i : HOW MANY PREVIOUS YEAR PAPER SHOULD WE SOLVE?
thomas : Try to solve papers of the last five years at least.

i : WHAT WAS THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL FOR THIS AIMCAT?
thomas : Varc and lrdi was very close to last year cat level whole qa was easier. Overall easier than last year cat exam

i : SO PAST YEARS FROM 2018 WOULD BE ENOUGH?
thomas : 2020 to 2024 should be good enough. If you have time, do 17,18 and 19 also. Those are available online

catholic : FROM WHERE DO WE GET LAST 5 YEARS QUESTION PAPERS
thomas : Google it. You will find online

tanvi : HELLO
thomas : Hello. Please post your question

aviralagnihotri : SIR I AM CURRENTLY IN MY FINAL YEAR OF LAW DEGREE. I HAVE ALL MY MARKSHEETS TILL MY 4TH YEAR. BUT MY CURRENT SEMESTER'S MARKSHEET (9TH SEM) WILL BE AVAILABLE ALONG WITH MY FINAL MARKSHEET OF 5TH YEAR. THUS, IN JAN-FEB, THOUGH I WOULD HAVE PASSED MY 9TH SEM, I WOULD STILL BE AWAITING FOR THE MARKSHEET. I WANTED TO KNOW THAT DURING APPLICATION STAGE NEXT YEAR, MARKSHEETS TILL WHICH SEMESTER WOULD BE REQUIRED?
thomas : You need not bother about the marksheets in case your final e ams are over before the end of June. You have time till the end of the year to submit the marksheet in case you join. So, around 5 to 6 months after joining. When filling the form, filling the marks available with you.

sai : ATLEAST HOW MANY MOCKS SHOULD I ATTEMPT IN MINIMUM BEFORE CAT SIR?
govindrajan : There is no such minimum number. The more you attempt, the better would be your prepardness. AIMCATs should be used experiment and build a strategy that suits you.

kb : I WANT TO PRACTICE PAST YEAR QUESTIONS BUT IN DOING SO I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE THEM AS MOCKS, AS I WOULD ALREADY HAVE SOLVED THEM. HOW SHOULD I GO ABOUT THIS?
amitpoddar : For Mocks, we have given you two test series-25 AIMCATs and 30 AIMCAT SA. To get the exact feel,practise these. Analyse them as well so that you can improve on the weak areas.

likhita : IS AN AVERAGE OF 59 ACROSS 15 MOCKS WITH THE RECENT BEING 65 GOOD SO FAR?
siddhartharora : If we take last year CAT then a score of around 68 was considered as decent to clear cut off of major B Schools, in that sense you need to analyse and see how you can take your scores to next level. Also, understand this number varies every year as per CAT level like in 2023 it was around 57.

h : HOW WOULD RATE THE LASTEST AIMCAT SECTION-WISE BASED ON DIFFICULTY?
thomas : Qa was easier while varc and lrdi was nearly equal to last year cat paper. Overall, slightly easier than last year cat paper.

pritam : SIR, I HAVE BEEN PREPARING FROM JUNE AND HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY DOING AIMCAT WITH SCORE OF 45-65. BUT HAVE NOT DONE ANY SECTIONALS. NOW, WHEN I SEE THEM, THEY ARE SO MANY. I AM NOT CONFIDENT IF I'LL BE ABLE TO FINISH ALL OF THEM. WHAT SHOULD I TARGET WITHIN THESE 3 MONTHS?
siddhartharora : Target a mix of all of them, advanced are full CAT syllabus and should be done lets say twice a week, the intermediate and foundation can be done based on your proficiency in the topic. If you not good at a topic start with foundation.

cataspirant : MY SCORE DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THIS AIMCAT, WAS IT DIFFICULT THAN THE PREVIOUS AIMCATS?
thomas : Do not bother about the raw score. It is your percentile which matters. Yes, this aimcat was tougher than the previous one

kb : I AM ABLE TO SOLVE QUESTION FROM STUDY MATERIAL EXAMPLES QUITE EASILY BUT NOT ABLE TO ATTEMPT QUESTIONS FROM SAME TOPIC IN MOCKS, WHAT CAN I DO? THE SCORE IS QUANTS IS VERY LOW, WHAT CAN I DO TO MANAGE PREP AS I ALSO HAVE TO GO TO WORK. WILL THE SPECIAL STUDY MATERIAL FOR QA HELP HERE, IS IT UPDATED?
siddhartharora : Go step wise, if you are able to solve exercise A and B from SM, go to sectional test and see if the anxiety of solving the question in 40 mts a problem. Also, try to solve same questions with time limit to see if you can now solve them. Do not worry too much this is natural and more practice can help you overcome these issues easily.

