Common Admission Test or CAT, as it is commonly called is a demanding exam. It not only tests your potential to answer tough questions but also your mettle to overcome time constraints and ability to perform under pressure. Time management is considered a crucial aspect of the CAT exam. Poor time distribution for each section can either result in poor preparation or unattempted questions during exams that can seriously hamper the overall CAT score. Keeping this in mind, it is vital that MBA aspirants learn time management skills to manage time effectively before and during the exam, to ace the CAT.

Here are a few points that CAT aspirants must remember before appearing for CAT:

1. The CAT format will consist of three sections that would include 30 to 35 questions per section.

2. Candidates appearing in CAT will have 60 minutes to answer those approx 30 odd questions in a particular section before moving on to the next section.

3. If we consider basic math in this scenario then an aspirant gets roughly about 2 minutes to solve each question. This might pose as a challenge for the students and also enhance the difficulty level of the CAT exam.

4. Even seasoned candidates who have put their best foot forward during the preparation stage would require 3-4 minutes to answer each question.

While the sectional time limit sounds like a limitation but it is actually a boon in disguise for all the MBA aspirants. As future business leaders, CAT candidates are expected to adopt and evolve to changing times and this is a similar challenge for all of them. If you are looking for a simple answer to tackle this challenge, it all lies in EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT. Below, we have decoded how to handle the challenge of time limit that you face while appearing for the CAT.

Time Management Tips for the CAT Exam Day

• Don’t spend much time on one question – Keep maximum two to three minutes for a question. If you are not able to figure out the way to solve it, move ahead to the next question. As NamanSinghal, 99.93 percentile in CAT 2016 and FMS Delhi student shares, “My strategy was not to spend much time on non-MCQs as these have a high probability of going wrong. I rather utilised the time in solving MCQs.”
• At times, test takers must tend to spend too much time on a time-consuming section like RC. Mayank Raj, CAT 2017 and 100 percentiler shares how he tackled this section. “On the day of the exam, for VARC, my strategy was to focus more on comprehension part than on non-comprehension part. I gave approximately 10 minutes to every passage in reading comprehension. After that I invested the last 10-15 minutes I had left in doing non-comprehension part” he says.

• Start with your comfortable areas – The thumb rule of attempting any exam is to start with the comfortable questions as it is expected to be less time consuming. YashThakker, IIM Kashipur student with 99.37 percentile in CAT 2016 shares his strategy as, “First, I did the Reading Comprehension part in VA & RC sections as it was my strong point. I knew that I could finish RC quickly and move to VA. For Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR), I recommend aspirants to target 15 correct questions if the paper is difficult. And for QA, mark easy questions and solve them first to save your time.” AvinashIyer, CAT 2017 topper and 99.61 percentiler shares his time management strategy which worked out well for him. “My strategy for solving the QA section was to skip questions that I knew but would take a long time; tried my hands on the unknown questions and completed the short questions. Then returned to solve the long unattempted questions. To solve the VARC section, I first took up all the reading comprehension, completed them as they take a substantial amount of time. Then I solved the fill in the blanks followed by jumbled paragraphs” he says.

• The art of leaving – Learning the art of leaving is actually one of the most important tricks you should have up your sleeve to crack CAT. You have to let go of the rotten eggs (read: taxing questions) so you go to the golden ones which are easy to crack.

• Save time for revision – Revision is equally important for ensuring a good percentile. After the completion of the test, revise the answers to ensure that there are no mistakes. Allot at least 10 minutes at the end of the test for the revision of each section.Tanya Gupta, an IIM Kozhikode student who obtained 99.47 percentile in CAT mentions, “I made sure that I attempted all the questions that I was sure of. After this, I revised my answers in whatever time I was left with.”

• Go back to marked question in the buffer time – Mark the time-consuming questions for review and revisit them once you complete the section. After a thorough revision, try and solve those questions. “In the first step, I solved all the questions which I could do at one go till the end. In the second step, I attempted those questions which I thought I would be able to do after giving it a try. After attempting all such questions, if there was some time left, I attempted those which I thought were the hardest for me,” mentions CAT topper ShubrajyotiSaha of IIM Shillong.

Also Read:

How to improve Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation skills for CAT exam

Top tips to prepare for MBA/PGDM GD & PI