aadi : WHAT SHOULD BE THE DECENT PERCENTILE AT THIS POINT IN TIME FOR A STUDENT WHO HAS JOINED JUST 1.5 MONTHS AGO
abhishek : Decent percentile is dependent on the student's preparation levels. It is hard to answer.

nandu : WHAT IS THE IDEAL NUMBER OF QUESTIONS I SHOULD ATTEMPT IN EACH SECTION ASSUMING I AVE 80% ACCURACY AND WISH TO SCORE MORE THAN 95 PERCENTILE?
mandar : you should score 40% to 45% ( percent, not %tile ) in QA, 50% to 55% in Verbal, and around 40% in LRDI section. so accordingly you can claculate how many questions you should attempt in every section, assuming 80% accuracy.

aakash : MY AIMCAT PERCENTILES ARE FLUCTUATING SIGNIFICANTLY, RANGING FROM 30 TO 70. IS THIS A NORMAL PART OF THE PREPARATION PROCESS, AND WHAT STEPS SHOULD I TAKE TO IMPROVE MY PERCENTILE CONSISTENCY AND OVERALL PERFORMANCE?
philipthomas : This is indicative of problems in your preparation, take a closer look at the areas where which show a wide fluctuation and prepare on those areas.

krcbb5a035 : I HAVE JUST STARTED MY PREPARATION, WHAT SHOULD I DO TO PREPARE MY QUANTS SECTION ?
abhishek : Focus on the basic concepts. Learn the application of the concepts by solving multiple examples of same type. Test yourself by taking regular tests(full length and sectional). Analyse the performance.

hocc5y1655 : WHAT IS THE STRATEGY FOR PREPARING APTITUDE PROPORTION?
mandar : means?

aadi : I JOINED THE TIME IN MID MAY. I HAVE TAKEN 3 MOCKS AND NOT ABLE TO SCORE ABOVE 80 PERCENTILE. HOW SHOULD I PROCEED AHEAD?
ashwinvariyar : You need to analyse each mock. Try and understand what Q types and topics you are not comfortable with. It is an incremental process. Try to progress topic by topic

bhcnb5q331 : ITS DIFFICULT TO ANSWER THE LENGTHY PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS HOW CAN WE TACKLE THEM IN LESS TIME
philipthomas : Assuming that you are referring to the verbal reasoning questions, you need to work upon the methods that you are using to arrive at the correct answers in a short time.

tirthesh : WHAT WAS A GOOD SCORE IN 2619 AIMCAT SINCE IT WAS RELATIVELY ON EASIER SIDE?
abhishek : Please check the analysis that we have shared. You will get all the details.

rinda : SIR, I MOSTLY RUN OUT OF TIME WHEN I PRACTICE VARC (BECAUSE OF RC) THOUGH THE ANSWERS ARE ALWAYS THERE IN THE PASSAGE, AT THAT TIME- I JUST GET PANICKED AND CHOOSE THE WRONG ONE. PLS SUGGEST A STRATEGY CHANGE
lakshmymenon : Please do not get tempted to answer all the questions based on a passage you have read. That's why you are running out of time. After reading a passage, answer those questions you are confident of. If a particular question confuses you, or you are unable to find the answer, leave it or mark for review. Please remember that about 60 percent attempts with high level accuracy will get you close to, or above, the 99th percentile mark.

sarthak : HI
mandar : yes bolo

sarthak : I AM NOT ABLE TO ANSWER CAT QUESTIONS CORRECTLY AND I M TENSED AS HECK.. HOW AND WHAT TO DO PLS HELP
ashwinvariyar : You need to analyse each mock that you attempt. Try and understand what Q types and topics you are not comfortable with. It is an incremental process. Try to progress topic by topic. You will get there. Also try to get comfortable with basic concepts topic by topic

sarthak : HELLO
amitpoddar : Hi Sarthak,What's your query?

nakshatra : MY SCORE IN QUANTS IS STUCK, WHAT CAN BE DONE? PRACTICE MORE, I KNOW, BUT I AM STILL NOT COMFORTABLE WITH MODERATE LEVEL QUESTIONS
abhishek : Sometimes the quant questions can be learned by going through the solutions. Try doing that. Practice definitely helps.

kv : HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR QUANT SECTION IN TERMS OF ACCURACY AND TO IMPROVE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ATTEMPTED
abhishek : Analyse your performance. Identify questions from which areas are taking more time? Try to get down to basics with those topics. In the beginning days of practice, between accuracy and speed, pick accuracy. Speed will slowly improve.

