Photographs: Dominic Xavier
In an online chat hosted by Get Ahead on August 30, IIT alumnus and head of Testfunda.com, Aziz Manva fielded reader queries and suggested tips to aspirants on how to prepare themselves for CAT 2011.
cheque:i recently gave GMAT and scored 720...do you think i hold a good chance in cracking CAT
Aziz Manva:Yes..you definitely do...but you may need a lot on the Quant section compared to GMAT
maneesh:hello sir, can you tell me which subjects I can concentrate for Quant section now?
Aziz Manva:Focus on Numbers, Equations and Inequalities, Circles and triangles, Sets, Sequences and Series and Functions. Once you are done with these chapters, focus on the others
cheque:I have also worked for McKinsey & Co. for 1.6 years and currently working with BAIN. Total years of work ex so far is 3.5 years...i was thinking IIM full time executive programs as an alternative. So a bit confused now, shall i go for normal IIM program or wait for another year to be more eligible for IIm-EX programs...pls advise
Aziz Manva:Try for the normal IIM programs right now. In case you get through to the top 3-4 IIMs, take it, else wait for one more year and try for the IIM Executive program
Sidd:Which are the chapters I should focus on in Quant in these last 2 months???
Aziz Manva:Numbers, Inequalities, Functions, Stes, Sequences and Series, Circles, Triangles, Tables and Caselets, Charts and Diagrams, etc
maneesh:ok thank you very much. any suggestions to prepare for verbal ability?
Aziz Manva:Reading Comprehension, word usage, erros in usage and verbal reasoning for VA, logical conditions, venn diagrams, critical reasoning, numerical reasoning and arrangements from LR
cheque:What is the minimum cut-off for each section?
Aziz Manva:That cannot be determined at this stage. However try and attempt 22-24 questions with atleast 85% accuracy
cheque:Is IIM rohtak operatinal now? Or yet to open?
Aziz Manva:I believe it is operational
Here's the unedited transcript:
ttyu:what is the percentile required to look forward to for getting into IIMs
Aziz Manva:Hi...atleast 98+
cheque:i recently gave GMAT and scored 720...do you think i hold a good chance in cracking CAT
Aziz Manva:Yes..you definitely do...but you may need a lot on the Quant section compared to GMAT
maneesh:hello sir, can you tell me which subjects I can concentrate for Quant section now?
Aziz Manva:Focus on Numbers, Equations and Inequalities, Circles and triangles, Sets, Sequences and Series and Functions. Once you are done with these chapters, focus on the others
cheque:I have also worked for McKinsey & Co. for 1.6 years and currently working with BAIN. Total years of work ex so far is 3.5 years...i was thinking IIM full time executive programs as an alternative. So a bit confused now, shall i go for normal IIM program or wait for another year to be more eligible for IIm-EX programs...pls advise
Aziz Manva:Try for the normal IIM programs right now. In case you get through to the top 3-4 IIMs, take it, else wait for one more year and try for the IIM Executive program
Sidd:Which are the chapters I should focus on in Quant in these last 2 months???
Aziz Manva:Numbers, Inequalities, Functions, Stes, Sequences and Series, Circles, Triangles, Tables and Caselets, Charts and Diagrams, etc
maneesh:ok thank you very much. any suggestions to prepare for verbal ability?
Aziz Manva:Reading Comprehension, word usage, erros in usage and verbal reasoning for VA, logical conditions, venn diagrams, critical reasoning, numerical reasoning and arrangements from LR
cheque:What is the minimum cut-off for each section?
Aziz Manva:That cannot be determined at this stage. However try and attempt 22-24 questions with atleast 85% accuracy
cheque:Is IIM rohtak operatinal now? Or yet to open?
Aziz Manva:I believe it is operational
Click NEXT to continue
Identify the area of improvement and practise as much as you can
Photographs: Dominic Xavier
y:what about total hours spend per day for preparation?
Aziz Manva:If you are a working professional or a student, spend atleast an hour on days of college or work and atleast 6-7 hours on holidays
maneesh:where can I refer for sample comprehensions to practice?
Aziz Manva:You can refer to our "RC Passage of the day" on www.testfunda.com or to gutenberg.com
cheque:Can you suggest any ways to learn the short cuts for Maths...because in GMAT learning short cuts were not required as the maths was relatively easy. But i guess the difficulty level of maths of CAT is very high
Aziz Manva:What you can do is to solve the class 8, 9 and 10 textbooks of Maths in 9-10 days. That will revise your Quant concepts beautifully
y:any pre-test facility available?
Aziz Manva:If by "pre-test facility" you mean mock tests, then yes we do have a number of mock tests. If you mean something else, request you to clarify so that I can suggest something accordingly
y:How to improve english related section?