likhita : ARE DIPS NORMAL WHILE ATTEMPTING MOCKS. HOW TO HANDLE THEM?
govindrajan : Dips may be because of chnage in difficulty, may be because there are more questions from the are in which you are not strong, or may be because more number of questions going wrong. This do happen. Focus more on accuracy rather than on number of attempts.

h : HOW MANY AIMCATS/MOCKS ARE SUFFICIENT BEFORE APPEARING FOR CAT TO SCORE BEYOND 95 PERCENTILE?
siddhartharora : It all depends from student to student and there is no one size fit all, so just keep on giving at least 2 full length mocks every week and move to around three in November.

sanjit : IF I GET AROUND 80 PERCENTILE IN AIMCAT HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT IN AIMCAT
siddhartharora : a bit better than this as TIME student's tend to do better in CAT compared to All India and hence your are competeing with good students overall.

likhita : ON AN AVERAGE HOW CLOSE ARE THE AIMCATS TO THE REAL CAT EXAM? ARE THEY ON THE SAME LEVEL OR EASY OR TOUGH?
thomas : Aimcats are of varying levels of difficulty. Some will be easier while some will be tougher than previous year cat paper. We want you to be ready for any level of difficulty as no one can predict the level of difficulty this year

ishita : I’M STRUGGLING WITH QUANTS WHAT SHOULD I DO?
raman : I think you still have to work on fundamentals. Also review your performance in the mocks. Spend more time to gain expertise. Do not lose hopes. Things would get better. All the best!

h : HOW IMPORTANT IS WORK-EX CONSIDERED IN BLACKI?
amitpoddar : They assign some weightages(0-10 %).You can get your points based on acads and more importantly your CAT percentile.That is what is in your hand right now.

aviralagnihotri : I AM SCORING BETWEEN 70-80 ON AVERAGE ACROSS ALL THE AIMCATS. WHAT SCORE DO I NEED TO TOUCH IN THE INCOMING AIMCATS TO GET AROUND 98-99+ PERCENTILE IN ACTUAL CAT EXAM?
shashidar : You're doing quite well but start ramping up your score to around 90. I suggest you focus on accuracy instead of attempts

nanshi : I AM A WORKING PROFESSIONAL AND PREPARING SIDE BY SIDE FOR THE ENTRANCES. I AM ATTENDING THE COACHING CLASS IN THE WEEKENDS. WITH MONDAY TO FRIDAY WORK AND CLASSES IN THE WEEKEND I'M NOT FINDING MUCH TIME FOR PREPARATION.
siddhartharora : You need to "Steal Timne", like you might be having 30 mts lunch break and might finish in 15 minutes, then open T4E app and do a RC reading in the remaining time. Try to solve VA questions when you travel and so on, but saying I do not get time is not an answer for your future.

likhita : HOW CAN I IMPROVE COMPREHENSION WHILE READING
philipthomas : Suggest that you go paragraph by paragraph instead of trying to take in the passage all at once.

pepe : EVEN AFTER SOLVING BOOKS THERE’S NO IMPROVEMENT IN MARKS OF VARC (CONSISTENTLY RANGING BETWEEN 10-15)
govindrajan : Practice from AIMCAT- SAs also.

vzcdb5a002 : SIR WHAT I SHOULD TARGET EXPECT FOR GETTING ABM COURSE IN IIMA AND IIML ? IAM THE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE
thomas : For iima, Ideally it should be above 99. We have students who had scores close to 99 percentile and was wait listed after average performance in the second stage

realsteel : I AM FACING ISSUE IN LRDI , MY SCORE IS CONSISTENTLY BETWEEN 10 TO 20, CAN'T IMPROVE MUCH , HOW TO PROCEED IN EXAM AND WHAT PREP STRATEGY I SHOULD USE FOR IT?
govindrajan : Understand what the puzzle or DI set is all about by spending about one minute. Once you read the data, take a look at the questions to be answered. and the kind of answer choices. Spend about one minute on this.Do not start solving without looking at the questions to be answered. The questions will help you in knowing what to do with the given data and sometimes the questions/answer choices give clues. Spend about one minute on questions before solving. Initially if you are able to solve a set in 15 to 20 minutes, that is a good speed. Pay attention to accuracy.

anu : SIR CAN YOU GIVE ME A BRIEF ABOUT HOW SCORES AND PERCENTILE ARE CALCULATED IN OMETS
siddhartharora : Every OMET has its own marking system which is mentioned in the instructions of the exam. Percentile is percentage of students who appeared for the exam and have scored less than you.

nanshi : PLEASE SUGGEST ME KNOW TO PREPARE FOR THE EXAM OVERALL GIVEN THAT WE HAVE AROUND 3 MONTHS LEFT.
philipthomas : Focus on the Basics for the first month, Advanced levels in the second and only mocks and tests in November.

h : HOW TO IMPROVE VA-RC?
amitpoddar : Practise is the key here. Solve the SM booklets and take sectionals on a regular basis. Read diverse subject matter.

