yash: Hi sir, I am comfortable with quant and di, but have problem with verbal . how should i prepare for this? Specially for RC passages? How much passage i should attempt in a day?
kranthi: read regularly variedly extensively make a conscious attempt to add new words everyday to your vocab.read atleast an hour everyday.try to write a summary of what u have read.

yash: Is it beneficial to learn vocab. from BARRON ( GRE WORD LIST)?
sai: Yes it is

blorestudent: Sir, I'm a final yr engg student in Bangalore going to appear in CAT-09, I face difficulty in memorizing english words through the cue-cards given by TIME. Can you tell me some other effective reference book whcih has a word-list with usage and example sentence with every word and can be effective from CAT point of view.
bharat: Practice English Usage by Michael Swan... pretty good book...

ash: sir i feel difficult to read rc passages on the computer screen for long time how to manage it?
sai: Keep practicing it till it becomes second nature to you since CAT2009 is an Online test and such practice will help you immensely.

yash: I am a engineer. How should i prepare math for JMET ?
kranthi: in the past jmet had a tradition of asking questions on plus two maths topics like calculus etc.prepare for higher maths topics.

tvc9c206: hello sir..how r u doing?
sai: Fine....Whats your question?

blorestudent: As CAT is now around 4-5 months away, considering my preparation was till now limited to TIME classroom and very little self-study, from now on, what should be my preparation stategy to hit the CAT09 effectively? That is the no. of hours that I minimally need to devote from now on, and how much % share of my studying time should go to QUANT, DI-LR and RC-VA? Please answer my query.
kranthi: focus close to 40 percent of time on your weak area.put in atleat 3 hours of preparation irrespective of ur other compulsions.

ash: how to do rough work during online test?
sai: In all probability you will be given rough paper to do the rough work. The bulletin which is expected to be released next month will clear the air on this.

tvc9c206: SIR...my question to you is.please tellme a stratergy to ge a 80+ PERCENTILE for the MOCKCAT this june 28th...i am fine with my preperation but taking a mockcat is entirely different as it covers all areas together.i hav scored well in individual topic tests condected by TIME but about MOCKCATS rt now i am a bit nervous.tell me a stratergy to score well and how to prepare for the next 2 weeks..
sai: The best strategy apart from revising concepts is to allocate an equal amount of time to each section. Ex: 40-40-40 and then 15-15 to two sections where you haven't done too well or where there are chances of scoring more marks.

mvn: Hi sir,How should I prepare Di for online Cat .Is it different from paper pencil CAT?
sai: Absolutely no different from a Paper & Pencil test so prep should not be any different

nomita: sir,i am finding it very difficult to solve questions in QA..whereas after coming back home i am able to solve them..i am not able to select easy questions in the exam..what should i do??
kranthi: skip answering the questions if u are unable to make head or tail of it in a couple of readings.answer all those questions which give u some confidence as soon as u see them .in reality ur ability to spot easy questions increases with preparation not because the questions are easy or difficult in themselves but u can spot more questions u can do by the virtue of ur preparation.

ash: i use to learn new words with their root word and several words giving the same meaning using thesaurus even then i forget some words meaning completely.. give some idea ...
sai: The only way to avoid forgetting them is to use them and keep revising them at regular intervals.

amit: What should be the deadline for completion of course for cat 2009?
sai: The Basics and Study Material should be completed by end July from then on the AIMCATs and advanced material should be practiced

sunny: sir is it good to prepare for GRE before writing CAT??? will that be useful???
sai: Not necessary

jrc9bk01: sir I'm in BBA final year and i want to know that how will i can improve my quant section as i hadn't maths in 12th class
kranthi: majority of the quant questions are based on fundamentals of ur school syllabus.focus on understanding the basics intially it will look time consuming but would pick momentum if u persist.

sandeep: Is it really final that the cat is goin online.......
kranthi: all the indicatons are towards that.It is official.

mvn: Does the regular work required to bell CAT depend on a person's performance in AIMCATS? I know seniors who scored 99 percentiles in AIMCATs and even CAT without any preparation.
sai: Your seniors might not have told you how much hard work they put in. It is a myth that one can clear CAT without any preparation. AIMCATs play an integral role in one's preparation for CAT and therefore each AIMCAT should be analysed thoroughly

tvc9c206: ok sir..will MOCK hav questions from all quant..and how much score is needed for an 80%tile...i always attempt too many questions and get -ve marks..please suggest how to avoid this and how many to attempy for a 80+percentile...
kranthi: depends on your accuracy usually 80 percentile corresponds to 20 to25 percent of the section total.

