 70% of the total VARC questions. This is a section that checks your comprehension the most, and not the vocabulary or the grammar. The first step towards comprehension is how you can retain what you have read. The best way to exercise your mind is to start reading articles from reputed newspapers and summarise it in your mind. You can start reading English newspapers like The Hindu or Economic Times, or online articles on Aeon or Al-daily to get used to reading long passages. But for your rescue, we have provided multiple Genre-wise articles from those sources from where CAT has been giving RCs in recent years with Summary. People who read a lot of novels or just like reading in general will have a head-start in this section, but with some dedicated reading practice, you can cover this gap in a few months.
How to prepare for the LRDI in 8 months
The Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section in CAT is highly unpredictable. It checks the problem-solving and critical thinking ability of a student. In recent years, the LRDI difficulty level has increased. There is no definite syllabus or concept in LRDI. Hence you should rely on practicing 350-400 DILR sets from now till the CAT Exam. And you’ll be good to go. The LRDI section consists of a total of 20 questions to be solved in 40 minutes.
All you need for cracking LRDI is familiarity with CAT-Type LRDI Sets. This means if you have solved 300-400 CAT-Type LRDI sets till CAT you will be able to solve at least 50% of the sets in CAT 2024. In CAT 23 if you could solve 2 out of 4 LRDI sets you could get 99%le+ and Solving just 1 set could give you around 90%le. So all you need to do is select the sets you can solve and solve them with patience. And to get that familiarity all you need is practice.
The Best Set of CAT Mentors at iQuanta
How to prepare for the Quants in 8 months
Quantitative aptitude is the most popular section of CAT. One is either confident in this section or scared of this section. There’s no third way. One thing non-engineers or anyone who gets intimidated by this section should note is that this is the easiest section to improve upon. There is a well-defined syllabus that covers a lot of topics that all of us have studied in Class 9th and 10th. Concepts used are the same but the application might differ in some topics like Numbers, PNC & Algebra. Quant is also the highest-scoring section of the CAT Exam. From this point, we have 8 Months; it is a sufficient amount of time to prepare well for this section.
One should begin with writing the complete quants syllabus in detail. Writing the syllabus in detail would give you an overview of the syllabus, which eventually would result in better planning. Initially one should go with any standard book, for eg CAT Hardcopy Material by iQuanta or IIM ABC CAT material by iQuanta or any coaching material you have or you can get.
Once you have cleared your concepts of a particular topic, then you must start practicing questions on it. In case of any doubts, you should ask and get it cleared by your mentors. One should not forget to make notes of any new things you learn during your lectures or practice.
How iQuanta Prepares you
In iQuanta CAT 2024 Course, one topic is covered in 7 steps, Starting with Non-engineer’s Conceptual Videos which will be a summary of class 6th to 10th NCERT Maths which will be in Alignment with the CAT Syllabus.
Here we have mentioned those 7 steps in brief:
- Go Through Non-engineer’s Conceptual Videos (Self)
- Attend Live stream class at iQuanta (Mentor Driven)
- Attend Live application class at iQuanta (Mentor Driven)
- Take 20-30 Dashboard Assignments on that Topic (Self)
- Attend Practice sessions on the Topic (Mentor Driven)
- Take 50 CAT Level Questions on the Topic (Self)
- CAT 2023 Level Live Marathon on the Topic (Mentor Driven)
Basic Concept Coverage
The topics in CAT syllabus revolves around whatever you’ve studied from Classes 6th to 10th. Hence, basic conceptual learning is the building block towards cracking the CAT exam with a 99%ile. It’s essential to dedicate sufficient time and effort to mastering the fundamentals before moving on to more advanced topics.
iQuanta’s prime focus is clearing the basic concepts and then gradually moving on to the advanced-level concepts. The basic concept clarity can be achieved in 4 manners (the iQuanta way) :
- Live classes: Coverage of theoretical concepts along with questions.
- Application classes: Application-based learning through a set of questions based on the topic covered in the Live class.
- Non-Engineers Conceptual videos: Self-paced non-engineering conceptual videos that you’ll be getting on your dashboard once you enroll. These videos will teach you basic Math concepts that are from 6th to 10th NCERT level.
- Text Notes: You might have seen people filling notebooks up and preparing long notes. What you need to understand is, you don’t need to note everything down. Your application classes are going to be your notes. Here, you’ll find all theorems and concepts written in short along with questions. You can also find the CAT Formula book on the iQuanta website’s top left corner. You can maintain a concise cheat sheet to help you with your weaker areas and places where you constantly get stuck, or for some topic you think you might forget.
Practice
Next to conceptual clarity comes rigorous practice which is provided through the application sessions, topic-wise assignments, daily practice sessions, and the IIM ABC Practice Batch.
The IIM ABC Practice batch consists of 7500+ CAT-level questions for all 3 sections. If you practice these 7500 CAT-level questions, then this would be more than enough for you to crack the CAT Exam. If one wants to prepare through Hardcopy material, then one should go for iQuanta’s Hardcopy Material, as it has been prepared as per the CAT 2023 standard.
Doubt Clarification
iQuanta provides 24×7 doubt solving in the dedicated CAT & MBA Community.
CAT Preparation – iQuanta is India’s largest community for MBA aspirants with more than 3.5 lakh members. This group comprises of current aspirants, students currently studying in B-schools, and Top MBA college graduates. This community also promotes peer-to-peer learning where people engage with each other and solve doubts among themselves providing multiple approaches to a single question.
Best Books for CAT 2024
iQuanta this year also came up with the best and most updated CAT books in the market.
Good thing that we have we have made it in accordance with CAT 2023 Level after this CAT exam was done.