arya : MY MOCK PERCENTILES ARE FLUCTUATING BETWEEN 85 AND 95. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE CONSISTENCY AND MAINTAIN A GOOD PERCENTILE TO TARGET TIER-1 COLLEGES?
philipthomas : Identify the areas where you are not getting the correct answers and work upon such topics and related questions

bhcnb5q431 : I WAS FACING SOME ISSUE ON ANSWERING THE LENGTHY PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS AND MY MOST OF THE ANSWERS WERE WRONG. PLS SUGGEST SOME ADVICE!
ashwinvariyar : Try to process the passage para by para or part by part. Just keep keywords in mind related to each para and then try to attempt Qs

niharikaa : I TEND TO WELL IN VARC WHEN ITS UNTIMED, BUT WHENEVER I GIVE MOCKS I TEND TO CHOOSE THE WRONG OPTION AND WHILE ANALYSING IT I GET THE RIGHT ANSWER. SO WHAT IS GOING WRONG IN THE PREPARATION?
amitpoddar : You are unable to handle the time pressure at this stage which is normal. Don't worry much. Attempt fewer questions in the mock and also take some VARC based sectional tests.

arya : WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO BALANCE BETWEEN MOCK-TAKING AND REVISION AT THIS STAGE?
philipthomas : After a set of 3 mocks , analyse your performance and work upon the weak areas before getting into further mocks, so it is okay to miss a few mocks so that you can prepare better.

anurag : MY VARC MARKS ARE FLUCTUATING, AND FROM FEW DAYS I HAVE NOTICED THAT I AM NOT ABLE TO ATTEMPT A DECENT NO. OF QUESTION ALSO, DOING ANALYSIS FOR EACH RC AND VA STILL ENDING UP DOING SILLY MISTAKES , HOW SHOULD I IMPROVE FROM HERE ?
lakshmymenon : Relax! This happens initially. First of all, try to get clarity on what your problem is. Is it speed or accuracy? Since you have mentioned both as issues here, I suggest that you work on accuracy first without bothering too much about the number of attempts. Take sectional tests and understand the types of mistakes you're making - are you missing the central idea? Are you overthinking? Or falling for the trap options? Once you pinpoint your problems, keep focusing on avoiding mistakes. Once your accuracy has improved, you can increase the number of attempts.

nishanth : HOW TO EXCEL IN DILR? AM UNABLE TO THINK THE SOLUTION MORE POSSIBLE WAYS SIR?
mandar : only practice will help

sk : SIR I AM UNABLE TO SOLVE EVEN ONE QUESTION ON DILR. BUT WHEN I HAVE SO TIME LIMIT I MAY BE ABLE TO SOLVE SOME. SO HOW DO I PROCEED FURTHER IN MY PREPARATION STRATEGY.
ashwinvariyar : Analyse the mock. Understand which sets were doable and the approach to solving them. Attempt Foundational Section tests of DI and LR

drca5a368 : IN THIS AIMCAT, I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEMPT EVEN A SINGLE DILR QUESTION. I TRIED 3 SETS BUT NONE OF THEM GET SOLVED. HOW TO PREPARE?
govindrajan : SM1002605 helps you in building basic logical interpretation. SM1002615 provides practice in higher difficulty level questions. Start with SM1002605, simultaneously solve online foundation and intermediate tests. Solve questions from AIMCAT -SAs. 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.

krcbb5a035 : I AM UNABLE TO SOLVE A SINGLE QUESTION OF QUANTS , WHAT TO DO ?
abhishek : Go through all the questions once again only with the intention of understanding the question. See how many could you solve without the time pressure. Try and identify why did you miss those questions (it could be one question).

shiv : HOW TO PREPARE FOR LRDI I WANT ONLY ONESET TO SOLVE ,PLZ SUGGEST ME IMP TOPICS OR MORE PRIORITY TOPICS IN ORDER. PLZ DONT HESTITATE TO ANSWER . I WONT BLAME ANY ONE ,WHETHER IT COMES OR NOT ITS ALL MY COST ONLY .. PLZ TELL
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.

tushart : MY VARC SCORE HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY LOW COMPARED TO DILR/QUANTS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DO WRONG DURING MOCK BECAUSE I AM ABLE TO CHOSE THE CORRECT ANSWERS DURING ANALYSIS. ANY STRATEGIES THAT YOU CAN SUGGEST FOR IMPROVING VARC?
philipthomas : Suggest that you first cut down on the attempts , mark only those questions for which you are clear about the answer option that you are selecting. To be more explicit , if you feel that 2 is the answer , you should also be clear why options 1 , 3 or 4 cannot be the answer. Mark only such questions.

ayush : I HAVE GIVEN THREE AIMCATS BUT MY SCORE REVOLVES AROUND 60-65. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE MY SCORE TILL NOW.SHOW ME. PATH TO INCREASE THE SCORE.
govindrajan : For the next couple of mock tests, take time to go through the section and note the questions to answer. Attempt fewer number of questions making sure that all of them are correct. Observe how your overall score improves when you attempt fewer questions with higher accuracy.

arya : AT THIS STAGE, WHAT SCORES IN T.I.M.E MOCKS CAN BE CONSIDERED GOOD ENOUGH TO AIM FOR A TOP IIM CALL?
abhishek : If you are above 90/95, it is very good.

rinda : WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO TAKE A MOCK ? DO YOU ADVISE TO TAKE A MOCK DAILY AND ANALYSE N LEARN SIDE BY SIDE?
abhishek : I do not recommend daily tests. Because, analysis of the test, revision, learning on daily basis might become little overwhelming. You may take one or two locks per week.

niharikaa : I'M JUST STARTING OUT MY DILR PREP AND I'M GETTING LOST, UNABLE TO SOLVE SETS. HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR THIS SECTION
mandar : since you are starting preparation now, initially you'll feel little lost. Start solving DI LR book, go in order , in a 1 months time, you'll see difference.

tirthesh : I AM STUCK IN THE SCORE OF 80S EVEN IF EXAM IS EASY...HOW TO INCREASE THE SCORE
amitpoddar : You need to cover more chapters in all areas so that you are able to attempt more questions accurately.Follow the SM booklets.Also, figure cout all the mistakes you make the AIMCATs.

sid0700 : FOR VARC, I'VE CONSISTENTLY FOUND MY ACCURACY TO BE 71.43% WITH 10 CORRECT AND 4 INCORRECT FOR THE PAST 4 AIMCATS. I TEND TO ATTEMPT 2 RC AND 6 VA QUESTIONS. MOST OF THE TIMES IT IS THE VA SECTION WHERE I MAKE MISTAKES. SHOULD I SWITCH TO ATTEMPTING 3 RCS INSTEAD OR SHOULD I STRIVE TOWARDS IMPROVING MY VA?
lakshmymenon : Since you have mentioned that you're getting 10 correct and 4 wrong, I assume you're attempting every single RC question from the 2 passages you read. Be more selective in your attempts - if you find any question confusing, leave it or at least mark it for review. But you say you are more prone to errors in VA. So, the strategy you suggested may work for you - reading 3 passages. However, ensure that you do not blindly attempt every single question from these 3 - this will result in negative marks, and also leave you with no time for VA. Completely skipping VA is never a good idea since usually, there are a few easy questions in CAT in RC as well as in VA. Rather than decide that you will do 14 or x number of questions in every test, you must learn to adapt your attempts to the difficulty level of each test. Practice will definitely help.

aakash : FROM WHERE I SHOULD PRACTICE AIMCAT TYPE DILR QUESTION , AS SM2604 ARE OF SINGLE TOPICS
mandar : you'll find questions of similar difficulty level in Sectional Tests. strart taking sectional tests. If you find foundation level tests easy, you can go for sectional tests of intermediate difficulty level.

harshit : HOW IMPROVE SCORE IN AIMCAT? HOW AND WHAT TO PREPARE BEFORE TEST?
amitpoddar : Cover chapters from the SM booklets.Take some sectionals regularly.Attempt a SAMCAT a day before your AIMCAT and analyse the mistakes done.

hari : HOW SHOULD I BE ANALYSING A MOCK TEST THAT I HAVE GIVEN? WHAT ARE SOME KEY POINTERS I SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR APART FROM JUST SOLVING THE QUESTIONS I GOT WRONG OR THE ONE'S I SKIPPED/MISSED?
abhishek : 1. Take the test again(questions that remained unsolved). 2. Go through the questions and solutions given. See if your solution was better or not. 3. Look at the questions you were unable to cover due to time. 4. Look at all the questions you skipped(difficult, long) 5. Look at the amount of time taken per question. 6. Look at the topic break up that you attempted/did not attempt. 7. Do the EMD(Easy medium difficult) analysis. These are some of the steps.

aryan : I GOT 97.95 PERCENTILE LAST YEAR, I AM A GEM AND DID CONVERT COLLEGES LIKE IIM SIRMAUR, JAMMU, AMRITSAR, ETC
amitpoddar : Answered.... Best of Luck.

arya : DESPITE READING AEON ESSAYS, ANALYZING MOCKS, AND SOLVING MORE QUESTIONS, I’M STUCK SCORING AROUND 20–25 MARKS IN THE VARC SECTION, WHICH IS FAR BELOW MY TARGET AND QUITE FRUSTRATING. ENGLISH WAS NEVER A PROBLEM FOR ME BEFORE CAT, SO I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S GOING WRONG—COULD YOU PLEASE GUIDE ME ON HOW TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVELY FROM HERE?
lakshmymenon : Relax. VARC is less of English and more of critical and analytical reasoning, so approach this as a new subject altogether. Firstly, try to gain clarity on your issue. Is it speed, or accuracy? If it is accuracy, be more selective in your attempts to avoid negative marks. For each question, eliminate the obviously wrong options first, then for each confusing option, revisit the relevant part of the passage. Try to spot distortions, far-fetched statements etc. in one of the options. If you're still confused, just leave the question rather than risk negative marks.Do a thorough analysis of your mistakes after each mock, and try to refine your strategy for the next mock. If you're able to pinpoint your problem, we can guide you further.

kxca5a156 : MY VARC IS VERY POOR HOW I IMPROVE IT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE PASSAGE EFFECTIVELY
amitpoddar : Improve your reading habit-Read diverse. Try writing a one line summary for all the paras you read.Check the meanings of all the Jargons/difficult words.Slowly you will be able understand the passages better.Practise 2-3 Rcs everyday from the SM booklets.

harshit : WHAT IS THE WAY TO ANALYZE PERFORMANCE IN AIMCAT? WHAT TO LOOK AT AND HOW TO IMPROVE?
amitpoddar : Attempt all the leftover questions once the test window is over.Then check for all the mistakes done.Make a list of all the important areas to be covered in that week.

vinu : I HAVE GIVEN 3 MOCKS AND THE RESULTS ARE NOT UP TO THE MARK, WHAT KIND OF STRATEGY SHOULD I GO WITH TO SCORE BETTER IN THE 3 SECTIONS
amitpoddar : Work on your basics through the given SM booklets.Attend regular classes and take doubt sessions.Start taking sectional tests-3-4 per week.

niharikaa : I HAVE THE TIME DILR PRACTICE BOOK, HOW DO I APPROACH THESE BOOKS FOR MY PREP AS IT HAS TOPIC WISE QUESTIONS, HOW MANY QUESTIONS DO I NEED TO SOLVE, FOCUS ONLY 1 SECTION DI OR LR OR BOTH
mandar : you should solve at least 25 to 30 questions from each chapter. ensure that you are covering different types of questions

sayan : I AM NOT ABLE TO INCREASE SCORE IN VARC, I KNOW WITH TIME SOLVING STUDY MATERIAL I'LL IMPROVE IN LRDI AND QUANTS. BUT I AM HOPELESS IN VARC, NOT ABLE TO SCORE IN DOUBLE DIGIT ALSO. NEED SUGGESTIONS.
philipthomas : You need to understand that you cannot do well in Verbal Ability without being good in the basics : grammar and vocabulary, start your work here , attend additional sessions here and work upon your grammar and vocab so that you can understand RC passages and Verbal Reasoning paragraphs better to arrive at the correct answers.

kxca5a156 : MY VARC IS VERY POOR I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE PASSAGE
lakshmymenon : Please practise reading two passages of about 500-1000 words daily from sources such as The Hindu (Editorial), Aeon Ideas, Arts & Letters Daily etc. with a timer. Do a word count of the passage, then set the timer at a reading speed of 200-250 words per minute. You have to finish reading the article by the time the timer goes off - which means you should keep looking at the timer too. Initially you may not understand anything - that is okay. This is how you practise skimming. After reading, cover the article and write down the central idea in exactly one sentence. Then read the article again slowly. This time, try to identify the key idea of every para. Then, after you finish reading, check the 1 sentence summary you wrote and see if you got it right. Do this every day, and you will see improvement.

t : ARE THE ADVANCED LEVEL BOOKS AVAILABLE TO COLLECT FROM THE ADMIN OFFICE. PLEASE SUGGEST SOME TECHNIQUES TO LEARN ALGEBRA AND NUMBERS BASIC AND ADVANCED
amitpoddar : Yes, you can collect it from the centre.

aryan : GOT 97.95 PERCENTILE LAST YEAR, I AM A GEM AND DID CONVERT COLLEGES LIKE IIM SIRMAUR, JAMMU, AMRITSAR, ETC
amitpoddar : Pls target 99%ile this year. By increasing your attempts and accuracy you can achieve this.Cover more chapters and be regular in taking sectionals.

urvi : MY VARC MARKS AREN'T CONSISTENT PLUS NOT UP TO THE MARK.. WHAT DO I DO.. WHAT EXACTLY HAS TO BE DONE FOR VARC
amitpoddar : Practice is the key.Cover chapters from the SM booklets.Take some sectionals regularly.Attempt a SAMCAT a day before your AIMCAT and analyse the mistakes done

t : ARE SAMCATS HARDER THAN AIMCATS? THINKING OF LEAVING 5-6 SAMCATS FOR THE LAST MONTH OF PREP TO SOLVE IN NOVEMBER JUST BEFORE CAT WHAT WILL BE YOUR SUGGESTIONS
abhishek : No they are not tough. They would be at the same level as AIMCAT.

avisha : I HAVE GIVEN 3 AIMCATS AND FACED TIME MANAGEMENT ISSUE IN ALL THREE, I FIND THE TIME VERY LESS FOR SOLVING ALL QUESTIONS. HOW SHOULD I INCREASE MY SPEED?
amitpoddar : It is not about solving all the questions. Pls be selective and focus on the doable questions first. If time permits then go for more questions.The objective is to maximise the scores not just the attempts.

