{"id":11322,"date":"2021-06-18T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T10:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.2iim.com\/cat-exam\/blogs\/?p=11322"},"modified":"2021-06-18T16:19:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T10:49:26","slug":"crossing-90-percentile-in-quant-cat-2021-preparation-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.2iim.com\/cat-exam\/blogs\/cat-2021\/crossing-90-percentile-in-quant-cat-2021-preparation-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cross 90th percentile in Quant | CAT 2021 Preparation Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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CAT 2021 preparation strategy, at this point, should be pivoted around how much and how well a CAT aspirant has covered and is covering their Quant syllabus. And when it comes to Quant, there is a perception that scoring well in this section could be a Himalayan task. Here in this article, we are demystifying that and giving you some ideas that will make it easy for you to be assured of a 90th percentile at the least. (Caveat: only certainties in life are death and taxes). Non-engineers, engineers afraid of Math, Math prodigies who have somehow flunked the Quant section<\/a> previously, and all you CAT-o-sapiens, this one’s for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

It is ok to have a Shaky start!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Let me start with my own math journey. During my schooling, the math teachers were increasingly focused on finishing the syllabus and making sure the students were exam ready rather than getting conceptual knowledge. This led to me not understanding the beauty of math and did not allow me to develop a liking of the subject. I am an engineer, and during my under-graduation and even the first two jobs that I worked in, I found niche areas that are not explicitly linked to math and made it my forte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I had always wanted to do an MBA (this thought was sowed in my head by my friend when we were in 3rd year of engineering). And that is a problem since my math was not great, and most coaching institutes started with number theory as it was touted to be the most important thing to learn in Quant for CAT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortcuts? Understanding?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After several years I did figure out that Arithmetic was nice and interesting to solve, and understanding <\/strong>arithmetic became better with every additional iteration<\/strong> of solving topics in arithmetic. Once I became comfortable with arithmetic, the floodgates opened. I crossed 90th percentile in Quant for the first time in my life, with a handful of attempts under my kitty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shortcuts<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Also I happen to know many who rely extensively on shortcuts for topics like Time speed distance or Profit and Loss. However, what helped me immensely was the understanding that I had in the subject rather than shortcuts. CAT has slowly shied away from helping candidates who remember loads of forumlae & shortcuts. CAT has started awarding candidates who are good at understanding the underlying principles of the topic. There are CAT Aspirants who will claim that shortcuts worked fantastically well for them, no doubts. To each their own. However, if you analyse intently, those who claim shortcuts to have worked well, will naturally have better underlying understanding of the subject\/questions to begin with. If you do not have that advantage, then shortcuts could become a double edged sword that sacrifices you in the altar of CAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CAT 2021 preparation strategy – The Quant game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is only one statement, for anybody who gets jitters when the word, ‘Quant’ is mentioned – “Start with Arithmetic<\/a>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Arithmetic pivotal to your cat 2021 preparation strategy?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To give a brief one-liner, Arithmetic is the backbone of Quant. To be a bit more elaborate, Arithmetic comprises topics such as Percentages, Profit and Loss, Simple Interest and Compound Interest<\/a>, Averages, Ratios and Proportions, Mixtures and Alligations<\/a>, Pipes and Cisterns<\/a>, Time Speed and Distance, Races<\/a>, and Progressions<\/a>, etc. I would even go on to the extent of adding Linear and Quadratic Equations<\/a> to this bucket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following video gives an overview of sorts on how you can go about preparing for Arithmetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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