CAT paper – How Creating a Confidence Index for each section will help you

I looked out of the window of my car at the polluted, bustling city road, amidst a plethora of noise and voices. After eight hours of constant preparation for the CAT paper, my head was throbbing with a painful headache. As I sat, contemplating on whether all those hours seemed to make any difference to my knowledge, my eyes fell upon a group of beggars. These little children in rags were moving around amidst the automobiles, with little trinkets in their hands. As I started to observe them move around, I started to notice their “marketing strategy”. It was incredible to see how they somehow changed their begging techniques or “marketing approach” as an MBA aspirant would say, according to the people they encountered. They somehow picked the people who looked more prone to sympathy and spent more time and effort on them.

This gave me a brilliant idea. As the signal turned green and the chaos on the street lurched forward, I wondered if I could systematically arrange my CAT preparation. This was when I decided to create a confidence index for my CAT paper preparation.

Confidence Index for CAT Paper

Preparing for the CAT exam requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Considering the enormous number of applicants who take CAT each year, one must regularly analyse their performance. Creating a confidence index that will help you in evaluating your performance will guarantee an improvement.

A confidence index is a tactically designed method to assess your weaknesses, using which one can efficiently work on the challenging subjects. This is similar to the technique that the urchins on the road use, whereby you segregate the chapters that you feel most confident about, while simultaneously singling out those chapters in which you are weak. Studying with a more structured approach, by planning out your study hours, while you compare your performance routinely will boost your percentile.

PRAQTISE FACT FILE: THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF ENROLMENTS FOR CAT EXAM WAS IN THE YEAR 2008, WITH 2.76 LAKH REGISTRATIONS. AND THE LOWEST NUMBER OF REGISTRATIONS WAS RECORDED IN THE YEAR 2014 WITH 1.89 LAKH. 

Take a diagnostic test

Before beginning with CAT preparation, take a dose of diagnostic test. Start with this test, as it is an eye opener that gives you a reality check of where you stand.

CAT paper comprises of topics divided across the three broad sections including Quantitative Aptitude (QA) to Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) to Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR). Evaluate each section by checking the number of question attempted. Based on the number of attempts, rank each section from high to low in terms of confidence. Concentrate on sections based on the rank, by giving more time to ones with that are lower on the confidence index.

Next, set your minimum target score for each section that you want to cross within a set amount of time. This will give you a direction by quantifying how much effort you need to put in while preparing to reach your set target.

Divide and Conquer

This is the basic step for building up your understanding of the subjects and concepts. Each section being equally important, one must begin by getting their fundamentals right for each topic. Be it quantitative or qualitative your syllabus must be at your fingertips.

As you start learning from scratch, you would be amazed by the confidence that you will gain by building a robust foundation. An in-depth, pragmatic approach while preparing for the CAT paper would be to keep a close track of your problem areas. This enables students to ensure that they work on their lacking areas correctly.  So, jot down the topics from each section and segregate them on the basis of your confidence, while you solve questions from each topic. Also mentioning your problem area for each topic would help you plan out your study hours effectively. This is an effective way to ensure that one doesn’t neglect their drawbacks.

Empowering mock tests

To become perfect at any thing requires regular practice. This applies for your MBA entrance exams as well. To get acquainted with the CAT question paper style you must get used to it. This is achievable only if you develop the regular habit of giving a complete test. More the number of tests you give, better are your chances to score more.

Begin giving mock tests at least three months before the day of CAT exam. Fix a day in a week to give the test and make sure you attempt the test as a real one. This exercise might drain you mentally initially, but as it becomes regular, you will feel more comfortable sitting for 3 hours straight. This is a fruitful exercise because of two main reasons:

1. You will understand time constraints while attempting examinations and will also be able to get a better idea on how to manage your time efficiently while jumbling between questions or entire sections.
2. You will know which area or section you are weak in, hence allowing you to track your performance intricately.

A Praqtical Look: As you prepare for entrance MBA exams, you will have your strengths and shortcomings with each section. But, remember no one is perfect. It is practice that makes one perfect.  Don’t focus too much on the end score. Keep your focus on the present task, as this will improve your overall result.

Was this suggestion useful? Do you already use a confidence index? Let us know in the comments.

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