arya : THIS MAY NOT BE DIRECTLY ABOUT THE 2619 MOCK, BUT IT’S BEEN A CONCERN SINCE THE START — WITH 92.4% IN 10TH, 66% IN 12TH, 75%+ IN ENGINEERING, AND BEING GENF, WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I TARGET FOR TOP IIMS, AND WHAT T.I.M.E MOCK SCORES WOULD BE SUFFICIENT? I'M QUITE WORRIED ABOUT MY 12TH SCORE AFFECTING MY CHANCES.
philipthomas : Do not worry about the 12th standard marks , they are good enough. You need a 98+ percentile to get calls from the top IIMs , similar percentiles are what you would target in the T.I.M.E. mocks

niharikaa : CAN U PLEASE PROVIDE THE DILR PREP STRATEGY
mandar : no strategy as such. Start with chapter 1, and continue. you may take sectional tests when 2 to 3 chapters are over.

aakash : IS IT OK IF I GIVE SAMCATS 1 MONTH BEFORE CAT EXAM OR SHOULD I GIVE THEM NOW ALONG WITH AIMCAT
philipthomas : Do a SAMCAT as a preparation for an AIMCAT.

laks : MY AIMCAT SCORE WAS TOO LOW HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY SCORES, SUGGEST ME A STUDY PLAN TO IMPROVE MY QUANT AND ALSO IN DI LINE GRAPHS IS SEEMS LIKE I AM NOT UNDERSTABLE SO CAN U PLEASE SUGGEST HOW TO SOLVE THAT
mandar : meet faculty member at your centre, take guidance

rinda : IAM NOT ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS CORRECTLY AND GET CONFUSED DURING TESTS. BUT, I'M ABLE TO SOLVE THEM EASILY IN MANY CASES WITHOUT A TIMER OR AFTER THE TEST. HOW CAN I IMPROVE?
govindrajan : Use the mock tests to build strategy. In the initial mock tests attempt very limited number of questions (say 6 or 7 in Quant, One RC in VARC, one set in DILR), but make sure that all questions are correctly answered. You will notice that your score is better than attempting a higher number of questions and some of them being wrong. Slowly increase the number of attempts as you gain confidence. You may continue with lower attempts for a few mock tests. Do not compare your score with scores of other students. Compare with your previous mock tests. This approach will help building confidence and also a strategy that suits you.

vinu : I HAVE TRIED READING EDITORIAL AND PASSAGES FROM WEBSITES BUT THE QUESTIONS ASKED IN THE VOCABULARY SECTION IN DIFFICULT FOR ME, CAN YOU SUGGEST ME SOMETHING THAT WOULD HELP MY VOCABULARY
philipthomas : While working upon the vocab and other verbal sections use the cue cards as your database , spread them out on the table and refer to them when you encounter unfamiliar words.

harshi : SIR CAN U PLEASE TELL ME THE ATTEMPT STRATEGY FOR AIMCAT LIKE HOW MUCH QUESTIONS WE SHOULD?
mandar : there is no fixed answer to this question. but roughly you should attempt around 35% of the questions in every section, with at least 95% accuracy. in verbal attempts can be little more

arya : ACCURACY IN VARC HAS BEEN A MAJOR ISSUE — I OFTEN GET STUCK BETWEEN TWO OPTIONS, AND I USUALLY END UP PICKING THE WRONG ONE. I'M ATTEMPTING AROUND 12–15 QUESTIONS BUT SCORING ONLY 20–21 MARKS CONSISTENTLY.
lakshmymenon : After you eliminate the easy options, take each confusing option, compare them with the relevant part of the passage and try to identify any distortions, omissions, far-fetched statements, extreme ideas etc.Think from the author's perspective rather than your own. You seem to be falling for the trap option - one that seems correct, but has any of the issues mentioned above. Analyse your mistakes thoroughly to uinderstand what kinds of traps you're prone to fall into, and avoid them in the next mock.

urvi : WITH 10 CGPA IN 10TH , 93% IN 12TH , 7.9 GRAD SCORE, GENERAL CATEGORY FEMALE (BDS DOCTOR) WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I EXACTLY BE TARGETING TO GET INTO THE TOP B SCHOOL (IIMS)
lakshmymenon : While the exact percentile cut offs cannot be predicted, you should aim for 98+ percentile if you are looking at the top IIMs.

urvi : WITH 10 CGPA IN 10TH , 93% IN 12TH , 7.9 GRAD SCORE, GENERAL CATEGORY FEMALE (BDS DOCTOR) WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I EXACTLY BE TARGETING TO GET INTO THE TOP B SCHOOL (IIMS)
amitpoddar : Anything beyond 95%ile.

