Dear Akash, given the importance of Management courses across India, MBA is an ideal option after BCA. You havent mentioned whether you belong to 2nd year or 3rd year of Graduation. Given the high competition to get into Top B Schools, your preparation should start as early as possible. Before knowing how to prepare, its important to know how you are scored.  CAT exam paper can be Categorised into 3 parts:



Quantitative Ability

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning



The Verbal Ability section and Reading Comprehension has 34 Questions, Data interpretation-Logical Reasoning section has 32 MCQ questions and Quantitative Ability has 34 MCQ questions totalling up to 100 questions. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark.



All the IIMs have started sectional weightage in calculating the Composite CAT score. While FMS gives weightage to VARC section, all the top IIMs consider QA to be the most important one. Now coming to CAT weightage, now that CAT is conducted at 2 different slots, IIM Kozikhode follows a unique method of calculating the score. IIM Kozikhode will normalise the CAT scores using percentile equivalence. Adjustment of location and scale differences of score distributions across different norms and then scores will be normalised. These scores will be then converted into percentiles for shortlisting and selection purposes. And then the Academic marks are calculated using specific formulae:



10th Standard: 36*[Z Candidate-Z min/Z max- Z min]





12th Standard: 40*[Z Candidate-Z min/Z max- Z min]





CAT 2019 score: 20*[Candidate's overall score /Highest CAT score]





Gender Diversity Factor: = 4 for female applicants





=0 for other applicants





Composite score= sum of the above scores



Remember, that there is no PASS or FAIL score in CAT. Its a measure of your performance among other applicants. Better the percentile, fairer the chance of getting into Top B schools. For example, if your score is 90 percentile, it means you did better than 90 percent of the Candidates who applied. Now cracking CAT and faring better than a certain percent of Candidates totally depends on how you prepare.

And with all this analysis, its also important to know how to prepare for each section. NCERT books will sharpen your basics and you need strong basics for preparing for any entrance examination. Once your basics are in place, because the time period for preparation is quite less, your preparation should be extensive and thorough.





Quantitative Aptitude covers almost 30% of the CAT question paper. QA can be categorised into Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Advanced Mathematics. Practise chapter by chapter and develop mental calculations. Like practise more of basic summation, subtraction, fractions and tables. Numbers, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio, Proportionality, Time-Distance, Time-Work, Mixtures, Averages, Partnership, Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory, Progression and Series, Line, Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Circles, Ares, Volume, Height and Distance, Coordinate Geometry, Basic Trigonometry are few important topics.



Preparation tips:



Because this section involves mathematics and takes most of your time, your focus should be on solving the problems efficiently in the beginning. Even if it takes time, practise upto perfection. Practise as many questions as you can in the conventional way. As and when you get a grip on the subject, you can go for short cuts. Memorise tables, square roots, cube roots, conversion from percent to fraction, etc. Solve sample papers on Mathematics. In the beginning, do not worry about the time it takes. As you practise, you will get the hang of the subject and it will be easier for you.





In Verbal Ability session, command on your English, Grammar, Vocabulary, Understanding of the given paragraph are of more importance. Reading English NewsPaper will also help you in your preparation.



Preparation tips:



Read articles from time to time. Follow newspapers, magazines, and watch the news channels and browse the internet to keep yourself updated. You will need a lot of reading to help you in the comprehension section. You will need speed to help you in this section and you can achieve that only by thorough practise and reading. Take time to understand the question because most answers are interlinked.





Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning needs to be practised as much as possible. Comparison of data, Data Analysis, taking clues, interpreting missing data, coming to conclusions and making future projections will be covered under this Category. The questions here are interlinked and so if you get one formula correct, cracking the next few questions will be easy. So it's important to memorise and practise formulae. You should cover topics like Data tables, Data Charts, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Graphs, Data Comparison and Analysis.



Preparation tips:



As this is the most tricky section, this needs a lot of practise. Solve as many sample papers as possible to get the hang of the section. Make notes when required. Regular practise can help you understand and solve the questions easily as time goes on.



Overall,once you know the syllabus, it's easier from there on.Go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections. Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months. As this much should go into CAT prepararion, we would strongly recommend you to start preparation from the 2nd year.

Hello Akash,

While studying BCA, you should start preparing for CAT. From 2nd year is a good option but from Final year and some good hours of work will prove fruitful.

You can choose MBA after BCA. But,it's not a good choice. In a company, they give first preference for BBA-MBA and BTECH-MBA then Bcom-MBA and so on. BCA-MBA is least prefered in a company.

Good Luck

Hello student,

CAT application process will start in the month of August. You can apply for it if you are in your final year of BCA programme at that time. Only final year students in their graduation and those who have completed graduation can apply for CAT. Hope this clears your doubt.

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