CAT2011 ~Experience,Precautions,Strategy~

The CAT 2011 exam has only two sections, instead of three as in the earlier versions of CAT. The exam windowwillremainopentill18November,2011. CAT2011,the20daylongcomputerbasedtestforadmissiontotheIIMsand150+otherBschools,isbeing deliveredin36citiesacrossthecountry.Atotalof2.05lakhstudentswillbetakingtheCAT2011thisyearin theentiretestperiodof20days.Itissaidthatfortydifferentsetsofquestionpapershavebeenpreparedfor CATthisyear.TheresultsofCAT2011willbedeclaredonJanuary11. Givenbelowisadetailedexperiencesharingfromatesttakerspointofview: TheCAT2011testingprocesshascommencedfrom22ndOct. Students across test centres in India are reporting a technically smooth and glitchfree testing experience ContrarytopopularperceptionandexperienceofIndianexaminationsandexaminees,theCATtest centresarenotmadlycrowded Please ensure that you check all the data submitted while filling the online CAT admission form (name,dateofbirthetc.) As a precaution, ensure that you carry at least two photo IDs in original (for ex: Pan card and passport,orPancardandVoterIDcard) Forthefirstslot(morning),theprocessstartsearly.Onehastobethereby8:30amsharp. Thus,youhavetobeatthetestcentre1.5hrsbeforethetest.Youhavetowaitforthesupervisors tostarttheircheckingofdocumentsprocess Ithappenscarefully,slowly,onecandidateatatime Then you will be ushered into the test centre at times a long walk from the main gate to the biometricconfirmationconsole Beforethisbegins,aphysicalcheckingofyourpersonwilltakeplace,andeverythingcarriedbyyou (including handkerchiefs and combs) may be taken away and put in a plastic pouch (with a token numberthetokengiventoyou).Ofcourse,mobilestooaretakenaway! Again, the Biometric process is careful and slow, where candidatesgo inonebyone,andsitting in pairsoftwo(atsomecentres),theirbiometricdatacaptureisdone AcameramountedonthePCtakesthepicture(somakesureyoutakeabathinthemorning!),anda fingerprintreadertakesmultiplereadingsofyourindexfingerofbothhands Once the Biometric supervisor is confident of the process completion, he will allot you your PC stationnumber,anddirectyoutothecomputerlab Othersupervisors/invigilatorswillphysicallyguideyoutothecomputerallottedtoyou Once you are seated, you will be given a laminated sheet Testing Guidelines and Regulations with23pointsmentionedcoveringallaspectsofyourexpectedbehaviourovernext3hours Youwillthenbegiven8blankroughsheets,and2pencils Then your username and password is entered by the Exam Invigilator (you do not have to enter these), and your name and photo will pop up on the screen (this is the photo that was clicked a whileago) YouwillalsoseetwobuttonsOnefor15minutesExamTutorialandanotherforStartTest Dontgettooexcited!Youarenottostartanythingnow.Waitfortheirinstructions Once they ask you, please click on the Tutorials button, and start the 15 min explanation of the testingsoftware Itsagoodideatocarefullygothroughallthe13oddslidesofthistutorial Oncethetutorialends,wait TheExamInvigilatorwill(may)cometoyourstationandclicktheStartTestbutton

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Thetestgetsloadednow.Itmaytakesometimesodontpanic! Oncethetest(CAT2011)loads,theNonDisclosureAgreementappearsonthescreen It isa sternwarningthatyoumustnot discussanyparticularcontentandquestionofthetestyou areabouttogive,withanyoneelseanywhereever!Ifyoudoso,sternactionmaybetaken Onceyouacceptthat(gotachoice?),theteststarts The first section in CAT 2011 is of 70 minutes, and is titled Mathematical Aptitude and Data Interpretation The30questionsappearinfrontofyou,readytodeterminethequalityofnext30yearsofyourlife! These30questionsareallmixedupthereisnofixedorder Differentcandidatesgetdifferentordersofquestions,andalsosomedifferentquestions Atimerisslowlytickingawayontoprightofthescreen,remindingyouofallthecomputerisedtests youtookatyourtraining/coachingclass! Keep solving the questions, as per your convenience. You can keep moving back and forth in this section Rough work (which you will need to do) has to be carefully managed in the sheets given, with a pencil Hence,itisagoodideathatwhilepractisingwithvarioustestsathome,youuseapencil,andnota pen Be gentle with the pencil if the edge breaks, you may not get multiple replacements from the Invigilator(youcannotcarrysharpeners) Use the Reviewbutton intelligently towork faster itallows you todirectly reach the questions thatyoutriedtosolvebuthadtoleaveinbetween(otherwiseyouhavetostartfromquestion1and clicknextagainandagaintillyoureachtheunsolvedquestion) TheMarkandUnmarkbuttonsdonothaveanyimpactonyourscoringonceyouhavechosen anoptionbyclickingthemouseonthechosenoption,itisthecompletionofyouransweringprocess Asyouneartheendofyourtime limitof70minutes,5 minutespriorawarningpopupwillremind youtowindupyourworknow Anotherreminderappearsjust1minutepriortoendofsection Asthetimerunsout,thesectionclosesautomatically YouarenowsupposedtostartthesecondsectionitisEnglishLanguageandLogicalReasoning Questionsstartappearingasbefore,innofixedorder(i.e.Mixedorder) You may again need to use the rough sheets to solve the logical reasoning questions so do not exhaustallthesheetsinthefirstsectionitself!Keepsomepagesblank Again,the70minutesstarttickingaway,andfinally,thetworeminderpopups,andendofsection2 The computer then thanks you for writing the CAT 2011, and reminds you that results will be availablefrom11thJanuary2012onwards Dontgetexcited.Theywontallowyoutoleaveimmediately Aftera fewminutes, the invigilator(s) willreturn yourAdmit Cardtoyou, collect theroughsheets andpencilsfromyou,andthenonebyone,willaskyoutoleave Dontforgettocollectyourbelongingsbygivingthetokentothesecurityguard Overall,youtook4.5hourstofinishthewholeprocess Remember you need to have stamina to give your best shot. Hence, take lots of rest in the 34 dayspriortoyourtestingslot

~Karkedikhayenge~

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