CAT Hard Copy Details :
- 12 Sets of CAT Material updated as per CAT 2023 Standards
- 5000+ Questions Topic wise as well as Level wise
Quant : 5 Sets of Materials: 2350 Questions
- Geometry: 350 + 100 Author’s Desk Questions
- Modern Maths, Logs, Functions & Graphs : 250 + 100 Author’s Desk Questions
- Number System : 250 + 100 Author’s Desk Question
- Algebra : 350 + 150 Author’s Desk Questions
- Arithmetic : 550 + 150 Author’s Desk Questions
- Each Topic has bifurcated sub topics having 50 Questions each 30 Easy-Moderate and 20 Moderate to Tough
- 100 Author’s Desk Questions specially curated by Indra for each Topic
VARC : 3 Sets of Materials : 240 RC Sets + 200 VA : 1160 Questions
- CAT VA – 1 book
4 topics – Parajumbles, Odd one out, Parasummary, Paracompletion (50 questions each) - CAT RC – 2 books
RC Book 1 : 120 RC Sets from 8 Genre
RC book 2 : 120 RC Sets from 8 mixed Genre
LRDI : 4 Sets of Materials : 4 books: 2 LR & 2 DI: 440 LRDI Sets: 1760 Questions
- Both LR books having 160 LRDI Sets
- Both DI books having 120 LRDI Sets
Gift : 160 LRDI Sets & Puzzles of exact CAT 23 Level sets
Taking CAT Mocks
By July 2024, your high-weightage syllabus will be finished and the mock season will start. Mock tests are the best way to analyze your CAT preparation. Taking mocks helps you in assessing your stronger and weaker sections. Appearing for CAT mock tests gives you a fair idea of the actual CAT exam. It creates an exam-like environment keeping in mind the exam pattern, CAT syllabus, timers, and questions at par with the CAT exam. Analyzing mocks plays an equally important role in your preparation, hence you should do a proper CAT mock analysis.
Mock analysis generally takes around 3-4 hours. In order to save Aspirant’s time, iQuanta came up with India’s 1st AI-Based CAT Mock Test Series. Right from getting a list of MBA colleges you can convert according to your profile and target percentile, to getting a detailed section-wise analysis of your mock attempt through our A.I. based error tracker, you’ll get it all. Additionally, video solutions to the questions along with corrective measures for your weaker topics will also be provided.
CAT Crash Course
iQuanta’s CAT-Crash course will be launched 3 months before the CAT 2024 exam. Here the entire syllabus will be covered once again. Here, you’ll be rigorously practicing all the concepts in a fast-paced manner with the help of tricks and shortcuts. Along with these, mega marathon sessions will be conducted for each of the topics.
If you are preparing for the CAT 2024 exam and are willing to start now, become a part of iQuanta’s newly launched iQuanta CAT 2024 Course. The Syllabus will be completed 4 times with a higher focus on the high-weightage topics.
Month-Wise CAT Study Plan
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CAT 2024!
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Mid-March to April
If you are starting your preparation now, the first step would be concept building. Start from the very basic topics such as Percentages, Averages, etc. This would be your foundation month where you’ll prepare your timetable. Start inculcating reading habits and free yourself from all distractions. Build your strategy, go through the syllabus and pattern, and begin. Those who are enrolled in the iQuanta CAT 2024 Course will immediately get access to all the Non-engineering conceptual videos on their personal dashboards.
| Month | Strategy |
| April (1st-20th) | Quant: Start with Number Systems. Give 1.5 hours a day to the topic for 20 days. Start solving 15 questions daily apart from the Live and Application classes. VARC: 1 RC Set daily LRDI: 1 Set daily |
| April-May | Quant: Start with Arithmetic (highest weightage topic among all). Give 1.5 hrs a day and 5 hrs on weekends for 45 days. VARC: 2 RCs a day. Practice Verbal Ability for 30 minutes. LRDI: 2 LRDI Sets a day The VARC and LRDI parts will stay the same till CAT. |
| June(1st-15th) | Quant: Modern Maths for the next 15 days. |
| June(Mid)-July(Mid) | Quant: Algebra for the next 30 days |
| July(Mid)-Aug(Mid) | Quant: Geometry for the next 30 days |
| August(16-31st) | Leftover topics to be covered |
July-Aug Onwards: Mock Season Starts
Take at least 1 mock per week for the month of July. Later in the month of August, take 2 mocks per week. Once you are done with the syllabus; you can start taking weekly 3 Mocks. (you can do that even now if your syllabus isn’t completed). Take as many mocks as you can.
You can even opt for iQuanta’s iCAT Mock test series, which will start around May-end or June.
Keep analyzing your mock and revising the topics you’ve covered earlier. Also, focus more on your weaker areas after completing your AI Based Analysis with iCAT mocks which are available for Free to the CAT 2024 course enrolled students.
Daily take one sectional mock either of QA, LRDI, or VARC, which can be from any standard source because you need to test yourself topic-wise as well. You may increase the number if you are free that day, at least one sectional is a must per day. (if that day isn’t your Mock day).
September – November
From September onwards one should start revision and should dive into rigorous mock-taking. Students enrolled in CAT 2024 Course will get free access to iQuanta’s Exclusive Crash Course (1.5 hours/day on weekdays and 5 hours/day on weekends or holidays) for 2 months.
(The crash course is going to be a fast-paced revision of all the concepts taught in the CAT Full Course with new content. We will teach you shortcuts and point-to-point explanations which are based on crystal clear concepts taught in the course, helping you save those precious few extra seconds, thus giving you an edge over all your competitors.)
