akash : VARC 56; DILR 35; QA 41 AND OA 130... WHAT PERCENTILEIS EXPECTED FOR THESE MARKS?
raman : Akash Stop analysing now. Start giving a fresh look. Just revise the fundamentals in all area. Just go with a positive frame of mind. All the best:)

ayu2504 : SIR, MY VARC SCORE DROPPED IN THIS MOCK FROM 30S-50S TO JUST 12. I AM FREAKING OUT WHAT TO DO? PLEASE HELP
anand : Do not panic....Maintain your cool. AIMCATs are of varying difficulty level, hence performance will also vary. Just encash on your strong/stronger areas as of now. Do not attempt to convert your weak area into a strong area...All the very Best!

manaskapoor : SCORING 114 IN AIMCAT 2001. SCORING AROUND THIS SCORE ONLY FROM LAST FEW AIMCATS WHAT SCORE CAN I EXPECT IN CAT
rajeshsaraf : It depends on difficulty level and many other factors. Just do well. Don't be surprised if you cross 150 on D day

niha : HI SIR, I SCORED 42/30/30 IN AIMCAT 2001 IN VARC/DILR/QA. BUT I SEE MY PERCENTILE IS VERY LESS.. AROUND 64 PERCENTILE. IS IT BECAUSE LESS NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE TAKING THE TEST? ALSO, AM I CLOSE TO SCORING 120-130 IN ACTUAL CAT AND END UP WITH AROUND 92+ PERCENTILE?
puneetsharma : Yes, the percentile may drop to one or more of the following reasons: 1) QA was relatively easy and hence students who has score good in QA have taken the OA score also high. 2) Less number of takers because nowadays many college going students are having their semester exam coupled with mostly serious test takers towards the end might have resulted in a slight drop Anyway, your concern should be on the rectification of mistakes that you committed and how can you improve on them. Analyse the AIMCAT and all the best!

kss : TOOK CAT 2018 GOT A SCORE OF 114, TOOK CAT 2017 GOT A SCORE OF 150. HOW MUCH PERCENTILE CAN I EXPECT IN CAT?
raman : Do go and bash on. Don't carry the previous baggage in your head. You would certainly rock this time. All the best :)

prathamesh : HELOO SIR. WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING IN REMAINING 3 DAYS PRIOR TO CAT? SCORING 120-130 IN MOCKS.
raman : First have a positive frame of mind. Just make sure that you revise all the formulae for Quant, Basics Handout outs for DI, LR and some VA fundamentals. Your positive frame of mind is absolutely essential.All the best.

xing : HELLO I GAVE AIMCAT 2001 IN EXTENDED VERSION.. MY SCORE IS 72+57+74..WHAT CAN BE MY EXPECTED PERCENTILE IN YHIS AIMVAT?
rajeshsaraf : 200 + Excellent. Should be in top 20 for sure

kss : IS IT ADVISABLE TO TAKE MOCKS IN THE REMAINING DAYS?
shashidar : Not intensively. Maybe a mock or two. Spend time analyzing, though

prathamesh : WHAT SCORE XAN I EXPECT IN CAT IF I AM SCORING 130S IN RECENT MOCKS?
philipthomas : Same or higher if difficulty level and performance remain the same

ayu2504 : I JUST COULD NOT SOLVE DILR IN THE ONE HOUR. HOWEVER I CAN SOLVE ALMOST EVERYTHING REVIEWING. WHAT TO DO??
rajeshsaraf : Don't worry. Take one caselet at a time (choose the set with less number of conditions and something is familiar to you). Once that gets done, move to another caselet. Last 4 years, cracking 2 sets completely and accurately have been more than 80 percentile in DILR.

shubh : WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO MAXIMISE OUR SCORE IN THESE 4 DAYS SPECIALLY IN QUANTS?
rajeshsaraf : Just a regular level of practice. Revise and practice. Don't over stress yourself. Just chill and relax and things will fall in place

tayy : GOOD EVENING, SIR I SOLVED LAST YEAR PAPERS AND SCORED AROUND 99% IN BOTH THE SLOTS OF CAT 2017 AND 2018 BUT TODAY I GAVE AIMCAT 2001 AND SCORED 119 AND SINCE I DIDN'T GIVE IT IN THE WINDOW I HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY PERCENTILE. SIR I DON'T KNOW HOW HOW THERE IS A DROP PLEASE SUGGEST SOMETHING I AM FREAKING OUT
anand : Do not freak out my dear student! It could be that you have practised more of offline rather than online; hence the speed and concentration may be an issue. In the next few days (till about 21st Nov), take a few SAMCATs online, and I am sure your mood and concentration level will be on track. Al the Best!

kss : OBC FEMALE ENGINEER 88/94/7.8. 10 MONTHS WORK EXPERIENCE AS BUSINESS ANALYST. AVERAGE AIMCAT PERCENTILE IS 80. CAN I EXPECT CALLS FROM IIM?
philipthomas : You will need to improve your score if you are looking at the top IIMs , your profile is very good but you need to match it with a good score.

siddharth : HELLO FACULTY MY LAST 4 AIMCATS PERCENTILE HAS BEEN 85/88/73/85 WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN CAT??
rajeshsaraf : Your scores are good. We have seen quantum jump in CAT scores (as compared to AIMCAT performance) for many candidates in the past. If the paper is easy and if it's your day, you could as well be in top 1% of CAT population. All the best

siddharth : HELLO FACULTY MY LAST 4 AIMCATS PERCENTILE HAS BEEN 85/88/73/85 WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN CAT????
shashidar : If you maintain this, it should be around 90 but I think a little more focus can put you in the 95+ band

kss : RAMAN SIR, THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT. I TOOK CAT 2017 AND 2018 AS PRACTICE THIS WEEK AND GOT THOSE SCORES.
raman : Now My suggestion is not to take exams and look at the scores. Just revise the fundamentals in all areas and go to the exam:)

siddharth : KINDLY REPLY MY PROFILE 79/88/63 2 YEAR WORK EX OBC MALE ENGG MY LAST 4 AIMCATS PERCENTILE HAS BEEN 85/88/73/85 WHAT CALLS CAN I EXPECT??
philipthomas : With this profile and score you can expect calls from the new IIMs

manaskapoor : HAVE THE RECENT AIMCATS (2004-2001) BEEN TOUGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONES?
puneetsharma : Not really. It has been a mix of various difficulty levels section wise.

sarora97 : I SCORED A 123=36+45+42 IN THE EXTENDED WINDOW FO THIS AIMCAT. VERBAL HAS BEEN MY STRONGEST BUT IT DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY THIS TIME. WHAT SHOULD BE MY STRATEGY GOING FORWARD?? PLS HELP..
anand : Need not worry at all.....Your VA is the strongest and, indeed, will remain so. I hope you have been able to identify which order of solving VARC questions suits you the best: RC-VA or VA-RC or RC-VA-RC. Accordingly, replicate that on the D-day. You will rock!

rv : SIR I AM NOT SCORING WELL IN QUANT SECTION AND CANT BE ABLE TO CLEAR THE SECTIONAL CUTOFF. I HAD TAKEN THE DROP FOR CAT 2019. SHOULD I TAKE JOB AND PREPARE FOR NEXT YEAR OR TAKE THE TIER 2 AN 3 B SCHOOLS
philipthomas : Do not think negative at this stage , give your best shot at the exams , B- schools we can pick and choose later.

prathamesh : OBC MALE ENGINEER 92/88/81. 14 MONTHS WORK EXPERIENCE IN OPERATIONS. AVERAGE MOCK SCORE IS 130. CAN I EXPECT CALLS FROM IIM?
shashidar : Strong possibility if you hold your nerve

sam : 95/95/75,1 YEAR EXP., NC-OBC MIN PERCENTILE/MARKS TO GET CALLS FROM ABC??
philipthomas : You will require 97+ to get calls from those B- schools.

manaskapoor : UNABLE TO ANALYZE OR SEE THE SOLUTIONS FOR AIMCAT 2001 AS IT KEEPS SHOWING THAT ITS STILL EXTENDED, WHAT TO DO?
philipthomas : You should be able to see them tomorrow.

siddharth : I AM NOT ABLE TO CONCENTRATE ON MY STUDIES RIGHT NOW WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR 3 DAYS?
rajeshsaraf : You have to take charge of yourself. A little bit of anxiety is OK. It, only, indicates that you want to give your best shot. Channelize this into positive energy and you will do fantastic on the D -Day. Just let go, unwind, relax and take things as they came. All the best

nik : WHEN IT COMES TO SAMCAT(SAMCAT 1,2,3) MY SCORES ONLY IN 4 RC'S IS 25-35, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO AIMCAT IT IS TERRIBLE, WHAT CAN BE CONCLUDED FROM THIS....?
anand : Don't worry at all! AIMCATs are way tougher than SAMCATs. The level of AIMCATs is deliberately kept on the higher side of CAT difficulty level to forcibly raise the intellectual bar of T.I.M.E. students. Now till 21st Nov, take a few SAMCATs and boost your morale. You will do exceptionally well on 24th Nov 2019. Good Luck!

siddharth : WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN THESE LAST 3-4 DAYS?
puneetsharma : 80% time should be spent on revision and for that predominantly make use of the previously attempted AIMCATs. Go through the Quant formulas. Keep giving a couple of sectional tests everyday. Go through the last 2 years CAT papers. Analyse your mocks performance and look at the various mistakes that you can improve upon. Relax and stay calm. Focus on the positive side and think of CAT as your next AIMCAT. All the best!

siddharth : SHOULD I STUDY ON THE LAST DAY IE 23RD NOV OR JUST RELAX?
shashidar : Chill out. Try to sleep well so that you are fresh

akash : WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ON THE 23RD OF NOVEMBER?
philipthomas : Check for your hall ticket , photo and ID proof . Re-check slot and venue. Organise your travel arrangements. Relax , if you cannot relax, do a SAMCAT at the same time slot.

siddharth : HELLO FACULTY I AM HAVING FEVER RIGHT NOW WILL IT AFFECT MY CAT PERFORMANCE?
shashidar : Seriously? Now these kind of questions ?

preeti : MY AIMCAT SCORE GOT DOWN THIS TIME. I M GETTING NERVOUS DAY BY DAY. SUGGEST SOMETHING PLEASE .... SHALL I GIVE AN ANOTHER MOCK OR DO REVISION. AND ALSO HOW TO CALM DOWN MYSELF AS IT IS MY DROP YEAR ALREADY
rajeshsaraf : Nervousness indicates that there is something inside you which is going to unleash something fabulous on the CAT Day. All this (nervousness) is there to let you prepare for the best which will happen on 24th Nov. As far as MOCK Tests are concerned, just revise and practice (kind of a casual note). Instead of MOCK tests, write a few sectional tests.

yellow : I AM SCORING AROUND 60 IN VARC, AROUND 50 IN LRDI, BUT ONLY AROUND 35-40 IN QUANT. WILL I BE ABLE TO CLEAR CUT OFF IN QUANT?
puneetsharma : A score of 35-40 is usually above the cut off, but most importantly, analyse your performance and think of various ways/strategies that can help you get a good score. Your performance in the other 2 sections is very good. If you can manage a score of 50 in QA, your percentile can easily cross 99. Try to improve the accuracy and attempt only questions which you are sure of. 2-3 less mistakes in the quant section can increase your score by 8-12 marks. All the best!

manaskapoor : WHAT WAS THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THIS AIMCAT 2001 SIR ?? EXPECTED CUTOFF MARKS FOR 85+ % ??
puneetsharma : Please check the Expert review and your scorecard to get detailed info about the difficulty level, best sets to be selected and the cut off score.

akash : WHAT WAS THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF AIMCAT 2001?
raman : This is only of academic interest not for a test taker's interest

divya : HELLO FACULTY,
shashidar : Hello. Is there a question somewhere?

sam : HOW ARE SAMCATS AS COMPARED TO ACTUAL CAT? I HAVE BEEN SCORING MIN 140 IN MOST OF THE SAMCATS THAT I ATTEMPTED.
anand : As compared to AIMCATs, SAMCATs are relatively closer to what you could expect on the CAT. Rest is anybody's guess.....All the Best!

stark : I HAVE BEEN SCORING AN AVERAGE OF 97%ILE THROUGHOUT,BUT I HAD A SLUMP IN 2 OF LAST 3 AIMCATS..IN AIMCAT 2001 I SCORED 155. WHAT ARE MY CHANCES IN CAT?
anand : Chances are quite high. Just chill and practise from a few SAMCATs now till 21st Nov to keep up the mood....

malhar : CAT 2016 WAS QUITE TOUGH WHILE 2017 WAS VERY EASY. 2018 WAS AGAIN TOUGH(RELATIVELY).
rajeshsaraf : Are you implying CAT 2019 will be easy !! :)

tayy : IS IMT GHAZIABAD WORTH APPLYING?
puneetsharma : It is decent if you have an interest of going ahead with a specialization in marketing. Again, good or bad is a relative term. Based on your expected CAT percentile, if you can get 90-94/95%tile, then its a decent college in that range.

aiy : MY AIMCAT PERCENTILES IN ORDER WHICH I WROTE ARE 87,90,68,84.54,65,79,86,72 97,93,85,75,69,93,87,98,82,91,85,91 ARE THIS PERCENTILE SCORES GOOD, HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT IN MAIN CAT BASED ON THIS ??
shashidar : Excellent! What should please you is the consistency more than the percentiles

shizammm : SIR I HAVE SCORED AROUND 80-99 IN SAMCATS BUT IN AIMCATS I AM SCORING AROUND 70-75. AND IN VARC I AM GETTING 30-45 IN SAMCATS BUT IN AIMCATS IT IS NEVER ABOVE 20.
anand : Don't worry. SAMCATs could be a bit closer to what you might expect on the CAT. Just take a few more SAMCATs till 21st Nov and keep your mood upbeat. All the Best!

nik : THANK YOU ANAND SIR....AND HOW MANY SETS DO I NEED TO SOLVE TO CROSS 90%ILE IN CAT IN DILR SECTION....
anand : If you are solving on average 3 sets, you need not panic at all.....

vaibhav_patill : MY EXAM IS IN THE 2ND SLOT, I AM THINKING OF DOING A PASSAGE AND A LR PUZZLE JUST BEFORE GOING IN THE EXAM HALL. WILL IT BE HELPFUL?
rajeshsaraf : There is NO right/wrong approach. Note that a good athlete, generally, does a jog/light exercise before going for a full fledged marathon. So, If you have tried this strategy of attempting a passage or DILR set before writing a full fledged MOCK Test) earlier on (before writing AIMCATs) OR if you believe that this strategy will work for the D-Day, then you MUST listen to yourself and go ahead. All the best.

vaibhav_patill : MY EXAM IS IN THE 2ND SLOT, I AM THINKING OF DOING A PASSAGE AND A LR PUZZLE JUST BEFORE GOING IN THE EXAM HALL. WILL IT BE HELPFUL?
puneetsharma : Thats fine! It will help you get into the mood. Going through the quant formulas additionally will also help.

spssps99 : MY HIGHEST EVER MOCK SCORE WAS 199. AFTER THAT, I ALMOST ALWAYS SCORED IN BETWEEN 130 TO 160S. WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT WITH THE ACTUAL CAT?
shashidar : With such consistency, I'll put my neck out and suggest a 170-180

abir : SIR I SCORED 100 MARKS CAT 2018...HOW TO PREPARE FOR VARC FOR LAST 4DAYS
philipthomas : Just do one SAMCAT everyday at the same time slot as your CAT exam

rv : SIR I AM NOT SCORING WELL IN QUANT SECTION AND CANT BE ABLE TO CLEAR THE SECTIONAL CUTOFF. I HAD TAKEN THE DROP FOR CAT 2019. SHOULD I TAKE JOB AND PREPARE FOR NEXT YEAR OR TAKE THE TIER 2 AN 3 B SCHOOLS.
puneetsharma : I think, this question can wait till CAT and OMETs are over. Let not negative energy drain you. There is no harm in giving your best shot this time. If things go in your favour then you can do good. Post your CAT performance, based on your expected percentile, approach a faculty with your CV and then take a informed decision.

preeti : THANK YOU @RAJESHSARAF SIR. YOUR WORDS BOOSTED UP MY CONFIDENCE. I WILL TRY TO DO MY BEST :)
rajeshsaraf : Welcome !!

hitik : SIR,I SCORED 115 IN THIS AIMCAT BUT I AM SCORING AROUND +3 CALLS IN SAMCATS. SHOULD I FILL MDI OR DFS?
philipthomas : DFS should be within reach.

shivam : IN TITA QUESTIONS DO WE GET QUESTIONS HAVING NON-INTEGER ANSWERS?
feroz : You may

aiy : THANKS @SHASHIDHAR SIR, BUT FEW LOW SCORES AND MOSTLY PERCENTILE OF 85-90 PERCENTILES ARE WORRYING ME , CAN I GET 95+ IN ACTUAL CAT ?
shashidar : Certainly within the realms of possibility. "Few" low scores are par for the course

ashutoshek : HOW TO CRACK VA SECTIONAL CUT OFF? I AM GETTING 90-95% IN DILR & QA. BUT VA IS VERY LESS. PLEASE HELP.
shashidar : Where, exactly, are you going wrong? Knowing that'll help us help you

hitik : SIR, ARE SAMCATS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE LAST DAYS?
puneetsharma : Don't overdo mocks. SAMCATs are good. Give 1-2 in the last few days is okay, but not more. Most importantly, after giving mocks analyse them and improve on your mistakes.

rv : SIR HOW IS IMT GHAZIABAD .. FOR MARKETING ALSO THE BATCH STRENGTH IS A CONCERN. SHOULD I APPLY FOR IT.
shashidar : IMT is known for its Marketing Specialization

spssps99 : I SCORED 150 IN THIS AIMCAT, WHICH IS DECENT FOR ME. BUT I MADE 13 MISTAKES IN THE VARC SECTION WHICH WAS SHOCKING. WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE REMAINING TIME?
philipthomas : If you can, consult a faculty , identify the reason for making so many errors and avoid it in the CAT exam , consider this as a wake up call.