kb : I USUALLY SCORE RAW SCORE OF 45-55 IN VARC SECTION, HOWEVER THE LAST AIMCAT SEEMED TO BE A BIT TOO AMBIGUOUS, AND I SCORED 10-11, SUCH A HUGE DROP IS CONCERNING ME
thomas : One big drop can be ignored. You need to only start bothering if it happens regularly. For the next exam, just continue doing what you were doing before

pepe : I’M STRUGGLING IN QUANTS AND DI WHAT SHOULD I DO ? ALSO I FEEL I GET ANXIOUS DURING THESE SECTION WHICH RESULTS TO WRONG QUESTION.
raman : Take more samcats and other tests in which you are underprepared. Keep your confidence level better. All the best.

kb : WHAT SHOULD BE THE APPROACH TO SOLVE PYQ'S SHOULD I TAKE THEM AS MOCKS- TO CHECK SET/QUESTION SELECTION. OR CHAPTER WISE? FOR QA WILL SOLVING JUST 5-6 YRS PYQ BE GOOD ENOUGH?
siddhartharora : Initally take them as a mock, but then try to solve all questions without a time limit as well

sk : HI. I HAVE COMPLETED BASIC AND INTERMEDIATE SECTIONAL TESTS WAS GETTING 95-99PERCENTILE AND THE MATERIAL GIVEN FOR DILR. BUT DURING AIMCAT I AM STILL HAVING DIFFICULTY. I AM NOT ABLE TO SOLVE MORE THAN 2 SETS. ANY SOLUTION?
thomas : 2 sets done accurately is very good. You should be well above 90 percentile if you solve 2 sets accurately. Make sure that you are not making any silly mistakes in the rush to try attempting ghe third set

riya : SIR, I HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR THE EXAM SINCE APRIL BUT MY SCORE/ PERCENTILE AREN'T IMPROVING. SOMETIMES, IT FEELS LIKE I AM STILL THERE WHERE I ACTUALLY STARTED.
siddhartharora : Do you analyse your mocks after giving them, do you check which topics you do good in. Try to make a 2by2 matrix, with speed and accuracy as two axes. High speed and high accuracy is Round 1, low speed high accuracy is round 2, high speed low accuracy is round 3 and I doubt you will get time for round 4. But for all this you need to analyse each and every mock you appear for.

anu : SIR IS A PGPMCMM DEGREE VALUABLE AND ALSO SHOULD I CONSIDER TAKING AN 18 MONTH PGDM
siddhartharora : Which college you are considering as Mass Media is a good field but your interest and college matter more

kb : IS THERE A SUGGESTION YOU COULD GIVE IF I WANT TO TARGET 95-97%ILE, INSTEAD OF 99%+. WHAT CAN I DO IN MY PREPARATION TO GUARANTEE THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
thomas : Go for accuracy rather than attempts. Try to do 2 RCs, 2 lrdi sets and at least 10 questions in qa. When writing aimcats make sure that you ate consistently above 90 percentile

ngcab5a015 : I’M NOT GETTING GOOD SCORE IN AIMCAT WHAT SHOULD I DO
raman : You still have to go through all the questions that you couldn't answer. Also take sectional tests and do practice booklets. Most importantly do not lose your confidence. Keep working and believing in your self. All the best.

cataspirant : CAN YOU SUGGEST HOW TO PRACTICE RC TO IMPROVE SPEED AND COMPREHENSION?
amitpoddar : Try to get the key ideas of each para. Focus on the facts and opinions presented in different paras. Read editorials and online articles on diverse areas.

h : HOW MUCH MARKS SHOULD I SECURE IN AIMCAT'S TO GET A PENCENTILE OF 98/99 IN CAT?
thomas : Consistently above 95

anu : MET INSTITUTE BANDRA
thomas : We have a list of the top 100 colleges. You can check that. We do not recommend any college not in the list

hycnb5q214 : COULD YOU SAY WHT HAS TO BE PREPARATION SCHEDULES OR STRATEGIES OR TIPS TO CRACK THE EXAM IF WE START FROM STRACH TODAY?
philipthomas : Work upon lot 1 material in September, lot 2 in October and only mocks and tests in November.

anu : AND SIR HOW ARE SCORES CALCULATED IN ACTUAL OMETS
siddhartharora : Every OMET has their own marking system, please read instructions carefully and you will find the same.

udit : HELLO, I HAVE COMPLETED MY BASIC MATERIAL TWICE ONE FROM YEAR 2023 AND 2025. I HAVE SOLVED 300+ RC'S BUT STILL I HAVE ONLY 50% ACCURACY IN MY AIMCAT'S. AFTER THAT I'M GOOD IN DILR BUT DUE TO PANIC I AM UNABLE TO SCORE. WHAT CAN I DO SO THAT I MAY NOT PANIC AND SPECIALLY HOW SHOULD I APPROACH VARC AS I'M UNABLE TO SCORE IN THAT SECTION AND I'M FALLING DOWN N DOWN THERE.
amitpoddar : Practise some CR and try to analyse the close options you in RCs.Take some Intermediate and advanced sectional tests. Analyse all the mistakes you do.Take doubt sessions.

