ron: Sir I have completed basics and last years aimcat papers as well …Right now am getting 85 % in all aimcats …Is it enough If I revise last years and this years aimcat papers in these 20 days to ensure 95 % in cat…
bala: Seems fine. Doing your revision area-wise and within that problem-type wise can further enhance your revision. While nothing can ensure 95%ile, this is a good thing to do.

impostor: Sorry for a going away from topic.Sir my last 11 aim cat (from aim 11 to 1) performances are:97.96, 94.18, 82.12, 95.35, 97, 95.24, 96, 91.5, 97, 92, 94.Plz suggest if I should apply to FORE. Also suggest some colleges in AA range where I should apply.I have already applied to first 20 colleges as per time rankings
ankur: yes you can apply to some AA colleges as backup. individual college choices cannot be made over a chat session - suggestion is speak to a senior faculty member at your center.

impostor: Sir I usually do not attempt sentence correction questions in aimcat as I am never confident about them.What should I do in these two weeks? Suggest any book for Sentence correction practice questions.
kranthi: just consolidate whatever u know.it is not possible to start from scratch right now.time material is sufficient.

prada: sir wat is the cut-off for sp jain, some people say its 95, while others say its 85, wich is the correct one. is the cut-off in all collgs same for freshers as well as experienced people?
ankur: freshers and experienced people have historically faced different cutoffs, in sp jain. cut off of all colleges will be different !!

sai: how to do a good revision of qa i the given time
kranthi: revise formulae aimcats work shop papers.do not learn anything new right now.

asni.wings: hi Sir...Good evening...I wanted to know...since Tiss is little on the easier side..what statgy to follow for that exam as compared tp cat?
ankur: nothing special. just go through the OMETs of TISS and practice well.

prada: sir in aimcats, the no. of applicants are thousands, where as in CAT we will be competing against 3 lacs, doesnt dis imply dat our percentiles are bound to decrease in the final CAT exam. am pretty tensed as my highest so far was 85percentile. does dat mean it can drop to 70 or even below :-(
ankur: well not really. if more number of better prepared applicants will be writing CAT then more number of poorly preparing candidates will also be writing. in fact since AIMCATs typically invite the Crème de la crème of CAT aspirants, you might actually see a bit of increase in your percentiles!

christiano: i commit a lot of errors?how shud i try to minimize them?overall i score wel but lose marks in negative
ankur: analyse past mistakes. analyse WHY you made that mistake. in quant check for silly mistakes (indicates panic), poor concepts, poor application of concepts etc. in english see why your answer is given as wrong. many times you will see that your answer was not listed as wrong but another choice was even better. analysis requires effort but it pays really really well!

gaurav: Hello, any last minute tips for IIFT?
abhisheik: maximum attempts..they might change pattern or marking..dont let tht affect u..approach paper normally..

abacus: gud evening sir..sir in these last few days what should be the right approach for final preperation?should i go with online mocks and crts as much as possible or somethng else.pls help sir iam confusd at this pt of time
bala: Write a few tests (not too many). Do a thorough revision based on AIMCATs and other comprehensive tests that you have already written. Question type-wise revision across a number of AIMCATs at a time can be a great thing to do in the last 3 weeks.

ramya: Sir, i have been able to clear the cut-offs in LDI section, now even verbal section is also going good. but sir i am really worst at quant section. i am really scared that something wrong will happen on the cat day...i cant afford not to get a call this year sir....pls help
abhisheik: select questions carefully n focus on accuracy..keep it as ur last section..n stop worrying

khushi2122: hello sir can u please tell me the level of each section in TISS test
kranthi: our basic study material level.

metleymotley: Good Evening! What is the general PERCENTAGE of total marks for cutt off ( SECTIONWISE )in cat past few years?Atleast a rough idea please:)
bala: Data is actually available on the student home page. CAT 08 cut-off estimates are around 33/160 in VA, 17-19/100 in QA and ~29/100 in DI. Numbers may not be precise as they are coming out of memory, but they are indicative. Anything between 20% and 33%

saii: What is the best way to approach quants section,Sir? Can you suggest some last minute preperation statergies for quants
abhisheik: focus on selecting the right questions..invest 5 minutes in that..dont worry abt moving arnd in the section looking for sitters..focus on accuracy..at least 80-90%..dont select questions absed on topic..try to read every single question..

metleymotley: Hi,knowledge wise am able to solve 3/4 of the paper. But am not able to cross even 50% attempts under test conditions. Can you tell me a preparation/test taking strategy for next 3 weeks for improving attempts to 75% of the questions? I am currently in the 90-95 percentile range.
bala: 50% attempts does not sound too bad if you are getting 90-95 %ile in the AIMCATs. 75% sounds very unreasonable and is very likely to greatly increase your error rate and maybe even bring down your performance. Continue with the good things you have been doing. 90-95%ile in AIMCATs leaves you with a good chance at the CAT.

arkss: how to ensure good revision of di in the available time?
kranthi: revise aimcats.take a sectional test daily.

asni.wings: stategy for VA ?
abhisheik: Dear student, VA can be divided into 3 parts: RC, Grammar/Vocab & rest. RC has to be your bread and butter. Give maximum effort and time to RC. RC is mostly logic, english is only medium. For practice, RC needs mindless practice. More n more RCs. And challenge yourself in terms of number of attempts. Read a lot. Grammar and Vocab, touch in the exam only if you are very sure. Rest all, you should attempt maximum, maybe all. Overall strategy in verbal is maximum attempts.Questions are ambiguous, nobody can be sure of the answers. However if the paper is exceptionally tough, then maybe cut down on attempts. If you have 2 choice in any question go for it, except gram n vocab. ALso if VA is not your strong section, no point focusiing 2 much on it now. Keep it as your last section, dont cross subsidise, take time out of other sections. Best of Luck

ron: Sir is it ok if I skip all MCs and CRTs as I don’t have enough time….I have completed 2008 aimcat papers and will go through all the aimcat papers of 2009 in the coming days…would that be enough…Do these aimcat papers cover all important questions ?
bala: CRTs are replicas of actual past CAT papers. However, if you haven't done them at all, doing all of them in the remaining 3 weeks sounds fairly tough and unhelpful. Rather than skipping all, you may benefit by trying the most recent 3-4 CAT paper replicas and spending the remainder of your time across CRTs and CAT 08 AIMCATs. The AIMCAT papers were good enough last year. I don't see why they would not be comprehensive this year given that not much has changed in terms of expectation on content and difficulty level.