Aziz Manva:What part of English do you want to improve? In general, however, focus on reading on different areas and topics such as philosophy, psychology, economics, history, arts, science, etc. Check the usage of each new word that you see. For each passage, try and create a title, gist, one line summary, etc
Chintan:how to improve in DI
Aziz Manva:For DI, first identify whether you are going wrong in : 1) Not understanding the concept 2) Not understanding the question 3) Calculation errors Accordingly, identify the area of improvement and practise as much as you can
cheque:My Dad, Mom, elder brother, and couple of cousins are IIM graduates. (So it's more of a family ritual now :)...my question is while in interview mentioning of this fact about my family...would it be helpful?
Aziz Manva:It may be a double edged sword. You could get grilled on this. My take is that you should mention it if you talk about it and your prospects with utmost confidence
priyanka:I did coaching in Time.....but never prepered...want a gud percentile...is it possible at this stage ...my paper is on 11 nov
Aziz Manva:Yes it is possible...provided you do systematic analysis of each mock paper and then based on that analysis, revise the relevant concepts. Repeat this process every week. Your scores will start improving.
Aziz Manva:If you are a working professional or a student, spend atleast an hour on days of college or work and atleast 6-7 hours on holidays
maneesh:where can I refer for sample comprehensions to practice?
Aziz Manva:You can refer to our "RC Passage of the day" on www.testfunda.com or to gutenberg.com
cheque:Can you suggest any ways to learn the short cuts for Maths...because in GMAT learning short cuts were not required as the maths was relatively easy. But i guess the difficulty level of maths of CAT is very high
Aziz Manva:What you can do is to solve the class 8, 9 and 10 textbooks of Maths in 9-10 days. That will revise your Quant concepts beautifully
y:any pre-test facility available?
Aziz Manva:If by "pre-test facility" you mean mock tests, then yes we do have a number of mock tests. If you mean something else, request you to clarify so that I can suggest something accordingly
y:How to improve english related section?
Aziz Manva:What part of English do you want to improve? In general, however, focus on reading on different areas and topics such as philosophy, psychology, economics, history, arts, science, etc. Check the usage of each new word that you see. For each passage, try and create a title, gist, one line summary, etc
Chintan:how to improve in DI
Aziz Manva:For DI, first identify whether you are going wrong in : 1) Not understanding the concept 2) Not understanding the question 3) Calculation errors Accordingly, identify the area of improvement and practise as much as you can
cheque:My Dad, Mom, elder brother, and couple of cousins are IIM graduates. (So it's more of a family ritual now :)...my question is while in interview mentioning of this fact about my family...would it be helpful?
Aziz Manva:It may be a double edged sword. You could get grilled on this. My take is that you should mention it if you talk about it and your prospects with utmost confidence
priyanka:I did coaching in Time.....but never prepered...want a gud percentile...is it possible at this stage ...my paper is on 11 nov
Aziz Manva:Yes it is possible...provided you do systematic analysis of each mock paper and then based on that analysis, revise the relevant concepts. Repeat this process every week. Your scores will start improving.
Click NEXT to continue
Choose full time MBA over part time
shridhar:Hi Sir, I am a software professional working for MNC with 1 year exp. . I wud like to know whether part time mba has same preference as full time mba in terms of package/job oppurtunity. And does EMBA after 3 years wud fetch me higher package.
Aziz Manva:A full time MBA is always preferable to a part time MBA. Also, if you are getting a full time MBA seat in the top 10-15 colleges in India, go for it.
Aditi:Hey AziZ, a big mwwwwaaah to you...Last year I took 50-day crash course and it really helped
Aziz Manva:Thanks.....we will be launching the crash course for this year very soon
manu:what are the top 15 universities. ??
Aziz Manva:You can look at the top 6 IIMs, XLRI, FMS, JBIMS, IIFT, NMIMS, SPJAIN, MDI, NITIE, SJSOM
ashokr:what is the course fee for mba in iim.. what would be the average cost?
Aziz Manva:It varies from IIM to IIM...but be prepared to pend anywhere in the region of 10-12 lakhs
Aditi:any discount for repeaters? :))
Aziz Manva:We do have an existing offer right now...Keep checking the site. We may have some discount when the crash course gets launched but can't assure you.
Chintan:okk Sometimes i did not understand the question
Aziz Manva:You will need to tell me what area of preparation did you not understand the question
anyone:How to improve Vocab?
Aziz Manva:If you are preparing only for CAT, Vocab is not so important. However, if you want to improve Vocab, then for everything that you read, mark the words that seem new or unfamiliar. Check them on a good dictionary based website. It will give you not only the meaning, but all possible meanings, usage of the word, synonyms, antonyms, etc.
Siddhartha:IIM Indore or XLRI??