sk : HI YES I AM GETTING APPROX 95 PERCENTILE IN ALL AIMCATS HOWEVER MY 10/12/BTECH IS 72/82/81 WHICH IS NOT GOOD. GENERAL CATEGORY AND I WAS HOPING TO CONVERT ATLEAST NEW IIMS ANY FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE SCORES IN DILR OR ANY MATERIALS I CAN GET FOR PRACTICE AS DONE WITH INTERMEDIATE SECTIONAL
thomas : Practice the advanced online sectional tests and the aimcat sas. You have 30 each of them and that should help you improve your score

udit : ALSO PLEASE TELL HOW TO ANALYSE VARC SECTION AS I'M UNABLE TO FIGURE IT OUT.
shashidar : You need to study RCs separately & VAs other way. Look at the logic employed in VA Qs, study the flow of the argument one sentence flowing onto the other. In RCs, you should look at Specific Qs differently from Summary Qs. Focus on comprehension mostly because that's where most students go wrong.

kb : HOW TO DO SET SELECTION IN QA SECTION, I AM NOT BEING ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND GIVE A GOOD SHOT AT ALL THE QUESTIONS, CAUSING ME TO MISS EASY QUESTIONS. CURRENTLY I TRY TO COMPLETE A QUESTION IF I THINK I CAN DO IT- BUT IN DOING SO IT TAKES UP TOO MUCH TIME
siddhartharora : Try to make a 2by2 matrix, with speed and accuracy as two axes. High speed and high accuracy is Round 1, low speed high accuracy is round 2, high speed low accuracy is round 3 and I doubt you will get time for round 4. But for all this you need to analyse each and every mock you appear for. Also, skip a question if you are not able to solve in two minutes irrespective of how close you are in mocks to see how it help, you can come back later if you have time and redo the question.

arushi : MY PERCENTILE IN THE EARLIER AIMCATS WAS IN THE RANGE 80-90 BUT SINCE THE LAST 3 AIMCATS IT HAS DIPPED TO 30-60, DESPITE STUDYING MORE NOW...WHAT CAN I DO BETTER
amitpoddar : Figure out the reasons by reattempting all the mistakes you made in the last 3 mocks.Also,attempt the questions which were unattempted.Devise a study plan based on your analysis.Take doubt classes.

vzcdb5a002 : SIR HOW TO IMPROVE VARC IN THE NEXT COMING AIMCAT2609 BECAUSE OF IN MY PREVIOUS AIMCATS IAM GETTING LESSTHAN 10 MARKS ONLY IN VARC SESSION
amitpoddar : Analyse your previous AIMCAT and prepare a list of topics/areas where you are weak and practise those topics from the SM booklets and sectionals.Focus on accuracy for the time being and attempt fewer questions in AIMCATs.

anu : SIR CLG I WOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IN THE LIST MY ONLY IS WHETHER A PGPMCMM IS VALUABLE BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS NOT EVEN EQUIVALENT TO.A PGDM
siddhartharora : Equivalent in what terms>? All specialized courses are not at par with general MBA but then they are industry specific and all depends on how the particular industry considers them. Also, check for your interest in the same first.

kb : IN RECENT DILR QUESTIONS IN BOTH CAT/AIMCAT, THE QUESTIONS DO NOT SEEM TO BE FROM A PARTICULAR TOPIC. I FEEL SOLVING SUCH FROM SM FOR DILR MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH. WHAT CAN I DO FOR THIS, WILL PYQ HELP HERE? DO PATTERNS REPEAT?
thomas : It can repeat. For practice, do the previous year cat papers, advanced online sectional tests and the aimcat sa

js : IF I SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM FROM THE STUDY MATERIAL, WILL THAT BE SUFFICIENT TO HANDLE QUESTIONS FROM THAT TOPIC IN DILR AND QA?
govindrajan : Study material helps you in learning concepts and provide practice of questions of different difficulty levels. To get the hang of the exam, practice questions from online advanced tests and AIMCAT-SAs. Practice Exercise booklets also provide questions of higher difficulty level.

kb : HOW CAN I PLAN SAMCAT, IN WHAT FREQUENCY SHOULD I GIVE THEM- FROM NOW TO NOV, WHAT IS ITS MAIN DIFFERENCE VS AIMCAT?
thomas : They are very similar to the aimcats. Mainly has questions which are similar to previous year cat papers. Try to do 1 or 2 every week

muskan : MAM I AM SCORING 10-12 MARKS IN MOCK I JOINED MID JUNE I HAVE GIVEN 2 MOCKS AS FAR HOW SHOULD I STUDY TO GET GOOD PERCENTILE I AM REALLY STRESSED
amitpoddar : Take some sectional tests and complete chapters from the SM booklets.You will slowly get the confidence in 25-30 days.

