How to Review Mock CATs | A 3-Step Process

Everyone tells you that the value in taking Mock CATs lies in analyzing them, and not just in mechanically taking them. How exactly does one review Mock CATs? You might also want to check out our highly informative A-Z Guide for Mock CATs with answers to relevant questions.

Check your percentile.

The starting point for any mock analysis is the percentile. Not because it is very relevant, but because it is impossible to ignore. So, go ahead, knock yourself out. Check the section-wise percentiles, stare long and hard at the numbers, extrapolate the percentiles from the last 3 mocks and see where they are going, imagine how high your overall percentile would be if only you could produce your best section performances in the same mock, give in to curiosity, triumphalism and envy by figuring out others’ percentiles.

Do all this to get the damn thing out of the system. Now, ignore it and focus on something that can actually be useful. There are three parts to this –

1. Mock CATs have the best questions; learn how to solve ALL of these.

Mocks are often seen merely as a tool for assessment and bench-marking rather than as a tool for learning. Mock CATs usually have the best questions, the ones that have an elaborate 6-minute solution while also having the elegant 1-minute solution. So, make it a habit to review the questions that have gone wrong, questions that you have skipped and then the ones that you got right as well.

Very often, students ignore the ones they have gotten correct. If all your attempts were through the best approaches, chances are you would have attempted 5 more in each section.

There is a learning angle to every Mock CAT.

Do not ignore this. As this article says, the Mock CATs have quite a few now-you-know questions. This is why it is very important to pick a Mock CAT provider who focuses on providing detailed solutions and helps with the thought process.

In other words, have a look at 2IIM’s Test Dojo before you go looking elsewhere. With over 8 Mock CATs and 6 actual CAT Papers from previous years, you’ll be all set.

2. Which 3 get kicked out, which ones get in?

After every mock, do a simple exercise to improve decision-making. Select at least three attempts from each section that you should have skipped, and replace these with three you should have attempted. In your first few mocks, you might even be able to select 5-6 questions in each section. The big gains in mocks come from improved decision-making; and you have to take a conscious effort to improve this.

If you can reach your point where you cannot find more than 1 question in each section that you had incorrectly chosen to attempt, you can count yourself ready for the exam.

3. Topic-wise and Timing-wise Analysis

You should ask yourself a few questions similar to the ones given below –

On the timing front, figure out when the fatigue errors creep in. All of us find that there are 2-3 questions where we cannot really fathom why we marked that stupid wrong choice in the first place. This is essentially down to fatigue. There is a spell of 15-20 minutes where not much gets done and errors creep in. Locate this spell, see when it usually happens and reduce it methodically.

It is important to know which type of question gets you the best marks/minute. You might easily attempt 3 RC passages accounting for 12 questions within 30 minutes. But if you get 6 of these wrong, that is effectively same as attempting only one RC and getting all questions correctly. Four correct answers in 30 minutes is a very poor return.

Armed with the knowledge of how to review Mock CATs, go forth and own your preparation. Stay Safe and Good Luck with your CAT Prep.

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.