anish: Hello! I secured 98.5 percentile in AIMCAT 1020 with 93.2-QA, 90.8-VA, 99.2-DI/LR. I aspire to be a BLACKI (i.e.99.9%l. Do people get to 99.9%l from 98.5? And I tend to be very uncomfortable with the philosophy based RC passages. How to get a hold on them?
kranthi: they get there even from much lower scores than yours.read a lot of those passages and articles on philosophy read regularly magazines like life positive and economic and political weekly.And meditate your understanding of those topics can get intuitive.

blorestudent: Please tell me whether TIME material books are enough to completely prepare for CAT09 in all 3 sections? Different sources give different advice on this and the student is confused. Does QUANT require extra book?
sai: It is more than sufficient and the SMs given are adequate

blorestudent: What is a better approach in CAT, to leave all the questions you've doubt about or don't know that answer to, or go ahead and attepmt a few flukes? People say diff exams require diff strategies... Can you tell me the case with FMS, IIFT, SNAP and JMIMS? Please answer.
bharat: In my previous response to your Eng usage ques., there was a typo... the title is Practical English Usage by Michael Swan... As for strategy, try diff ones in the mocks... focus on reading all... pick up easy ones... come back to difficult ones... intelligent guesswork is fine...

blorestudent: Sir, I'm in 3rd yr of my engg deg, I already wrote MAY-MAT-09 this time just for practice, I got a 98.12 %ile. I got GD-PI call from Alliance Bangalore, as I stay in Bangalore only, should I go ahead and attend the session, just for the experience of a GD-PI? And how is Alliace Business Academy overall in terms of rating?
sai: Attend it for practice. Alliance is not amongst the top 100 instis in the country but it is certainly the best among the MAT instis

nomita: yes i try to do that but i end up spending more time for difficult questions..and how many questions should we try to answer??
bharat: Read all... pick up easy ones to solve... only after that you should move to difficult ones... number of attempts depends on your comfort level... at the Mock stage, you can afford take risks.

sandeep: how much time do you think would be sufficient to get familiarised with the online format...
sai: Take a few Online AIMCATs and you will be quite ready for the Online CAT

mvn: From where can i get last year's AIMCAT papers? Is practising DI from previous year's AIMCATs important?
sai: Practice from this year's AIMCATs and analyse those AIMCATs. This will help a lot.

anish: In the online sectional tests available on the student home page, I score 30-40+ on average in QA and DI/LR but my verbal scores are in the region 25-30. All marks are out of 60. How do you rate it and what according to you is a very good score that amounts to IIM call level?
sai: These are very good scores in QA and DI but you need to definitely work hard in the Verbal area as the scores are on the lower side.

ash: is it true that cracking fms test is more difficult that cracking cat?
bharat: that depends on your prep level... if its not your day, you may not do anything right... FMS or XAT or CAT all require top class prep... if you work hard now, then you will crack all tomorrow...

nomita: sir,we were informed that coouncelling sessions have started but when we call up to book the slots they say that it'll take time..is it true?
kranthi: in case slots are available u get them on the day u want.

deep: sir in cat 2008 i got 81 %tile.i will be giving dis year cat.what should be the strategy to get 90%tile.plz helpppppppp
sai: Prepare extensively and work out all Qs in all books and work on the concepts. this will go a long way in helping you get a 90 %ile

amit: sir, i have cleared the cutoff of quant and di, but scored very poor in verbal? unable to solve rc passages. how should i prepare for this?
sai: Answered already. Please check the transcripts

sethu: Sir about the AIMCAT analysis for the online AIMCAT.. Will we be able to look at that question paper for revision later??
sai: Yes the Qs paper will be available for viewing after the testing period is over

kittujain: how should i prepare to get the 95 above percentile in cat 2009
sai: Complete all Study Material, write all AIMCATs and analyse them thoroughly. This is the best way to get 95+

neha: sir how to prepare for vebal.....i got good mark in di&quant
sai: Answered already. Check transcript

sethu: What is your take on this CAT.. Will it be an Computer adaptive Test just like GRE?
bharat: Rather than speculate, let's wait for the CAT notification... likely to be out in the second fortnight of July

mvn: TIME usually gives 85 percentile mark as the cutoff.But IIM's have higher cutoff's (around 95 percentile).So should i aim for 95 percentiles in all the three sections in AIMCAT's or clearing 85 percentile mark is gud enough?
sai: The cut-offs of the IIMs are actually lower than 85%ile that TIME sets. They are around 80%ile in the sections at IIMI, IIMS and IIML