anu : EQUIVALENT IN TERMS OF GOVERNMENT RECOGNISED DEGREE
siddhartharora : It is, if the college is approved by UGC/AICTE, the degree is equivalent

vzcdb5a002 : SIR IN MY ACADEMICS OF 10TH, DIPLOMA,AND B.TECH IS 9.0/8.14/7.7.AND CATEGORY IS NCL OBC.IAM THE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE STUDENT AND I LIKE TO STUDY AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN IIMA OR IIML THEN WHAT I TARGET PERCENTAGE IN CAT EXAM ?
thomas : 99 percentile for iima abm. For iiml, even something slightly lower should be good enough

mahi : ERROR CODE: 403 REFERENCE ID: 3EE828BD7BF9A84575D8EF146F51C4C8 THIS COMING AGAIN AND AGAIN WHILE PUTING DOUBT
siddhartharora : Please try again

kb : IF I DO MY PREP THROUGH MOCKS AND ANALYZING THEM PROPERLY AND SOLVING ALL PYQ, ADVANCED SECTIONALS AND SEE/SOLVE THE SOLUTION, CAN I GET TO 97%ILE, AS I DO NOT THINK I WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE DOING SM AND HANDOUTS NOW.
thomas : This alone will not guarantee 97 percentile but this will definitely help you improve your current scor.

shiv : HI SIR, I COMPLETED MY ALL BASICS IN ALL THREE SECTIONS. NOW I START FROM QUANT FOR REVISION. FIRST I AM DOING HANDOUT THEN EXERCISE THEN PYQ AND AFTER COMPLETING THE REVISION FROM OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER I DO ONLY MOCKS, 3 MOCKS PER WEEK WITH ANALYSIS SO THAT'S MY PREPARATION STRATEGY. COULD YOU PLEASE ADVISE ME IN THAT
siddhartharora : already answered

mahi : IN LAST 4MOCKS BY SCORE WAS AVG. 55 (10/21/21). IN VARC MY ACCURACY IS NOT IMPROVING. FOR THAT IM GIVING SETIONALS EVERYDAY (15AVG. SCORE COMING) AND 40MIN READING. SHOULD I CONTINUE WITH IT AS OF NOW.
amitpoddar : Only by taking tests one cannot improve.You need to solve chapters in between two tests.Proper analysis ofall the mistakes is so crucial,so that you donot do the same mistakes again.

rahul : GOOD EVENING SIR/MADAM
siddhartharora : Good Evening, please ask your query

arun : MY VARC SCORE DIPPED THIS AIMCAT COMPARED TO THE LAST THREE (40 IN THE PREVIOUS ONE). TOUGH/DENSE PASSAGES OFTEN DRAG ME DOWN TO 25 OR LESS. I READ DAILY AND PRACTICE AVOIDING TRAP OPTIONS, BUT I STILL WASTE ~10 MINUTES ON THE FIRST RC, WHICH HURTS BOTH ATTEMPTS AND ACCURACY. HOW CAN I BUILD PACE EARLY AND IMPROVE CRITICAL REASONING?
amitpoddar : Choose easy and doable passages at the start of the section.Rework on your attempts and improve your accuracy.

drcab5a192 : IN THIS MOCK I GOT 90 PERCENTILE IS IT GOOD ENOUGH? BUT HAVEN'T CLEARED QUANTS SECTIONAL MARKS
siddhartharora : It depends on the colleges you are targeting as every college has a different cut off but yes clearly cut off in each section is very much required

rahul : I USUALLY SCORE BETWEEN 29-41 IN VARC BUT IN THE LAST MOCK I.E AIMCAT 2609 I SCORED 21,I UNDERSTAND THE RCS WERE MORE DIFFICULT THIS TIME AND THE QUESTIONS OF THESE RCS WERE NOT SIMPLE EITHER,WAS THIS MOCK LIKE A WORST CASE SCENARIO AS IN WOULD FUTURE MOCKS BE EASIER THAN THIS AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL EXAM OR CAN THIS LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY ACTUALLY BE EXPECTED IN FUTURE SPECIALLY IN RCS
philipthomas : The AIMCATs try to be predictive and hence explore all possibilities.

kb : WHAT IS MEANT BY LOT 1 AND LOT 2 SIR? WHERE CAN I SEE IT IN THE PORTAL?
amitpoddar : These are the material packets given to you by the centre.

