A Look Back at CAT

Today, the results of the Common Aptitude Test of the IIMs are to be declared. I'm hoping for the best, but the unpredictable English section could spring a surprise (an unpleasant one!). Now that the CAT fever has subsided, I'll take a look at what I did on CAT day.

The morning: I woke up at 7, and was surprised that I had got up on time. Got ready, ate varan-bhaat, made my way to the centre (IES Dadar). I was in my seat by 9.15. Spending time without stressing myself was a priority now. Luckily, right next to the class was a balcony! I amused myself by looking at the confused hordes milling about on the ground below. Then it was time for the test. 5 minutes to go before the start. I was expectant but not nervous. I reminded myself of my little niece- her pranks, her smile and all the wonderful moments she had been with us(She had just moved to London). I was happy and in a great frame of mind. Then it began.

25 questions per section. Ha! Same as last year! This was, no doubt, my favorite pattern because of the fewer questions. I glanced through the paper. I had a strategy in place. I would start with English and try to complete the entire section in 35 minutes; if not then keep a few questions for the end. Then I would choose either Quant or DI, a decision that hinged on the relative difficulty of the two sections.

How it panned out: I did start with English as planned. However, it took me longer than expected. The RC passages, one of my best bets, turned out to be quite a handful and the questions that followed were largely interpretative,with answer choices that seemed equally correct. I could complete 22 questions in 40 minutes, leaving out one passage. Then, I looked at DI and felt it was pretty doable. As it turned out, it was a very easy section this time. I figured that most people would score heavily here, and I would have to do the same to get a good percentile in DI. I managed to solve 14 questions in 50 minutes, saving the data sufficiency problems for the end. Then came Quant. It was not very formula-oriented. The questions were more in the style of puzzles. I got down to doing them patiently, one by one. Since I had an entire hour left when I began the section, I could afford to give an extra 10 seconds or so to every problem, compared to the time I would normally give. This probably made the difference, along with the easing of pressure(I had English and DI out of the way). I was now firmly in the zone, knocking off problems which would confound me otherwise. I solved 16 problems in 50 minutes. With 10 minutes to go, I had to make a choice - Quant or DI. Anticipating a high DI cutoff, I chose to go for the data sufficiency problems in DI and managed to solve 4 of them. And then it was all over.

As I left the centre, I wondered if I had attempted enough questions. Yet, it was the highest number I had ever attempted, much more than I had in the AIMCATs. And to top it, I realized I had not wasted a single minute in the entire 2.5 hours - I had managed not to get stuck anywhere. On the phone, I told my dad that I was happy, but not satisfied. My parents thought I had screwed up badly! Well, today I'll know if all this has come to anything significant.