Aziz Manva:Definitely XLRI
manu:IMT Gaziabad not in top 15?
Aziz Manva:Sorry...missed that out. IMT Ghaziabad is also a very good institute
Diksha:Sir, my last AIMCAT (TIME mock cat) percentile is 60. my exam date is 11nov. how much of a percentile can i expect in CAT
Aziz Manva:That cannot be predicted right now. However, check your percentile after analysis and improvement over the next 4-5 tests. That will give you a better idea
ertert:sir is there minimum percentage required in xth,x11th n grad to apply for iim ?
Aziz Manva:Yes...you should have atleast 50%
Chintan:if there are more 2 diagrams in the question i dont understand where to start.. i got stucj there only.. hope u understand wht i am talking
Aziz Manva:Look at the question and see what data is required. Then go to the diagrams and see where you will get the data from. Accordingly start working
ertert:my earlier quest meant if i have only around 60 % xth,x12th n grad will it affect my selection during interview ?
Aziz Manva:You can get asked a lot of questions on this during the interview. Also, you get a few points less while being shortlisted for the GDPI
alam:what is normalization that is used to calculate final CAT percentile ?
Aziz Manva:This is a process that is used to equate people' scores over different days. However, it is quite complicated to explain here
y:For Part-time MBA, which institute is best in delhi?
Aziz Manva:Try either FMSD Delhi or IIFt Delhi or MDI Gurgaon
amitava:I have close to 6yrs of experience. Is it worth trying for the flagship 2yr courses at IIMS? If no is it worth doing the executives at IIM or even XLRI as I am into an IT MNC
Aziz Manva:You can go for the flagship course at the top 3-4 IIMs
Abhai:With extra marks upto 30 being gven by some IIMs to Women and Non-Engineering students dont you think this will be unfair for hard working students?
Aziz Manva:It is very difficult to comment at this stage. I am sure the IIms would have included some way to be fair to everyone
Aziz Manva:A full time MBA is always preferable to a part time MBA. Also, if you are getting a full time MBA seat in the top 10-15 colleges in India, go for it.
Aditi:Hey AziZ, a big mwwwwaaah to you...Last year I took 50-day crash course and it really helped
Aziz Manva:Thanks.....we will be launching the crash course for this year very soon
manu:what are the top 15 universities. ??
Aziz Manva:You can look at the top 6 IIMs, XLRI, FMS, JBIMS, IIFT, NMIMS, SPJAIN, MDI, NITIE, SJSOM
ashokr:what is the course fee for mba in iim.. what would be the average cost?
Aziz Manva:It varies from IIM to IIM...but be prepared to pend anywhere in the region of 10-12 lakhs
Aditi:any discount for repeaters? :))
Aziz Manva:We do have an existing offer right now...Keep checking the site. We may have some discount when the crash course gets launched but can't assure you.
Chintan:okk Sometimes i did not understand the question
Aziz Manva:You will need to tell me what area of preparation did you not understand the question
anyone:How to improve Vocab?
Aziz Manva:If you are preparing only for CAT, Vocab is not so important. However, if you want to improve Vocab, then for everything that you read, mark the words that seem new or unfamiliar. Check them on a good dictionary based website. It will give you not only the meaning, but all possible meanings, usage of the word, synonyms, antonyms, etc.
Siddhartha:IIM Indore or XLRI??
Aziz Manva:Definitely XLRI
manu:IMT Gaziabad not in top 15?
Aziz Manva:Sorry...missed that out. IMT Ghaziabad is also a very good institute
Diksha:Sir, my last AIMCAT (TIME mock cat) percentile is 60. my exam date is 11nov. how much of a percentile can i expect in CAT
Aziz Manva:That cannot be predicted right now. However, check your percentile after analysis and improvement over the next 4-5 tests. That will give you a better idea
ertert:sir is there minimum percentage required in xth,x11th n grad to apply for iim ?
Aziz Manva:Yes...you should have atleast 50%
Chintan:if there are more 2 diagrams in the question i dont understand where to start.. i got stucj there only.. hope u understand wht i am talking
Aziz Manva:Look at the question and see what data is required. Then go to the diagrams and see where you will get the data from. Accordingly start working
ertert:my earlier quest meant if i have only around 60 % xth,x12th n grad will it affect my selection during interview ?
Aziz Manva:You can get asked a lot of questions on this during the interview. Also, you get a few points less while being shortlisted for the GDPI
alam:what is normalization that is used to calculate final CAT percentile ?
Aziz Manva:This is a process that is used to equate people' scores over different days. However, it is quite complicated to explain here
y:For Part-time MBA, which institute is best in delhi?
