time gandalf: good evening sir
kranthi: good evening.

time gandalf: sir, how can we identify questions of lower difficulty level in an online test?
sai: If the entire paper appears on screen and one is free to navigate between Qs only then can you choose the Qs of lower Difficulty level. If it is a mode where only one Q appears on the screen then it will be difficult to identify the easy Qs

kar91: sir,i will be graduating in 2009.due to some reason,i have to take admission this yr.itself in a B- grade MBA coll. can i still take cat-09?i got 92% in cat-08,without much prep., but i am worried that even if i get a high %ile,my gap of 2 yr. b/w 12th and grad. and gap after grad. would trouble me...also,my grad. marks r not so high. plz. advise whether i should take cat this yr. or after 5-6 yr,with some work-ex??
kranthi: you can take cat 09 even if u are doing mba from b grade business school. in case u get a decent job offer u can take it up and give cat while working.

mohit: Good Evening Sir, 1) Regarding the usage of words, 2) Reading speed 3) speed vs understanding of comprehension 4) Decoding the type of comprehension (History, philosophy, science, health, politics, psychology etc.) How can we prepare for such aspects in verbal ability? I do follow “The Hindu” Editorial section daily. What else should I read regularly?
kranthi: read the various supplements of the same newspaper it covers wide range of topics u have mentioned.u can also read a magazine like frontline etc.visit www.magportal.com for online passages.

phani: Hi Good Evening... I would like to know what would be the biggest change we need to get used to for a online CAT ?
sai: The biggest thing to prepare for is the Concepts in Quant, Di and Verbal. The online test is only a change in the mode and if one is strong with concepts then this exam can be easily cracked.

time gandalf: from when can we expect time aimcats???
sai: 3rd week of May

phani: What are few things we need get used to for preparing in RC and DI Section of Online CAT ? As Quant would not be making much difference ?
sai: Good reading speed, familiarity with different styles of reading and a good vocabulary are prerequisites for doing well in RC. For DI one should be familiar with various data types, speed with calculations to do well in CAT. AIMCATs are highly recommended source for high quality DI Qs

james: sir,how is tapmi,nirma,gim.are they worth pursuing.are these colleges counted under b grade b schools
kranthi: they are a category institutes.u can pursue mba from those.

mohit: i am a working professional. What is the weightage of a person's profile in GD/PI?
kranthi: selection criteria of all the iims are on our website .do read.

phani: How is our TIME Institute planning for students to get used to Online mode of Exam ?
sai: The plan is on the home page of the TIME website www.time4education.com

ashwin: Hi this is Ashwin, belonging CAT 08 batch..I am a fresher and have converted my call from SP Jain for Finance.. I would really like to thank TIME for its excellent study materials, ever helping faculty and the support provided via the GD/PI briefcase in the website which has made this possible for me.. Thank u
kranthi: u have done us proud .

phani: Will the concept of Percentile would go and the selection would be some thing similar to GMAT based?
sai: Wait for the IIMs to answer this Qs through their bulletin. In all probability the percentile concept has worked very well for the IIms and they would in all probability stick to it this time as well

mohit: What should be the time frame or by which month we should be finished with our study material of TIME so as to have grip on the concepts? I have enrolled yesterday only.
kranthi: by august end.

james: Sir,This is James from Thane.Converted Nirma,Gim,Tapmi and Fore.Just wanted to thank the T.I.M.E Faculty.
kranthi: great show james.

geet: how should we prepare for RC and DI
kranthi: do drop into one of our offices and have a detailed discussion.

phani: Currently i am following the Schedule of 3 hrs per day with Verbal Ability for 1 hrs, Speed Maths for 30 mins and Alternatively working on DI and Quant for Rest 1 .30 hr... Will this be good enough preparation ?
kranthi: looks fine.

phani: I am also working professional in Software Industry with about 4 years of experience... and I am also a physically disabled person what would be a good CAT Score for getting a IIM Call... ? I do would like to know other collage options for this experience which do consider My disability for reservation ?
sai: That would depend on how others in your category perform in CAT

anvita: good evening sir, i've completed my 2nd year b.tech exams and i wish to prepare for the CAT exam...when am i eligible to write the exam???
kranthi: in ur final year.

ash: I have done the CAt twice with 96 % til score both time .But not able to get any IIMs call. How Can I improve my performance
sai: Identify your weak areas and work on imporving your speed. that alone will help increase your score.

harsha : Hi , I worked as Physics lecturer for four years. Now I am into finance domain working as Financial Analyst from one and half year . I am giving CAT 09 . My question is that whether my teaching experience is considered relevent from IIMs admission point of view. I mean , what weightage can it be attached .
kranthi: ur financial analyst role will have greater weightage than teaching physics.

mohit: what will u suggest regarding the no. of hrs (min.) daily one should spend for VA,DI,Quant for proper planning and scheduling?
sai: Around 2.5 hrs a day. With around 1 hr for QA and Verbal each and 0.5 hrs for DI

pawan: Sir, I am student of time last year batch. I have got 94.18% in Cat-2008. But I want to do MBA from TOP 10 institutes of India and therefore I will be writing CAT this year again. What is your suggestion I am weak in verbal (only 85.37% in verbal-2008).
sai: Enrol for the AIMCAT series and prepare well. You have the basic skills just need to get a good attempt where everything works

anvita: can i start the preparation now through a correspondence course before i take a crash course in my final year or should i take a crash course now?
kranthi: the first option looks better.

