Chirag
Updated on - Jun 27, 2024
The Common Admission Test or CAT is one of the toughest entrance examinations conducted in India. The examination assesses the analytical, logical, and verbal skills of the candidates needed for completing the business management course at a university. More than three lakh students appear for the exam at every level making CAT preparation and proper planning a necessity. Candidates have to clear and score high marks in all three sections namely verbal ability and Reading comprehension, data interpretation and logical reasoning, and quantitative ability.
CAT 2024 preparation requires a thorough understanding of the type of examination as well as the difficulty of the questions. Moreover, students are required at least 6 to 7 hours of daily study for CAT preparation. Solving past year CAT papers, access to the best CAT books, and various tips and tricks come within the purview of CAT preparation. The candidates can even take the help of coaching institutes and their study materials for CAT preparation. Self-study, however, serves as the best form of CAT 2024 preparation. Daily practice and guidance from a professional mentor can help students immensely and therefore contribute to CAT 2024 preparation. Students can thereby crack the CAT and easily get admission into the top IIMs and business schools through rigorous CAT preparation.
CAT 2024 preparation can be made easy and efficient by opting for a dedicated preparation strategy. Students can opt for the following tips that can help them succeed in cracking the CAT exam 2024:
Students can even combine self-study and coaching institute guidance to complete their CAT preparation on time. Daily practice, access to CAT preparation books, and help from CAT toppers can prove beneficial for the students that coaching institutes and self-study can help with.
CAT exam preparation through coaching can help students get access to the necessary guidance and help from the best coaches. CAT preparation books, study materials, guidance, and even dedicated test series are made available through the coaching. Students even get access to mock interviews, daily test papers, and access to daily coaching and classes which is essential for CAT preparation. However, candidates are often confused about whether they should opt for online coaching get assistance from a dedicated coaching centre, or opt for simple self-study. This has been enumerated and explained further.
CAT preparation online has become popular with the recent advancements in technology. The following are their benefits:
Coaching centres offer CAT preparation material and dedicated guidance services that can help with CAT preparation online. Day of our student batches that candidates can enrol themselves in. Students have to attend classes for about 8 to 6 hours offering guidance and teaching related to verbal ability, reading comprehension, quantitative aptitude, and logical reasoning. Here are some points that can help students consider the benefits of preparing from a coaching centre:
Some coaching institutes even offer tips and tricks as well as guidance from CAT toppers who have studied from the centre itself. Students get first-hand experience of how to solve the CAT 2024 exam and ace interviews and written ability test rounds.
Self-study is one of the most essential aspects related to taking the CAT 2024 exam. Following are the benefits of self-study with students must consider before opting for online preparation or coaching centres:
Last but not least, candidates receive enough opportunity to use their available time to relax. Preparation for the CAT 2024 exam can be quite hectic. A self-study offers sufficient time in the hands of the students which they can use according to their speed, ability as well as overall preparation.
Apart from self-study and guidance from coaching centres, CAT toppers even offered various tips and tricks for the CAT exam. The toppers possess experience in clearing the CAT Exam as well as interview and written ability tests of various IIM and business schools. Following are some tips as provided by the CAT Toppers that can benefit students immensely:
The CAT exam is all about practice and continuous preparation. Candidates must opt for self-study and improve their overall basics. Regularly solving important questions, taking mock tests, and solving of previous year's papers can help students. However, time management is also necessary. Students can take the help of coaching centres if they wish to.
I started my preparation around May. With a clear goal of improving my basics and building a strong foundation in maths and verbal ability, I began my preparation with self-study and with complete confidence. At a later stage, I joined the mock test session of a coaching centre to improve my time management skills which helped me immensely.
With a daily target of solving 30 to 50 questions of quantitative ability, completing 3 to 4 logical reasoning and data interpretation sets, and solving three or four Reading Comprehension, I was able to take my CAT exam. The mock tests helped me as well with time management. The most important thing is to analyse the questions and attempt all TITA-based questions.
The best books for CAT preparation are available online and in local bookstores that students can easily purchase. The CAT preparation books offer section-wise study material, formulas, and important questions for practice. All the topics are included within such books according to the current CAT syllabus. Students get access to sample questions, test papers, and previous year's important questions and answers that can help them in section-wise preparation. Here are some of the important CAT books that students can buy for CAT preparation:
Students can even take the help of coaching centres that deliver study materials for daily practice. One can even read newspapers and magazines and even opt for online websites and social media handles that offer daily practice questions and regular updates.
The CAT Exam consists of three sections which are as follows:
Section |
MCQs |
TITA |
Total |
---|---|---|---|
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
19 |
5 |
24 |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
14 |
6 |
20 |
Quantitative Aptitude |
14 |
8 |
22 |
Total |
47 |
19 |
66 |
Candidates receive a total of 120 minutes to solve the three sections with 40 minutes allotted to each section. Moreover, there is a negative marking in the exam where for every wrong answer one mark is deducted. The following table provides information about the target marks that students must score to get a higher percentile:
Percentile |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Marks |
---|---|---|---|---|
99.9% |
70 |
57 |
68 |
171 |
99% |
65 |
53 |
62 |
158 |
95% |
49 |
39 |
44 |
119 |
90% |
41 |
32 |
34 |
99 |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension is comprised of mainly three sections which are vocabulary, reading comprehension, and grammar that students must focus on. Following is the preparation strategy for VARC that candidates can opt for:
Candidates must focus on the below-mentioned topics to ace the VARC section of the CAT Exam:
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning is considered to be one of the toughest sections by the students. Apart from being a difficult section, it is time-consuming as well which requires time management on behalf of students. Following are the preparation tips and strategies that students can opt for:
Following are some of the important topics in the DILR section of the CAT exam that students can target:
Quantitative Aptitude includes questions based upon various mathematical subjects like arithmetic, provident hours, percentages, mental maths, etc. Basic mathematical skills and an understanding of various formulas and tips and tricks can help students in solving the quantitative aptitude questions in the CAT exam. Following are some tips and strategies that students can focus on:
Some of the most important Quantitative Aptitude topics that students are your target and focus upon are as follows: