Arun Sharma, CAT instructor & founder of online coaching portal Mindworkz, speaks with SHAlINI SAKSENA about how a person with an average intelligence can crack the test
How difficult is it to prepare for the CAT examsIJ
The CAT is reputed to be one of the most difficult tests in the world, but in my view if prepared for properly it could be one of the easiest ways to achieve success in life. The main reason for why the CAT is perceived as a difficult is due to the way people prepare for it. If prepared for properly, there is no reason why even students with average intelligence to start with can’t raise the quality of their thinking and crack it.
What are some points that are necessary to keep in mind while preparing for the testIJ
The following issues are key to understand for the preparations of this exam: It is an aptitude test and unlike a knowledge-based exam where the only role as a test taker is to retrieve knowledge from the memory, to succeed in an aptitude test, it depends on the ability to be able to understand and react to the situation thrown up by the question. Principally there are four broad areas from which one would face questions in the CAT. These are: Quantitative aptitude; data interpretation; logical reasoning and verbal ability.
Is the CAT for everybodyIJ Is there a profile of the kind of student who should appear for the examIJ
The test is for any graduate student (either appearing for the final year or who has graduated) with a strong ambition to make it big. But one thing to realise is that the MBA course is not a getting out of college course. A couple of years between completing graduation and starting off an MBA is the normal time frame that most people plan for. At the same time it is not necessary that one will be able to crack the exam in your very first attempt. Ideally, one should start preparing for the exam in the final year of graduation and take one’s first attempt in the final year. Keep a minimum of three attempts to make sure that one gets the institute one aspires for.
Tell us about your portalIJ
Students get trained by the best teachers from the comfort of their home thereby saving a time and cost in travelling.
There are so many coaching institutes. Where do you standIJ
A coaching institute is required because one needs to be guided through a process for developing thinking capacity and intelligence. Unfortunately, in spite of a plethora of institutes which claim that they will coach for the CAT, the quality of teaching at most of these institutes leaves a lot to be desired.
That is the main reason why we have launched our online coaching programmes so that one is no longer dependent on the quality of local coaching center and can actually connect to India’s best teacher/s.
How does a mechanical engineer write a bookIJ
My mechanical engineering was almost two decades back and obviously the exposure that I received while teaching thousands of students across India over the past 15 odd years has helped me to understand exactly what the student needs to be told about each and every aspect of aptitude preparation. I attribute my books and my ability to write stuff which is appreciated by students across the country — entirely to my teaching and classroom experiences.
What can a student expect from your book How to Prepare for Quantitative AptitudeIJ
The book is a kind of do-it-yourself which helps one go through each chapter by first studying the chapters from the very basics followed by problems graded by level of difficulty. The purpose of each exercise is to make sure that the student knows and is exposed to every conceivable problem on each topic. There are various short-cuts and thought processes illustrated inside the book which students do not find anywhere else.