ramesh: sir iam joining cognizant on nov 16.my avg aimcat percentile is 85%le......... havent touched for the past 1.5months due to personal reasons and also last two weeks cant prep due to job....feeling out of touch help me wat should i do?????
kranthi: revise as much as the time permits.do not go into an overdrive in the last two days.u have a job in hand no need to put stress on urself.just enjoy the exam.

g_joshi22: Sir, my aimcat scores are very poor what should I do only few days are left
abhisheik: Dear student, Thinking abt it will certianly nt help at all..many a times temperament can carry the day..so keep positive..also revise as much as possible

saiarjun: I find it difficult to do the DI part in computer. could you give some tips to improve on that? Thank you
abhisheik: try to write down data if it is manageable..particularly in LA kind questions..also remember its same for everybody

metleymotley: Hi, are the test-a-days at cat level difficulty or lesser or more?
ankur: CAT can be easy also, not just difficult. test a day also varies a lot for that reason.

khushi2122: i am very weak in maths so can you plz tell me that which topic should i focus more for the preparation of TISS,SNAP and NMAT?
abhisheik: Dear Student, For all these papers, strategy should be maximum attempts. Difficult to identify 1 particular chapter. HOwever questions are easy and most of them from common topics like equation, ratio, time n dist, time n work, geometry etc.

aim4 iim: Hi,for all 6 IIM calls, what PERCENTAGE of the questions should be attempted (SECTION WISE) and with what accuracy percentage(SECTION WISE) ?In general..
bala: I am hesitant to answer this question because this is precisely the way you should not be taking your preparation, especially at this stage. The strategy is to try to read all questions and doing whatever you are able to. Targets like the one you are asking for can do a lot of damage. So, please stop looking for magic numbers. Focus instead on revision of all areas.

impostor: Sir can we get the workshop papers as i have missed most of them due to my End sem exams?
kranthi: visit ur nearest office. explainto counsellor.

pradeepti: Sir,i wanted to know specifically what should be my strategy to crack XAT...
ankur: some extra material will be provided for XAT. go though that...and do the OMETs well.

asni.wings: study plan for a day? 4-6 hrs are enough? how much time to b given to QA n VA?
bala: How much time to give depends on how much you can allot. If you are working, it might be alright provided you spend all of the weekend on preparation. Otherwise, more time always helps because you can do more. Divide your time across different areas (VARC/DA/LDI). All areas are important. It all depends on how comfortable or uncomfortable you are in specific question types within each test area.

anshika: sir i score around 120 marks in mock cats on student page of TIME.but my percentile in aimcats is around 60.i scored 70%ile in CAT 2008 without any preparation.in which colleges should i apply according to my score.
ankur: spk to a senior FM at your center who can guide you.

ana: sir, how should one prepare for va in these last 15 days?
bala: Continuye doing your reading. The more the past exercises you revise, the better. In particular, take a look at questions of the types that you have found the toughest across AIMCATs, CRTs, MCs and even class exercises and tests.

cat2009: 1)Sir in this 2 week i have planned to go thro all AIMCATS.. make myself familiar with all type of Qns.. is that a good approach..?
abhisheik: Dear Student, Its a v gud approach...but most importantly focus on mental prep..try to be in a gud frame of mind..try to avoid thinking abt results n all..if possible nt abt cat at all..these things do make a diff..also try to go thru few years cat papers..

kaat: sir pls give topics to revise which are very very v v v v v important
bala: Everything :) - Just ragging. On a more serious note, remember that surprise is a part of the CAT and my prediction could be wrong just as much as it can be right. Since you have 3 weeks to go, revise as much as you can of as much as you can. If you have limited time, maximise AIMCAT based revision followed by CRTs followed by other papers.

saii: How to prepare for gk section for iift,Sir?
abhisheik: Hi, Dont worry too much abt it..make decision on the spot..back ur instincts..maximise attempts..

kranthi: how to warm-up for VA in the available time?
kranthi: practice on a sectional test every day.spend atleast 1 hour on rc every day.revise all thewords which u have alredy learnt.

abacus: sir what will be a sound strategy at this tym?should i aim for online mocks n crts as much as i can or they should be done upto a certain limit?what else can b done in dese days sir?pls help me iam very confused.
ankur: doing all or some is not the real question. the real task ahead is to analyse whatever mock/onlinemock/CRTs that you do. if you do 5 with analysis, that is better than 10 without analysis.

aim-iima: sir,rc used to be my strength.i used to clear cut-offs in VA with the help of rc,but since last 2-3 aimcats,im getting many qs wrong nd nt able 2 clear VA.plz suggest smthng since i clear quant nd di easily.
ankur: for RC, if you are getting wrong, may be you are marking answers that are correct but other options might be even better. it might help to go through solutions, not just keys, to understand WHY are your wrong. will help to understand the examiner's perspective.

