the last mile

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Last Mile To the CAT An Presentation

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A plan of action to all students for the next two weeks leading to the CAT.

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Page 1: The Last Mile

Last Mile To the CATAn Presentation

Page 2: The Last Mile
Page 3: The Last Mile

Every year, about 2000 students make it to the IIMs. Each of them does different things in the last few days before the CAT…

Here are a few examples…

Page 4: The Last Mile

From the 10 who have been there.. done that…1. Sanjay Chaudhary, IIM B

Take maximum 4 tests

Objectively analyze to find out your specific problem areas

Focus on the means… the end will follow

2. Asan Dasari, IIM C

Fine-tune strategies based on your strengths & weakness

Take care of mental as well as physical health

Keep your ‘CAT-kit’ ready

Page 5: The Last Mile

From the 10 who have been there.. done that…3. Vamsidhar, IIM I

Don’t take more than 3 to 4 tests

Unused tests can be used to improve sectional competencies

Accept reality; leave things that you can’t change

4. Saurabh S, IIM I

• Keep reminding yourself about your “ultimate goal”

• Relax; be calm

• Take fewer tests

• Go through the CAT 2007 paper

Page 6: The Last Mile

From the 10 who have been there.. done that…5. Subrata Dey, IIM A Keep your reasoning cells active

Focus on ‘net practice’, not ‘match practice’

Do not take too many tests

6. Tony Xavier, IIM L Have an open mind-set

Stop taking tests a week before the CAT

Throw all strategies out of the window

Page 7: The Last Mile

From the 10 who have been there.. done that…7. Ritesh Hemrajani, IIM B

Don’t predict; be mentally prepared for any structure

Don’t take too many tests

Properly mark the ovals on the OMR sheet

8. Mahendra Kokane, IIM B

Don’t listen to anyone

Listen to self

Page 8: The Last Mile

From the 10 who have been there.. done that…9. Arun Rao, IIM - A Don’t cram at this juncture

Don’t invite stress

10. Kaushik R, IIM L Work on your weak areas

Take 2-3 tests

Don’t do anything much the day before the CAT

Page 9: The Last Mile

The Last Mile

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hour’s toil.

The essence of what they say…

Page 10: The Last Mile

The Last Mile…

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hour’s toil.

Page 11: The Last Mile

Ability to tramp the last mile… Do you believe that you can tramp the last mile?

‘I am doing great ; bring on the CAT’

‘I am doing great, but I hope I don’t stumble

now’

‘Man! I am sure I can crack the CAT.. If only

Math would stop killing me’

‘When is SNAP??’

Page 12: The Last Mile

Whatever be your response..To tramp the last mile.. Have a fresh outlook

Rejuvenate

Imagine you have just started your prep

Imagine the last comprehensive test you took is your first test

Re-focus

The Goal : The CAT

The Time : 15 days to go

The Attitude : Everything to gain and nothing to lose

Now ask yourself :

How do I shape the plan for the last mile?

Page 13: The Last Mile

The Last Mile…

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hour’s toil.

Page 14: The Last Mile

Shape the last plan

Scoring Potential

My Score

IIM Call

The Efficiency Gap

The Knowledge Gap

What I could have scored

What I scored

What I need to score

The key is to understand WHAT to attack!

Page 15: The Last Mile

Bridging the efficiency gap

Take a few tests, say 3-5

Analyse each of them thoroughly

Learn from each of them

& Apply your learning in future tests

Page 16: The Last Mile

Bridging the efficiency gap Before taking ANY test

Keep your mind fresh and alert

De-stress

Have your CAT-kit ready

Set your watch to 10:30 a.m.

Most importantly, set yourself a TARGET

Page 17: The Last Mile

Bridging the efficiency gap While taking ANY test

As a CEO

Keep an eye on the bigger picture

Develop your own strategy

As a Section Manager

Prioritise, Allocate and Execute

Mind your own business

As a Worker

Carefully read, define and solve the problem on hand

Manage Your

Resources

Well

Page 18: The Last Mile

Bridging the efficiency gap

After taking a test

For every section, check

How many more could you have scored?

Why did you miss out?

Page 19: The Last Mile

Bridging the efficiency gapDo’s

Develop your own strategy based on the test at hand

Select or reject a question only after reading a question

Don’ts

Inflexible mindset

“Geometry first” syndrome or “One-liners first” syndrome

“I can conquer Russia” syndrome or Throwing good money after bad money

Efficiency can improve your score dramatically

Page 20: The Last Mile

Bridging the knowledge gap1. List all areas requiring improvement

2. Rate their impact on the score & on the effort required to improve

3. Prioritise

4. Spend ½ hr – 1hr every day and work on 2 to 3 critical areas

Let us look at a typical case

Page 21: The Last Mile

Step 1: List areas PS

I keep forgetting the formulae in Geometry

I have not touched Permutations & Combinations

I have difficulty in defining a problem while solving

DI

I can’t calculate fast

I lose track while solving

Page 22: The Last Mile

Step 1: List areas Verbal

I make a lot of mistakes in inferential RC questions

I generally falter in usage-based questions

Comp-based Format

I find it difficult to read passages on the computer screen

Solving DI sets is very cumbersome

Page 23: The Last Mile

Step 3 : Rating the impact & effort needed

Low Impact High Impact

More

Can’t calculate fast Not touched Perm & Comb

Falter in usage based questions

Less

Forgetting Geometry formula

Defining Problem while solving

Inferential RC question

Lose track while solving DI

Impact on the score

Effort

Reqd

Page 24: The Last Mile

Step 3 : Prioritise

Low High

More

Can’t calculate fast Not touched Perm & Comb

Falter in usage based questions

Less

Forgetting Geometry formula

Defining Problem while solving

Inferential RC question

Lose track while solving DI

Impact on the score

Effort

Reqd

Page 25: The Last Mile

Step 4 : Work on the areas Forgetting Geometry formulae : 10 min

Solve 2 Geometry problems everyday

Revise formulae every day

Defining the problem in a Math question : 20 min Re-look at Math questions in the previous SimCATs

Inferential RC questions : 20 min Read an editorial everyday

Re-visit the RCs in SimCATs

Focus on comprehension

Page 26: The Last Mile

A few tips for the computer-based CAT …

Page 27: The Last Mile

It’s not just CAT anymore…

Try to inculcate the following habits:

Work on a computer for longer stretches

Read news and articles online rather than from newspapers

Follow reviews, match analyses, stock status, etc. online

Get used to staring into the screen for 3 hours at a stretch

Page 28: The Last Mile

Most of us tend to write a lot while solving the paper

Underlining relevant statements/words in RC

Adding up a column or row in DI

Crossing out answers that we’ve eliminated

In an online test, these become impractical!

New ways of handling these would have to be devised

It’s not just CAT anymore…

Page 29: The Last Mile

A possible plan

Take/Analyse a testTill 1st21st/22nd

Take a test12thTake a test23rd

13th-15th24th/25th

16thTake a test??26th

Bridge the Gap17th-19thClick here for the latest movie releases

Prev day

20thD–day28th Nov

Bridge the Gap

Bridge the Gap

Bridge the Gap

Take a test

Take a test

Page 30: The Last Mile

The Last Mile

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hour’s toil.

Page 31: The Last Mile

On the D-Day….. Be positive

Have an open mind

Avoid undue pressure

Just don’t give up while taking the CAT

Page 32: The Last Mile

The Last Mile