Frequently Made Mistakes That Cost You Your Dream B-School

Frequently Made Mistakes That Cost You Your Dream B-School

"The most typical error in each section of CAT is making a study schedule but not following it due to the vast syllabus."

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national-level management aptitude test administered by the IIM for admission to MBA and other postgraduate courses offered at its 21 campuses.

The CAT exam is a timed test that includes questions about verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC), data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR), and quantitative ability. The exam's difficulty varies from moderate to high. Each section is timed for forty minutes.

Before you begin your CAT 2025 exam preparation, go over the syllabus. Knowing what to study allows you to develop a focused and effective strategy. Skipping this phase and proceeding to studying, usually results in a confused approach, making preparation more difficult.

In this article, we will discuss common mistakes to avoid in various sections of the CAT. Let us examine them.

Common Mistakes in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension and How to Avoid Them:

1. Ignoring vocabulary and reading comprehension:

Mistake:

When a wide range of vocabulary and reading comprehension are not used, only grammar or a few types of questions are addressed.

How to Avoid

Reading Very Widely: Make reading daily on diverse topics and themes a habit.
Develop Your Vocabulary: Learn new words and their usage with flashcards, applications, or online sources.
Practice all RCs by reading comprehension and analyzing the author's tone, purpose, and main ideas.

2. Not Taking Time to Answer Questions:

Mistake:

Trying to answer questions without reading the passage or understanding the intent of the question.

How to Avoid:

Read Carefully: Pay attention to all the details of the passage and the specific wording of the questions.
Elimination of Wrong Options: Eliminate the wrong options by a process of elimination to find the nearest answer.
Do not rush: Allow enough time for each question so that you can understand it within the context of the question itself, if necessary.

3. Lack of Attention to Particulars

Most of the RC passages have information that is significant to the overall theme or subject of the passage. The question-settlers deliberately put a trap in this section and asked questions from a few contexts that seemed trivial. So, read thoroughly through the entire passage and understand the detail it implies.

Reading The Passage First
In RC questions, it is critical to check the questions first and then read the passage thoroughly. Reading the questions first allows one to easily analyze the key points in the passage and pay proper attention to such information. So, read the questions first and keep the main points in mind as you read the passage.

Getting Stuck with Vocabulary
One of the most common mistakes that candidates make is wasting time trying to understand the meaning of each word. Though a good vocabulary is desirable, most passages can be understood without knowing certain words. It is advised to avoid becoming stressed if the meaning of a specific word is unknown.

Mistakes to be avoided in the data interpretation and logical reasoning section

Misinterpretation of data and too much speculation

Carefully read the question: The primary requirement is to understand what the question is asking and avoid the temptation to make assumptions or extrapolate from the data.

Don't overthink or overcomplicate: Stay with the data available; no further interpretations or assumptions are necessary.

Disregarding Important Details:

Take a close look at units and scales: Make sure you are using the correct units and scales regarding calculations or comparisons.

Don't ignore vital information: Pay attention to the presentation of data, from tables and graphs to charts, for important details or possible trends.

Not Practicing Enough, and Weak on Basics:

Data interpretation requires practice with perceived diversity: This includes all the possible formats for data-in-a-table, data-in-graph, data-in-chart, and data-in-caselet.

Need work on quantitative skills: Just to name a few areas, practice some more with percentages, ratios, proportions, and averages, as they are crucial for DI questions.

Keep practicing: Repeated practice helps build up confidence along with speed and accuracy.

Ignoring different types of sets

Don't limit yourself to a specific type of sets: Practice various kinds of DI questions, including those based on tables, graphs, charts, and caselets.

Learn all the different question patterns: Be familiar with the various question patterns-from direct questions to comparison questions and inference questions.

Mistakes to be avoided in the Quantitative Aptitude section

Insufficient conceptual clarity:
Don't just memorize the formulae; understand the underlying concepts. Weak foundational concepts will jeopardize your ability to tackle any advanced-level problems.

Ignoring Basic Arithmetic:
Be confident with basic arithmetic calculations like percentages, ratios, and proportions.

Lack of Practice:
Practice problems more often and with different topics to reinforce learning and improve problem-solving skills.

2. Management of Time:
Rushing Through Problems:

Avoid wasting precious minutes on difficult questions; rather, quickly learn to ascertain the questions that cannot be solved within the stipulated time and leave them.

Not practicing time management

Remember to simulate an exam by answering practice questions with time. It will help in equipping oneself with the required speed and accuracy for the final exam.

Not to solve straight questions first:

Develop the habit of working on simpler questions first to gain confidence and thus score the maximum.

3. Accuracy Errors:

Careless Mistakes:
Take care of details and do not commit careless calculation or reading errors; double-check your answers before moving on.

Misunderstanding the Question:

Before attempting to find an answer, ensure that you completely understand the question. You may miss the answer by misinterpreting the question.

Not Going Back:

Take a short break, and then try the problem again. A change in time may bring new thoughts to your mind, and you might find the answer.

Conclusion
You must dedicate a certain number of hours daily to each section to manage the time. You must ensure that all areas are covered, including Quant, DI, and LR, as well as Verbal Ability, so that no section is neglected.

To achieve better and faster results, it is recommended to go for conceptual clarity and then devise ways for tips.

Smita