jivu: plese suggest me end time guidance to clear cut off in verbal.?
bala: Firstly, divide your time across all the question types. There are 3 broad types - Vocab based, Usage based and Reasoning based questions. Time taken per question would normally be in increasing order across these 3 types. So, if you have 20 minutes and 4 sets - 1 vocab, 2 usage and 1 reasoning, dividing it as roughly 4-5-5-6 might help. Very importantly, do not ponder for too long over any question. Skip once you realise you don't have a clue.

abdul: sir,i'm struggling to clear VA cutoff from the past 3-4 aimcats....donno the reason y this is happening.....also rc's, once my strength is proving to be my weakness lately....please help..
ankur: try relaxing. taking too much pressure can reduce performance...too much studies can damage ur chances.

ram: can u plz tell me the level of each section in TISS paper?
ankur: basic study material of time...

catcracker: I have not been able to clear the cut off evenm for a single time till now in the AIMCATS. what shall be the strategy here on?
ankur: continue to practice on tests and analyse performance. don't start new things now.

abhi: sir now a days m unable 2 concentrate. please suggest
kranthi: meditate.

kaat: sir pls tell me which is very important QA or reasoning at this point
ankur: both are equally important.

azhar: Good evening sir,even now im not able to score properly in VA though i can score comparatively well in other sections..my VA is unpredictable..though im better at doing RCs..pls tell a strategy so dat i can prepare vigorously for VA and atlst clear the VA cutoff....pls reply.
ankur: not much can be done about VA now except refreshing concepts and more practice.

sumv: hello sir...my AIMCAT scores are very low and are varying frm AIMCAT 2 AIMCAT...if i m getting around 65-88 %le should i expect 2 get call frm iim's..
abhisheik: Dear student, at this percentile seems a little unlikely..though u never know..sit down with sm snr faculty for b school guidance..

vijeth: Could you please let me know what are the topics under QA I need to focus on what are those that I can skip. be it now,for studyin or while selecting in the exam
abhisheik: Hi, ERPV,Geom,Numbers,Perm n Comb, Functon n Graph, Time n Distance Time n Work are more popular in CAT though again CAT being what it is very diff to generalise

saiarjun: Is it worth enough to attend only RC part..i m really bad in verbal..how many questions will i ned to attend in the verbal section altogether?
ankur: not a good idea. what if the VA is easier than RC? no of good attempts cannot be estimated before hand!

aim4 iim: Hi, are the test-a-days at cat level difficulty or lesser or more?
abhisheik: Hi, Slightly easier than CAT

shruti: i hv very lesser speed due to which i m able to solve only 1 set of DI. wat to do???? it take me lot of time to analyse anything!!!!!1111
abhisheik: Hi, select sets..if unable to make any headway in 1st 10 mins..thn skip..remember its not like u r abondoning that set..jus postponing..u can always come later n need nt start frm scratch..also go thru all DIs of last 10 years CAT papers and all AIM cATs

mayank: sir i am not able to score in the aimcat...every time some or the other area drags me behind...how can i work on it for final exam...m writing my CAT on 5 dec
abhisheik: Follow a fixed strategy..focus on ur strngths..dnt focus on cut offs n all such unnecessary things during the exam..

preeth: Sir, In the course of practicing all difficult logical DI( Network based,TOurnament based,School joing...Q's) we haven't given due attention to caluclation based DI. So from now on Planning to concentrate much on this. PLease suggest.....
abhisheik: cat has moved away from calculation based questions..hence..however u never know so may pratice few such sets..

om: Sir,are the omets sufficient for the preparation of iift?
kranthi: yes in addition to basic study material.

pradeepti: sir,scoring around 75-80% in AIMCATs is indicative of my selection to IIMs or XLRI?
ankur: for general category, fresh student....slightly on the tough side but anything is possible. don't lose confidence and continue to prepare. XAT and other exams are still quite far - u can easily prepare for these.

praveen: sir in the last aimcat i got 97% although i have been getting b/w 90-95 in the last 7-8 aimcats but sometimes i get 80.......should i apply to mdi and imt.....now should i concentrate on basics or do ques from papers only........pls reply
ankur: yes to both instis. continue to practice on tests and analyse performance. don't start new things now.

himz: hello...my job is startin from mon 16.....n my cat is on 6th dec....so sir can u help me out how 2 go abt now....n m nt able 2 clear va cut-offs....
ankur: job should not affect your preparation at all. focus on your job. if your mind is free from that tension, cracking CAT will actually be easier, not more difficult. for VA, please go through old aimcats now. no new preparation should be started now.

nadal: sir my aimcat 1021 result:qa[26,45min],va[62,45min],di[19,45min],overall=107.yr feedback????in di sometimes i score 93-94% , sometimes below cutoff.plz help.is my strategy wrong?
ankur: suggest to give 5-10 mins more to DI by taking time out from VA....but make sure your score does not fall too much. and continue to practice more and more DI so that you don't need this! :)

asni.wings: are MC CAT level ? I score well in MC's but not in aimcats?
abhisheik: slightly inferior to cat..but then cat is unpredictable..if u want to make it more challenging take less time than stipualted.

abhi: sir m not getting consistant score in aimcats varies largely from as low as 20 to 96. m losing confident
abhisheik: 10 n all must be exceptions..96 implies u have the potential..this ur due to online n unvigilated aim cats this trend has been seen..dnt worry 2 much abt it..unlikely to happen in cat..u have the talent to do well if u ahve crossed 90 even once..

