CAT Exam: Managing Common Mistakes

CAT (Common Aptitude Test) is the toughest management entrance exam in India. Entry to the elite MBA colleges in India like Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) is made through CAT Exam. The registration process of the CAT Exam is going to start from the month of August, and the CAT exam will be held in the month of December in the year 2017. Not much exam is left in CAT Exam. Hence, it is indispensable to utilize each second in a productive manner. While preparing for the CAT exam, students commit some common mistakes that impact the final scores of the students. It is always beneficial to identify the common mistakes and correct it time being.

Unproductive Time Utilization:

Students waste excessive time on thinking about the irrelevant things during the CAT Exam preparation.  Here are some irrelevant things on which the candidate wastes time-

Cutoff Mindset- During the preparation the aspirants keep on worrying about the cutoff of the about to come CAT exam. This wastes a lot of time and in a competitive exam like CAT, wasting time and taking extra pressure may prove to be catastrophic. Also, it is advisable to the candidates to give the final CAT exam with a free mindset without taking the pressure of the cutoff.

Worrying About Normalization Process- Instead of wasting time on thinking about the normalisation process, focus on the preparation. Worrying about the normalisation process would not help to score good marks in the CAT exam. Leave the process of Normalisation to the exam authorities.

A Stressful Mind:

Taking too much stress during the preparation leads to degradation of the quality of preparation. Studying with a calm mind prove to be effective and efficient. Keep yourself calm and composed during the preparation. Keeping calm is a personality trait which improves with time. Work on improving it and make it a habit from the beginning. Not only at the time of preparation, but it is also necessary to keep the mind stable and composed during the CAT exam. Otherwise, the exam may not go as expected.

Excessive Study Materials:

The most common mistake that the CAT aspirants commit is that they collect a bundle of study material that is practically not possible to study in a given frame of time. Studying the same topic from multiple sources also leads to information overloading. The strategy for this is to select a few relevant books and cover them completely and with precision and revise the same material multiple times.

Improper Time Management:

No competition can be cleared with an improper time management. The person who knows to manage the time properly can distinguish himself from the non-performers and non-scorers. Usually, many students waste a lot of time in reading the stuff that they like and ignoring the stuff they found difficult. It is to keep in mind that all the topics whether you like it or not should be completed on time.

By keeping in mind the points given above, the students can minimize the common mistakes during the preparation of CAT exam and even at the time of the exam.