time gandalf: sir, I am a little confused about RC which is the better approach in RC? Read Q's first, identify the key points, then go for Passage or read the entire passage, have a summary in memory and then go for Q's Please tell me for passages of both long and medium size
sai: Use the approach that works best for you in the AIMCAts

ash: I have finished with the Tiem material and work books .Now should I go for Arun sharama or TImes material would be fine
kranthi: time material is more than sufficient.

phani: Is it possible for time students to get the Last Years TIME Mock CAT papers?
sai: No

veer: sir,in case one is already doing mba and has no work-ex,wat should he tell at time of interview,if asked??wat role does lack of work ex may have on selection chances??
kranthi: u have no option but to tell the truth.the lack of work ex can be compensated by good performance in other components.

phani: With my Current speed i am able to read consistently @ 170-200 words per min based on difficulty of topic and also able to comprehend and answer the question.. could you please let me know if that speed is OK? If not any tips for getting better speed ?
kranthi: the reading speed should be 300+ have a detailed discussion with faculty.

pawan: How should I prepare to improve my verbal ability? Got 85.37% in verbal CAT-2008.
sai: Read newspapers, online journals and work on your vocabulary which is sure to help you get a great percentile in CAT

manju: sir please consider this as my request.please increase the number of AIMCAT to be conducted.since these aimcats are the only way to know my(our) standing among others.only 10 paper pencil based aimcats!
sai: The AIMCATs are 20 in number of which 10 will be in the Online format so there is no Qs of the AIMCATs being reduced

anvita: does the T.I.M.E offer a correspondence course?
sai: Yes it does...check the website

mohit: currently i am working in a well reputed company on a world's largest global initiative and i am about to complete my 1st year of service, but if i switch to lecturer job in a college "just to" prepare well for CAT 09. will this step make my profile weak or should i continue working with my current job where i dont get much time to study?
sai: Dont quit it will certainly make your profile weak

chintu: good evening sir
kranthi: thank u.

chintu: my real concern is RC, as it will be a CBT this time, can we expect shorter passage this time
sai: Dont expect anything of that sort.....please prepare for lengthy passages as well

ravi: sir, can you tell me a link for the previous year's CAT papers.
sai: AIMCATs are copyright material of TIME. they are not available anywhere in a downloadable format.

mohit: Thanks so much for your valuable comments.
sai: Welcome!!

ravi: sir, i am not talking about mock CATs. I am asking for a link to real CAT Exam papers i.e. of 2007,2006...
kranthi: our crt series are a replica.u can find questions on similar lines.

gj: sir also please tell which book should i refer to brush up my skills in all sections?
sai: Enrol for the AIMCAT series

phani: Its more that 4 years i completed my graduation and i feel i lost grip with my Engineering subjects...How important it is to have grip in PI?
kranthi: absolutely important not to lose touch with the basics. do refresh before facing the panel.

anu: sir,due to my semister examination i cannot able to focus on my cat preparation.now my examination is over so how much time should i give to all the sessions daily so i can revise the previous topics also.
sai: Around 4 hrs a day spread across all areas with a slightly higher focus on verbal

pa: The Time for the chat is very less than why answers are coming slowly?
sai: Where have you asked a Question in this chat????

gj: gud evening sir. I am taking Cat for d 3rd tym. i got 93percentile in 2008. Please tell me how should i go about my preparation. I do silly mistakes i quant and m also weak in vocab. I'll enrol for aimcats but please let me know any buks i shld refer to..?
sai: The Study Material of TIME is very exhaustive and up to date and you should work it out for succcess in CAT2009

sunny: sir,how can one improve reading online
sai: Start practicing by reading online articles. The links to articles are given on the Student Home Page on www.time4education.com

pawan: Learning vocabulary! Which book should I study other than WORD POWER MADE EASY?
sai: Word power made easy and daily reading of newspapers plus a good dictionary is more than sufficient

rohan: hello good evening sir.
sai: good evening

piya: good evening sir sir i am very weak in vocab.what will i do to increase my vocab?
kranthi: read regularly and widely. make use of the cards we have given. add at least 10 words aday to your vocab.revise the words u have learnt thoroughly.

pawan: I am planning to shift to Pune TIME from Hyderabad due to disturbance back home? Where to join in Pune for good CAT preparation.
kranthi: visit puneT.I.M.E. office and discuss the same.

iimaterial: with all the hype around the CAT becoming a computer based test..does it make any difference in the prep strategies..if so how..? also hows TIME aiming to schedule AIMCATS for the CBT CAT
sai: Please read the detailed note on the TIME home page

jupiter: sir, im gud at quant and confident iwill improve in English but not so strong is reasoning part.will solving sudoku really improve my logical speed or will it be constrained to single logical domain
kranthi: sudoku enhances ur numerical abilities. do the logical ability material provided by us regularly.