12345: sir my aimcat percentiles are from 80-92 percentile. How should my preperation be?
ankur: continue to practice on tests and analyse performance. don't start new things now.

cat2009: 1)Sir in this 2 week i have planned to go thro all AIMCATS.. make myself familiar with all type of Qns.. is that a good approach..?
bala: Makes a lot of sense. Never underestimate the power of revision, especially question-type based AIMCAT revision, at this stage.

khushi2122: ill be highly oblidged if you kindly provide me with details regarading the level of each section of TISS paper as i am not a TIME student
ankur: they are the level of our basic study material. not possible to answer this without referring to our material standard !

jayashree: HELLO SIR...AS PER THE TIME MAGAZINE OF MARCH MONTH..LAST YEAR IIMs HAD MENTIONED IN THE INFORMATION BROCHURE ITSELF THAT IF A PERSON SCORES 25% OF THE TOTAL SCORE IN EACH SECTION ALONG WITH 33% OF THE TOTAL SCORE,HE S MOST LIABLE TO GET A CALL FROM IIMs...THIS YEAR NOTHING HAS BEEN MENTIONED BY THE IIMS REGARDING THIS...IN THAT CASE SHALL WE ASSUME THAT THE SAME STRATEGY WILL SURELY LEAD US TO GET IIM CALLS???
bala: Repeating my answer to another student. I suggest that you stop worrying about these "magic numbers" and instead focus on reading as many of the questions as you can and making sensible choices. Revision, especially AIMCAT based, question-type-wise revision is the best thing to do at this stage.

abdul: i generally score in the range of 80-90% in aimcats...highest being 95.3% in 1007.....do i have a gud good chance of scoring 95%+ in the cat exam??...
ankur: looks more than likely :) best of luck!

shilpa0804: Sir my preparation is not upto the mark due to hectic BBA schdule specially the quant section.i am very scared of quant.if i start studying now how bright are the chances of clearing snap,ibsat and fms and also xat.
abhisheik: Hi shilpa, Most of the other exams are on the easier side except maybe fms n xat. xat gives a few logical questins which though challenging are not formula based. In this period focus on fundamentals..do important topics like ERPV,TD,TW,Numbers,Geom,Perm n Comb, Function n graphs etc

ana: sir, can you also suggest some material from where I can do the sports based DI? i am never able to solve such DIs.
abhisheik: Hi, This year AIM CATs, last few years CAT papers are more than sufficient..sit down with some faculty..once u get the grasp these r very easy

dhiren: sir as we have received the new set of Q's as SM109 recently so how do rate the q's in it with respect to CAT, especially for DI and Quant
ankur: they are quite tough!

kaat: sir my accuracy will range from 60 to 70 in all aimcats but my no of questions will be less around 25.. shall i make some guess...
abhisheik: Dear student, not in qa/la/di..in va u can..also focus more on accuracy in qa/la/di..cut down on attempts..selelct questions more judiciously...

sumv: sir if i am good @ QA and DI and below avg in VA such that i somehow manage to get half-way score of cutoff wat should be my strategy????
ankur: could give slightly more time to VA by taking that time from other two.

raj: my accuracy in RC is about 50%,how to improve it
ankur: pls look at prev answer to similar question on accuracy.

ram: sir i hav been scoring btw 72-90.do u think i hav a chance to get into iims?
bala: AIMCATs are done with.. well, almost. No gain worrying about your scores in those. You gain more by doing a thorough job of revising the AIMCATs. Spend time on the specific areas that you are able to identify as dragging your scores down. Do your revision question-type-wise across AIMCATs

satish543: hii sir...iam scoring around 90-95% in aimcats..but the problem for me is till now i have managed to clear the cutoffs in all three sections only twice..i used to fail in DI previously and verbal was my top scoring area..but now iam faring poor in english and missing cutoffs..? can u suggest me how to prepare in these 20 days..? thanks
bala: The best thing for you to do, especially given that your performance is a little erratic across areas with an overall decent score, is to do a lot of AIMCAT based revision with a reasonable number (4-5) of fresh papers (CRTs or MCs) with a thorough analysis. Try to understand which specific areas in each section you are messing up in when you do. Redo all the questions in these question types across AIMCATs to see the patterns in these questions better.

pradeepti: Sir,is admission into FMS easier than IIMs n XLRI?
abhisheik: Hi, These kind of generalisations cant be made..all top b school have their own admission procedure and distinctive criteria..Fms has very few seats..but number of applicants is also less.

shilpa0804: sir can u tell me the difficulty level of quant in snap,fms,ibsat and xat..Thank you!
ankur: XAT FMS SNAP IBSAT these are decreasing order of difficulty.

parimal0804: Sir, I have applied under differently in CAT-09,i have also applied for the services of a scribe. So am eligible for time extension of 1 hour. I have been using a scribe in all aimcats, but i dont have any practice of extended time. What do i do??
bala: Adjust your time division. 135 minutes now becomes 195 minutes. That means an additional 15-20 minutes per section in the initial attempt with the remainder going into your buffer time. Just bear in mind that the scribe you get may not be as responsive as the one you have been using for AIMCATs and you may hence badly need to extra time. So, managing it wisely is going to be critical.

cat: Sir, I am terribly worried about d VA section.... I usually get above 90% & 80% n DI & QA resp... But n d case of VA, half d time am not abl 2 clear d cut offs. Wat can I do...? And n d main CAT if i clear all d sec wid d score as i had mentioned above, ll I b abl 2 get into IIMs...? What r d sectional % required 4 IIMs...?
ankur: sectional is typically around at least 85% but it can vary. i suggest that you sit with senior FM at your center to understand ur problems.