mucbb5a122 : I AM UNABLE TO SOLVE THE QUESTIONS IN QUANT SECTION THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY TAUGHT. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO IMPROVE?
mandar : Once any topic is taught, your preparation begins from there. Only practice will help you

seji : I AM GIVING AIMCATS BUT I AM NOT ABLE TO ATTEMPT MY POTENTIAL QUESTIONS WHEN I DO ANYLISIS I CAN DO MORE QUESTIONS
mandar : Normally this happens, when you are under time pressure. anxiety, pressure of performing are few reasons. Try to remain calm, don't take pressure. set realistic target of attepmts.

harshi : SIR PLEASE TELL IN HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I ATTEMPT RCS?
amitpoddar : At home while practising, give around 1-2 hrs everyday for RCs.Do 2-3 passages daily. In the AIMCATs you can give around 25-30 minutes to RCs and 10-15 minutes to VA.

diya : COULD YOU PROVIDE ME WITH A STEP BY STEP PATH FOR SCORING WELL IN QUANTS SECTION? WHAT TO STUDY, WHAT TO SOLVE FOR PRACTICE, AND HOW SHOULD I COMPPLETE MY QUANTS SYLLABUS BY THE END OF JULY?
abhishek : Answered already. Please check previous chat

seji : HOW TO STUDY FOR VARC
amitpoddar : Give around 1 hr to general reading and 1-2 hrs to the SM booklets on a daily basis.Take 4-5 sectional tests every week.Properly analyse the mock tests.

vinu : IN THE DILR SECTION I TRY MY BEST TO DO 2 SETS OF LR AS I HAVE JUST STARTED MY ARITHMETIC AND DI RELETED QUESTIONS GIVE ME A HARD TIME
mandar : In DILR section target of 2 sets is realistic target, and if you can do it with 95% accuracy, you can clear cut off

yuga : SIR ACTUALLY THE THING IS THAT I'M ABLE TO DO RCS AND EVERYTHING NORMALLY BUT WHEN IT COMES TO AIMCATS IT'S JUST THAT I CAN'T SURVIVE IT... I'M LITERALLY LIKE WHEN'S THIS THING GETTING OVER? COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE SOMETHING RELATED TO THIS? THANK YOU
lakshmymenon : Relax! Remember that the management profession requires effective time management, stress management, resilience etc. Hence, you must train yourself to stay calm amidst stress - that's what CAT tests you on too! Do not try to attempt too many questions in AIMCAT - focus on accuracy instead, at least till you overcome your panic. Decide that you will do only a few questions, and then focus on getting the answer right rather than worry too much about the number of attempts. Once you've gained more confidence through better accuracy, you can work on your speed.

manya : I AM NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE APPROACH OF VARC SECTION..I BEGIN WITH DOING VA AND THEN MOVE TO RC AS I THINK THAT RC WOULD BE TOO TIME CONSUMING AND THAT MAKES ME LEFT WITH 20MIN FOR ALL RC IN WHICH IM ABLE TO ATTEMPT AT MOST 2 RC WHOSE ANSWER ARE MOSTLY WRONG
philipthomas : It should be the other way around, start with the RCs as you need a clear head and not be under any pressure while going through the passages and questions , set apart 28 minutes for the RCs and the remaining 12 for the VA questions. At this stage it will be okay to restrict yourself to 3 RCs and 4/5 VA questions. When you get the feel that you have enough time to read and answer questions , you will automatically improve your performance.

seji : I AM 2024 GRADUATE FROM BBA GENERAL FEMALE CANDIDATE. I DON'T HAVE WORK EXPERIENCE I HAVE 94.2 IN 10 92.8 IN 12 .8.2 CGPA IN GRADUATION WILL I BE ABLE TO CRACK INTERVIEWS OF TOP IIM WITH NO WORK EX
amitpoddar : You academic background looks impressive.Just try to maximise your CAT percentile and you will be able to sail through. Read regularly. Focus on the advantages you have not on the disadvantages.

manya : FOR THE QUANTS SECTION..AS I HAVE JUST BEGIN MY PREPARATION I AM NOT ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.SO FROM WHERE DO I STUDY ARITHMETIC AS MY BATCH HAS COMPLETED THOSE CHAPTERSS
mandar : start taking sectional tests

siddhant : SIR I HAVE STARTED PREPARING SINCE PAST 2 MONTHS AND I AM CURRENTLY COMPLETING ALL THE LIVE CLASSES WITH PRACTICE FROM THE MATERIAL PROVIDED BY TIME
mandar : okay, but what is your question?

kxcab5a344 : HOW CAN I IMPROVE IN VARC SECTION. IT VERY TOUGH FOR ME.
amitpoddar : Practice is the key here. Give around 1 hr to general reading and 1-2 hrs to the SM booklets on a daily basis.Note down the difficult words. Take 4-5 sectional tests every week.Properly analyse the mock tests.

