CAT4MBA

Hi A b,

Going for GMAT is a good suggestion, though that part is bit difficult to digest that it can't be cleared with 1 year Prep'n..ppl do that in their Final years too. if you have good analytical mind and can work hard this can be done Dude..in a year..

person should not be bothered about the percentile came without any prep, keep track of the percentiles you will get getting every week in MOCK CAT's, if in that case they came consistently below 90%, then definately there is a concern.

Believe in yourself, pick the paper give yourself 4-5 hours time to solve it, ok you can refer the formula's too, if you are able to that, then you can surely do that in 150mins with 1 year Prep.

Good Luck...and never loose Hope...

Hi Bhaskar,

 Thanks for your response. Please bear with my lengthy text below, but this is done only to know if CAT and I would gel together.... and if I would be able to crack it next time. Would seek your attention or any humble heart person to bear with me.

Having worked for 3 yrs in an MNC BPO (a Fortune 500 company), I understand what importance an MBA degree from a top B-School holds. For this reason, I am bent upon taking up a degree from one such institute. This has made me reluctant to apply for any other exam except CAT 07.

However, to aspire for something and to understand one's abilities and target accordingly are two parrallel aspects. In this case, as you said someone who scores 50-60%tile w/o preparation might go upto 95% with preparation and may not be beyond that. And I fall into that 50-60%tile bracket. The question that I have to ask myself here is with preparation, can I reach below 95%tile or 95%tile or 99+%tile?No offence taken on your analysis of CAT %tiles on w/o and with prepartion. I totally appreciate your frank views which are required for me to decide on my second attempt.:-)

In the hope of getting further views/assistance from you and others, I would like to disclose my standard vis-a-vis CAT.

Quant - My weakest section. Though I scored 99% in my X standard exams, I was never in touch with it later. Presently, my state is that I have to start from scratch which would itself take atleast 2 months with me to acquaint myself well with all the fundas and do reasonably good in this section.

LRDI : If the questions are logical reasoning-based, I am a game for it. I can easily clear 2-3 sets based on its difficulty level (w/o preparation) with 95% accuracy. If it is calculation-intensive (like in CAT 07), I take a total somersault.

Verbal : I am quite OK here though I do not read much. With little bit of practise, I think this should not be a difficult section for me.

All in all, Quant and calculations drive me crazy.

With this level of current competency, will I be able to crack CAT next time considering I burn the candle till late nights. And I am aiming only at IIMs... particularly... you might laugh at it... IIM A. My intention is not to undermine any other IIMs but to elevate myself to the level of the best brand I know .. IIM A. I am brand crazy... :-))))

When you have come this long, I would request your little more time to go through my job profile too (I would not bore you with this.. just 2 sentences)

Currently, I am into call center operations which involves a little programming knowledge too. I automise various processes and procedures that are required for smooth and efficient functioning of business.

My faculty feels that going for second attempt might not be a good idea as the paper is unpredictable. So, I should look for 'B' Grade schools. I know what destruction this would cause to one's career.(esp. when someone is ambitious and aims high..high...high.. the sky)

By the way, I must have scored 25-30 marks in CAT 07 as per various answer keys released by different institutes. I know.. way behind to hope any chance ...:-)))

I welcome everybody's views on this. Your suggestions are highly valuable as this forms basis for me to decide on my second attempt.

I would definitely think on GMAT.

Man You have it. . .

You know what’s the most important thing to get success in life: Its Desire . . .Its does not matter how difficult is the road if you have the desire to excel no one can stop you from achieving your goals . . .

From the intense of your message I can say that you have that desire. Now don’t get distracted by other external factors bcz the journey is long and you got to remain focused for next 1 year.

I totally agree with what Bhaskar : Those who score 99+ %tile  would score 95+ %tile  w/o any preparation but then I have also seen people converting 60 %tile to 99%tile.I think the job for you should be much easier because improving scores in quants is not that difficult as it is in EU/RC.

Should you go for MBA with 25-30 score. . A sure no no. .Please don’t join any such local b schools even if you don’t appear CAT next year. It wont add any value to your career.

I think the most important factor for you to consider is TIME.  Don’t get worried with your CAT 07 scores, even with 30 you should get 50+ %tile. .. .And one year is sufficient to make a hell lot of improvement . .  If you have the time then start thinking about CAT 08 w/o wasting any of it .  .  .

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Aim of Life: To be a good Human & then the best Man :-)

Nishit, I definitely agree with u, except in one aspect.

It may not happen in most of the cases that a person who get 99+

may get 95+ w/o prep.

This may happen in other exams but definitely not in case of CAT.

Last year when i wrote CAT i got 92+ WITHOUT ANY PREP.

I just want to test the depth of water, and get the feel of CAT.

This year I was fully prepared (although i didnt take any coaching) and hope to

 clear the exam atleast this time. But i am  expecting not more than 80+ this time. I am  yet to

find out the reasons behing this debacle. 

Cracking CAT needs not only solid preparation but also on what one does in that 

150 min of  battle field. Success comes to those who hold their nerves in that period and

i think i failed that one aspect.

Anyway thank you for ur nice analysis,

thank u

shahid

Right shabash_23

Too much expectation can some time act harmfully.

But Luck is something, which is not in our control, and we got to believe the records and statistics. Which proves what Nishit and Bhaskar have said. I am not saying that it’s impossible to make 99%tile next year if you have performed badly in this year but it would certainly easier for those who gets 90% tile this year.
 
The most important point is to do a self-analysis before making any decision. First try to figure out what went wrong in the exam. If you fell its one of those bad days then try another mock paper/old cat paper and see how you perform. Analyses the paper w/o any bias and ask your self can you cross the 99.5 barrier.

The harder u work, the more luck u ‘ll get

hello to everyone in this list of comments.

i was just going through this post nd man it did strike a chord smewhere, and this is for the first time in my life that m writing any comment on any of the sites,till now have always been a silent reader.

lemme strt with my introduction i am a mechanical engineer workin in a MNC. finished my college this year itself.

i took CAT last year as well as this year.

last year i did a rigrous prepration ateending coaching on weekends and college on weekdays.

aspiration were high and so was the input, i was scoring 80-97 percentile in my mocks so had high expectations.

was so stressed by the time CAT d day came 19 nov that i almost lost my nerves and scored only 29 percentile.but this did not killed m y dream of being into IIM

IIM-A  is a dream i have cherised since i was in class 12 and ENGINEERING just happened in between.

this year i did not do ny prep and after last years XAT this year CAT was the paper i solved. M expecting a score of around 80-85 this year not good enough for IIMs but quite a relife after last years performance.

Next Year M sure that i will make to IIM,as i wont compromise on nything less.

Shradha dont worry buddy i just LoVE your spirit U will definitly make to IIM next year as in CAT its not only brain or harwork but its the SMARTWORK wat matters most.