3dec09: gud evening sir. i m quite comfortable with DI and QA but my score in VA has been rather erratic. my VA score worries me. so i want to ask for the last 2 weeks preparation plan for VA and especially RC.thanks
ankur: go thru aimcats' RCs and analyse each question and its answer and why is it correct and why others are incorrect/not-so-correct. for VA, look at your class papers and then the aimcats. read instructions carefully. they change frequently.

mayank: n hav hav only secured 70 percentile at max in any aimcat..sir plz if u can guide me some collleges...to which i can apply..
ankur: check with senior FM at your center. BBB and below should be okay with some in AA.

saiarjun: what should be the last 2 week strategy? whether it should be more and more papers or basics?
bala: A few fresh papers but a lot of revision based on AIMCATs. Take a fresh look at as many AIMCATs as you can but take one question type at a time across a number of AIMCATs. Familiarity, especially with AIMCAT level questions, can make a big difference.

asni.wings: how to reduce negatives in VA? how to go about passages n incorrect statements?
ankur: negatives can result from too many attempts. try attempting those questions where you are surer. read instructions carefully. these change frequently.

ishaanganguly: sir/maam, my aimcat percentiles vary from 85-97. but i cant reach a level of consistency. also, most of the times i cant cross the cutoffs in all three sections simultaneously. it's usually missed by 1 question. any ideas to help me solve this ? also, iv decided my mode of preparation for the last month is only solving AIMCATS and brushing up occasionally on basics. is that fine ?
bala: 85-97 sounds quite good to me. If you keep your wits about you, you have every chance of doing well. If you are missing cut-offs as narrowly as you are mentioning, quit worrying and focus on the work at hand - revision, working on your strengths and trying to eliminate the major weaknesses. Your choice of preparation (solving AIMCATs) sounds quite fine. I must already be sounding like a stuck tape-recorder (if you have been reading my replies to others :) ), but do it question-type-wise to get the maximum benefit from this revision at this stage.

ram: sir,what r d extra quant topics for iift since i only hav 1 week left?
abhisheik: Dear student, No extra maths topic for IIFT..u may go thru some previous years papers..they often give series n all..also they change structure or marking apttern at times..

gaurav: Hi, i have lost touch with my preparation for the last few months as i am employed full time. Now that there is not much time left, what is the strategy and process going forward that i should stick to, i have a lot of things to cover as well- in AIMCATS, i could score anything between 70-80 as my percentile- scoring max in DI and LA always
ankur: don't start new things now. revise old concepts, do some mocks and analyse them.

christiano: sir we shud gv mocks til which day b4 cat.my cat is on 3rd
abhisheik: Dear students, by experience we know that lats few dyas prep is purely mental..n its crucial to be in the right frame of mind..aim cats n specially scores r best avoided in last few days..also this time shud be used for analysis n revision..which is best done alone..

cat2009: Good evening .. How will be Great lakes chennai placements for a 2.8 years experienced associate from IT company.. is that worth joining that institute with that experience
ankur: please check with them for placement prospects. we cannot speculate about their placements. check on their website.

adit: My accuracy in the VA section is really bad...The attempts are almost always broken up 50-50, in right and wrong...What do i do to improve my accuracy???
abhisheik: 50 is not such a bad accuracy rate in va..if u attempts enuff..attempt less grammar n vocab..more rc

shwetank: sir i am never confident i grammar & FIJ(esp btw I & J) Qs.wht shd i do.Shd i continue attempting them.accuracy in grammar fluctuates a lot.sometimes all are wrong!!
kranthi: preconceived notions usually do not help.take a decision only after looking at the questions with an open mind.

dhiren: Sir i have been doing only AIMCAT's, MC's and RCT's and some addn eCAT from other sources but no previous year CAT papers so is it necessary to do those at this point of time.
abhisheik: will suggets do some

kartik: sir verbal section is the one in which i face most of the problems in aim cats..especially grammar..what should i do at this point of time to improve it
ankur: continue to practice on grammar tests and analyse performance. don't start new things or concepts of grammar now.

jayashree: SIR,NOW A DAYS I AM SOLVING ALL THE TPB PAPERS AND FINDING THEM EASIER THAN AIMCATS.....WHAT IS THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF TPBs....ARE THEY EQUAL TO CAT LEVEL OR BELOW OR ABOVE PAR?IS IT ENOUGH IF I SOLVE EACH & EVERY EXERCISE OF TPB IN ALL THA AREAS B4 THE D DAY???
ankur: they are typically easier....tpbs alone cannot help. take a look at aimcats also.

shruti: sir plz tell me that during last days wat shold i do and how much time i should spend daily on each section????
abhisheik: cant advise time allocation..revise maths..pratice di..n last few years cat papers n aim cat papers..read n practice englis..give as many mock cats as possible.

satish543: hii sir..if u r not clearing all cutoffs in aimcats is there any chance to clear them in CAT..?and please tell me which colleges i shuld apply to as my percentile hovers around 94 with occassional 98s and 99s..?thank you sir
ankur: yes - u need to have confidence in yourself that you can make it! colleges should be from top 20.

nikita: i do one mock cat everyday at home....is that preparation enough or i need more?
abhisheik: 1 every day is gud enuff

neha: Sir, I am not able to attempt more than 25 questions in aimcats whereas in the Time mock cat i was able to attempt 35 questions. Although the accuracy i display in VA in aimcats was higher as compared to Mock cats. On the other hand, I am generally not able to do QA and DI in aimcats whereas in the mock cat i was able to do do 9-10 questions frm QA n DI each. Sir I am really confused. Where am I going wrong?
abhisheik: dont see any pattern in this..must be stray case or purely coincidental..dont overanalyse..focus more on academic part n paper management part

asni.wings: Sir I score well in MCs but can repeat that in aimcats? what to do?
abhisheik: focus on mental preparation, strategy n personality attributes like decision making, prioristising, pressure handling etc..sit with a snr fac in ur centre

vicky007: Hi Sir... I had not been performing well in DI since the online mock tests have started. I seem to get tensed at the start of the DI section and then subsequently not able to perform well throughout the test. Also any suggestion as to which section is apt to attempt as the last section since the final 30 mins or so would be a bit tense.
abhisheik: go throu aim cat di..cat paper di..patterns r repititive..dont do di 1st..keep ur weakest section at the end..account for at leats 10 mins buffer time..

