Can you crack CAT 2006 if you start preparing now? Which section should be given more emphasis? Will three years of experience in an IT environment boost your chances?

The questions came fast and furious, but our experts had an answer for each of them. ARKS Srinivas and Rahul Reddy of T.I.M.E (a CAT training institute) suggested some strategies during a chat with readers on August 2.

In the first part of the chat, the two discussed study strategies for Quant. For those who missed it, here's the second and final part of that transcript.

aspiring42007 asked, sir i am 2007 aspirant and i just gave the aimcat 0716 and got 97 odd percentile what should i do now
Rahul answers, If you are eligible for CAT 2006, why not apply now as score is good. Else wait for 07

BLACKI asked, SIR. I have done my Grad. in IT (BIT) from IGNOU with First Division. Is my chances are bleak in interview for final selection as i ve' done Grad from IGNOU. PLEASE REPLY
Rahul answers, Get CAT %ile above 99 and everything is possible

kin asked, i cannt maintain a balance between accuracy and speed.please help me on this.
arkssrinivas answers, Try to increase the speed steadily. CAT seems to be emphasising on accuracy off late

satya asked, Am i compulsarily produce the Experiance certificate? If i unable to produce any evidence for my job will they consider my Experiance by asking Questions about the Job?
Rahul answers, Hi If not exp certificate try to produce app letter and latest pay slip

Smita asked, My Degree would complete in 2008 May. Should I write 2007 nov CAT or 2008 Nov CAT.
arkssrinivas answers, 2007 November, unless u want to take a vacation for a year :)

AS asked, hi Rahul, As specified in the bulletin, 50% marks in graduation are necessary. Is this for each year's marks or the overall aggregate. Also tell me as we didnt have anything like percentage in IIT Bombay, we hade a grade point index out of 10, so please tell me what would be the cutoff percentage for us. Regards.
Rahul answers, Hi convert GPA into percentage. 10 point GPA, 5 would be 50%

saurabh jain asked, sir me working right now with satyam comp services for last 6 months. i have 2 yrs agreement.sld i leave it if i get into sme top IIMs
Rahul answers, Hi Yes, pay them the amount. You will get much more benefit by joining the IIMs

ram asked, last year i got 81%ile.based on last year performance to which institutes can i apply?
arkssrinivas answers, Nw u r performance in the present AIMCATs matters more than u r last years performance

Neel asked, Which course will be the best for a person with around 7 years of experience in IT? What strategy this person should follow to crack the CAT?
Rahul answers, Hi Pls consider 1 year exec mgt (full time) from ISB, IIMs A B C

saurabh jain asked, sir ll it be really enough by solve time material ??
arkssrinivas answers, More than sufficient...... If u can really complete it all

Tina asked, Sir I am not even a graduate. I had to drop studies when I was in TY Bcom 5 years ago. Now I want to study MBA and make a career. I am ready to put in very hard work & sacrifice to any extent. I am in great difficulty. Please advise me.
Rahul answers, Hi First step get a graduation degree Two try to get certificates to explain what you did during the last 5 years

basit asked, sir i have heard that now a days work exp is being given alot of prefrence by top notch b school since i have no work ex what are my chances
Rahul answers, All top B schools with exception of ISB Hyd take lots of freshers every year

javid asked, CAT is mandatory for Fellowship Program?
Rahul answers, Hi yes. only exception is if you already are an IIM 2 yr grad like me

karan asked, from which book should I prepare for the sentence correction and the logical analysis based DI questions?
arkssrinivas answers, Your AIMCATs are your best bet for LA based DI. However, u will need a gramer text to suppplment ur prep 4 u r english

Ganu asked, What are factors involved when choosing a Field in MBA among Marketing, Finance etc...
Rahul answers, Hi Most B schools allow the choice of field in second year after you get some idea abouty the foelds in the first year

gtr asked, How do the IIMs compare with Inernational School of Business. How does one get into ISB?
arkssrinivas answers, For the ISB u need to write GMAT.

