5 reasons to start your CAT preparation today

So, what is keeping you away from getting into your dream b-school? Is it the unrealistically high cut-offs, is it the seemingly unfair admissions system or is it just the world against you? If you think about it, for more than half of the CAT takers, it is their lack of CAT preparation.

As simple as that!! It is the will, commitment and determination to sit and prepare for the CAT that matters. In this blog, we will be discussing about why you should stop procrastinating and start your CAT preparation today.

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1. Loads of topics

CAT tests from a wide range of topics, split into three major sections. Take QA for example, you have roughly 30+ topics to cover. In VARC, you will need time to go through the basic ideas of reading comprehension, sentence rearrangement, sentence elimination, para summary etc. As for DILR, you will need to get some basic ideas in place before you tackle harder level questions.

You will need time to learn, practice, revise and take mocks. Beginning your preparation today will give you all the time in the world to sit peacefully and study while also enjoying your preparation. If you let yourself feel down in step 1, then you will never go ahead.

2. Developing any habit takes time

This one is specifically regarding your preparation for the VARC section. You might be able to cram a few quant topics and some DILR puzzles for the weekend. But if you have planned for 10 hours of reading, then you got to do it everyday. Trying to cram your 10 hours worth reading for the weekend is not fruitful. You cannot take value from the reading. Trying to conquer reading at the last moment is not possible. It takes time to develop the habit of reading. You should invest time on a daily basis. Read a lot, read away to glory. Make it a habit to read at least an hour everyday.

If you want a guide on VARC preparation, check out this video.

You can kick start your reading by going through categorized list created by Bharathwaj here. We post articles on daily basis, keep following this list for more. For 2IIM’s definitive reading list, click here.

3. You are competing with retakers

This is one of the most important reasons of all. You should always remember that you are competing with people who have taken this exam before. Around 40% to 50% of the aspirants are CAT retakers. It could be their second, third, fourth or even the fifth attempt. The point here is that, you should be at par with them. You should be able to compete with someone having experience of writing this exam multiple times.

The caveat here is that not all CAT repeaters have scored bad in their previous attempt. It could be that someone could have missed the cut-off by a point or so and could not get into the college they wanted to. You will sit with people who have already scored 98/99+ in CAT previously. The competition is immense. You should brace yourself to face the worst. You have got enough time today.

4. Actions should reflect your ambitions

As clichéd as it may sound, nothing comes easier in life. If you want something, you got to work for it. If you are ambitious then your actions should reflect that. This snippet from Bojack Horseman illustrates that.

Having a big ambition in mind is alright but you got to act on your thoughts. You might have a plan of preparation or you could have a b-school of your dreams but all of these thoughts mean nothing if you don’t convert it into a tangible action. The needle will not move if you don’t do anything to actually move it. Solving a bunch of quant questions, reading one or two articles daily might not seem like a big action today but they have wonderful outcomes in the end. If you can’t put your thoughts into action then your thoughts mean nothing.

5. Next Monday never comes

This is the elephant in the room.

That Monday will never come.

We will discuss about the round off mentality that everyone has. Say you plan to do something and it is 5:15, you brain will say, “Okay, let me do it at 5:30”. Then, 5:31 happens, your mind automatically rounds it off to 6 p.m. Your mind is continuously rounding off every time. It is okay to round it off maybe by an hour but it’s becomes a problem if it becomes weeks and then it becomes months and finally it goes like, “Agle Saal dekh lenge” (I will do it next year). You got to stop putting things off continuously. As it is said, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”.

In the end, it is all about having that determination and consistency to clear this exam and do what you want to do. It is possible only with continuous effort from your end. Don’t wait for any Monday, stop putting off things, think about the immense competition, do your bit daily. Start your CAT preparation today. Things will fall in place when the time comes. All the best! Till next time.

Also, check out this video where Bharathwaj beautifully explains why should you start your CAT preparation today.

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Sasidhar Swaminathan, is a student at IIMB and was formerly a Content Creator at 2IIM. He is also a Potterhead and loves reading. Spotify is his go-to place.