ananya : I AM STRUGGLING IN DILR WHAT SHOULD I DO
govindrajan : DILR, as such, does not have a defined framework. There is nothing like a chapter or a particular model. It does not involve any formulae or concepts. They test candidates, intelligence levels. You need to build logical thinking skills by practicing as many different types of DILR sets as possible. Lot 2 study material, AIMCAT-SAs and online advanced sectional tests provide good exposure to higher difficulty level puzzles. You may build a systematic approach to sets. Once you read the initial few lines of a puzzle/DI set, you will get to know what kind of puzzle/DI set we are going to solve. This does not take more than 30 to 40 seconds. Give a quick read to the given data spending about a minute time. Do not try to analyse the information at this stage. Spend a couple of minutes to read the questions and the type of answer choices. In case the questions have "If" conditions, it indicates that we get more than one possible solution. The questions let us know how to use the given information. All these should happen in about 3 minutes. Then start going through the information carefully. While doing this decide which statement to be picked up first and the order in which the other pieces of information are to be used. This way we can have a smooth flow of thought process and take less time to solve.

shiv : HI SIR, I COMPLETED MY ALL BASICS LECTURES LAST WEEK OF ALL THREE SECTIONS. NOW I START FROM QUANT FOR REVISION. FIRST I AM DOING HANDOUT THEN EXERCISE THEN PYQ AND AFTER COMPLETING THE REVISION TILL OCTOBER 10TH THEN FROM OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER I WILL DO ONLY MOCKS, 3 MOCKS PER WEEK WITH ANALYSIS SO THAT'S MY PREPARATION STRATEGY. COULD YOU PLEASE ADVISE ME
siddhartharora : Please give at least two sectional tests of each section as well starting today.

fazal : SIR, I AM PLANNING TO PRACTICE QUANTS EVERY DAY AND SWITCH BETWEEN VARC AND DILR—ONE DAY QUANTS AND VARC, THE NEXT DAY DILR AND QUANTS. IS THIS A GOOD STRATEGY? ALSO, I AM FACING DIFFICULTY IN VA PARAGRAPH JUMBLES.
govindrajan : There cannot be a uniform starategy for all. You are the best person to decide a preparation plan for yourself. The approach that you have planned is fine.

drcab5a192 : SIR IN THE SNAP OFFICIAL MOCK I GOT ONLY 27 MARKS . HOW MUCH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD SCORE?
philipthomas : 35+ would have been a good score.

kb : WHAT IS MEANT BY LOT 1 AND LOT 2 SIR? WHERE CAN I SEE IT IN THE PORTAL? NOTE I AM A PURELY ONLINE STUDENT
siddhartharora : Lot 1 books are for CAT, Lot 2 for OMETs. You might have ebooks of the same.

vzcdb5a002 : SIR IN MY DAILY PRACTICES ON RC PASSAGES I SHOULD GOT AVERAGE 70-80% ACCURACY BUT IAM TRYING TO ATTEMPT AIMCATS IT WILL REVERSE JUST I GOT <20% EVEN I UNDERSTOOD THE RC PASSAGES.I DON'T KNOW SIR WHERE MISTAKE IS THERE COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE SOME TIPS ON VARC IT WILL HELPS TO IMPROVE VARC ON UPCOMING AIMCATS
philipthomas : It is matter of being able to combine speed and accuracy, so , you should do more sectional tests.

shiv : PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION.
govindrajan : answered.

neeraj : I HAVE GIVEN ALMOST ALL AIMCAT AND MY OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE IS 10 TILL NOW I AM NOW LOSSING HOPE WHAT SHOULD I DO SIR
amitpoddar : Restart.....Pls focus on some basics first. Do chapters from the SM provided to you and take sectionals on a regular basis.You will see improvements in 15-20 days.

charan : I'M GETTING VERY LOW ACCURACY IN AIIMCATS COMPARED TO NORMAL WORKOUTS AND I'M UNABLE TO GET WHERE I HAVE TO PRACTICE AND WHAT SHOULD I CHANGE IN MY WAY OF THINKING
philipthomas : Do practice more on sectional tests to improve your speed and accuracy.

mahi : BETWEEN MOCKS WHAT THING I DO TO IMPROVE MY VARC SCORE AND ACCURACY?
philipthomas : Work upon sectional tests.

charan : ALSO I'M NOT GETTING HOW ANALYSE VARC SECTION
philipthomas : Connect with and consult your Verbal mentor.

harsh111 : SIR WHAT TO EXPECT FOR CAT 2025 DIFFICULTY BASED ON PREVIOUS TRENDS?
amitpoddar : Go with an open mind.Pick the right questions and give your best.

shiv : HI SIR, I COMPLETED MY ALL BASICS LECTURES LAST WEEK OF ALL THREE SECTIONS. NOW I START FROM QUANT FOR REVISION. FIRST I AM DOING HANDOUT THEN EXERCISE THEN PYQ AND AFTER COMPLETING THE REVISION TILL OCTOBER 10TH THEN FROM OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER I WILL DO ONLY MOCKS, 3 MOCKS PER WEEK WITH ANALYSIS SO THAT'S MY PREPARATION STRATEGY. COULD YOU PLEASE ADVISE ME
govindrajan : You may start taking AIMCAT-SAs simulatneously, may be one or two in a week.