Nandita asked, Hi gentlemen.. I am working and want to appear for CAT 2006. I started my preparation from June 19th and have only managed in doing regular reading. Can you guide me what should my preparation strategy? I had been a fairly good student and have managed ranks in the first 5 in school and college. But right now time is a constraint for me. And my vision is to give my best for CAT 2006
Rahul answers, Hi Best would be to join a crash course at TIME. There is very little time to experiment and prepare by yourself, as it would include collecting material, working out strategies etc

vivek asked, dear sir, i m appearing for cat this year,,and have started my studies.. i am workig for a consultancy firm.. i want to join AIMCAT.. how do register..also is this the right time?
Rahul answers, Hi TIME AIMCATs have already started, register before sunday and give the next exam on sunday

Q asked, are there good babes in IIMS
Rahul answers, No pls go and become a tour guide in goa

BLACKI asked, SIR : How many students goiong to be appear as per ur estimation in CAT this year, after 50% setback for many.Plz give any rough idea.
Rahul answers, Hi Does this question really mattter

Prahalad asked, Other than the AIMCATs will TIME provide us with take home tests for 2 and a half hours duration this time?almost all my tests are of 2 hrs duration.u think i can just do them for 2.5?
Rahul answers, Hi As i have explained, we believe that the 2 hour papers solved for 21/2 hours would give cutoffs of about 50-55. Not mcuh changes in the way you give CAT becuase of the changes in the timing

lakshmi asked, my son is in NITK Comp.Science 3rd year.He is among first 3/4 in the class.Nowadays good students get Jobs with a salary of 9/9.5 Lacs/P.A.Pls advise to go for MBA or for Job after B.Tech.Pls answer.
arkssrinivas answers, Work ex from a good comp is always a advantage. so attend your campus interviews diligently and give second preference to MBA prep. Getting a seat in IIM A,B,C may make the chooice a bit tough,if it happens.

deepak_kumar asked, is it possible to crack cat2006 if i start my preparation now?? i m mech engg working in DRDO. wat should i do??
Rahul answers, Hi You have nothing to lose. Why give up and go for CAT 2007. Give 100% for 06 and if it doean't work 07 is always there and your 06 pre would be useful

Yuva [Images] asked, Any two month strategy for giving CAT?I am really interested in CAT 2007.Want to give a shot
arkssrinivas answers, Hard and Smart Work

hondacivic asked, ARKS Srinivas Sir, Kindly reply as the time is running out.
arkssrinivas answers, Can u pl post u r Q once again

sudha asked, i am a bachelor of scince and in have 12 months of experience? recenty in aimcat i got 90%ile ?which colleges can i get?
Rahul answers, Hi wait for a few more AIMCATs before deciding. You could look at IMT, IMI, LBS, KJ Somayya etc

anindita asked, which section shud be given more emphasis for a good score in cat 2006
arkssrinivas answers, ur strong area

sree asked, sir iam 2003 passed out BTech from NIT but have one oly 1 yr work experience will that 2 yr break after graduation will affect my chance of getting in to a good college?
Rahul answers, You would need a very good explanation for the 2 year gap

BLACKI asked, RAHUL SIR :in 163 increased by IIM's, will they start reservation for OBC from this year, as they mentioned option of OBC in CAT Application Form.
Rahul answers, Hi They would most probably increase it in phases, the govt has comitted that general seats will stay the same

aspiring42007 asked, i am in my 3rd yr of engg. will cat 06 score be valid for next yr like gmat or gre
Rahul answers, Hi Im sorry, CAT )^ is valid only for admisisons in 07

ashishyadav asked, please answer... how different should be the strategy for FPM...same as PGP..
arkssrinivas answers, No different as far as CAT goes expect that depending on u r profile and work exp and area of int. FPM calls may come for a slightly lesser percentile