luckyy : HOW TO IMPROVE VERBAL ABILITY MAINLY THE ODD ONE OUT AND SENTENCE FILLING AS CONFUSION IS A LOT ABOUT THEM
ashwinvariyar : need to understand the idea flow in the paragraph. Practice from SM and sectional tests

siddhant : SIR IT HAS BEEN 2 MONTHS SINCE I JOINED AND I HAVE BEEN COMPLETING ALL THE CLASSES AND PRACTICING THROUGH THE TIME MATERIAL.. CAN YOU GUIDE ME ON WHEN TO START THE MOCKS ?
mandar : you should start taking mocks, as per schedule

sayan : TRAILING TO MY PREVIOUS QUESTION SUGGEST ME THE BASIC STEPS TO START WITH FOR IMPROVEMENT IN VARC. AND I AM NOT SCORING GOOD IN LRDI, HOW MANY MINIMUM SETS IS NECESSARY TO SOLVE DAILY AS I AM A WORKING PROFESSIONAL ALSO?
lakshmymenon : For VARC, practise times reading every day. Read 1-2 articles of 500 words - do a word count, and start reading with a timer set at 200-250 wpm. Once you're done, write down the essence of the article in 1 sentence. Look up the meanings of unfamiliar words and note them down. Revise these regularly. Also, take sectional tests and mocks regularly and analyse your mistakes thoroughly.

manya : SIR AS ARITHMETIC IS COMPLETED IN MY BATCH ..FROM WHERE SHOULD I START PREPARING TO REVISE THE CONCEPT
ashwinvariyar : SM and Handouts to start with. Then sectional tests as step 2.

luckyy : SIR WHAT IS SM ?
amitpoddar : Study Material booklets.

luckyy : SIR WHAT IS SM ?
amitpoddar : Study Material booklets.

vinu : SIR I HAVE JUST GRADUATED AND MY ACADEMIC SCORES WERE 7/7/8 [10/12/UG] I HAVE DONE MY BACHELOR'S IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION. WHAT SHOULD BE THE SCORE IN CAT, I SHOULD AIM FOR IIMS
mandar : i think you should aim for 99%tile only.

advika : WILL THE LEVEL OF DILR IN CAT BE SIMILAR TO WHAT IS THERE IN AIMCATS, SINCE I'M ABLE TO SOLVE CAT'24 QUESTIONS, BUT NOT AIMCAT QUESTIONS
mandar : Nothing can be said about difficulty level of DILR questions in CAT, when compared with AIMCAT questions, but yes, generally AIMCAT questions are of higher difficulty level as compared to CAT DILR questions.

manya : SIR HOW CAN I REVISE THE CONCEPT FROM SM BOOKLETS ..I NEED VIDEOS..IM THINKING OF CHANGING MY BATCH TO ONLINE MODE BUT ILL NOT BE PROVIDED WITH RECORDED CLASSES..SO HOW WILL I REVISE LATER FOR THE CONCEPT?
amitpoddar : There are concept videos on the SHP.

advika : HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I GIVE TO EACH DILR SET?
abhishek : Ideally around 10-12 minutes on an average

sudeeksha : SIR IN 10 I GOT 9.8 OUT OF 10 GPAIN 12 TH I GOT 95.3 AND IN GRAD I GOT 8.73 CGPA WITH ZERO WORK EXP BEING GEF WHAT PERCENTILE SHOULD I AIM FOR TO GET INTO A,B,C
amitpoddar : You have Amazing academic credentials. Aim for 99%ile in the CAT exam.

advika : I AM UR FEMALE WITH 93% IN 10TH AND 97.2% IN 12TH, WITH 8.58CGPA UNTIL NOW, WITH 3 MORE SEMESTERS TO GO. HOW MUCH SHOULD I AIM FOR, TO GET IN TOP IIMS?
philipthomas : Your academic scores are fine enough, what you need is to do some internships to improve your profile.

manu : HELLO SIR , I HAVE QUESTION REGRDING MY PROFILE, WILL ACCEPT BY TOP IIMS IF, I HAVE 2 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING AND 6 MONTHS AS HR ,I AM POSTGRADUATE HAVING ACADEMIC SCORES 8/8/6 I HAVE DONE BCOM , MCOM
philipthomas : As the the IIMs always look for diversity of profiles , your profile will attract their attention. You need only good percentiles for calls.

lake : I'M STRUGGLING WITH VARC QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY DURING EXAMS AND MOCK TESTS. DESPITE PRACTICING AND GETTING SOME CORRECT ANSWERS DURING STUDY SESSIONS, I TEND TO GET MORE WRONG ANSWERS WHEN I'M UNDER TIMED CONDITIONS. CAN YOU HELP ME IDENTIFY THE POSSIBLE REASONS AND SUGGEST STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE MY PERFORMANCE?
lakshmymenon : Read any article of around 500 words every day, with a timer. Do a word count of the passage, then set the timer at a reading speed of 200-250 words per minute. You have to finish reading the article by the time the timer goes off - which means you should keep looking at the timer too. Initially you may not understand anything - that is okay. This is how you practise skimming. After reading, cover the article and write down the central idea in exactly one sentence. Then read the article again slowly. This time, try to identify the key idea of every para. Then, after you finish reading, check the 1 sentence summary you wrote and see if you got it right. Do this every day, and you will see improvement. Try to do all RC practise with a timer only. If time pressure is your issue, you must expose yourself more to it! Good luck.