drcab5a192 : SIR I'M ONLY FOCUSING ON ARITHMETIC PART IN QUANTS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TIME NOW. SO IS IT ENOUGH TO JUST CLEAR THE CUTOFF OF QUANTS SECTION?
siddhartharora : CAT is a competitive exam and hence the cut off as well as the mix of questions varies every year, so ideally you should at least do some basics from each topic

yashvi : SIR, IN THIS AIMCAT MY VARC SCORE DIPPED, I ATTEMPTED 20, OUT OF WHICH 11 WERE WRONG AND EVEN IN OFFLINE CLASSES WHEN MY RC ANSWER DOESN'T MATCH WITH THE CORRECT ONE, I AM UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING BEHIND WHY MINE IS WRONG OR WHY THE OTHER IS CORRECT.
philipthomas : You need to work along with a Verbal faculty and understand how he approaches questions and how it is different from your approach.

neeraj : I AM NOT ABLE TO COVER ALL 3 SUBJECTS DAILY TAKING TOO MUCH TIME IN SOLVING THE QUESTION IN ALL 3 SUBJECTS . I USUALLY STUCK IN QUESTION ALSO AND TAKINH TOO MUCH TIME I PRACTCE THE QUESTIION ALSO .
siddhartharora : Take one section at a time, and there is no requirement of doing all three sections every day. Just relax and focus on preparation, you will do good

yashvi : AND I HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT SHOULD THE PREP LOOK LIKE DAILY, AS IN I DON'T HAVE ANY STRUCTURED PLAN OF WHAT EXACTLY TO DO EACH DAY, WHICH IS WHY I END UP WASTING ALMOST ALL DAYS BY DOING RANDOM THINGS WHICH ARE NOT HELPING ME. WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD THE PREPARATION BE NOW ONWARDS, CONSIDERING MOST OF MY PREP IS LEFT AND ONLY 80 REMAIN
govindrajan : Make a list of strong and weak areas in each subject. Schedule your available time accordingly. Write down a plan for the next one week, then split it down to day plan. Decide a topic from each subject. Ensure that you stick to the timings. You lose focus if you dont have a strict time table.

shiv : TIPS FOR RC, SHOULD I READ THE WHOLE PASSAGE OR SHOULD I SKIM THE PASSAGE AND READ THE QUESTION THEN I JUMP TO PARA
amitpoddar : Once you choose a passage based on the area of interest and question types,read the whole passage carefully in 3-4 minutes and then answer questions in 5-6 minutes.

ananya : MY LRDI ACCURACY IS VERY LOW HOW TO INCREASE IT
govindrajan : Understand what the puzzle or DI set is all about by spending about one minute. Once you read the data, take a look at the questions to be answered. and the kind of answer choices. Spend about one minute on this.Do not start solving without looking at the questions to be answered. The questions will help you in knowing what to do with the given data and sometimes the questions/answer choices give clues. Spend about one minute on questions before solving. Initially if you are able to solve a set in 15 to 20 minutes, that is a good speed. Pay attention to accuracy.

yashvi : SIR, EVERYONE ADVISES TO DO 4-5 RCS AND 4-5 GOOD, CAT-LEVEL DILR SETS DAILY, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO DO THAT FROM. CAN YOU PLEASE SUGGEST
siddhartharora : Who advices to do so much everyday. Better take a sectional test or a mock and that will help you.

tanu : IN ALMOST ALL THE AIMCATS IM RANKED IN THE RANGE OF 200-500, SOMETIMES IN TOP 100 , BUT IM UNABLE TO GET UNDER 100 RANK CONSTANTLY. IT SEEMS VERY HARD. SHOULD I FOCUS MORE ON MOCS REGULARLY ,
siddhartharora : Analyse your mocks and see what you can do better as ultimately your overall score in CAT will matter not AIMCAT, so just try to learn from each AIMCAT and try not to do same mistake again

arun : FOLLOWING UP, HOW DOES ONE CHOOSE A DOABLE RC SET? THE QUESTIONS OR THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE UNDERSTANDING SUCH A TOPIC WOULD INDICATE WOULD IT?
amitpoddar : Based on the question types readability of the passage and area of interest.

fazal : SIR PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION
govindrajan : Answered.

achith : RECENTLY I HAVE STARTED PREPARING FOR CAT CAN I GET 85 PERCENTILE
siddhartharora : That depends on various factors, as to what is your current understanding of topics, how much you can prepare now. So, there is no fixed answer to this question.