saurabh: sir i am having 2.5+ yr of work ex....what all gud colleges are worth applying apart frm IIMs...and will i get the worth of my work-ex there
kranthi: xlri fms spjain iift iit mumbai etc

kittujain: how many hours i should read quant ,verbal,di-lr
sai: Spend atleast 4 hrs a day on prep from now on. Of this around 1.5 hrs for Verbal and QA each and 1 hr for DI

abhi: Many say that science students have an advantage while writing cat. Is it so?
bharat: Only those who work VERY HARD have an advantage :)

blorestudent: Various tips on CAT say RC-VA is slowly becoming the most important and critical section in CAT. Obviously all 3 sections hold equal importance in CAT, but still, can one consider one of them as slightly important from the others in scoring point of view and devote more time on that? Please answer my question.
sai: One cant say that Verbal is more important than the other two sections. For Verbal ensure that you prepare for Grammar as every year Qs on Grammar are a common feature. Extensive reading of articles on offbeat topics like Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics, Social Sciences will help a lot. Ensure that you read the RC Links given on the Student home Page on www.time4education.com

karthy: would'nt strategy change completely if we are not allowed to proceed unless we answer a question like gmat? one will have to strategize completely differently!
sai: Yes you would have to change the strategy. Each Qs has to be answered with a lot more care

pradeep: how much time one should devote for his preparation?
kranthi: not less than 3 hours every day in any case.

gaurav: How should we prepare for RC, considering that the paper-based preparation would be slightly different from computer-based? We can't mark anything on the computer screen or write down keywords in the paragraphs.
sai: If the CAT is on lines of the GMAT/GRE software then there will be line numbers to help you locate key words/phrases and alongwith rough paper will help you make quick notes. If it slows you down it will slow others as well and should not bother you too much

ash: oh so commerce students have only second preference?
kranthi: no.

saurabh: sir i am a working professional....what an ideal time one shd spend daily to ensure gud/decent percentile....last yr i got 90%ile
kranthi: two to three atleast.

sethu: Till Oct 1 we ll be completing 11 AIMCATS.. left out is 4 ON INV... 3 ON T4E.. and 1 PP.. as per the schedule... Will we be able to finish it all before the CAT comes...???
kranthi: yes.

neha: sir 4 month is enough for cat preparation?
bharat: pretty much... plan well... take all tests incl daily online tests... analyse your performance... stress on weak areas... raise comfort level... enjoy the learning process

saurabh: sir how is spjain singapore in terms of placement
sai: Quite good

anish: Life positive seems good for philosophy reading. It'll add to my arsenal. Thank you very much.
kranthi: welcome.

saurabh: sir can u suggest me one gud book for DI....!!!
kranthi: there cannot be any thing better than time material for di.

mvn: I have secured 69.8% in class 10th,86% in 12th,9.2 CGPA in BTECH(till 6th sem).What are my chances of IIM calls if i clear CAT? How does my profile look like?
kranthi: nothing negative in ur profile do well in the written.

neha: sir how much time i spent on preparing cat.i am a final year engineering student....colg reopens on next month
sai: Atleast 3-4 hrs a day from today onwards

this_time_criou: Sir, I score very less marks in English...and it seems a toughest section to me. Please suggest how to work about it? Also please suggest some good books for sentence correction.
sai: Wren & Martin is good for Grammar. Practice the RC passages and improve your reading speed

pradeep: i have 76 % in class 10, 62 in class 12, 72 % in b.tech. I have a gap of 2 years after 12th. But i have 2.5 years of experience also. what are the chances to get an iim call? is it possible?
kranthi: possible with good written and gd /pi performance.

pradeep: sir, please answer what are the chances of getting iim call on my profile?
sai: If you do not have a great CAT %ile the profile is of no use. The profile is considered only if you meet the cutoff criteria and get around 98+

cat phodu: Sir there is a lot of difference in the level of Qs in study material and AIMCATS with the former being on the easier side. Where from can I practise quality Qs that simulate the actual CAT level?
sai: Practicing the Study material cements your basics and is very important. The AIMCATs and TPBs given to TIME students simulate the CAT type of Qs and should be done without fail

neha: sir mock cat result will publish on time site?i wrote on on last sunday.....no idea about the result
sai: The results have been uploaded on the Student Home Page. Login using your ID and password and check your result

ash: sir how many words from today onwards to crack vocabs?
sai: Atleast 20 new words a day