advika : HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I DEVOTE TO EACH DILR SET?
mandar : no fixed answer to this question. You should be able to attempt 1 set to 1.5 set with almost 95% accuracy

manya : SIR AS I RECENTLY STARTED PREPARING FOR RC FROM SM BOOKLETS .. USUALLY ALL MY ANSWERS ARE WRONG..IN PASSAGE 1 WITH 4 QUESTION IM ABLE TO SOLVE ONLY 1 CORRECTLY.. WHICHEVER OPTION I THINK IS THE LEAST POSSIBLE IS MOSTLY THE CORRECT ONE
philipthomas : Start by reworking the classroom handouts, you will find that they look different when you are doing them by yourself, now your learning will be complete and you will be able to handle the SM.

advika : I AM ABLE TO SOLVE DILR QUESTIONS OF CAT PYQS BUT MY SCORE IS POOR IN AIMCAT. WHAT MIGHT BE THE REASON AND HOW CAN I IMPROVE?
govindrajan : 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.

manya : FOR LRDI SECTION I HAVE JUST STARTED PREPARING..AND MY APPROACH IS TO SOLVE HANDOUT REGULARLY TOPIC WISE ..IS THIS CORRECT?
mandar : you should solve DILR book, and also sectional teats

vanshika : SHOULD WE SKIP THE BASIC SM AND FOCUS ON THE ADVANCED SM, STARTED PREPARING A MONTH AGO, I AM COVERING TOPICS WHICH ARE TAUGHT IN THE LECTURES BY BASIC SM. SHOULD I SKIP IT ? AS WE ARE NOT LEFT WITH MUCH TIME FOR CAT
mandar : irrespective of how much time is left, without doing basics, no sense in going directly for advance level questions, as you you won't be able to solve them. But if your basics are in place, then you can skip basic questions from SM

manya : IM NOT ABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE AS TO WHICH QUESTION IS FROM LR AND WHICH IS FROM DI
mandar : thats okay. sometimes its not actually possible to differentiate. Focus on solving

sakshi : I SCORED BETTER IN THIS AIMCAT VERSUS PREVIOUS ALL MOCKS, IN TERMS OF BOTH SCORE IMPROVEMENT AND PERCENTILE. WAS THIS MOCK EASIER VS PREVIOUS ONES?
philipthomas : It is of the CAT level , your preparation would make it look more manageable.

vanshika : DOES NOT HAVING WORK EX. AFFECT A LOT, FOR TOP B-SCHOOLS
amitpoddar : No,it doesn't.You may miss out on some points, that too ,in some B schools. Mostly your CAT percentile is considered.

hocc5y1655 : HOW CAN WE MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE MARKING??
amitpoddar : Pls do not make any wild guesses.

manya : ALSO AS I HAVE JUST COMPLETED MY GRADUATION IN JUNE SHOULD I GO FOR 4TH YEAR TO AVOID A DROP YEAR
amitpoddar : Yeah, you may to avoid a gap year. That can act as a back up plan as well.

advika : I HAVE A TOTAL OF 19 MONTHS OF INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE, IN 3 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, IN POSITIONS OF HR INTERN, APPRENTICE AND ACADEMIC INTERN; WITH DEBATING EXPERIENCES. IS THERE SOMETHING I CAN DO MORE TO IMPROVE MY PROFILE?
ashwinvariyar : You can go for management related certificate courses.

advika : I FACE TROUBLE WITH PHILOSOPHY RELATED RC IN SPECIFIC. IS THERE SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO ABOUT IT? OR SHOULD I JUST SKIP SUCH RC ALTOGETHER?
lakshmymenon : You can skip them only if you have 1 philosophy passage. What if you've more? So, practice reading philosophy passages of about 500 words with a timer set at a reading speed of 200-250 words per minute. Then, see if you can sum up the essence of the passage in 1 sentence. Some sources for philosophy passages are Aeon Ideas, Stone by NYT, Arts & Letters Daily etc.

sakshi : I HAVE ACADEMIC PROFILE OF 9/8/8 WITH WORK EX OF 3.5 YEARS, BUT I HAVE A GAP FROM 1ST JULY 2025 TILL CAT, IS IT OKAY TO JUSTIFY THIS?
philipthomas : There is nothing to be defensive about , you have decided to go for higher education to prepare for roles that require better skills and have more responsibilities , you are making the right move at the right time.

manya : BUT SIR VIDEOS ON SHP ARE LESS HELPFUL AS COMPARED TO TEACHING OF FACULTY MEMBERS
amitpoddar : you can take backup classes or individual doubt sessions.