hwcd9d110 : SIR, VERBAL IS MY WEAKEST SECTION AND I AM AFRAID THAT I MAY NOT MAKE IT TO 90 IN VERBAL. CAN YOU SUGGEST SOME WAY FOR ME TO ADAPT FOR A 90 ATLEAST APPROACH !
raman : Please do not make such statements like VERBAL IS MY WEAKEST. Just go with an assumption that you will do your best. Statements or auto suggestions like these would demoralise you. Just look run through the fundamentals and just bash on. Don't carry such statements.You would do well. OK :)

adi01512 : (DILR STRATEGY QUESTION). I USUALLY SOLVE 4 SETS IN THE PAPER SPENDING A TOTAL OF 40 MINS, PLUS 5 MINS OF INITIAL SCANNING. ALMOST ALWAYS, THE OTHER 15 MINUTES ARE SPENT ON A SET I HAD CHOSEN FOR ROUND 1 SOLVING AND DROPPED LATER SEEING NO BREAKTHROUGH AFTER 15 MINUTES. ALSO, DURING ANALYSIS I FIND ONE OTHER SET DOABLE WHICH COULD'VE BEEN SOLVED IT TAKEN UP. IS THIS COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE? IF NOT, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR SUGGESTION? THE OBJECTIVE BEING TO SOLVE 5 SETS.
harishrawat : I think 4 sets in di/lr are more than enough which should be your first aim and the realistic one

vindh : I AM STILL NOT ABLE TO CLEAR VARC CUTTOFF
anand : Do not panic. Assuming you are relatively stronger in the other two sections, encash on them so that, in case you just miss the cut-off in VARC section, you may secure an overall decent percentile to get GDPI calls from a few good B-schools. All the Best!

stark : I FEEL VERY ANXIOUS THINKING ABOUT A SCENARIO...LIKE WHEN IN DILR SECTION..30 MINS HAVE GONE AND I HAVE NOT SOLVED EVEN A SINGLE QUESTION(THIS HAPPENED WITH ME LAST YEAR,HOWEVER IN THIS YEAR'S MOCKS I SELDOM CAME ACROSS SUCH A SITUATION)SO MY QUESTION IS WHAT WOULD U SUGGEST FOR THE REMAINING TIME.
rajeshsaraf : Do not worry. This scenario is common among more than 60% of CAT takers. Even for the seasoned professionals, the first 30 mins can be night mare. This is where you have to pull together ALL your experiences of AIMCAT/SAMCAT and keep reminding to yourself that "It's not over. I still have 30 mins and I WILL make that count !! "

shivam : IN TITA QUESTIONS IF THE ANSWER IS NON INTEGER, ARE ROUNDING OFF RULES SPECIFIED?
harishrawat : yes they usualy give instruction to write the answer to the nearest integer

aiy : SHOULD I APPLY FOR SPJIMR OR MDI OR LEAVE BOTH ??MY AIMCAT PERCENTILES IN ORDER WHICH I WROTE ARE 87,90,68,84.54,65,79,86,72 97,93,85,75,69,93,87,98,82,91,85,91
puneetsharma : You can apply to both. However, apply to SPJAIN only if your academic scores are good and a good profile overall.

ahc : HELLO SIR, SORRY FOR BEING OFF THE TOPIC BUT I SCORED 208 IN NMAT. WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF CALL FROM NMIMS MUMBAI?
feroz : 50-50. Would be better if you can take it to 215+

ashutoshek : I CHOOSE SIMPLE RC FST.. BT MY ANS GETS WRONG ALMOST. I READ IT MANY TIMES STILL. HOW TO CRACK VA SECTION?
shashidar : Spend the first 5 minutes sequencing your passages from easiest to toughest. Identify all the specific questions from all the passages, identify 5 or 6 of the easiest VA questions and then split the balance 55 minutes into 18m, 18m ,19m. First 18 minutes attempt all the specific Qs without reading the entire passage. Just eke out the answers from the particular part of the passage. Next 18m, solve the 6 VA Qs & the final 19m , read the passages & answer the summary Qs

sonali : MY SCORE IN AIMCAT 2001 IS 96(SCORE) AND PAST AIMCAT PERCENTILE RANGE IS 65-75 % HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT IN CAT ?
philipthomas : If you can maintain this quality of performance , you will be able to touch the 80 to 90 percentile range.

hwcd9e131 : IN ONE SECTION OF CAT STRATEGY BY TIME IT WAS GIVEN THAT WE CAN GUESS IN TITA BASED QUESTIONS (MEANINGFUL GUESSING), SO CAN WE REALLY GUESS AND WONT IT AFFECT PERCENTILE IF IT WENT WRONG?
puneetsharma : CAT percentile is a function of your score and not accuracy.

spssps99 : I AM A FRESHER AND THIS WILL BE MY FIRST ATTEMPT IN CAT. SHOULD I COMPROMISE A YEAR FOR A BETTER COLLEGE OR SETTLE WITH WHATEVER I AM ABLE TO GET THIS TIME?
philipthomas : Prioritize , do well in the CAT, after you have performed well in the second round and got your final selections , we can think about which college to join.

aiy : SHOULD I APPLY FOR SPJIMR OR MDI OR LEAVE BOTH ??MY AIMCAT PERCENTILES IN ORDER WHICH I WROTE ARE 87,90,68,84.54,65,79,86,72 97,93,85,75,69,93,87,98,82,91,85,91???
philipthomas : Your scores indicate that you should apply to both.

tayy : SIR ANY LAST MINUTE TIPS?
raman : Just recap formulae and fundamentals in all areas.Go with a positive frame of mind. Think of your strengths and believe in all the hard work you have put in. Just rock :)All the best!!