Aziz Manva:Try either FMSD Delhi or IIFt Delhi or MDI Gurgaon
amitava:I have close to 6yrs of experience. Is it worth trying for the flagship 2yr courses at IIMS? If no is it worth doing the executives at IIM or even XLRI as I am into an IT MNC
Aziz Manva:You can go for the flagship course at the top 3-4 IIMs
Abhai:With extra marks upto 30 being gven by some IIMs to Women and Non-Engineering students dont you think this will be unfair for hard working students?
Aziz Manva:It is very difficult to comment at this stage. I am sure the IIms would have included some way to be fair to everyone
Click NEXT to continue
Focus on accuracy, rather than speed
Photographs: Dominic Xavier
arpit:i am studying myself for cat. where should i do my quant tricks from?
Aziz Manva:Practise more of quant and compare your solution with any official notes that you have. That will often tell you the best way to approach a problem
y:For Part time MBA, approx. total course fees.
Aziz Manva:It varies from college to college. You will have to check with the college that you are interested in
arpit:but there are certain questions which cannot be done quickly if you do not know any tricks...could u plz suugest me some sites or books from where i can study these tricks?
Aziz Manva:Most standard books or material in the market will provide you these tricks. If you have the complete material of any coaching class or online material like ours, you will get all this
Diksha:Sir at this stage, how many hours of study is recommended to get into iim...
Aziz Manva:You should try and target atleast 25 hours per week
chint:i want to do MBA in IT can u tell me which is the best college
Aziz Manva:Try to get into NITIE in Mumbai
arpit:whats your online material?
Aziz Manva:Our online material contains theory, chapter wise tests and full length tests to help you prepare for CAT and other MBA entrance exams
prak:what is the age limit to enter into iims
Aziz Manva:There is no age limit
umesh:wat may i do i m not feeling well in any chapter??
Aziz Manva:Firstly, don't be so disheartened. Identify the chapters where you are struggling and look to improve those
prak:does iims prefer older peoples i.e. above 35 yrs
Aziz Manva:If you have good CAT scores and a good work experience profile, then they will definitely prefer you
Ron:Hey...I am seriously poor in Quants.Please tell me how can i improve to a good level in 2 months
Aziz Manva:Try and improve in Numbers, Circles, Trianges, Sets, Functions, P & C, Sequences and Series, Time and Distance and Inequalities
Diksha:sir, many teachers advise to analyse mock cats after solving them. why is that important?
Aziz Manva:Analysis is important because it tells you where you are strong (and need to just practise regularly) where you are weak (and need to improve based on your specific weakness). Once you analyse a test and prepare as explained above, the results start showing in the next test and so on
umesh:what should be my strategy in all sections few weeks before cat.
Aziz Manva:Focus on accuracy rather than speed. Focus on question selection within a section such that even if you attempt fewer questions you get most of them right
Aziz Manva:Practise more of quant and compare your solution with any official notes that you have. That will often tell you the best way to approach a problem
y:For Part time MBA, approx. total course fees.
Aziz Manva:It varies from college to college. You will have to check with the college that you are interested in
arpit:but there are certain questions which cannot be done quickly if you do not know any tricks...could u plz suugest me some sites or books from where i can study these tricks?
Aziz Manva:Most standard books or material in the market will provide you these tricks. If you have the complete material of any coaching class or online material like ours, you will get all this
Diksha:Sir at this stage, how many hours of study is recommended to get into iim...
Aziz Manva:You should try and target atleast 25 hours per week
chint:i want to do MBA in IT can u tell me which is the best college
Aziz Manva:Try to get into NITIE in Mumbai
arpit:whats your online material?
Aziz Manva:Our online material contains theory, chapter wise tests and full length tests to help you prepare for CAT and other MBA entrance exams
prak:what is the age limit to enter into iims
Aziz Manva:There is no age limit
umesh:wat may i do i m not feeling well in any chapter??
Aziz Manva:Firstly, don't be so disheartened. Identify the chapters where you are struggling and look to improve those
prak:does iims prefer older peoples i.e. above 35 yrs
Aziz Manva:If you have good CAT scores and a good work experience profile, then they will definitely prefer you
Ron:Hey...I am seriously poor in Quants.Please tell me how can i improve to a good level in 2 months
Aziz Manva:Try and improve in Numbers, Circles, Trianges, Sets, Functions, P & C, Sequences and Series, Time and Distance and Inequalities
Diksha:sir, many teachers advise to analyse mock cats after solving them. why is that important?
Aziz Manva:Analysis is important because it tells you where you are strong (and need to just practise regularly) where you are weak (and need to improve based on your specific weakness). Once you analyse a test and prepare as explained above, the results start showing in the next test and so on
umesh:what should be my strategy in all sections few weeks before cat.
Aziz Manva:Focus on accuracy rather than speed. Focus on question selection within a section such that even if you attempt fewer questions you get most of them right
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