Can an average student crack cat?

Nothing is Permanent and not even the tag of ' average' as Albert Einstein once said” I am not more gifted than anyone else. I am just more curious than average person and I will not give up a problem until I have found the proper solution.”

• First of all in my decade long CAT Training Career,I have seen the so called many Intelligent ones losing the battle and several Weaker Ones( though initially) surging ahead. So, the answer to the present Question is a Big YES!

In fact Being Average at the start of the Preparation will keep a candidate propelled to work harder till the end.

What is more important to be successful at the end is whether a candidate is willing to give his 100 % or not & even he is having the True Warrior Spirit in his inner shelf or Not!

Following are Some Steps that has yielded Successful Conversions in the Past and Can be followed by aspirants in the similar situations-

Zero Level Benchmarking- This must be done at the very start of the Preparation by Solving at least 3 previous Year CAT Papers ( CAT20/19/18). This will help a candidate to understand the nature of this Test, gauge their Level and be aware of One's Strong and Weak areas. This will set his desired Preparation Strategy and requirement in the respective domains of QA, DILR & VARC.

Working on Fundamentals- The most neglected fact about CAT is that it tests a candidate's ability to understand the fundamentals and their real time application. So, Brushing the Fundamentals is the Must for a typical candidate. It can be done by going through standard Study Materials. If Student is finding it difficult to do it by own, (s)he can use Expert Guidance and Mentoring. This may cut down the Preparation time and make the CAT Prep Journey smooth for a candidate.

Practice and Revision- After brushing the Fundamentals, a Student should rigorously Practice graduating from Level 1(Easy) to Level 3(Difficult).One Blunder Student do at this stage is that they just do Full length Mocks!

This can be detrimental and demotivating for a candidate who is at the initial level of Preparation. They must Start with Topic wise/ Chapter wise Test as mentioned. After finishing these Topic Tests, it must be revised at least Twice before moving to Full Sectional Tests and at last Full Length Mock Tests.ideal time to start full Length Mocks is May-June. In June-2; July-3; August-3, September-4, October-4. Many will be wondering about suggested no of Mock Tests and might think it less than required especially Internet Pundits whose appetite for the Mocks are insatiable! Believe Me, even 10 Full Lengths Mocks can be enough if you properly Analyze and Revise them. Mantra of Success is Consolidation through Repeated(3) Revisions.

Reading, Reading, Reading: Even as a Core QADI Mentor, I strongly recommend all the aspirants to be a voracious and eclectic reader. This will not only be helpful in RC and WAT-PI-GD but also will be extremely useful in QA,DILR by improving one's reading speed and comprehension skills. Reading Sources can be Newspapers, Journals, Blogs and good books.

Mantra is start reading with easier and lighter topics and move on to Serious Contents in due course of time.

I am assured of a Sincere ‘Average' Candidate's Success in CAT if (s)he follows this Tried and Tested Prep Strategy.

Good News for the so called Average Student is that (s)he can get Academic Diversity Marks(Non Engineers) and additional Gender Diversity Marks (for female and Transgender)to bridge the initial gap in final selection list of IIMs.

Hope the post will be helpful to the Genuinely Sincere ‘Average' Aspirants!

All the Best!