MBA Preparation Strategy

In this post, I am going to give a preparation strategy for your MBA admission. For simplicity of understanding, I have divided strategy into multiple sub-strategies.

Strategy 1: If you are planning for the CAT exam next year then attempt this year’s actual CAT exam also e.g. if you are planning for CAT 2022 then give all exams in the year 2021. Give CAT 2021, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, CET, CMAT, MAT, etc.

Why I am telling you to do this?

The answer is simple: this activity will bring clarity for you by doing GAP Analysis.  Your ranking and percentiles from exam results will give you a fair idea of your current level of preparedness. You will know how much ground you need to cover in a year to reach your dream institute.  

Strategy 2: don’t wait to start your preparation. If possible, join a 2-year course and take advantage of Early Start.  You will have the upper hand over your competition by having more time to deal with your weak areas, build your vocabulary and reading, clear basic concepts.

Strategy 3: If possible to enroll for online coaching instead of classroom coaching. You will save a lot of time by avoiding travel, get trained by the best faculty in the industry, and attend classes as per your convenience.

Strategy 4: should I do self-study or join a course? If this is your dilemma, then I will recommend you join a course even if you have an above-average aptitude. Joining a course allows you to get mentored, and it also sets a learning schedule for you. I have initiative "SkillGym 1.0" it’s free to join. Take advantage of that for your preparation journey.

Strategy 5: Have a mentor. Taking help from a mentor will optimize your preparation. you will reach the 99+ percentile in a lesser time frame compared to the candidate not getting mentored.

Strategy 6: width first, depth later. Width means knowing something about everything. Don't skip the difficult sections or topics. Focus on your weak sections in the starting phase. You should not have any weak section left before 3 months of the CAT exam.

Depth means knowing everything about something. Once you are done with a basic understanding of the topic, then practice questions with a higher level of difficulty. This should be done in the later phase of your preparation.

Strategy 7: Get your basics strong: master the basic concepts and formulae, then revise them regularly. You must reach a level where you no longer have to look for any formula or theory while practicing. This level can be easily reached within 3 months. Don’t skip any topic of any section.

Strategy 8: Prepare a sectional strategy: don’t have a broad preparation strategy for the exam. For every section, you must develop a clear, precise, and specific strategy.

Strategy 9: Reading everything you lay your hands on. Reading will help you with four things: 1) reading speed, 2) comprehension, 3) vocabulary, 4) GP/PI/WAT. Read at least 1 hour per day. You start reading Newspaper, Editorial, Articles, Journal, books of different genre (fiction, non-fiction, biographies, business, sociology, history, politics, philosophy, art, culture, science), magazines, essays, novels, current affairs, Quora answers, blogs, Journals.

Strategy 10: -Start building your Vocabulary.

Strategy 11: Make a formula bank for Quantitative Ability. Use it for revision.

Strategy 12: design a test-taking strategy by experimenting with your mocks. Have a strategy for every mock you write. Note down what works and what doesn't work for you. This will help you to optimize your score.

Strategy 13: Invest 2 months in solving Previous CAT Papers.

Strategy 14: Reinforce your concepts in weak areas.

Strategy 15: focus your preparation to develop balance in four aspects. These aspects are speed, accuracy, question selection, time management.

Strategy 16: every section will have easy, medium, and difficult levels of questions.  Every section will have around ⅔  easy and medium level questions. You must strive to develop a skill to select those easy and medium level questions within the sectional time limit. 

Strategy 17: As your preparation reaches the last phase make sure you build confidence in solving CAT-level questions.  CAT-level questions involve the application of basic concepts. You must aim to reach this stage by October.

Strategy 18: Utilize last month for revision and mocks.

Strategy 19: Maintain detailed documentation:  It will have a record of your strong and weak areas, your schedule, mock scores, sectional scores, ranks etc. (separate detailed post on documentation will be added soon.)

Strategy 20: Right mindset is a key to crack CAT. Mindset helps you to remain consistent in your preparation, manage your reaction to mock results etc. (separate detailed post on mindset will be added soon.)

Strategy 21: Create a robust Schedule for Preparation. Don’t study as per your whims and fancies. (separate detailed post on how to schedule  will be added soon.)

Strategy 22: Follow standard material. Take efforts to collect previous questions and answers, various textbooks. Build a database of topic wise question and answers. (separate detailed post on books will be added soon.)

Strategy 23: Buying a mock test series. You must subscribe to at least two mock test series (Test Funda ,CL, T.I.M.E , IMS). You must give 30-60 mocks before D-day. Give mocks from the beginning of your preparation. As you make progress with basics increase the frequency of mocks. Analysis of the mock test is a crucial activity. My article on Mocks