Some common queries about CAT answered

Hi all,
Thanks for the enthusiastic responses. I received 100s of questions, I'll try to address here the most common questions posed.

1. Do I need experience to be in the IIMs? Should I go for a little work-ex before applying, some internship, etc.

The answer is NO. Almost 50% students in the recent batches are freshers - experience is not a very big criteria here. Add along with it, another 20% students have 2 months or less experience. Hence, people having 0-2 months of work-ex are the bulk here. So, why need to jam your head with work-ex and stuff... you better practice.
Internship or part-time job is not considered as work-ex here. Here, the authorities look for a healthy mix of freshers and experienced and as such there is no preference.

2. My graduation CG is very low (higher than 50%); can I get a chance?

Yes, you can get a chance. I know quite a few guys with graduation CG quite low. Primary emphasis is on CAT-GD-PI, graduation CG comes as a last priority for evaluation possibly. Otherwise, with only 60% people wouldn't have cracked CAT.

3. I am not very good in English. Do I need to read lot of English literature books? How do I increase reading speed?

I don't think IIMs look for Shakespeares. If you can write grammatically correct english, that is good enough.

To increase reading speed, my suggestion is make a conscious effort to read, read and read. Take a clock and try to read a para as fast a you can. See after one minute how much you retain. Sometimes, taking a glance at the first line, middle line and last line also helps to comprehend what's in the para. Try it!

4. How many months are required to prepare for CAT?

It depends! To some, 5 months X 5 hours a day proved good enough, some may need more time. Start giving mock CAT exams, you'll understand yourself. CAT is a test of confidence. If you are confident how many months hardly matter. If you can answer 90 questions with over 95% accuracy, be sure to get calls from all the IIMs (generally speaking and also depends on the difficulty level).

Keep posting your questions in my scrapbook and mail.
Catch you tomorrow.
- Boss