christiano: sir in mocks when i zero upon 2 options n then do a guess correct is mostly the one which i don mark out of the 2.wt shud i do?
kranthi: for one go with ur intution.for the second one go against ur intuition.

mashkoor: sir wats the way to improve iv va... i am not able to clear cut off in va .. in aimcat ..my di and qa cutoof well cleared but failed to do the same in va
abhisheik: Dear student, VA can be divided into 3 parts: RC, Grammar/Vocab & rest. RC has to be your bread and butter. Give maximum effort and time to RC. RC is mostly logic, english is only medium. For practice, RC needs mindless practice. More n more RCs. And challenge yourself in terms of number of attempts. Read a lot. Grammar and Vocab, touch in the exam only if you are very sure. Rest all, you should attempt maximum, maybe all. Overall strategy in verbal is maximum attempts.Questions are ambiguous, nobody can be sure of the answers. However if the paper is exceptionally tough, then maybe cut down on attempts. If you have 2 choice in any question go for it, except gram n vocab. ALso if VA is not your strong section, no point focusiing 2 much on it now. Keep it as your last section, dont cross subsidise, take time out of other sections. Best of Luck

dlc9c142: sir i think i get 65 to 70 percentile in cat i belong to ST category so which collega i have to apply
ankur: you can apply to top 30 instis which provide reservation benefit.

rahul: If I reduce my options to two , then should I guess?
kranthi: yes.

aim4 iim: Hi, do questions in CRT/MC and original cat papers overlap? SInce they are all original cat based?
bala: CRT and actual CAT questions may look similar to each other because the former are after all CAT Replica Tests :)

bsaptarshi: sir, I face problem when solving di/lr during the aimcats, after the exams when i solve them at home they are done, but there I just can not come fast with the Di/lr sets, please suggest me what should I do to improve myself in these 16 days.
bala: Just bear in mind that doing it faster at home could also be because you had a look at the questions during the AIMCAT timings. That apart, that you are able to solve them indicates that you are capable of answering them. The problem might be familiarity. The only answer to that is revision of AIMCATs. At the risk of sounding repetitive, do your revision question-type-wise. This will help you see patterns that you wll miss out when you solve AIMCAT by AIMCAT. That can greatly enhance your familiarity.

saii: Sir,with less time left which would you suggest?revising aimcats,crts,mc's or solving time material 1 more time?
kranthi: revising aimcats will fill up the time remaining.

ram: sir do v hav extra classes for jmet?
kranthi: yes.

qa: sir in last cat i have got 90% without any such prep. but this time i joined class and practced a lot but my aim cat % are not very good how should i preapare for the next 20 days
abhisheik: cant advise time allocation..revise maths..pratice di..n last few years cat papers n aim cat papers..read n practice englis..give as many mock cats as possible..u may be the kind of person who does well on D Day..good temperament..so fingers crossed n bets of luck

mahek: good evening sir. my performance in aimcat is just average...70 to 75 percentile. but when i analyse my paper i realize i have committed lot of silly mistakes which if avoided could have fetched better marks. how do i improve?
abhisheik: silly mistakes r really silly..only way to control them is to be more careful..also analyse ur mistakes..u might find some repititive pattern..select questions properly

harshal: sir now in this crucial time my accuracy is going down, please tell me what should i do, also i should do more practice, solve more paper or i should revise my aimcats/actual cat.........
abhisheik: first stop worrying n overanalysis..besides revision n analysis..be in a gud frame of mind for next few dyas..its as important

pradeepti: Sir,For a career in social service is TISS a better option than XLRI?? what are the starting pay packages like??
kranthi: the flag ship programme of tiss is their hr programme.xlri does not offer social work programmes TISS does.if money is the main factor keep away from social work programme.

sumv: is it really true thatnly those who get good score in AIMCATs make it to the iim's??
kranthi: there will be some exceptions to the rule.but they are microscopic minority.

sid: Sir, I have been preparing since last 5 months now, but somehow never felt confident. My best score in AIMCAT has been 89 percentile. I have scored above 80 percentile in 90% AIMCATS. Now with a limited time in hand, I am losing confidence and panicking. Call it that I am getting depressed day after day. I have taken a leave from office starting 19th Nov till my exam on 4th Dec. It seems my problem is psychological. Please advise.
ankur: please stop being over analytical and being anxious. dont worry now. preparation is over....just revise and relax!

dlc9c142: tell me iift cut off ST
ankur: not available in the public domain.....in any case they vary from year to year depending on difficulty level of the paper.

kaat: sir my preference of solving paper is QA, RC and DI i dont want to change this order.. pl pls tell me time limit based on that.. m getting very less time for DI. wat should i do sir.
abhisheik: take it as a 2 hr exam..n give extra 15 mins to di..

extrovertamit: sir,my score in aimcats varies...i clear cut off in quant and di most of the time but not in va.i give equal time to all section...my scores r 80,92.83,94.1,96.9,67.8,75.13....any suggestion plz
ankur: u could take some time out of other two for english.

parimal0804: Sir,I have applied under Differently Abled Category in CAT-09.I am also using services of a scribe. So I am eligible for Time extension of 1hour in CAT. I am using a scribe in all aimcats,but I am not getting any practice of extended time. I request you to consider this as a special case and grant me extended time facility in AIMCAT 1022 and 1023.
bala: Please place this request at your centre. This will not be recorded or acted upon.

rahul: how to prepare for iift gk????
abhisheik: nothing much..think on the spot..n maximise attempts..

bsaptarshi: I am not getting where i am supposed to get my reply?
abhisheik: please post ur query

rahul: how to prepare for iift gk????
ankur: go through mec magazine..that has preparation questions, papers and suggested material. go through IIFT omets.

