“CAT 2021 Preparation” – this is the most common line of thought, as the extended deadline for CAT 2020 registration draws its curtains today.
CAT 2020 has already been mired in a lot of uncertainties, as announcement after announcement keep coming out, in the wake of the pandemic. Aspirants who started preparation early for CAT 2020 are rolling up their sleeves and bracing themselves up for the new timings and other updates. Some of them are intimidated by the sudden changes (Rajesh has something to tell y’all, in the video below).
On the other hand, this announcements seem to have had very less to no bearing on those who are starting/have started their CAT 2021 preparation. Tell you what, if you have already registered, it is worth giving a shot at CAT 2020. CAT 2020 is going to be interesting, as always.
Having said that…
CAT 2021 Preparation – why start today?
Have you heard people talk about “long haul”, “routine”, “habit”, et al.? These words might have sounded superficial, but they are not. It would be of interest to learn why CAT 2021 preparation needs to be started today.
CAT has started testing things that go hand-in-hand with the idea of what you might call as a habit. It takes a long while to get conditioned to not jump into a formula the moment you see a question. Reading from a wide variety of sources helps immensely in the VARC section of CAT, which is about one-third of the paper.
The 13-month preparation cycle
There are a bunch of things you can take value from. Starting today for an examination that is 13 to 14 months away is a great beginning. The first step is always going to be crucial; if you have taken the plunge, or are about to venture into this territory, dive in.
Starting from scratch: The CAT 2021 preparation grind
If you have given a cursory glance at our YouTube channel, chances are you might have heard Rajesh mention the following phrase – “learning from first principles”. This holds particularly good if you are starting now for CAT 2021.
You have enough and more time to learn the concepts in depth, practice gazillions of questions, revise, rinse and repeat. Note that most, if not all, CAT aspirants do not get this luxury of preparing for a full 12-month period.
No frenzy. Just preparation
There are people who can crack CAT with two or three months preparation. It is possible. But there are also the others – the bunch that forms the majority of us – who might need more time. These are people for whom the concepts need to be revisited constantly; they are those who wish to take CAT preparation gradually as just yet another aspect in lives.
We are often given to getting overawed by the rags-to-riches stories (cue clickbait-y title and a catchy YouTube thumbnail that reads, “I was zero at Math. I cracked CAT in 22/7 days” :P) that we miss track of reality. Outliers need not and do not constitute the majority.
You can start today, setting your eyes on CAT 2021. You would be surprised at the kind of leisurely prep regime you have, as you get geared up. There is so much joy in taking things one at a time, absorbing the beauty of Math serenely, and moving ahead incrementally.
Learning for CAT your way
When there is limited time at your disposal, and the arsenal of portions to be covered are huge, you will seek the guidance and gyan of every Tom, Rajesh and Bharath. Not when you have enough time.
Oftentimes, time is the barrier that prevents you from thinking on your foot and make prudent decision for yourself. A 13-month preparation grind could just be what you are looking for. There are scores of books you can read, tons of articles you can devour, and thousands of sums you can keep solving. Most importantly, you can do all of these at your pace.
So…
What are you waiting for? Sign up today and kick-start your preparation!
Stay Safe and Best Wishes for CAT!
Rajesh Balasubramanian takes the CAT every year and is a 4-time CAT 100 percentiler. He likes few things more than teaching Math and insists to this day that he is a better teacher than exam-taker.
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