It is always good to be prepared for an exam, especially if it is a CAT exam. Knowing what to expect and being well versed with the pattern gives the students a lot of confidence. For students worrying about the exams, here is a list of pointers including helpful information that they need to keep in mind.

Application-based questions-

CAT is not an examination where you are supposed to memorize formulas. It tests how strong your fundamental concepts are. You basically have to focus on understanding the question, use your core knowledge of the concept, and apply your skills to solve the questions. This is because CAT is an aptitude exam that is designed to test your linking skills.   

Choose your questions wisely-

It is very important to select the questions that you wish to solve. But for a CAT exam, it is as important to skip questions that you are not sure about.  The most common mistake students make is to attempt all the questions in order to gain marks, but they end up losing much more in the process. This is because the incorrect answers have negative marking. Go for the questions that you are confident about rather than wasting time on the questions that would lose you precious marks.

Dynamic marking system-

The CAT exams follow a dynamic marking system, which means a lot of factors would be affecting your overall percentile. Each question on the test is ranked on its difficulty level and based on the ratio of how many people actually answer the question accurately. Except for multiple-choice questions, you face negative marking for every other incorrect answer.

Accuracy test-

There are numerous cases where students, who despite solving more questions but with errors, rank lower than the students attempting lesser questions with more accuracy. This is because the higher errors affect the scores of the students due to negative marking. Hence it is advisable for the students to not guess or answer any questions that they are not sure about since doing that could actually lose them a lot of marks, resulting in a low percentile.

Importance of sectional percentile-

It is very important for the students who are expecting to get into IIMs to know that a sectional percentile is just as important as a comprehensive percentile. A lot of students just focus on the latter, and even after scoring 98+, they fail to get into IIMs as their scores do not cross the required sectional cut off. For this reason, be sure to focus on both the sectional percentile as well as the comprehensive percentile.

Don’t forget mock tests-

This is one of the most essential ways of preparing yourself. A mock test gives an idea of where you stand for the exam. It gives you an estimation of the time you take to finish the test, and which areas you need to work more on. Always take regular mock tests to analyze yourself.
We hope this article has given you an idea of the things that you should keep in mind before giving a CAT exam, all the best!