tayy : AND ALSO HOW TO REVISE DI LR?
harishrawat : venn diagram tournament based questions arrangement revise these sets rigoursly also check the appropriateness of tables in different types of lr sets

max : SIR PLEASE TELL HOW TO CLEAR 50 PERCENTILE CUTOFF IN VARC.PLS GIVE ME CONFIDENCE IN THIS SECTION.I AM GOOD IN OTHER TWO SECTIONS
anand : Attempt around 10 RC questions and try to get 5-6 of them right; from the VA section attempt around 4 questions and try to get 2 of them right. Around 10-11 right attempts should help you get a bit more than 50 percentile, assuming the paper is moderately easy.

hwcd9e131 : IN ONE SECTION OF CAT STRATEGY BY TIME IT WAS GIVEN THAT WE CAN GUESS IN TITA BASED QUESTIONS (MEANINGFUL GUESSING), SO CAN WE REALLY GUESS AND WONT IT AFFECT PERCENTILE IF IT WENT WRONG? MAAM/SIR PLEASE RESPOND AS AFTER WATCHING THAT SECTION I GOT CONFUSED.
puneetsharma : answered!

neha : DEAR SIR...HAVE APPLIED FOR SPJMR. I HAVE GOOD ACADEMICS 94/81/80(BE COMP). ALSO HAVE DONE SOCIAL SERVICE AT NGOS. CAN I EXPECT A PROFILE BASED CALL?
philipthomas : What about work experience?

ahc : MY AVERAGE PERCENTILE IN AIMCAT HAS BEEN AROUND 72 AND IN SAMCATS IT HAS BEEN 75, HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT IN CAT?
philipthomas : Higher , provided you maintain the same quality in performance.

aiy : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR , LAST YEAR I DIDNT GET A PROFILE BASED CALL, I ALMOST HAVE SAME PROFILE THIS YEAR TOO WITH NOT MUCH ADDED, SO IM ONLY RELYING ON SCORE BASED CALL FOR BOTH SPJIMR AND MDI . SO WHAT IS THE CUTOFF FOR BOTH ? AND BASED ON MY SCORES HOW ARE THE CHANCES I WOULD GET THAT ?
puneetsharma : Even in SPJAIN's score based call they do consider the Overall profile. Many students with 99%tile too dont get a score based call. However, if your profile is decent, you can take a call. For SPJAIN the cut off for a score based call is 95%tile overall and for MDI its around 95-96%tile. If you work hard and the D -Day goes well, you have fair chances of getting 95% + in CAT.

shivam : IS 1 INCLUDED IN PROPER DIVISORS OR NOT?
raman : Yes, but not the number it self. For instance 1,2 are proper divisors of 4 but 4 is an improper divisor of 4.

hwcd9e131 : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR SO CAN WE MAKE MEANINGFUL GUESSES IN TITA BASED QUESTIONS AND IF IT WENT WRONG THEN PERCENTILE WONT FALL BECAUSE OF ACCURACY. IS IT TRUE?
puneetsharma : yes, you can make educative guesses. There is no problem with the accuracy that you have to worry about.

drca9ag25 : WHAT TO DO FOR DILR AND QUANT IN THE REMAINING DAYS?SHOULD I GIVE SECTIONAL TESTS ON SATURDAY OR NOT ?
puneetsharma : 80% time should be spent on revision and for that predominantly make use of the previously attempted AIMCATs. Go through the Quant formulas. Keep giving a couple of sectional tests everyday.Giving sectional tests on Saturday is also ok. Go through the last 2 years CAT papers. Analyse your mocks performance and look at the various mistakes that you can improve upon. Relax and stay calm. Focus on the positive side and think of CAT as your next AIMCAT. All the best!

aiy : HOW CAN I SORT OUT EASY TO HARD RC PASSAGES ? IM UNABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE ALL WITHIN 5 MINS, WORRYING ABOUT WASTING LOT OF TIME FOR THIS, IM CONTINUING IN THE ORDER ITSELF, I HAVENT EVEN CLEARED CUTOFFS FOR VARC MANY TIMES, THIS IS WORRING ME, WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE MY PERCENTILE , ANY BETTER APPROACH ?
shashidar : The two parameters are - how comfortable you are with the topic and the writing style. The first is an individual choice. The second- pick those passages first which are bereft of jargons, chemical/biological names, complicated words and long sentences. If the passage is loosely written or if it is informal ....go for it

isha : SIR MY SCORES IN 10/12/GRAD ARE 98/97/77.I'M A FEMALE NON.ENGG GRADUATE. MY AVG SCORES IN AIMCATS ARE AROUND 75-80 PERCENTILE. WHICH ALL COLLEGES SHOULD I APPLY?
shashidar : Apply to the top 30

ahc : WHAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL WAY TO SPEND THE LAST 3 DAYS, WILL COMPLETE REVISION AND GIVING 1-2 SAMCATS + ANALYSIS BE GOOD ENOUGH?
anand : Last two days do not touch any books. Just chill! Till 21st take a few SAMCATs and analyse them. Now only think of encashing on your strengths and NOT on your weak areas.

dlcb9ag01 : I USUALLY SCORED WELL IN AIMCATS BUT I HAVENT DONE WELL IN THE PAST 2 AIMCATS. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BECAUSE AT THIS STAGE IT IS QUITE SCARY. PLEASE ANSWER
harishrawat : like a bad dream ,forget it once you have reached certain competency level it is just a matter of time when form "as the say in cricket" will come back so cheer up

max : SIR IN DILR I AM CONFIDENT IN DOING 2 SETS CORRECTLY.IS IT ENOUGH TO CROSS 80 PERCENTILE CUTOOF
puneetsharma : May or may not be depending on the difficulty level of the DILR section this year which we don't know. It is always prudent to not have a fixed strategy in place as it can sometimes backfire. You need to be flexible according to the difficulty level of the papers, but going by the past trends 3 set would be more suitable for a safe 80-85%tile.

p2019 : DO WE HAVE LARGE PASSAGES IN CAT AS WE HAVE IN INTERMEDIATE
raman : Do not go with any assumptions on the length and breadth of the passage. Depth is important. All the best:)

isha : WHAT IS THE MINIMUM PERCENTILE I SHOULD GET TO GET A CALL FROM ANY OF THE BABY IIMS CONSIDERING MY PROFILE.(SCORES IN 10/12/GRAD ARE 98/97/77.I'M A GENERAL FEMALE NON.ENGG GRADUATE.)
philipthomas : 90 to 95 percentile should be good enough.

