Tuesday 10 July 2012

CAT 2012 aspirants wish to choose the section to start the exam with

With the CAT pattern undergoing change last year, the CAT takers have a mixed feeling towards it. While the takers can’t really do much about it and brace themselves for the change, MBAUniverse.com took a sneak pick into the wish list of the CAT 2012 takers.

MBAUniverse.com conducted a survey on the topic, ’10 ways to improve CAT 2012’ with a sample size of 100 CAT 2012 aspirants. The questions which were asked to the aspirants were on the number of sections, number of questions, duration of CAT 2012, option to start with a section of their choice, time bound sections, the time duration to wait in the test center among few others.

The question which received a unanimous answer was, “Do you want a choice on which section you would like to start your CAT 2012 exam with?” All the respondents have responded with a ‘Yes’.

Till CAT 2010, the test takers had a choice of starting the exam with the section of their choice. It even gave the choice to move to and fro in all the sections. With the change in the pattern, the test takers felt a sudden challenge to let go of the liberty to start with the section of their convenience rather than planning the test taking strategy to choose which section to start the test with.

Gagan Preet Kaur of Pune says, “It would have been much easier for us if we got the chance to choose which section to start with. This new format has left me with no choice but to give extra emphasis on Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, with which we are ought to begin the CAT 2012.”

Vamsi Sridhar, a CAT 2012 aspirant who is preparing for the past six months mentions,”Verbal Ability is my strength and it would have been a real confidence booster for me to start CAT 2012 with that section. I have always started my exams with the questions which I am confident of answering correctly. I wish I could do the same with CAT 2012. This would be my first attempt, hence I am really nervous.”

Another view point is that, the Reading Comprehension passages as well as the Logical Reasoning puzzles are time consuming, so having started the exam with the section would have been convenient for many CAT takers. As Ravi Kanth of Hyderabad says, “I take time to solve the Reading Comprehension passages. I have taken CAT earlier too and every time I started with the Reading Comprehension questions. After completing them, I would have moved to other questions peacefully. But this new arrangement is a bit difficult for me.”

Similar views have been shared by other CAT 2012 aspirants whom MBAUniverse.com had reached out to. Even when some of the CAT takers’ strength lies in Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, they feel that having a choice of sections to start the section would have been definitely better.

Avnish Mishra of Chennai says, “Though I don’t follow a particular strategy of which section to go with first, I feel a choice would have been good. Or at least if we could first browse through the questions of both the sections and then decide which section to start with, like in previous years’ pattern, I would have been able to manage my time in a better way.”

Navin Soni of Ludhiana has a different story to tell. “Generally test takers choose the section of their strength, but I follow the other rule. I start with my weak section, get over with it and move to my area of strength as I know I can score better in that section, and hence put more focus on that. Once I get over with that, I get back to my weak section, revise and rectify the mistakes of the errors which I can pick out. But since there is no alternative now, I am practicing in the existing pattern and trying to get used to the same.”

Abhishek Arun of Mumbai tells MBAUniverse.com, “Having the choice in your hand is definitely gives you more confidence. This new pattern makes me feel even more nervous. But I really don’t have a choice, hence preparing even harder this time.”

MBAUniverse.com will bring out the other views shared by the CAT 2012 aspirants on the theme of ways to make CAT 2012 better.   

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on CAT 2012.

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