SpanEDea - Cat Strategy for Working Professional

7/28/2019 SpanEDea - Cat Strategy for Working Professional

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Live One-to-One Online CAT Classes by IIM Al

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Working Professional CAT Prep People who are currently in jobs need to be very

serious about preparations

Time available to them might be very less compared

to other student aspirants

CAT and other similar exams like XAT,FMS etc areknown for changing patterns and differing levels of

difficulty every year.

Two Sins while CAT Preparation

A lot of people jump straight into problem solving and findingshortcuts to do commonly occurring problems.

Jump into exercise based preparation without getting the

fundamentals right

Whether you are starting preparations for the first time

or are writing CAT for the nth time; make sure that you


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MAD over CAT The CAT is a tough test. The CAT will humble you and bring you

down to your knees.

With enough practice and the right guidance, you can beat it!

The key to success is training your mind to think differently and

act differently

Get acquainted with both the content and the length of the

test.

CAT is not rocket science, it just requires a lot of discipline

There are no shortcuts

Identify your weaknesses and then reviewing materials/doingpractice problems to fill those gaps

Focus on the problem types you're having issues with

TRUST YOURSELF. You are smarter than you think.

All of the knowledge is inside of you. You just need to discover

how to pull it out and apply it on test day!Fo

ranaverageIQstudent,

thepathisnotea

sy,butwho

sa

idanythingisimpossible-it

justtakesthat

littlemuch

longer.

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7 Point Strategy Mental Ability Improve mental ability, improve mental

responses, practice mental exercises and calculations daily.

Clear Basic fundamentals Through understanding of

principles through different books

Time Management Solving Practice problems with

timer, not more than 3 min for any question regardless of

difficulty level ( 4 questions 12 min)

SWOT Analysis Know different types of questions in & do a

SWOT on those types. More practice on weak areas.

Error Log - Error log will help you to know weak areas. Strategyto solve each type of question within 3 min

Process of Elimination Understand & Practice Process of

Elimination on different question types

Practice No alternative to practice. It is very important to

practice higher difficulty level questions for time management; tryto solve every question within 3 min

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Analyze, Understand & Plan the

preparation Preparing for the exam

3 levels of preparation required to crack the CAT.

Knowledge

Exam Strategy

Confidence and Performance under pressure

3 Steps to ACE CAT

Step-1 Learn all about CAT

Step-2 Do Self Analysis for CAT

Step-3 Execution: Mastering your strengths and improving on your

Weaknesses

Study Plan

Never Prioritize topics study all

What is prepared & what needs to be learned

Time Management

Set accomplishable goals Stick to your plan


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Identify where you stand

Where to start?

The ideal way to start preparing for any exam is

by taking a diagnostic test

Diagnostic tests should ideally be of similar typeas the previous CAT exam.

You may take the test online/offline.

Detailed analysis of the results

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Build the Foundation - Revise the

fundamentals

Understand and Develop basic concepts tested in theCAT

Understand different types of questions asked in each

section

Gauge your understanding by solving questions foreach Concept

Attempt extra practice problems on each concept to

go to Pro Level.

Finally, move on to actual past CAT questions todevelop the CAT mindset

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Get your fundamentals right

Focus on basic concepts and fundamentals

Understand the formulas/concepts

Shortcuts must come from a deeper

understanding of the fundamentals rather thanfrom some black box formula like approach

Take as much time as required to get it done

Dont jump into exercise based preparation

without getting the fundamentals right


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Study Plan and Time

Management

Time is precious, while everyone has the sameamount of time, only those who manage it well

crack the CAT.

Budget your time Create a study plan to

manage the time effectively and efficiently.

Give plenty of time for each task and concept

Use a calendar to set specific deadlines.

Dont get nervous over deadlines; stay calm andkeep on track.

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Practice - Test, Test and More

Test!!

Starts taking timed tests as early in the prep cycleas possible

Start taking sectional tests and time based

exercises.

At least 2-3 concept or sectional tests a week

See where you stand and how much

improvement you need.

Analyze the tests in detail to check:A) Where have you gone wrong?

B) Why have you gone wrong?

C) Solutions to questions that you did not attempt to

identify the ones that you could have attempted.


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SWOT Analysis - Dont forget it Give mock tests to understand ones strengths and weakness

Important to use, develop strength or compensate for Weakness

Ideally for a 2 hour test, one should spend at least 2-3 hours analyzing

things like

a. What went wrong?

b. What went right? c. Where am I consistently strong

d. Where am I consistently weak?

e. Did I attempt questions that where time sinks? Why?

f. Did I skip or not attempt simple questions? Why?

Track your performance section wise and concept wise Analysis : attempted, non-attempted questions, Silly mistakes and

guess work attempts

Know strengths and weaknesses, concentrate on areas where you need

to improve

Understand strength/weakness thoroughly and ensure that you play toyour strengths in the exam


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Time Management during exam Practice the element of TIME in problem solving

Most problems in management institute exams do not require

knowledge of rocket science.

These exams are about

Skill and knowledge

Ability to manage time in the most efficient manner.

How to solve problems in minimum time

Focus on 2 more questions and get proficient in them -:

a) How much time will it take me to solve this problem?

b) Compared to the problems that I have seen what level ofdifficulty do I think this problem lies in?