neha : THOMAS SIR...U ASKED ABOUT MY WORK EX. YES I DO HAVE 23MONTHS WORK EX(SOFTWARE ENGG) CAN I STILL EXPECT A PROFILE BASED CALL FOR SPJAIN SINCE I EXPECT TO GET 85 AROUND PERCENTILE IN CAT
philipthomas : The profile is good enough , a higher percentile would be preferable.

neha : THOMAS SIR... 92MARKS IN AIMCAT2001. WHAT CAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I EXPECT?
philipthomas : Just wait for the scores to be released , you will get the same in the CAT too.

isha : SIR, I FINISHED MY GRADUATION IN MAY 2019. WILL IT BE CONSIDERED AS AN YEAR GAP DURING SELECTION? AND WILL THAT AFFECT MY CHANCES IN ANYWAY?
shashidar : No, that's easy to handle. You can always say that you were determined to do an MBA after UG & felt it would be unfair to your employer if you worked just 8-10 months & then quit hence you decided to prepare than join a company

anjali : WHAT SHOULD THE PLAN BE ON THE DAY BEFORE CAT, SPECIALLY WITH A FORENOON SLOT?
harishrawat : "don't sleep in the afternoon" on a serious note just relax

tayy : THANK YOU TEACHERS...:))
raman : All the Best from our team:)

ahc : THOMAS SIR, WHAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL WAY TO SPEND THE LAST 3 DAYS, WILL COMPLETE REVISION AND GIVING 1-2 SAMCATS + ANALYSIS BE GOOD ENOUGH?
philipthomas : Focus on those areas which are problematic and do one SAMCAT everyday.

max : SIR ANY STRTEGY FOR VARC FOR ATLEAST GETTING 50PERCENTILE
philipthomas : Select carefully 15 to 18 questions and focus on getting the max number of correct answers.

aiy : THANKS @SHASHIDHAR SIR , WHAT SHOULD BE IDEAL NO OF TOTAL ATTEMPTS REQUIRED TO GET 90% SECTIONAL PERCENTILE ?? HOW MANY SHOULD I ATTEMPT FROM RC'S ?
shashidar : If you attempt 25 VARC, 22 QA & 16 DILR, you are on a very safe wicket

aiy : ARE ALL THE IIMS HAVING SECTIONAL CUTOFFS OF 75 OR MORE ??
puneetsharma : For general category students it is mostly 805tile + in all the sections. A couple of IIMs like Ahmedabad and Nagpur have less cut off. You can go through this link for a detailed info: https://www.time4education.com/CAT-MBA/Admission-Criteria/IIM-Percentile-Cut-Offs

anjali : WHAT IS THE MINIMUM PERCENTILE I SHOULD GET TO GET A CALL FROM OLD IIMS CONSIDERING MY PROFILE.(SCORES IN 10/12/GRAD ARE 94/92/69.I'M A SC FEMALE B.COM GRADUATE.)@ THOMAS SIR
philipthomas : 80 to 85 percentile should be good enough.

sneha : MY AIMCAT PERCENTILES HAVE FLUCTUATED FROM 93.4 TO 99.8. WHAT PERCENTILE CAN I ACHIEVE?
philipthomas : If you stay composed put in the same quality of performance , you will get a 99 percentile.

joe : IM SCORING FAR MORE BETTER IN ACTUAL CAT2017/18 BOTH SLOTS THAN IN AIMCATS. THOSE SCORES SEEM TO BE DISAPPOINTING. WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN THE ACTUAL EXAM ?
harishrawat : if you are good in dealing with unfamiliar questions in quant and sets in DI/LR CAT 19, also will be smooth sailing

ahc : SIR, WHAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL WAY TO SPEND THE LAST 3 DAYS, WILL COMPLETE REVISION AND GIVING 1-2 SAMCATS + ANALYSIS BE GOOD ENOUGH?
puneetsharma : Yes, completely fine. In case you haven't gone through the last 2 years CAT papers, you could also include that.

swati : WHAT IS A GOOD ENGLISH SCORE FOR GETTING 95 ABOVE PERCENTILE?
shashidar : 50+

swati : I HAVE GIVEN TWO ATTEMTS OF CAT AND I M GETTING VERY SCARED THAT I LL SCREW EXAM THIS YEAR AS WELL . HOW TO OVERCOME THAT?
harishrawat : recall your experience of last 2 exams and think how can you use that experience may be three is your lucky number

neha : SIR WHICH OTHER GOOD COLLEGES LIKE SPJAIN GIVE PROFILE BASED CALL SINCE I HAVE GOOD ACADEMIC SCORE AND WORK EX OF 2YRS BUT IN CAT I AM DOUBTFUL OF SCORING ABOVE 90%LE. PLS SUGGETS IF GIM OR IMT GHAZIABAD OR OTHER COLGS HAVE PROFILE BASED CALLS?
puneetsharma : SPJAIN and GIM do have profile based calls. I am not sure about IMT. These are the only decent colleges that have profile based calls.

drca9ag25 : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR FOR REVISING QUANT THROUGH AIMCATS HOW MANY RECENT AIMCATS SHOULD I LOOK AT AS IT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE TO GO THROUGH ALL THE AIMCATS IN THE REMAINING TIME.ALSO I AM NOT ABLE TO DO MORE THAN 22 QUESTIONS IN QUANT,ANY TIPS FOR THAT?
puneetsharma : Going through the last 10-15 AIMCATS would be advisable. Analyse your performance and understand the reasons for not going above 22 questions. If it because of your speed, then fine-tune your strategy. DOnt spend too much time solving a question. If you are not able to attempt more questions even though you have time, then revisit and thoroughly go through the concepts. Explore the other ways to attempting a questions like making use of options and/or substituting values. Don't panic. Last year, if you would have attempted 22 questions and got 20 right, your percentile would be 99+ in that sections. Accuracy is more important.

