How to Prepare For CAT Exam in 2 Months – A Comprehensive Guide

If you are a first-time CAT aspirant and have started preparing for CAT 24 seriously now, we are sure that you will have a question at the back of your mind: Is it possible to crack the CAT in 2 months?

The answer is indeed yes! But of course, there are a few steps that you need to take in a planned and disciplined manner to complete your CAT preparation in 2 months. Broadly speaking, these are the milestones you will need to achieve to get into the institute of your choice:

1. Understand where you are now and have a prep plan ready
2. Set a goal of the institutes and tests you wish to target
   

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Preparing for CAT exam 2024 in 2 months – A two-pronged strategy

Understand where you are now

If you are someone who has taken competitive tests earlier and is decently good in terms of your math and verbal basics, you should not have a lot of issues in completing your CAT preparation in two months. In that case, your focus should mostly be on taking SimCATs and analysing them thoroughly. Once you find minor conceptual gaps, you can plug those through the courseware, the pre-class concept videos playlist, or the live sessions.

If, however, you haven’t solved math problems in a long time and haven’t been an avid reader, it will take some effort from your end to become comfortable with the concepts and apply them. If you have to begin your prep from scratch, then preparing for the CAT exam 2024 in 2 months might require a lot more effort and dedication from your end.

Focus on concepts while trying to crack CAT in 2 months

You should ideally devote the month of October to understanding concepts primarily from these areas:

• Reading Comprehension: Reasoning-based questions that involve strengthening/weakening an argument and identifying the tone of a passage.
• Verbal Ability: Understanding how to unscramble jumbled paragraphs.
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: 2/3/4 factor Venn diagrams, critical path, chart-based sets, mathematical reasoning, and arrangement-based sets.
• Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic (percentages, profit & loss, simple & compound interest, ratios, time, speed & distance, time & work, and averages), algebra (linear & quadratic equations, basics of polynomials).

If you find the quant section harder than the rest, then check out this blog on how to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT. It contains tips and strategies from our most experienced mentors on how to handle this section.

These areas will broadly cover ~60% of the entire test and should help you gain confidence by answering a few questions on the mocks. You can use the IMS courseware and the myIMS portal to build conceptual clarity on the topics mentioned. 

Apply the concepts while preparing for the CAT exam 2024 in two months

CAT is not a test of just remembering facts and formulae and then plugging in the gaps but is a test of the application of said concepts. 

Sample this actual question that appeared at CAT 22:

Pinky is standing in a queue at a ticket counter. Suppose the ratio of the number of persons standing ahead of Pinky to the number of persons standing behind her in the queue is 3:5. If the total number of persons in the queue is less than 300, then the maximum possible number of persons standing ahead of Pinky is: 

This simple question tests your knowledge of ratios, division, and, most importantly, attention to detail. I am sure a few of you would have marked 297 as the answer, considering that there were no options to this question. That is what makes CAT tricky, and it is almost mandatory to find the quickest method on the first try during the test so that you have sufficient time left over to answer other, more difficult questions. 

That’s why, once you are done with the concepts mentioned above, you will need to know how to apply the said concepts while taking a test. You will have to go through resources, including benchmarking tests, module tests, sectional tests, masterclasses, maximiser workshops, and past CAT papers, to get better at the application of concepts. This should ideally happen from the third week of October till the middle of November.

Take mock tests while preparing for CAT exam  2024 in 2 months

It is highly recommended that you take mocks regularly if you are trying to crack CAT in 2 months, as they will help you at two broad levels:

1. Mocks will help you build deeper conceptual clarity through video solutions and AI-enabled adaptive practice, understand where you are in terms of the test-taking population through sectional and overall percentiles, and focus on specific areas of improvement
2. Mocks will also help you get used to the whole experience of attempting a test by sitting in one place for 2 hours without access to your phone, social media, food, or any other breaks. This aspect is especially important for first-time test-takers

In October, you should ideally plan for 2 SimCATs every week at the very least and in November, you should plan for 3 SimCATs every week. That will ensure that you have taken 15 SimCATs before the actual test, and so are mentally prepared to deal with all scenarios that you may encounter on the day of the test.

Tests and Institutes Applications

Studying is just one part of the story of CAT preparation in 2 months. You will also need to figure out the other tests that you intend to take and prepare for them accordingly. If you plan to take the NMAT or the SNAP, then you will need to work on your speed. If you plan to take TISSNET or the MICAT, you will need to prepare for the GK section. For the XAT, you will need to work on the Decision Making section. We have got these bases covered at IMS through our ADMAT Workshops and GK zone, so these resources should take care of the additional preparation. 

You will also need to keep an eye on the tests and B-school application deadlines, for which you can refer to our Ultimate Guide to B-School Applications or join our official CAT 23 Updates Telegram Channel. Make sure that you fill out the forms way before the deadlines to avoid any last-minute panic.

To sum it up, preparing for the CAT exam 2024 in 2 months is possible with serious, well-planned preparation. Just make sure that you are in the right frame of mind and are peaking at the right time to be able to crack CAT in 2 months. Wishing you all the best with your CAT prep!