rahul: how to prepare for iift gk????
kranthi: we have given omets go through them.we have loaded gk papers on home page go through them.go through our magazines of last twelve months.

ravi: SIR IT'S 3RD TIME I AM KEEP ON ASKING Q'S FOR LAST 3 TIMES BUT U R NOT RESPONDING I BELONG TO ST CAT. MY SCORE IS 60+ GIVE SOME TIPS TO ENHANCE MY PERFORMANCE RIGHT NOW I AM GOING THROUGH LAST YR AIMCATS AND THIS YR AIMCATS AND PREVIOUS CAT PAPERS AND TOPIC WISE QUANT FROM MINGLEBOX PLZ GUIDE ME IN RIGHT WAY PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
bala: The best thing you can do at this stage to enhance your performance is what you are already planning - doing a lot of revision of this year's AIMCAT papers and maybe a few of last year's. Topic-wise (in Quant) or question-type-wise in the other areas is the right way to go. Try to identify as many patterns in questions as well as problem solving methods in different types. If by 60+, you mean 60%ile and that you are applying in ST category, keep pushing because this is the best way to improve and because percentiles actually move up significantly from AIMCATs to the actual CAT.

havetowin: sir..is this the time to only amcats n mockcats only??
abhisheik: yes..along with previous cat papers..

anish: sir my exam is on 29th. so would u lie to suggest ny thing concerning an early date
abhisheik: nt getting ur question

rahul: how to prepare for iift gk????
ankur: already answered earlier..

kranthi: is it recommended to attempt each n every Qs in VA.from the day i've adopted this strategy,i've cleared the cutoff,but still coz of bad accuracy,can't maximize the score
abhisheik: not every but maximum..there is no perfect world..if the score have improved or more importantly percentile has thn no reason to complain..

cat2009: how shld i prepare for JMET.. howz that different from CAT.. please guide
ankur: go thru omet of jmet to get an idea. that will also indicate study plan.

jayashree: SIR,I KNOW THAT AS FAR AS QUANTS IS CONCERNED THE IMPORTANT AREAS CANNOT BE TOO MUCH NARROWED DOWN....BUT STILL....CAN U SUGGEST SOME MOST IMP AREAS WHOSE PREPARATION/REVISION IS PRE-REQUISITE FOR THE D-DAY....
kranthi: revise the formulae u have learnt.go through ur aimcat and workshop papers.

havetowin: sir i cannot score more than 50%ile in aimcats..i want atleast 70%ile in CAT...help me plz!!!!!1
abhisheik: no magic wand for it..relook ur strategy..discuss with snr faculty..n set realistic targets

kavin: while giving exams like NMAT and SNAP what should be the strategy as questions are more and time given is less...for all sections??thnks :)
bala: The main change will be in minimum time per question and the exit time for any question. Both will have to come down. Remember that more questions also usually means questions will be "easier" than in the CAT. So, it should be possible to adjust the key timings as I have suggested.

rahul: how is iiswbm and imdr,better than amity or not???
ankur: check the rankings on our website.

ricky2great: sir i m comfortable in RC only with accuracy of 75-80 % in verbal section.is tht suffiecint to crack cut off for CAT?
abhisheik: yes..with enough attempts

ramya: sir pls ans my ques..........Sir, i have been able to clear the cut-offs in LDI section, now even verbal section is also going good. but sir i am really worst at quant section. i am really scared that something wrong will happen on the cat day...i cant afford not to get a call this year sir....pls help
abhisheik: if u think something bad will happen..then it will..so stop imagiining doomsday..in qa focus on 2 things during the paper..select questions judiciously..there will be at leats 4-5 sitters n another 10 very doable questions..smoke them out..n focus on accuracy..dont go for guesses.

sid26: sir if i solve TPB and AIMCAT papers is can i get 90 percentile?
kranthi: u should solve the questions in the actual exam correctly and be in the top 10 percent of the test takers.aimcats and tpbs are an aid.

vaibhav: how to deal with mounting pressure during these days?
abhisheik: ask me..stick to ppl who keep u in gud frame of mind..u may give mocks but dont calculate scores..

pradeepti: Sir,will a job experience be better at this stage when am not thoroughly prepared for CAT coz of severe health problems??i have been placed in TCS.... will it be better for me??? or i can still try for XAT n FMS???
ankur: try for both job and preparation. doing a job will take off pressure for you to perform better in exams!

cat2009: HEllo sir... I have improved from 40%le to 90%le now.. will i be able to make it into S P Jain.. if i put some more efforts coming week... watz the %le for S P Jain
abhisheik: excellent performance..spjain needs 98+..though they place a lot of importance of profile n hence u never know..

qa: sir in last cat i have got 90% without any such prep. but this time i joined class and practced a lot but my aim cat % are not very good how should i preapare for the next 20 days
bala: Firstly, put the past behind and focus on what lies ahead. If you have written a good number of AIMCATs, revise as many as you can. Preferably, do it topic-wise or question-type-wise as that will greatly enhance your familiarity with each type and help you see patterns that you are currently missing.

satyam: How can i improve my scores in DI n Verbal?
abhisheik: already answered..in detail..

dhiren: sir wat r the chances for getting in IIM's and other A+ nd A grade college for an SC candidate who has been scoring around 70%ile to 85%ile in the Aimcats and around 90%ile in the MC's
bala: Given that percentiles generally improve substantially from the AIMCATs to the actual CAT, you may have a good chance given that SC cut-offs are generally in the 90-92 range.

ricky2great: sir i m comfortable in RC only with accuracy of 75-80 % in verbal section.is tht sufficient to crack cut off for CAT?
kranthi: depends on the number of questions u are attempting and difficulty level of the paper.try to attempt para jumles atleast in addition to rc.

