CAT 2017: Over 2.3 lakh students to appear for India's biggest MBA entrance test

New Delhi : Over 2.3 lakh candidates are expected to sit for India's biggest MBA entrance test, the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM-L) on November 26.

“By and large all preparations have been made for the test. We wish all the candidates best of luck for the test,” said Prof Neeraj Dwivedi of IIM(L), the convener of the examination.

“The test, which will be held in two sessions of 180 minutes each, will have three sections. Section I will have verbal ability and reading comprehension; section II will be data interpretation and logical reasoning and section III will deal with quantitative ability,” Prof Dwivedi said.

CAT 2017 exam will be conducted at various centres spread across 140 cities in the nation. 

As the day has arrived and it is important for students to stay focused and not make a rush in the last minutes, here are some useful last minute tips.

Confidence: Staying confident is the key, you have done hard work the whole year believe in yourself and go for the exam. If it all seems to be too much to bear, take a break for a moment and breathe deeply to relax. This will help remove anxiety and enable you to perform at your full potential.

Target TITA Questions first:  It is advised that you must go for TITA-type (Type in the answer) questions first; these non-MCQ questions have no negative marking.

Time management: CAT exams are not the toughest ones but they demand time management to go through them successfully. Do not get stuck on problems which look complex and require a comparatively greater amount of time. Never try to solve a question that you're not familiar with instead keep marking such questions for later review. This will help you increase your efficiency in the given time frame.

Focus on mental calculation: Sometimes, the on-screen calculator can drag you behind, especially for easier calculations. For the remaining time, try solving easier calculations in your mind while practicing the mock drill.

Give equal importance to all sections: Students often lose track of things due to anxiety in the examination hall. Don't forget that all sections are equally important, and need to be given adequate time. Don't get caught up in any one section and then end up losing marks elsewhere.

So now you know how to crack the exam. All the best!