shiv : HOW TO CHOOSE OR FIND THE EASY AND DOABLE RC IN MOCKS AND CAT EXAM
philipthomas : Pick those RCs where the topics are comfortable for you.

harsh111 : SIR IM SCORING OVERALL 55 TO 65 IN AIMCATS ,...HOW MUCH CAN I IMPROVE AND WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN ACTUAL CAT? SIR PLEASE ANSWER THIS
siddhartharora : Do not look out for scores but check for your percentile as scores will vary as per paper difficulty.

achith : SIR ANY TIPS FOR RC TO SOLVE
amitpoddar : Look for main ideas in every para you read.Jot down some key words from each para and based on the demand of the question try to locate the hints in the passage/para. Solve some CR questions to better your accuracy in RCs.

kb : I AM NOT ABLE TO APPROACH >1 DILR SETS WITHOUT SEEING THE SOLUTION. HOWEVER ON SEEING THE SOLUTION I FIND THEM SIMPLE. HOW TO APPROACH THIS, AFTER HOW MANY PYQ AND FROM WHICH YEAR, THIS WILL START BETTING FIXED?
govindrajan : DILR, as such, does not have a defined framework. There is nothing like a chapter or a particular model. It does not involve any formulae or concepts. They test candidates, intelligence levels. You need to build logical thinking skills by practicing as many different types of DILR sets as possible. Lot 2 study material, AIMCAT-SAs and online advanced sectional tests provide good exposure to higher difficulty level puzzles. You may build a systematic approach to sets. Once you read the initial few lines of a puzzle/DI set, you will get to know what kind of puzzle/DI set we are going to solve. This does not take more than 30 to 40 seconds. Give a quick read to the given data spending about a minute time. Do not try to analyse the information at this stage. Spend a couple of minutes to read the questions and the type of answer choices. In case the questions have "If" conditions, it indicates that we get more than one possible solution. The questions let us know how to use the given information. All these should happen in about 3 minutes. Then start going through the information carefully. While doing this decide which statement to be picked up first and the order in which the other pieces of information are to be used. This way we can have a smooth flow of thought process and take less time to solve.

achith : SIR HOW TO GET GOOD MARKS IN RC SECTION HOW TO SOLVE THIS SECTION SIR.
amitpoddar : Practise is the key.Solve the advanced RC booklet and CR.Keep reading stuff which troubles you the most.

drcab5a192 : IS 90 PERCENTILE GOOD FOR IIMS?
philipthomas : Yes for the baby IIMs

yashvi : SIR, PLEASE SUGGEST WHERE TO PRACTICE DAILY RC AND GOOD DILR SETS FROM?
siddhartharora : Your homepage as good RC sets to read, you can also practice from SM and Sectional Tests have lots of practice sets of each

drcab5a192 : AND IF I'M GETTING 90 IN AIMCATS THEN HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT IN CAT?
amitpoddar : You can expect anything more than 95-96 easily, given the time left for the CAT exam(Nov 30th).Still 80 days to go.

shiv : HOW TO FIND EASY RC
amitpoddar : Readability,question types and area of comfort.

catholic : IS ISB TAKING ADMISSION THROUGH CAT 2025
siddhartharora : For their two-year program, they took last year and are expected to consider CAT this year also.

drcab5a192 : SHOULD I APPLY FOR XAT ONLY FOR XLRI?
philipthomas : You can also opt for other good Xavier's colleges and colleges like S.P.Jain

anjalirohilla86 : I DO ATTEMPT DILR AND QUANTS QUESTION BUT THEY WERE WRONG. IN EVRY MOCK ITS HAPPENING. WHAT SHOULD I DO
govindrajan : It seems you have not practiced enough. You need more practice.

lia : GOOD EVENING,HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I CONTRIBUT FOR STUDY EVERYDAY IF I WANT WRITE NMAT EXAM ON NOVEMBER 17
philipthomas : NMAT specific preparation - one hour per day.

shaurya : I HAVE ATTENDED ALL THE CLASSES BUT I AM YET COMPLETE THE WHOLE SYLLABUS ON MY OWN, WHAT IS THE MOST OPTIMAL STRATEGY TO FOLLOW FOR THE REMAINING TIME I HAVE.
philipthomas : Focus on doing a thorough revision upfront and then focus only on tests and mocks

lia : IS CAT PREP ENOUGH FOR NMAT TOO IF NOT WHAT MORE SHOULD I COVER
amitpoddar : Take some OMET based mocks and devise a study plan based on the question types. We will soon start the OMET based classes.

drcab5a192 : BUT I HAVE ALREADY APPLY TO SP JAIN THROUGH NMAT
amitpoddar : That is for the GMP program,not the flagship program.

drcab5a192 : WHAT OTHER GOOD COLLEGES CAN I APPLY TO THROUGH XAT
amitpoddar : XIM B, IMT,MICA,IMI,etc.