rumpelstiltskin: I am getting 93-94 %ile in the last 4 -5 aimcats, purely on the strenght of my va rc. How to clr cut-off in qa di? My engg end sems exams are going on What shoul the prep strategy be?
abhisheik: give adequate time to these sections..also its a little late in the day to make ur weakness ur strength..therefore jus focus on ur strengths n maximise overall score..

honey: sir i m confused whether to apply for SNAP OR NOT because i have heard that most of the admission in snap is through donation what should i do ?
abhisheik: wrong perception..there may be some mangement quota..but merit is there too

extrovertamit: sir,my score in aimcats varies...80,92.83,94.1,96.9,67.8,75.13.... and have 3 years work ex then among following which should i fill: IMI,IMT,GREAT LAKES,TAPMI,GIM,FORE,KJ SOMAIYA,WELLINGKAR AND NIRMA
abhisheik: if u r still wrking then: imi, imt, grt lakes, fore, bim

ricky2great: plz reply-sir i m comfortable in RC only with accuracy of 75-80 % in verbal section.is tht suffiecint to crack cut off for CAT?
bala: 75-80% accuracy in VA does not sound bad to me. What will be critical, however, is your percentiles. As you have not mentioned it, I am not able to judge. Anything in the range of 80%ile in AIMCATs reasonable number of times leaves you with a decent chance.

honey: for IIFT GK time matarial is enogh or we have to do more ?
abhisheik: siufficient though gk is very unpredictable for obvious reasons

chetan: what would be the best strategy to revis. AIMCATs??
abhisheik: mostly di..n some qa

10606039: sir i am not getting good marks in aimcats as it is very tough. i have given only 2-3 aimcats and score around 75 percentile what should i do??
abhisheik: 75-80 is decent..take b school application advice frm sm snr faculty n hope for the best

priya: sir my exams are from 16th nov to 2nd dec and my cat is on dec 4 how should I prepare for cat
kranthi: thousands of others are facing the same predicament.focus on not having backlogs.consolidate whatever u have learnt till now.

havetowin: sir i am left with probality and revision of geometry,p n c,ama,tsd,tw..how much time shud i gaive to revise them or shud i do aimcats only n revise it alongwith its questions that comes in aimcats n mockcats??
bala: First choice should be AIMCAT based revision. Do this topic-wise across AIMCATs. Over and above that and if you have the time for it, topic-wise revision of Quant based on other materials like CRTs, MCs, SMs, etc., will help.

praveen: sir i have been getting b\w 90_95....... what r my chances should i work on ques from aimcats , test papers or i should refer to basic books
abhisheik: test papers..n previous years cat papers

itsmea: i scored 99.88 tile in aimcat1001..with full marks in quants....and iam preparing only from some 100 aimcat papers i have..this alone is sufficient to max my score in cat...iam aiming to top cat..pls suggest me,is it ok to proceed in the same way?..
abhisheik: yes it is

nikita: sir,i havent been doin geometry.....would it hepl if i start learnin geometry now?or can i avoid geometry?
kranthi: consolidate whatever u know.u cannot dig a well whenever u are thirsty.

jayashree: SIR...ASSUMING CAT 2009 PAPER TO BE OF 70Q FORMAT...(QA-20,DI-20,VA-30)AND OF THE SAME DIFFICULTY LEVEL AS OF THE PAST YEARS....ACC TO U...WHAT SECTIONAL & OVERALL SCORE WILL STAND IDEAL TO GET A IIM CALL??
bala: The less you worry about this, the better will be your performance. Focus instead on continuing to improve your familiarity through revision topic or question type wise across AIMCATs. At the CAT, focus on reading all the questions, answering those that you find easy and, most importantly, not getting stuck in tricky or lengthy questions.

iimfreak: sir how can i do better in english i have a poor vocabulary and grammar
kranthi: if ur good at verbal reasoning try to leverage on that strength.i am presuming ur rc is not bad.

ricky2great: thx for the reply!yes i m also focusing on PJ,PC,FIJ, but not comfartable with grammar and vocab.is it a wise decision to go to the battle without some weopans!
ankur: not a good idea...try at least revising some concepts!

alldbest: kranthi sir-what is your CAT-slot
kranthi: hope to see u at the centre.

srishti: 1 more q sir my verbal is gud n di n quant r moderate.so if im nt aimin for iims shld i jus focus on maximising my score like givin more time2verbal in paper or equal time2all.
kranthi: 1st priority is for clearing the cutoffs.second for maximising ur score.

shruti: i m scoring 50percentile. wats ur opinion that wid dis much of percentile will i b able to get admission in FORE???????
kranthi: u need to score 90 plus percentile in actual cat to get there.

sd: sir in aimcats i could attempt max 8-9 qs in quant.. will it be enough to clear cutoff?
kranthi: if u make only one eror in them.

iimfreak: sir i am getting marks between 80-96% should i apply to fore or KJSomaiya
kranthi: yes.

iimfreak: sir i am attempting too many queations in va and getting lees marks should i reduce the no of attempts
kranthi: check which of the questions u normally get wrong.do not fire indiscriminately at them.

bunny: do we need to clear all sectional cutoffs in IIFT?
kranthi: yes.

nam: sir i m really nervous abt Di section. i m a slow thinker, i feel :( what should i do in the last days? i feel di is like puzzles !
kranthi: revise aimcats.go with an intention of enjoying the test .do to the best of ur ability.

asni.wings: THANK YOU ALL TEACHERS !!! for answering our queries and for the moral support...we indeed need them at thz point
kranthi: thanks and happy childrens day.

iimfreak: i am working on my vocabulary by reading a book on word power is this advisable
abhisheik: u may continue..though it is a little late in the day