You've studied hard in preparation for the Common Admission Test and giving upmteen mock CATs. Now, all you need to do is perform well in the final test on November 19.
CAT trainer Naveen Saraf from IMS Learning Resources who chatted with CAT aspirants November 18 advised them to draw inspiration from the Mahabharata:
'Just think that you are taking the CAT all alone! Remember the Arjuna and the eye of the fish story.'
sancio : what do you advise that we do to day.., any mandatory things that need to be taken with me tomorrow to the venue??
Naveen : Hi Sancio. Just relax, be calm and be CONFIDENT
sancio : what do you advise that we do to day.., any mandatory things that need to be taken with me tomorrow to the venue??
Naveen : Carry your CAT admit card, lots of pencils , a couple of erasers, watch (without calculators), sharpeners.
core2 : Hi would you advice to watch India-South Africa match today ?
Naveen : The match is tomorrow, to the best of my knowledge. Do watch Casino Royale today!
Testtaker : sir...lastyear i scored 95+ percentile and have 2yrs of work-ex now.with what percentile can i expect a iim calls this year
Naveen : Try for a 98 per cent with good scores in all the three sections
sonia : Which sections are the ones where we can resort to intelligent guessing in worst case scenario
Naveen : VA/RC, DI, QA -- in this order. Do NOT make wild guesses.
rahul : ive tried all the possible combinations of answering the paper.....what do u think.....DI or english.....which one shud i do first
Naveen : Each one to himself or herself. Do whichever way you think you have been able to maximise your scores in the past.
leo123 : at this eleven the hours what do u suggest to check capabilities in. i have never cleared cut off in my mocks but still confident
Naveen : That's the way! More than half the battle is won in the mind! Feel good, do some light revision, check maths, formulae, sleep well and crack CAT tomorrow!
Testtaker : hi sir what should be the sectional percentiles u would advice. my verbal scores are around 93 only..
Naveen : 92 per cent in each section and 98 per cent overall should see you through most of the IIMs
imgonnarock : ur take on d order in which sections should be solved...d 3 sections are 1. strong 2. average(shd clear cutt-off) 3. weak
Naveen : There is no one solution that will fit all. Most people, however, start with their strongest section and do NOT end with their weakest
rahul : sir i have my birthday 2morrow....im plannin to party allnite....is it ok? or shud i stay home and look up the formulae?
Naveen : Party all day and night tomorrow!
rahul : sir what if the DI is very difficult? what shud i do then?
Naveen : If it seems difficult to you, do remember that the rest of the country will also be facing the music! Just do your best.
imgonnarock : could you give us some info on d overall cuts offs required for S.P.JAIN & M.D.I?
Naveen : MDI: Around 95 per cent SP Jain: 90-95 per cent. SP also looks at your profile and percentile is not as important a criterion as it is for other institutes.
sonia : I dont look anything beyond IIMs as I am already serving in an MNC at a good package. That is where I want to be. Hence are there chances of rejection with a 7 yrs of work ex
Naveen : 7 years is not going to be an impediment at all. On the contrary it may help you. Do however look at the PGPX at IIMA and IIMC plus ISB in India. Abroad, there are even better options for people with your profile.
cat2mrw : what are the chances that the quants section will have RC kind of problems.. One of the SIM cats had that kinda stuff....
Naveen : Reasoning intensive questions are increasingly becoming more important. IMS tests (including SimCAT7) have been reflecting that.
sanju : by how much do u think cut-off will increase due to increase in time??
Naveen : Could go up by 15per cent . So if VA was 20 last year ... assuming the same level of difficulty it could be 23 this year.
ace : I am also having 5+ years of experience..so is there any relaxation in Cuttoff for higher experience people
Naveen : There is slight relaxation in many Institute.
sonia : Does IMS provide a weekend kind of classes for working professionals for the preparation of CAT
Naveen : Yes all IMS centres have special weekend classes for working people.
KunalMalhotra : Hi,I am good at VA and Maths.However DI is my weak point....Have read a lot about strategies and how u should approach it. But do u think that any sta\rategy is going to work considering the uncertainity of an exam like CAT. isnt it better to go with a free mind and just focus on the exam and make your plan at that point in time?
Naveen : You answered it yourself!
Suvesh : For a fresher, what is the minimum percentile required for a) atleast one call, and b) all 6 calls??
Naveen : Hi Suvesh a) 98 per cent b) 99 per cent with 94 per cent or more in all sections
yogesh : hello sir ..can u tell me what are the cut off's for nirma
Naveen : Hi Yogesh, around 88per cent
sanju : how much percentile difference can a difference of 3-4 marks make???
Naveen : Depends on your score. If your score is on the lower side it could make a very large difference. If your score is on the higher side it will make a smaller difference.
Rati : I scored a 90 percentile in Sim 7 but the rest of the Sims I managed in the late 70's or 80's..english is my strongest section..i'm lookin at MICA..what percentile is reqd for a call from MICA...
Naveen : Hi rati around 90 per cent for MICA.
Neer : What is the diff in cutoffs for general and reserve candidates?
Naveen : Reserve cut off could be lower by about 10-2 per cent
Rati : thank you..also let me kno..do they give prefernce to the english scores or they have sectional cutoffs?
Naveen : Hi Rati, no sectional cut-offs for MICA.
