how to get the best out of aimcats

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HowtogetthebestoutoftheAIMCATs

NowthatyouareinthelastlapofyourpreparationfortheCAT,andregularlyattemptingtheAIMCATs,youwouldprobablybeaskingyourselfthequestion,"HowdoIreallyimprovemyperformanceintheAIMCATs?"Whetheryouare someone who barely manages make it into the toppers list or someone who is struggling to cross thesectional/overallcutoffs,rememberthatthingscanbechangedandyoucanimproveyourperformance.

Thekeytomakingthispossible lies inhowmuchyoucanextractoutoftheAIMCATsthatyoutakeregularly.TheAIMCATsareundoubtedlyoneofthemostvaluabletoolsyouhaveatyourdisposaltohelpyoufinetuneandhoneyourperformance.ButyoumustnotethatthoughtheAIMCATseriesisasclosetotherealthingasispossibleinterms of the quality of the paper, the mode of administration, the crowd taking the test, the results and theaccompanyinganalysisyoucanmakeitworkforyouonlyifyouarereallypreparedtoputinwhatittakestoextract themaximumoutofeachAIMCAT.In fact,mostof thestudentswhomake it into the topBschoolsmention"regularlyanalyzingAIMCATs"asoneofthemostimportantthingstheydidtocrackCAT

Thisarticleisintendedtohelpyouinexactlythat,i.e.,ingettingthemostoutofeachandeveryAIMCATthatyoutake,sothatyoucanmoveaheadinyourendeavortoachievetopperformanceintheAIMCATsandsubsequentlyintheCATitself.

I. Perspective:

ThefirstaspectthatweshallconsiderisyourperspectiveoftheAIMCATs.InordertogainthemostoutoftheAIMCATsyouneed tohave the rightperspectiveaboutwhat theyare intended tobeandhow theycanhelpyou.

WhattheAIMCATsareintendedtobe

Benchmarking Tool: The AIMCATs are primarily intended to be a benchmarking tool, i.e., to help youhonestlymeasureyourlevelofpreparednessfortherealCATanddiscoveryourstrongandweakareas.Theyaredefinitelynotintendedtoscareyouordiscourageyouandthereforeyoushouldneverlookuponthemwithfearortrepidation.

HowtheAIMCATscanhelpyou

DevelopingtheRightTesttakingStrategy:TheAIMCATsarealsointendedhelpyoudeveloptherighttesttakingapproach/strategyfortherealCATthroughaproperanalysisofyourperformanceineachAIMCAT.

LearningNewTechniquesofProblemSolving:Finally, theAIMCATsarealso intendedtohelpyouto learnsome advanced techniques, i.e., youmay sometimes find some new and usefulways of applying the basicconcepts.

HowyoushouldapproachtheAIMCATs

TreateachAIMCATasifitweretheactualCATitselfandbelievethatyourperformanceintheAIMCATactuallymatters.SuchseriousnessisamustifyouhopetoeitherperformwellintheAIMCATsortogainanyseriousbenefitfromthem.However,aftereachAIMCATyouneedtolookatitasnotjustasgivingamocktestbutasan opportunity to learn and improve your performance. Also, do not miss out on any AIMCAT unless it isabsolutely unavoidable. However, do remember to take the AIMCAT results with a pinch of salt, especiallywhenyourperformancewasnotuptoyourexpectations.Inshort,alwaysgiveyourbestgoatitbutneverletitgettoyou!

II. PreparationandPractice:

Over the past few years, with decreasing number of questions in each section, the CAT has been placingincreasingly more emphasis on problems which can be solved with a sound conceptual understanding asagainst resorting to shortcuts, speed, selection of questions etc. Therefore, you need to be conceptuallythorough to the extent possible, at least with the topics that have been already covered in class. If yourpreparationislaggingorisbelowparatpresent,youshouldimmediatelyplanforacompleteroundupofthebasicsandthenstartapplyingtheconceptsintheupcomingAIMCATsaswellaswhilereviewingthepreviousAIMCATs.TheonlinesectionalpracticetestsavailableontheStudentHomepageshouldbeusedtotopupyourpreparationthroughextensiveandhighqualitypracticefollowedbyanalysis.

III. Performance:Thethreemostimportantthingstolookoutforherearetimemanagement,questionselection,andaccuracy.

Timemanagement:Planningthetimeyouaregoingtospendoneachquestion,orsetofquestionswillhelpyou maximize your overall score. It calls for tremendous selfdiscipline to ensure you never spend aninordinate amount of time on any question and judiciously skip questions that turn out to be more timeconsumingthanexpected.

Also,acommonquandary thatmanystudentsoften face is theorder inwhich theyshouldattempt thesubsections(QAvsDIandVAvsLR).Abroadguidelinetohelpyouwiththistrickydecision isthatyouattempttheminsuchawaythatyougiveyourselfthebestopportunitytomaximizeyourscoreinyourstrongerareaand thenmoveon to theweakerareawhilekeepingbuffer time for thequestions thataredoablebut timeconsuming.

