CAT has sectional cut offs and overall cut offs too. And there is no Pass or Fail in CAT. The score is released in the form of percentiles. For example, if you have scored 85 percentile, it means that you have performed better than 85 percent of the Candidates who appeared for CAT. And let's say if you have secured negative marks in QA but managed to score 70 percentile in VARC and DILR. The overall percentile would be quite less. And this is considered first. Your overall percentile is considered and then based on the Institutions you apply for, sectional cut offs are released and considered. You get 85 overall percentile only if you score 70 percentil in each section. Now if you get a negative percentile in one of the sections, your Overall percentile will drastically drop down making you not able to secure the mandatory cut offs. That is a dent to your dreams of securing a decent college. We are sure you must have prepared but it's just that you are anxious. We shall help you with few tips that might actually help you in the short time left.

• Remember, that there is no time for distractions and anxiety. You can rather invest this time in memorizing important formula and reading news paper to keep yourself updated about GQ.
• Time yourself and see as if you are able to complete all the questions in the given time.
• Practise as many mock tests as possible.
• You cannot predict the future and once the exam is over, you cannot change the past. All you have is the present and devote it to practising and not worrying what might happen.
• On the day before the exam, please sleep early and do not stay late. You do not want to feel sleepy in the exam hall.
• Read every question twice if necessary thrice before you attempt.
• Questions can be categorized as easy, moderate and difficult. And spend time on each question accordingly. Do not spend more than 2 minutes on each question.
• You need to answer as many questions as possible.
• When in doubt, do not attempt. You do not want to have negative marking.
• Before you submit, please review your answers.

Avoid these things so as not to hurt your performance:

• Do not set any pre-defined targets. Because top B schools just do not look at your CAT Percentile. They consider your Academic profile and many other factors before shortlisting. Your aim should be to do your best.
• What determines your score is the no.of questions you have attempted and the accuracy of the questions. So it is not like more the no.of questions you have attempted, more marks you secure.
• Do not only concentrate on few topics thinking other topics are dry and boring. You cannot afford tot hat because it is your personal assumption of a certain topic and it doesn't reflect the exam syllabus.
• Avoid Selective preparation.
• Read all the questions and do not skip reading the questions.
• On an average any Candidate can attempt 60-7- questions leaving 30-40 questions unattended. So do  not attempt the tougher ones first. They should be the ones you should leave unattempted. In the rush of trying the difficult ones, you may be left with no time and in the process, you might end up leaving the easier ones.
• Read every question twice because you cannot afford to misread a question.
• Do not go easy on TITA questions just because they have no negative marking. You should certainly attempt them.