shivam : WHAT IS IDEAL PERCENTILE FOR MDI GURGAON? (CATEGORY GENERAL; 2 YEARS EXPERIENCE AS AN HEALTHCARE R&D RESEARCHER)
shashidar : 95

tirumala : SIR, I AM A GEM WITH 10TH/12TH/ENGG PERCENTAGES 95/97/69. WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I GET TO GET A CALL FROM IIM A/B/C/
philipthomas : Nothing less than a 99 percentile.

gh : SIR IN AIMCAT 2001 LRDI SET 1 ABOUT THE COBBLER ETC. HOW CAN THE COMMANDER BE THE PEASANT IN BOTH CASES?
puneetsharma : Please go through the video solutions to understand the same.

pjoe : (1) WHAT SHOULD BE THE REVISION STRATEGY FOR RC INFERENCE BASED QUESTIONS? (2) WHEN I START MY VARC SECTION, I GET INTIMIDATED BY THE PASSAGES, WHAT SHOULD BE MY APPROACH FOR FIRST 5 - 10 MINUTES OF THE SECTION? (CONSIDERING THAT I HAVE BEEN SCORING CONSISTENTLY IN THE RANGE OF 85-90 PERCENTILE IN THIS SECTION, MY ACCURACY IS POOR AT 70)
shashidar : Please refer to my answers on the same issue on this chat site

tirumala : I AM A GEM WITH 10TH/12TH/ENGG PERCENTAGES AS 95, 97 AND 69. WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I GET TO GET A CALL FROM IIM A/B/C
anand : If you are from a general category, then you should aim for 99.97 percentile for ABC.

swati : SIR, WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF WE HAVE SPENT AROUND 10 - 15 MINS ON AN LR/DI SET AND NOW GET STUCK AND GETTING HOPELESS WHETHER TO PROCEED WITH THIS OR JUMP TO THE OTHER ONE?
philipthomas : Just move on.

abc : HI SIR, FEMALE - NONENGINEER - 93/84/76 - 30 MONTHS EXPERIENCE . HOW MUCH PERCENTILE SHOULD I GET FOR TOP AND BABY IIMS.
philipthomas : 98+ for the top IIMs and 90+ for the new IIMs.

dcccccch : HOW TO REVISE FROM THE AIMCATS? SHOULD I GO ABOUT CHECKING EACH AND EVERY QUESTION OR JUST THE WRONG ONES?
shashidar : First, try to see how many of the unanswered you get right within a 90 second/Q limit. That'll tell you how good/bad was your selection of Qs. Then, see where & why you went wrong. Also check your speed of answering the correct Qs vis-a-vis other students

neha : PUNEETSIR...IF GIM ALSO GIVES PROFILE BASED CALLS..THEN WHAT IS THEIR CAT CUTOFF FOR THE SAME?
puneetsharma : Around 80%tile

shivam : MY RANK IN AIMCATS HAS VARIED OVER A LARGE RANGE FROM 498 TO 5346. CAN I EXPECT SOMETHING AROUND 95 PERCENTILE IN CAT 2019?
harishrawat : some days are diamond, some days are stone maybe CAT 19 on sunday is your DAY you have all the chances of soring more than 95 percentile

max : HOW MUCH PERCENTILE REQUIRED FOR IIM UDAIPUR FOR CATEGORY STUDENT
anand : Around 88-91 percentile....

swati : WHAT IS THE GOOD PERCENTILE FOR GETTING CALLS FROM IIM A/B/C IF YOU ARE SC CATEGORY?
anand : Aim for 93 percentile....

s123 : I AM FROM SC CATEGORY. HOW MUCH MARKS DO I NEED TO GET INTO IIMS?
philipthomas : You will need 70 to 75 percentile for the new IIMs and 80 to 85 percentile for the old IIMs.

tirumala : SIR, BY WHEN CAN WE TENTATIVELY EXPECT THE MARKS OF CAT '19 TO BE DECLARED
shashidar : Sometime around Jan 7th/10th

prags : I ATTEMPT ONLY 12-13 QUESTIONS IN QA SECTION.I AM DONE WITH ALL THE BASICS AND CONCEPTS. HAD GIVEN 2-3 SECTIONALS,5 SAMCATS AND 15 AIMCATS.WHAT ELSE I SHOULD DO NOW TO INCREASE MY NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS?? SIR PLZ REPLY
puneetsharma : Analyse your performance and understand the reasons for not going above 12-13 questions. If it because of your speed, then fine-tune your strategy.You could divide your quant section in 3 parts of 20 mins each and set yourself a target of attempting 11 questions in each slot. That ways, you would have conditioned your mind to not spend too much time on a particular questions. Dont get stuck to a question if you are not able to go ahead.If you are not able to attempt more questions even though you have time, then revisit your concepts. Explore the other ways to attempt a question like making use of options and/or substituting values. Accuracy is more important.

muskan : PLEASE REPLY! WHAT MARKS WOULD BE SUFFICE TO CLEAR VARC CUTOFF?
anand : It is difficult to say that because percentile is based on how others perform depending on the difficulty level of the paper. However, on a conservative note, you should try to get around 16-18 questions right out of 24-25 that you may attempt. All the Best!

cat19 : HI SIRS, I AM FEMALE - OBC - NONENGINEER. WITH 93/85/77 AND 28 MONTHS EXP. HOW MUCH SHOULD I AIM FOR TO GET CALLS FROM NEW IIMS
philipthomas : A 90 percentile should be good enough.

anjali : IT'S A REQUEST SIR,PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUERY, APPROXIMATELY WHAT SCORE IS REQUIRED TO CLEAR CUTOFF OF QUANTS SECTION IF LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY IS SIMILAR TO 2018???
harishrawat : in 2018 approx,15 question right fetched 97-percentile in quant

sneha : DOES A FRESHER ENGINEERING GRADUATE HAVE ANY CHANCE OF GETTING INTO SPJIMR MARKETING?
raman : Yes.

s123 : I HAVE NEVER CROSSED THE CUTOFF IN AIMCATS SO FAR.BUT I AM DOING MY PREPARATION WELL. CAN I EXPECT THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO CLEAR IN CAT EXAM?
philipthomas : Continue with your preparation , often the last few days have a huge impact.

