Live One-to-One Online CAT Classes by IIM Alumni

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Working Professional – CAT PrepPeople who are currently in jobs need to be very serious

about preparations Time available to them might be very less compared to

other student aspirantsCAT and other similar exams like XAT,FMS etc are known

for changing patterns and differing levels of difficulty every year.

Two Sins while CAT PreparationA lot of people jump straight into problem solving and finding

shortcuts to do “commonly occurring” problems. Jump into exercise based preparation without getting the

fundamentals rightWhether you are starting preparations for the first time or

are writing CAT for the nth time; make sure that you get your fundamentals right.

MAD over CAT The CAT is a tough test. The CAT will humble you and bring you

down to your knees. With enough practice and the right guidance, you can beat it!  The key to success is training your mind to think differently and

act differently  Get acquainted with both the content and the length of the

test. CAT is not rocket science, it just requires a lot of discipline…

There are no shortcuts—Identify your weaknesses and then reviewing materials/doing

practice problems to fill those gapsFocus on the problem types you're having issues with

TRUST YOURSELF. You are smarter than you think. All of the knowledge is inside of you. You just need to discover

how to pull it out and apply it on test day!

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  7 Point Strategy Mental Ability – Improve mental ability, improve mental

responses, practice mental exercises and calculations daily.  Clear Basic fundamentals – Through understanding of

principles through different books Time Management – Solving Practice problems with

timer, not more than 3 min for any question regardless of difficulty level ( 4 questions – 12 min)

SWOT Analysis – Know different types of questions in & do a SWOT on those types. More practice on weak areas.

Error Log - Error log will help you to know weak areas. Strategy to solve each type of question within 3 min

Process of Elimination – Understand & Practice Process of Elimination on different question types

Practice – No alternative to practice. It is very important to practice higher difficulty level questions for time management; try to solve every question within 3 min

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Analyze, Understand & Plan the preparation Preparing for the exam 3 levels of preparation required to crack the CAT.

KnowledgeExam StrategyConfidence and Performance under pressure

3 Steps to ACE CAT Step-1 Learn all about CATStep-2 Do Self Analysis for CATStep-3 Execution: Mastering your strengths and improving on your

Weaknesses  Study Plan

Never Prioritize topics – study all What is prepared & what needs to be learnedTime Management  Set accomplishable goalsStick to your plan 

Identify where you standWhere to start?The ideal way to start preparing for any

exam is by taking a diagnostic testDiagnostic tests should ideally be of similar

type as the previous CAT exam.You may take the test online/offline. Detailed analysis of the results

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Build the Foundation - Revise the fundamentalsUnderstand and Develop basic concepts tested

in the CATUnderstand different types of questions asked

in each sectionGauge your understanding by solving

questions for each ConceptAttempt extra practice problems on each

concept to go to Pro Level.Finally, move on to actual past CAT questions –

to develop the CAT mindset

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Get your fundamentals rightFocus on basic concepts and fundamentalsUnderstand the formulas/conceptsShortcuts must come from a deeper

understanding of the fundamentals rather than from some black box formula like approach

Take as much time as required to get it done

Don’t jump into exercise based preparation without getting the fundamentals right

Study Plan and Time ManagementTime is precious, while everyone has the

same amount of time, only those who manage it well crack the CAT.

Budget your time – Create a study plan to manage the time effectively and efficiently.

Give plenty of time for each task and concept

Use a calendar to set specific deadlines. Don’t get nervous over deadlines; stay

calm and keep on track.

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Practice - Test, Test and More Test!!Starts taking timed tests as early in the prep cycle as

possibleStart taking sectional tests and time based exercises. At least 2-3 concept or sectional tests a week See where you stand and how much improvement

you need. Analyze the tests in detail to check:

A) Where have you gone wrong?B) Why have you gone wrong? C) Solutions to questions that you did not attempt to

identify the ones that you could have attempted. Analyze your performance after every test that you

take.

SWOT Analysis - Don’t forget it Give mock tests to understand one’s strengths and weakness Important to use, develop strength or compensate for Weakness Ideally for a 2 hour test, one should spend at least 2-3 hours analyzing

things like a.    What went wrong? b.    What went right? c.    Where am I consistently strong d.    Where am I consistently weak? e.    Did I attempt questions that where time sinks? Why? f.    Did I skip or not attempt simple questions? Why?

Track your performance section wise and concept wise Analysis : attempted, non-attempted questions,  Silly mistakes and

guess work attempts Know strengths and weaknesses, concentrate on areas where you need

to improve Understand strength/weakness thoroughly and ensure that you play to

your strengths in the exam

Time Management during exam Practice the element of “TIME” in problem solving  Most problems in management institute exams do not require

knowledge of rocket science. These exams are about

Skill and knowledge Ability to manage time in the most efficient manner.How to solve problems in minimum time

Focus on 2 more questions and get proficient in them -:a) How much time will it take me to solve this problem?b) Compared to the problems that I have seen what level of

difficulty do I think this problem lies in? Important for candidate to decide

Which questions to attempt and which questions to leave In which order - which might very well end up being the most

important thing esp. in exams where time is the crunch.

