Every year around 2 lakh candidates aspire for CAT exam. A significant number in them are the working class professionals. Some candidates’ prefer to quit their jobs and focus on preparing for CAT but many manage it along with their work schedule.

It is interesting to note that Ms. Chhavi Gupta, the CAT 2017 100 Percentiler was herself a full time working professional with Opera Technology.

So what does it take to crack CAT with a job? The answer is simple

It is but obvious that the number of hours you can give over the weekends and weekdays will be different. Thus you must plan accordingly.

Weekends with CAT

Make sure you are fully dedicating yourself over the weekends for the CAT preparation. Join a coaching class or test series or online class or Facebook group over the weekend. You can spend that time clarifying your doubts. You can also go through our CAT winning strategy here. Write at least 1 mock over the weekend. Get the complete analysis of it. Make proper notes of the classes or sessions you attend. Remember! The maximum you can do is over the weekends.

Weekdays with CAT

Utilise your time and resources well. Start by fixing your work timings and work schedule so that you can plan things around it. Whenever you take tea/coffee breaks, utilize them for preparing for sections like VARC/QA. Try to read something during that time. Keep a book handy with you which have reading comprehension passages. Time yourself and finish reading passages and the subsequent questions under it. Even if you take a 10 minute break, it means you can attempt at least 1 RC. Keep a current affairs magazine or a non-fiction book handy with you for reading. You could read them while travelling if you use public transport. The main idea is to improve your reading speed and comprehension. Make sure you revise your notes that you made over the weekends, during your break or travel time. Make notes on formulae in QA. Along with that you could memorize vocab words using the Barron’s word list. Memorize tables, squares, cubes, square roots for numbers up to 50 during this time. Keeping these things on your tips can help you save a lot of time which you may spend in calculations. In case you drive to work, keep travel as your relaxing time, since you do need to keep a fresh mind. Another thing you can do is take help of video tutorials. Subscribe to channels that help you prepare for CAT and other exams. This can really help you utilize your time and you will know what to pick next when you sit and practice. When you come home, make sure you do at least 1 set of DI and LR. This section specifically needs a lot of practice. Redo the questions you skipped or that go wrong in your mock exam (which you gave over the weekend) Keep collecting all your doubts and clarify them over the weekend. Plan your leaves well in advance. The CAT exam is on 25th November 2018. Make sure you apply for leaves at least 2-4 weeks before the D-Day.

All the Best!



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