neha : SIR... HOW CLOSE CAN REAL CAT PERCENTILE BE S COMPARED TO AIMCAT PERCENTILE?
philipthomas : You can expect the same percentile or higher.

max : SIR WHEN WOULD BE INTERVIEWS START AS AFTER CAT I WANT TO JOIN PART TIME JOB IF PROPER DATE OR MONTH IS KNOW
shashidar : Interviews start from end Jan & go on till March end/early April

xyz : WHAT'S THE SCORE OR PERCENTILE REQUIRED IN SNAP TO GET A DEFINITE FINAL SELECTION IN SIBM PUNE
puneetsharma : It is around 97-98%tile.

drca9ag25 : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES AND ALSO FOR THE STRATAEGY VIDEOS AND SOLUTION VIDEOS THAT YOU POST.I ALWAYS LEARN SOMETHING NEW AND USEFUL FROM THEM.
puneetsharma : Thank you :) All the best!

neha : IS GIM A GOOD COLG? IS IT ON PAR WITH SIBM PUNE? WHAT IS ITS AVG SALARY FOR WORK EX OF 2YRS?
anand : It should be around 10 -12 lakhs per year.....

gh : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR FOR AIMCATS 2011-2001 I HAVE MAINTAINED DETAILED NOTES. WOULD IT BE SUFFICIENT TO JUST REVISE THOSE AGAIN( I HAVE BEEN REGULARLY REVISING) INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH EACH OF THEM AGAIN? AS TOO LITTLE TIME IS LEFT.
puneetsharma : Oh! wonderful. Thats the best thing to do in the remaining days. Go through those notes which as you said consists of mistakes and concepts.These 11 would be good enough. Always remember- quality is more important than quantity. In addition, if possible please go through the last 2 years CAT papers in case you haven't and if you have then maybe solve a couple of sectional tests.

anjali : SCORED APPROXIMATELY 76-84 PERCENTILE ON AN AVERAGE IN AIMCATS, IS 95+ POSSIBLE ON D-DAY?
philipthomas : Yes , provided , you analyse your performance and rectify all recurring mistakes

tiru : SIR, I HAVE BEEN GETTING AROUND97-98 PERCENTILE IN AIMCATS MOSTLY (EXCEPT 3-4 TIMES). HOW MUCH PERCENTILE CAN I EXPECT IN CAT 19
harishrawat : ON THAT DAY,which is sunday ,24th November with a little extra efforts you can score 100 PERCENTILE also

sanarora : LAST MINUTE TIPS FOR IMPROVING QUANT AND LRDI?
puneetsharma : Just go through the previously solved AIMCATs. Revise the quant formulas and for DILR, give 1 advanced level sectional test everyday.

anjali : WHILE SOLVING PAST CAT PAPERS 2017,2018 I COULD SOLVE IT WITH EASE SPECIALLY RC, BUT AIMCATS DIDN'T SEEM THAT TO ME, WHY IS IT SO?
harishrawat : in RC of CAT, easy reading does not necessarily translate into correct response you have to be careful

neha : THOMAS SIR...FELT A LIL DEMOTIVATED WHEN U SAID AIMCAT PERCENTILE WOULD BE MORE OR LESS LIKE ACTUAL CAT PERCENTILE...SINCE I HAVE GOT 7580%LE IN AIMCATS ALWAYS..HOW CAN I THEN IMPROVE IN THESE 3DAYS?
philipthomas : Identify where you are getting stuck and work upon those areas.

sneha : WAS AIMCAT 2001 SIMILAR IN LEVEL TO CAT 17 OR CAT 18?
philipthomas : Verbal was reflective of CAT 18

max : SIR AFTER CAT WHAT KIND OF GUIDANCE WILL BE THERE FOR INTERVIEWS AND WHEN
philipthomas : Workshops will be held for all who get calls and these workshops will be held from the last week of January 2020.

hwcd9d110 : THANK YOU FACULTIES PLEASE SHOWER YOUR BLESSING FOR THE D DAY
harishrawat : $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

: WHAT SHOULD BE THE NO. OF ATTEMPTS IN VARC AND QUANT TO GET 99%ILE?
raman : Depends on the paper and the difficulty level. Answer as many questions correctly as you can. All the best :)

: I SCORED 196 IN NMAT.I AM THNKING OF RETAKE WHEN SHOULD I TAKE IT ? WINDOW 4 OR 5?
shashidar : There are only a max of 3 attempts

vaibhav_patill : WHAT SHOULD BE STRATEGY FOR DI LR IN THE REMAINING DAYS? CURRENTLY I AM GIVING SECTIONAL TESTS DAILY
puneetsharma : Keep doing that. Work on the selection of sets. Don't hesitate to drop a set immediately once you realize that there has been a judgement error in selecting a set. All the best!

cat19 : IAM TAKING 2 SECTIONAL TESTS DAILY AND 1 AIMCAT ANALYSIS.UNABLE TO MOVE TO THE SECOND AIMCAT FOR THE DAY. SUGGEST HOW TO INCREASE THE SPEED.
raman : Stop analysing now. May be tomorrow is the last day for ANALYSING. Just revise your fundamentals and build a positive frame of mind.Speed accuracy and all will happen if your frame of mind is +ve

gh : @PUNEETSHARMA SIR. OKAY SIR THANKYOU SO MUCH! I WILL FOLLOW THAT. ALSO, YOUR METHOD OF EXPLAINING QUESTIONS AND CONCEPTS IN VIDEO SOLUTIONS HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP. THANKYOU!
puneetsharma : Thank you and all the best!

abhijeet : DOES REVISION OF ALL AIIMCATS QUANT SECTION SUFFICIENT ENOUGH FOR THE REVISION OF QUANTS?
puneetsharma : Definitely!

: @RAMAN SIR IN DIFFICULT PAPER? WHAT SHOULD BE THE MIN NO. OF ATTEMPTS IN VARC AND QA?
raman : Difficulty level is purely subjective. It is all in hindsight. So do not think about these now.

neha : LASTLY..THANK U TO ALL MENTORS.
raman : Wish you all the best:)