ROHITT : hi to all.Well i currently am in my final year and will be taking CAT this year. Due to mismanagement of time with regard to my regular curriculum and my CAT preparation, i dont think i would be giving my 100per cent tomorrow.My final sems ends in may' 07. My question is would i be at any disadvantage if i just slog it out from next may till CAT'07 and not go in for a job? Is it a major criteria in other exams like XAT, SNAP, etc?
Naveen : Hi Rohit. It would be better if you also take up a job after your semesters. It would serve as a backup also.
rahul : sir how do we know whether our answers are correct or not.....after the exams.....who wud be able to guide us.......
Naveen : You will be able to carry the CAT question paper back home. Make sure that you mark the answers on the paper also. We will be putting up the answer key on imsindia.com by 6 pm.
dhoom2 : hello sir, im a student fm ur hfs centre...my percentile takes a beating during the tests but the same paper taken in a non test environ gives me a better score....what do u think shud be my strategy for cat??
Naveen : Hi Dhoom2! Just think that you are taking the CAT all alone! Remember the Arjuna and the eye of the fish story!
sonia : Is it advisable to leave the job and then study?
Naveen : No Sonia.
yogeshbang : hi sir can you tell me what marks i should score in each section to assure a call to nirma..
Naveen : 80 per cent in each section and 88 per cent overall for NIRMA
adimaniac : dnt u think der mite b an added section 2mrw say sumthin lik general awareness since d time is half an hr more dis time?
Naveen : Hi Adi. General awareness is not likely to be there. Don't worry.
ROHITT : Will any kind of a job do? I mean, working at a BPO or something.. or does it have to be purely technical?
Naveen : Hi Rohit. Any fulltime job will do.
leo123 : what could BIM and Tapmi's cut off be?
Naveen : Leo. Both would be around 88 90 per cent
goingforit : Sir , wat percentile is required for MDI ?any sectional cutoffs are there ?
Naveen : MDI- 95 per cent overall. 90 per cent in each section.
yogeshbang : hi sir in all my mock cats i scored between 60-70per cent how would u rate me ..what are my chances in making to a good b-school
Naveen : Hi Yogesh. You need to score at least 85 per cent in the CAT to make it to a decent B-School. If you increase your score by 8-10 points, you can jump from 70-85 per cent .
goingforit : shuld i giv a test tuday ? jus tu get fine tuned ?
Naveen : Hi going. No. You can review interesting questions from the earlier tests.
Som : Will India Win Cricket match tomarrow ?
Naveen : Hi Som. Wish that all of you win the CAT match tomorrow and even the Indian cricket team does the same in South Africa.
sonia : I get confused in the percentage and percentile thing? Can you explain?
Naveen : Percentage indicates your score as a percentage of the highest score achieved. Percentile indicates how many candidates (out of 100) are below you.
ROHITT : So, I will not be at any dosadvantage by doing some BPO job? Cause working there usually doesnt count as work expreience.
Naveen : Fulltime BPO experience is counted as work-experience.
vis : Hello Sir, wht colleges shld i target if i manage a score of abt 85 - 90 percentile? ALso, i have 2+ years of Work Ex.
Naveen : Hi Vis. SP Jain, IMT, TAMPI, MICA, IMI, NIRMA, KJ Somaiya, BIM.
ag : dear sir, if the difficulty level of cat (this year) remains the same as in comparison to cat (last year), then how many marks (in total) will fetch a candidate a 98+ percentile score?
Naveen : Hi Ag, a score of around 50-52.
Suvesh : Where does the aspect of choosing between a fresher and a work exp guy enter in the CAT selection process? Is it during the exam itself, or is the exam fair to everyone and do they make the choice during the GD/PI process? I'm asking you regarding this as my worry is not in getting the percentiles (as I've been doing well) but losing out to someone else by a bit or two here or there.
Naveen : Hi Suvesh, Do not worry about aspects which are not in your control. Just give your best tomorrow. Work-ex cut off is slightly lower for most schools.
rabrakha : can u bring de question papers wid ourselves after the exam ?
Naveen : Yes Rabrakha.
jitu : hi, jitu here.PLZ answer My performance in SIMCAT is really bad. what should I do? I belong to SC community, what are the colleges should I apply. What was the last year cut off percentile and overall marks for IIM for SC students
Naveen : Hi Jitu. Are you an engineer.
bond : sir how many question should one try to attempt tommorrow to get 80per cent plus considering i m scoring around 60-70per cent my attempts in mock cats were usually around 25..
Naveen : Hi Bond. Try to push your score to over 30. Attempts you can decide. Do keep in mind that CAT is decided by accuracy more than speed.
ngk : hello Naveen, Over the 8 simcats i have got percentiles ranging from 80.3 to 97.6. I have a work-ex of 4 and a half years. what is the percentile i need in CAT 06 to get a call from a) IIMs b) SPJAIN, c)MDI ? how important is the QA percentile for these institutes?
Naveen : Hi NGK a) IIMs: 97per cent +, b) SP Jain: 88-90 per cent , c) MDI: 93 per cent with sectional cut-offs in all cases.
jitu : hi, jitu here.No, I am in my final year of BA My performance in SIMCAT is really bad. what should I do? I belong to SC community, what are the colleges should I apply. What was the last year cut off percentile and overall marks for IIM for SC students
Naveen : Jitu, you can look at IIMS, NITIE, IITS, FMS, UBS, IIFM, DU etc
Samira : Hello Naveen,i NEED an answer, plz!!With 80-90 attempts and an accuracy rate of 80-82per cent , d'u think I could manage the cut-offs??
Naveen : Samira, you have a GREAT chance! Am sure you are going to make it.
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