The CAT exam is one of the most competitive exams in India. It is also one of the most important and sought after exams for aspirants wishing to pursue business and management degrees and diplomas from the premier institutes of the country. But what is it that makes it so competitive? The simple answer to this is the high level of accuracy achieved by the aspirants giving this exam in addition to the high number of people appearing for the exam every year.
All Questions v/s High Accuracy
The dilemma about CAT among aspirants is to either attempt all questions with a decent level of accuracy or attempt fewer questions with a high level of accuracy. It is suggested that the aspirants choose high accuracy over attempting high number of questions. It is the accuracy level in the questions you attempt that gives you a high percentile. So choose your questions judiciously and attempt them only if you are sure about them.
Importance of Accuracy
The reason for Accuracy being emphasised in the CAT exam is because the percentiles are relative in nature, an individual’s percentile depends on how he has performed vis-à-vis others. While an individual may have attempted 32 out of 34 questions with 60% accuracy level in a particular section, he still will not get a high percentile in that section because his accuracy is low. On the other hand, an individual who has attempted only 25 of the 34 questions with a 90% accuracy level will end up getting a higher percentile because of the high accuracy level. Therefore, accuracy becomes an important factor in the CAT exam and hence, drives competition as well.
Accuracy drives competition
It would be fair to say that accuracy drives competition in the CAT exam. The relative nature of the exam makes it binding on aspirants to solve the questions they attempt correctly or to only solve those questions whose answers they are absolutely sure of. This is because their competitors may follow the same strategy and race ahead of them. The aspirants with 99 and 100 percentiles are the ones who reached a higher accuracy level than the ones with 90 or 95 percentile.
Accuracy + Time= Success
CAT is an exam based on Accuracy and Time. Both these factors decide your eventual percentile. While accuracy is essential, accuracy within less time is more valued. The exam has sectional time limits, so the aspirant gets only a few minutes to tackle each question that he wishes to attempt accurately. This could be challenging as the pressure of the clock ticking can dent your accuracy level and make you more susceptible to errors. Once, through regular practice and Mock Tests, you learn the skill of identifying the right questions to solve, and do them accurately within the time limit, you will be on the path to achieving a high percentile.
Attaining a high accuracy level depends on the quality of your preparation. So if you cover everything and eliminate your weaknesses, there is no reason why you cannot achieve a high accuracy level.
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