Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and my first thread. I am preparing for my CAT 2012 and decided not to go for any expensive coaching classes or buy material from them. I am looking to prepare from some good books and various resources avail…
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and my first thread. I am preparing for my CAT 2012 and decided not to go for any expensive coaching classes or buy material from them. I am looking to prepare from some good books and various resources available online.
I have started with buying the Arun Sharma books - all three of them - which covers most of the theory. There are tons of free resources in the form of questions available online, and the only thing missing in my preparation is some kind of simulation of a live examination. I will think about it later.
Is anyone else out there who is working in a similar way? If you are, please reply in this thread and collectively we can make a list of the resources which will help others like us prepare for the examinations. I am sure that with a bit of self-discipline this is possible, so would like to connect with others with the same thinking.
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and my first thread. I am preparing for my CAT 2012 and decided not to go for any expensive coaching classes or buy material from them. I am looking to prepare from some good books and various resources available online.
I have started with buying the Arun Sharma books - all three of them - which covers most of the theory. There are tons of free resources in the form of questions available online, and the only thing missing in my preparation is some kind of simulation of a live examination. I will think about it later.
Is anyone else out there who is working in a similar way? If you are, please reply in this thread and collectively we can make a list of the resources which will help others like us prepare for the examinations. I am sure that with a bit of self-discipline this is possible, so would like to connect with others with the same thinking.
hello AnindyaMozumdar !
I am also preparing for CAT 2012 and not taking any coaching.But i will join the test series. rite now i m just concentrating on verbal section and making a habit of reading as much as i can. So All the Best for your preperation......
hi lipsey nd anindya,
same here buddy gnna crack without coaching but planning to go fr wrkshps in aug and test series at d end of may !!!!...anindya ,arun sharma is really good ...lod 1 and lod2 are excellent..me too solving the same book..:)
hi lipsey nd anindya n arsh ,
same here :cheers:I am also preparing for CAT 2012 and not taking any coaching:cheers:
Me too!!!!
but confused like from where to start the preparation??
as currently i am working ,so don't get much time to study....what strategy u all are following to crack the exam??
also want to ask that i am not that much good in verbal section..so any suggestions from ur side to improve this section?/
Me too!!!!
but confused like from where to start the preparation??
as currently i am working ,so don't get much time to study....what strategy u all are following to crack the exam??
also want to ask that i am not that much good in verbal section..so any suggestions from ur side to improve this section?/
WEEKENDS should be your Days of Thunder
. This is when you should devote 5-6 hours and 1-2 hours during weekdays. 
First do an anlaysis of what are your strong and week areas and then prepare a strategy! Since you have mention that Verbal is your area of concern then devote more time to getting this right. Start with newspaper and some non-fiction books. Prepare a diary for all new words that you come across on a daily basis and try to use them.
Hope the above plan work for you but prepare your own study plan and time-table as we all are different, plan A may work for me but for plan B may work. All the best!
Hi AnindyaMozumdar,lotz of guyz r der who is preparing for own,instead of going coaching it wud alwz recommended to prepare by own ..........I am doing same....feel free to ask any sort of doubts ,wud be my pleasure to resolve ur doubts!!!!
hey evry1.....i am also going for self preparation........but do give or follow some online mocks....would realy help you to get things done in time and analise your accuracy and timing.....as CAT is not that tough...nor its questions are....but doing them in that much amount of time and with perfect accuracy matters...so wish evry1 all d best....:)
Hey all,
I am in the same boat as you all..and rightly pointed by anadya..self discipline is what that matters in self preparation.
let us all discuss our preparation plans first to streamline our progress in the right direction.However, too much planning also spoils the actual action plan so this should be an evolving process for everyone.
About me :
I have started with working on testfunda online material and some online resources as of now.
Quant :
I am not sure whether to follow Arun Sharma or not as my basics are almost in place.Its just practice that I am looking for..other puys what do you suggest? Where should I be practicing from?
VA , LR + DI :
TF and online resources.
Any suggestions are most welcome.
Hey all,
I am in the same boat as you all..and rightly pointed by anadya..self discipline is what that matters in self preparation.
let us all discuss our preparation plans first to streamline our progress in the right direction.However, too much planning also spoils the actual action plan so this should be an evolving process for everyone.
About me :
I have started with working on testfunda online material and some online resources as of now.
Quant :
I am not sure whether to follow Arun Sharma or not as my basics are almost in place.Its just practice that I am looking for..other puys what do you suggest? Where should I be practicing from?
VA , LR + DI :
TF and online resources.
Any suggestions are most welcome.
Hi,
I have been taking CAT for 3 yrs and finally this year have been at least waitlisted by MDI. My weaknesses at the beginning were in all 3 sections.
Reached 98.67 %ile from 70%ile during the struggle.
Here are my 2 cents on what free resources you can use (i am great follower of free resources
.I would want to suggest you minimum of resources as I used to get distracted by other books and materials,and being repetitive ate up most of my time 
) VA - I found TF verbal package (can be bought separately) quite helpful for concepts in RC,CR,SC,PJ and grammar.