Questionselection:Spendingmoretimethanrequiredonawrongorarelativelydifficultquestioncanprovetobeacostlymistake,asyouaredoing itat theexpenseofotherquestionswhichareprobablyeasier,butyou did not attempt for lack of time. The art of selecting the right questions to attempt comes from acombination of solid grounding in the basics and an ability to quickly see through the situation given in thequestionandanticipatethebroadstepsinvolvedinthesolution.Thisinevitablyrequiresconsiderableamountofpractice.

Accuracy:Finally, the accuracy of your attempts in the AIMCAT needs to be taken care of. For the samereasonsasexplainedabove,anysortofcompromiseonaccuracy, inashortersection,can leadtoadrasticreductioninyourpercentilescore.Hence,anaccuracyof70%ormoreishighlydesirable.Often,asignificantnumberofmistakesarecommitteddue tomere lackof concentrationorunnecessaryhaste.Acoolheaded,confidentapproachcanhelpavoidalotofmistakesusuallycommittedunwittingly.

IV. PostPerformanceAnalysis:

AftereachAIMCAT,spendat least2hoursanalyzingeachsectionofthepaper.Tryandfirstworkouteveryquestioninasmanydifferentwaysasyoucanthinkofandonlythenlookupthesolutionsforthesame.Itisin thisphaseofyourprepthatyoucanexpect tosignificantly improveyourunderstandingof thebasicsandmore importantly,yourability toapply them inanexamscenario.Thisanalysis shouldbedone indifferentsteps.

Step1:AttemptallthosequestionsinthatsectionthatyouleftunattemptedduringtheAIMCAT.

Step2:Trysolvingquestionsthatmaystillbeleftover.Onlyaftergivingallthequestionsagoodtry,checktheanswerkeytofindoutwhichquestionsyoucouldanswercorrectlyandreattemptallthosequestionsthatyou answeredwrongly. Youwould be able to learn a great deal from this step since youwould actually bepushingyourselftothinkharderandfindoutwhereyouhavemademistakes.Donotlookatthesolutionsuntilyouarefinishedwiththisstep.

Step3:Youcan refer thesolutionsandcompareyourapproachwith thatgiven in thesolutions.Youshouldkeenly observe and learn anythingnew that youmay find in the solutions.At the endof this stageof youranalysis, you should try to categorize the questions into levels of difficulty based on the understandingrequiredand theamountof time thatyouwould take to solveeachof them inanexamsituation.This is avery important step that will help you in identifying the level of a question, a critical input required whentryingtochoosetherightquestionstoattemptintheAIMCATortheactualCAT.

Step4: Carefully look up the extensive analysis Sectionwise, Areawise, Difficulty Level wise andmuchmore that isprovidedtoyouontheStudentHomepageafter theresultsaredeclared.TheAIMCATresultsand analysis that are made available on the website are meticulously designed, comprehensive, andpersonalized analyses that are intended to give you valuable feedback regarding your performance. Thisfeedbackwillguideyoutowardsabetter,morefocusedandeffectivepreparationandcansetyouonapathofcontinuousimprovement.

Another practical way to boost your learning is to sometimes study, if possible, with your peers in smallgroupsofnotmorethanthreetofourmembers.YoucananalyzeanddiscusseachAIMCATasagroup,aftereachmember is throughwithhis share of individual analysis. This a verygoodapproach tomaximize yourlearning.Thegroupshould ideallybeformedwithmemberswithstrengths indifferentareassothatthere isscopeforeveryonetogainfromthejointeffort.

V. Progress:OnecriticalaspectthatoftengetsneglectediskeepingtrackofonesprogressintheAIMCATs.Youshouldcontinuallytrackyourkeyperformanceparameterssectionalandoverallpercentilescoresandlookoutfor any trends and if adverse, remedy the situation accordingly. Remember that absolute scores do notnecessarilyreflectyourperformancesinceitisacompetitiveexamwhereonlyrelativeperformancematters.Youshouldactivelykeeptrackofhowoftenyoucrossall thesectionalcutoffsandalsothenumberoftimesthatyoumakeit intothetopperslistorhowoftenyoucrossacertainoverallpercentilefigurethatyoumaybeaiming for. Failing tokeep trackof and inability to continually adjust, yourperformanceandpreparationcanseriouslyundermineyourpreparation.Also,settingshorttermandlongtermgoalsforyoursectionalandoverall percentiles, and other parameters like identifying and attempting at least 80% of all the easyquestions in a section, or ensuring to spare some buffer time in the paper etc., will keep you focused andmotivatedandalsoyieldbetterresults.

VI. Perseverance:On a final note, remember the principle of perseverance. Know and remember that thecompetitionisboundtointimidateyouonmorethanoneoccasionoverthecomingfewweeksandthingswillnotalwaysgothewaythatyoumay likethemto.Youshouldalsobepreparedforoccasionalspellsofselfdoubt,despairanddiscouragement theyareallapartandparcelof thegamewhichyouwilleventuallybecome accustomed to, overcome and, hopefully, use as stepping stones to reach greater heights in yourpreparationandperformanceintheAIMCATsandalsoyourcareerinthelongrun.

Just remember the famous lines of the song 'Sunscreen' by Baz Luhrmann "Sometimes youre ahead,sometimes you're behindthe race is long, and in the end, its onlywith yourself." (the full extract can befoundonwww.lyricscrawler.com/song/3953.html)

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