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Plan your answering strategyThese are few points you must plan out before taking the

CAT-:What is your time allocation strategy? How much time do you plan to spend on each of the

sections?In particular, do you plan to devote equal time to each

section or slightly more time to the section that you are the strongest at?

How will you respond to a different marking scheme if that is specified? For example, if there are 2 marks and 1mark questions, do you plan to attempt the 2 mark questions first?

Do you plan to spend some time at the completion of the exam, cross-checking or verifying some of the answers, especially of those questions that you are not really sure of and have just estimated or guessed the answer?

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Find your strategy - Experiment: Till you have found a rhythm/strategy keep

changing things The target number of questions you want to

attempt, The time you spend on each section etc.

This kind of experimentation will prepare you for any surprise that you may find on D-Day

Perfect the optimum CAT-solving strategy Strikes the right balance between speed and

accuracy, Ensure that you clear all cut-offs and as well as

get 99+ percentile

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Attention : Interviews and GD/WAT Start preparing for the interviews and GD’s from beginning Candidate needs to show that he/she has a well rounded

personality in complete admission process Start orienting on this aspect six months before even applying to

the b-schools. Know and Understand different question asked in interviews Pick up a hobby,

Project something to be your hobby in an interview, Good understanding of history, personal association, ground

details, rules, current news items related to it and finally your views on its future etc.

For GD/WAT preparation, Keep updated on General Knowledge/ General Affairs Get a taste of the real thing Preparing in groups of friends for GD/Essays is a good idea

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Current Affairs – General KnowledgeInterview/GD/WAT Essays requires that you be

aware of your surrounding and current affairs. Read at least one good newspaper daily and a

weekly magazine on current affairs (and 1 business magazine preferably) regularly.

Most publications from same media houses would be a bit biased in some respect

A variety of views from different media houses would strengthen your knowledge of the subject and help you especially in GD/WAT Essay

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Train Your brain Entire CAT evaluation (including GD/WAT/PI) is designed for people

who can work for longer periods of time without breaks Train your brain for working effectively and efficiently for longer

periods of time Build Mental stamina

Mental fatigue is real and it tends to snowballAt the end of an exam, mental fatigue will cause him/her to think

more slowly, it will force you to re-read or re-calculate, Spending longer on each question will only serve to fatigue you

even more. Mental stamina is required to perform efficiently and to get a good

score If you need to warm-up for an hour before beginning to be able to

concentrate and study productively, now is the time to break that habit.

You need to be able to start concentrating almost immediately, and need to do the same thing for more than 140 minutes.

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Work life balance Keep yourselves distressedBalance your work/study with preparation. Be genuine to yourself and spend time every day

regularly in a systematic mannerTake it slow and do not garble all the information. Work your way through different types of

problems and keep track of your performance in every possible area

It’s about ‘You’ and you know better about yourself; devise a strategy that works for you

Keep fine tuning the strategy, until you get better results

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Final WordsCAT is a tough exam and you need to train your brain for it. The key to success is training your mind to think

differently. Get acquainted with both the content and the length of the

test. CAT is not rocket science; it just requires a lot of discipline.

CAT is a very logical exam and if you are good with logic, you should be able to do reasonably well.

The challenge is not to master all concepts, or to do all problems rightly; the challenge is to maximize the score

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; all you have to do is follow a plan which the high CAT scorers use and customize it to suit your needs.

NGUFO = (Never Give Up - Fight On)

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About SPANEDEA“Every learner is unique, and so is every learning

situation!”

SPANEDEA is an interactive learning platform through live video and audio and a virtual blackboardFounded in 2011 by IIM Bangalore 1998 batch alumni – Sanjay Bhadra, Nitin Bansal and Rajat SharmaBased in Mumbai, India

Get more information at: http://www.spanedea.com/CAT

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Why Learn Online Customized learning from the convenience of their

location.Sessions/course customized to particular students need

Convenience - Convenient timing

Comfort - At the comfort of your place, Spend less time

on traveling and more time to learn

Teacher’s personalized teaching -1on1 live teaching through internet,

Modular course content – eBooks, interactive and customized content/ courses

Quality – best quality teachers

Availability – qualified teacher available all the time

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Benefits to students Choice – chose teachers, select courses,

Precision – exactly what is required, instead of needless 'full'

Personalization – my weaknesses at my pace, customize your own course

Doubt clearing – interactive discussion required for doubt clearing

The tutor provides comfort – provides the invaluable hand-holding

Sufficient practice – pre and post session quizzes, full exam

More focus on concepts – concept building

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For more information on CAT - http://www.spanedea.com/CATOpenedex India Pvt. Ltd., 703, C-Wing, Mangalya, Andheri (E), Mumbai-

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