For parallel understanding of these concepts ,you can walk through verbal articles at Totalgadha.com
For practice of Parajumbles,Sentence correction PG threads are a good source
For practice CL sectional tests are good and Arun Sharma's verbal book is also good.
LR - TIME LR book ,TIME online sectional tests.
For further practice ,brain teaser/puzzle books by George Summers
These should be enough apart from full length tests.
DI - TIME DI book,TIME online sectional tests
For further practice , you can just practice with full length tests from any of TIME/CL/TF offline tests.(CL gives 22 offline full length tests)
Quant - For concepts you can follow articles at totalgadha.com
For practice you can start by completing TIME quant books and can follow PG quant thread. In all these 3 resources you will find quality and different questions.
\Hope this helps.
P.S: last year i did self preparation
hey puys,
I am in for this journey i am also doing self preparation as of now started in rubbing hands in all the three section.What i m thinking we should discuss our preparation related queries here so that all of us will be benifited.
hard work never goes unpaid
can any1 tell me how does one posts a new thread...??
Hello Everyone,
I am also preparing by myself through self-study. Had a decent 95+ %ile in CAT last time but I am completely bogged down by my score this year wherein I had put in much more effort. (with very low score in VA-LR which had been my forte!) So, completely lost track and confused as to how I should go about preparing for possibly my last shot at CAT 2012 & other exams this year.
I plan to prepare from Arun Sharma (QA) and TIME materials.
Please let me know how I should preapre for VA. My grammar has been pretty good since school, courtesy Wren&Martin; fetching me 90+ % all through but dunno wats happening now!
Also I'm not too good at DI calculations. So, your advice on that please...
Please help me with some suggestions and some resources/materials to be shared if possible.
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and my first thread. I am preparing for my CAT 2012 and decided not to go for any expensive coaching classes or buy material from them. I am looking to prepare from some good books and various resources available online.
I have started with buying the Arun Sharma books - all three of them - which covers most of the theory. There are tons of free resources in the form of questions available online, and the only thing missing in my preparation is some kind of simulation of a live examination. I will think about it later.
Is anyone else out there who is working in a similar way? If you are, please reply in this thread and collectively we can make a list of the resources which will help others like us prepare for the examinations. I am sure that with a bit of self-discipline this is possible, so would like to connect with others with the same thinking.
There are hell lot of people doing it your way...I am one of them...
you are on the right track....Boost your motivation level and make learning fun....
You will be just fine!
Hello Everyone,
I plan to prepare from Arun Sharma (QA) and TIME materials.
Please let me know how I should preapre for VA. My grammar has been pretty good since school, courtesy Wren&Martin; fetching me 90+ % all through but dunno wats happening now!
Also I'm not too good at DI calculations. So, your advice on that please...
Please help me with some suggestions and some resources/materials to be shared if possible.
Hi friend,
If you really want to improve your DI to a very good level ,try to collect as much DI practice books of TIME as possible,however old they may be.
If possible try to find a PT(professional tutorials) booklet on DI for tricks to quicker calculations .
Try to mentally calculate percentage increase, and multiplication of 2 digit numbers.
This you can do by mugging up ratios from 1 - 50,squares from 1-30.
try to find random numbers and start multiplying like when i used to travel i used pick any 4 digit number from the front vehicle's number plate.break the number into 2 2-digit numbers and multiply.
:)
Hello all!
I have:
Arun Sharma for DI,LR,RC,VA
Arihant for Quant.
Along with these, "The Hindu" & "Word Power.."
I m beginning prep in June. I need advice on:
*Is my study material sufficient?
*Is there need to purchase any institute's study material & will that help significantly different from these books?
*Which online resources are best- for practice(pls specify section-wise) & for sectional mocks? I get baffled by so many websites mentioned. Also, referring too many things wastes time & dilutes concentration, not to mention the confusion...!
*Considering that I am starting with the prep, what should be the strategy to take sectional tests & from where?
*When should I start with full mocks?
*How can I avail CL & TIME's test series?
*Would it be better to take free online sectional tests from June itself or should I purchase the tests series after some time? (a persistent consistent concern is how to go abt my prep owing to the fact that I am just starting prep...??)
*As per my plan, I will strengthen basics till July end, take sectionals from June onwards till Aug, & then full mocks from Sep onwards. Is this strategy good? Also, if yes, can I get CL & TIME full mocks only from Sep?
Thanks!!
hi all...
nice thread....well i'm also sailing in the same boat
no coaching only self prepration...coz of my job and being posted in a remote location..
i ve converted IIM Shillong this year but not gonna join coz of some personal probs..
nyways i ve not started prep for CAT12 as of now..but will soon start it after i overcome this dreadful season of rejects..
and in my opinion this is the best time to strengthen vocab and make reading as ur hobby
so i shall advise all to follow the same...no comments for QA nd DI though...
kindly keep this thread active....
haii..to all.....i am also self-preparing for CAT12..i have complete IMS material...started doing preparation with Arun Sharma QA... 😃
shavy Sayshaii..to all.....i am also self-preparing for CAT12..i have complete IMS material...started doing preparation with Arun Sharma QA... :)
A hell lot of questions in LOD 1 are unanswered in arun sharma...
I am referring to time as well..