Important for candidate to decide

Which questions to attempt and which questions to leave

In which order - which might very well end up being the most

important thing esp. in exams where time is the crunch.FACT-double

thetimegiv

entoacandidatein

exams,mostofthecandidateswillscore90%+

m

arks.

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Plan your answering strategy These are few points you must plan out before taking

the CAT-:

What is your time allocation strategy?

How much time do you plan to spend on each of the

sections? In particular, do you plan to devote equal time to each

section or slightly more time to the section that you are

the strongest at?

How will you respond to a different marking scheme if

that is specified? For example, if there are 2 marks and

1mark questions, do you plan to attempt the 2 mark

questions first?

Do you plan to spend some time at the completion of the

exam, cross-checking or verifying some of the answers,especially of those questions that you are not really surewww.spanedea.com


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Find your strategy - Experiment:

Till you have found a rhythm/strategy keepchanging things

The target number of questions you want to

attempt,The time you spend on each section etc.

This kind of experimentation will prepare you

for any surprise that you may find on D-Day

Perfect the optimum CAT-solving strategy

Strikes the right balance between speed and

accuracy,

Ensure that you clear all cut-offs and as wellwww.spanedea.com


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Attention : Interviews and

GD/WAT Start preparing for the interviews and GDs from beginning

Candidate needs to show that he/she has a well rounded

personality in complete admission process

Start orienting on this aspect six months before even applying to

the b-schools.

Know and Understand different question asked in interviews

Pick up a hobby,

Project something to be your hobby in an interview,

Good understanding of history, personal association, ground

details, rules, current news items related to it and finally yourviews on its future etc.

For GD/WAT preparation,

Keep updated on General Knowledge/ General Affairs

Get a taste of the real thing

Preparing in groups of friends for GD/Essays is a good ideawww.spanedea.com


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Current Affairs General Knowledge

Interview/GD/WAT Essays requires that yoube aware of your surrounding and current

affairs.

Read at least one good newspaper daily anda weekly magazine on current affairs (and 1

business magazine preferably) regularly.

Most publications from same media houses

would be a bit biased in some respectA variety of views from different media houses

would strengthen your knowledge of the

subject and help you especially in GD/WAT

Essaywww.spanedea.com


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Train Your brain Entire CAT evaluation (including GD/WAT/PI) is designed for

people who can work for longer periods of time without breaks

Train your brain for working effectively and efficiently for longer

periods of time

Build Mental stamina

Mental fatigue is real and it tends to snowball

At the end of an exam, mental fatigue will cause him/her to

think more slowly, it will force you to re-read or re-calculate,

Spending longer on each question will only serve to fatigue

you even more.

Mental stamina is required to perform efficiently and to get a

good score

If you need to warm-up for an hour before beginning to be able to

concentrate and study productively, now is the time to break that

habit. You need to be able to start concentratin almost immediatel

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Work life balance

Keep yourselves distressed

Balance your work/study with preparation.

Be genuine to yourself and spend time every day

regularly in a systematic manner

Take it slow and do not garble all the information.

Work your way through different types of

problems and keep track of your performance in

every possible area Its about You and you know better about

yourself; devise a strategy that works for you

Keep fine tuning the strategy, until you get better

results www.spanedea.com


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Final Words CAT is a tough exam and you need to train your brain

for it.

The key to success is training your mind to think

differently.

Get acquainted with both the content and the length ofthe test.

CAT is not rocket science; it just requires a lot of

discipline.

CAT is a very logical exam and if you are good withlogic, you should be able to do reasonably well.

The challenge is not to master all concepts, or to do

all problems rightly; the challenge is to maximize the

score

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20/23

About SPANEDEA

Every learner is unique, and so is every learning situation! SPANEDEA is an interactive learning platform through live

video and audio and a virtual blackboard

Founded in 2011 by IIM Bangalore 1998 batch alumni

Sanjay Bhadra, Nitin Bansal and Rajat Sharma

Based in Mumbai, India

Get more information at: http://www.spanedea.com/CAT

www.spanedea.com
http://www.spanedea.com/courses/registration/cat?type=Scribd_00_3_106_cathttp://www.spanedea.com/courses/registration/cat?type=Scribd_00_3_106_cat


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Why Learn Online Customized learning from the convenience of their location.

Sessions/course customized to particular students need

Convenience - Convenient timing Comfort - At the comfort of your place, Spend less time on

traveling and more time to learn

Teachers personalized teaching -1on1 live teaching throughinternet,

Modular course content eBooks, interactive and customizedcontent/ courses

Qualitybest quality teachers Availabilityqualified teacher available all the time

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Benefits to students Choice

chose teachers, select courses,

Precisionexactly what is required, instead of needless 'full' Personalizationmy weaknesses at my pace, customize your

own course

Doubt clearing

interactive discussion required for doubt

clearing

The tutor provides comfort provides the invaluable hand-holding

Sufficient practice

pre and post session quizzes, full exam

More focus on concepts concept building

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For more information on CAT - http://www.spanedea.com/CATOpenedex India Pvt. Ltd., 703, C-Wing, Mangalya, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400059, India

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SpanEDea - Cat Strategy for Working Professional