Scoring high in CAT examination is a prerequisite to get admitted in any of the prime MBA institutes of India. About 2 lacs aspirants appear for CAT examinations. Understandably, competition is very steep.

The CAT exam is generally conducted in November each year. You are entitled to appear for the CAT exam if you are a graduate or in the final year of a bachelor’s degree. The CAT exam is a computer-based exam, which consists of the following three sections:

• Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC)
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
• Quantitative Ability (QA)

Tips on Preparing for CAT exam

1. CAT aspirants should always commence early in preparing for the exams as an early start would suffuse them with an all out knowledge and strategy to go about the examination.
2. English reading , comprehension & Maths reasoning , logical skills are to be primary focus areas in order to cross the hurdle of CAT exams and get admitted in your dream MBA institute.
3. Reading extensively (be it any news paper, magazines, journals, novels) will give that extra edge to get over the reading and comprehension section in CAT examination. Repeated Maths practice will make you a pro, and you will pass with flying colours in the CATS maths section. There are never long equations in CAT, the only thing which works is the smart way of calculations which can be mastered by practicing the tricks available in books and internet.
4. You must associate yourself with the people who have successfully cracked the CAT exams and imbibe confidence and take useful tips from them. CAT students should look at questions from previous years' CATs and understand its syllabus.
5. A mandatory part of your CAT preparation would be to take online mock tests and sharpen your abilities, ideas and timing as far as taking on the examination is concerned. In this context you should asses the mock test results and work on your shortcomings before taking the final plunge.
6. Managing one's time includes balancing speed with accuracy, handling the pressure and uncertainty and the apt decision making.learning to allocate time while answering to various sections of the CAT exam paper is very essential. It is so since you need to finish the paper on time with almost all the correct answers to score maximum.
7. Negative marking is a part of CAT. Aspirants are advised to not take wild guesses in the Exam paper. Only if the student is able to eliminate 2-3 choices, then he should take a guess. Otherwise there is no point in wild guessing, as it may drop ones chances of making it right.
8. You must unwind before the exams. Over stressing can have negative impact on your output during the examination. Be your natural self and confident. Keep calm and cool. You must be aware of your examination centre before hand, all the documents, stationeries you need to produce at the centre should be kept handy so that trifle mismanagement may not unnerve you.

Doing well in the CAT exam is the first step to ensuring that you get the education to build a great future. It involves a lot of hard work and is one of the most difficult competitive exams. But with right kind of focus and determination you are sure to be successful in cracking CAT.