Rasheed asked, Hi Please tell me when will cat notification will announce Thanks Rasheed
Rahul answers, Hi Already announced. CAT forms are available at UTI branches

sunil asked, Can u tell me the expected cutoff for IMT ghaziabad n IMT nagpur?????
Rahul answers, IMT G is about 94%ile nagpur is a bit lower maybe 85%

d asked, are form notifications and some of the forms available at TIME centres as they are at IMS centres?
Rahul answers, Not yet but they will be

ashishyadav asked, what does hard and smart work mean?...
arkssrinivas answers, Spending more time on few quesions to internalize concepts and logging in more hours. Do not emphasize on quantity

ashishyadav asked, Kindly suggest me a good book for maths prep for CAT. Is Arun sharma 's QA book good enough?
Rahul answers, Hi QA By Trishna Knowledge Systems, Pearson Education is the publisher This is by far the best book fopr QA

Pratik asked, sir, being a final yr student, do i need to enclose my F.Y and S.Y marksheets both or just the S.Y marksheet. is it necessary for marksheets to have percentage specified since my marksheets have only score written.
arkssrinivas answers, both FY nd SY

dork asked, Sir Do you think we must develop the infrastructue of IIT/IIM and better schooling for children instead reservation to reservation.
Rahul answers, Nothng you or I will gain by debating this. Let us work on what we can achieve

vivek asked, hi rahul i m trying this for the 4th time. i am working for a consulting firm with 1.5 years of work ex. i m taking up cat this year. i m more interested in ISB..with global aspirations in mind. so please advice, whether i shoud go for cat this year? or ISB next year with 3 years of exp
Rahul answers, Hi Even 2.5 years is a little low for ISB. Do write CAT this year, apply to ISB and see. Also look at IIM A B C for global careers

punam asked, if their is short term crash course at TIME for CAT06
Rahul answers, Hi Yes, pls contact nearest TIME center

rishi asked, sir i am a hotel management grad and i completed my graduation in 2003. I have just 6 months of working experience, last year i appeared for cat and got 94%tile .I got calls frm some allied colleges but i wasn't able to convert any of the calls, i feel because of my background and lack of work-ex went against me. If suppose i manage to get interview calls from iims would i suffer same fate at iims because of gap and lack of work-ex
arkssrinivas answers, No. Its the way u answered the questions would have gone wrong NOT because of u r background/exp

Pavan asked, I have been an above average student thru'out. I want to write CAT this year. I am preapred to prepare full time from now on. This is the 1st time i'll be writing the test. Is it too late to preapre? Will i be able to make it atleast to the 2nd rung B-schools atleast?
Rahul answers, Hi Why dont you take at least one Mock CAT to evaluate how good you are Contact nearest TIME centre for counselingt and then decide

shoumik asked, I haven't purchased the CAT form yet. Wanted to known whether marksheets of graduation are to be submitted alongwith CAT forms this year as I work in Mumbai and my marksheets are at my home in Jamshedpur.(where currently no one is available to mail/courier them.)Request to please clarify.
Rahul answers, Hi Too small a reason to give up writing CAT. There is a lot of time to get the mark sheets. You can submit CAT form till 4 sep

Pavan asked, I have been an above average student thru'out. I want to write CAT this year. I am preapred to prepare full time from now on. This is the 1st time i'll be writing the test. Is it too late to preapre? Will i be able to make it atleast in the 2nd rung B-schools?
Rahul answers, Hi Give it 100% effort

vr21 asked, I want to know if 1 yr MBA is available and in which isstitutes for senior guys like me with 12 yrs exp
Rahul answers, ISB, IIM A B C, Great Lakes chennai Sp jain

ankit asked, hi sir, can u plz reply to my query. i hav been struggling hard in QA but all in vain
arkssrinivas answers, dont get tensed. Be cool.Try to read all the questions and answer only the easy ones.

Nandita asked, I am based in Ahmedabad. Last weekend i attended a seminar in one of the training institutes and I cleared the mini test there with the highest marks (while I was unprepared). This seriously disappointed me with regards to the degree of students who were a part of that institute. Does it affect being a part of non metro city in my CAT preparations?
Rahul answers, Hi When you prepare for CAT, you are competing not with students in your class room, but with all india definitely being ina metro helps, but we have to make the best of the situation

Sahil asked, Hi I have 3 years of IT work ex and earning 5 lac, should I go for CAT. And should I expect to change my line to finance after doing MBA?
Rahul answers,  If you can get into top 10, you should try And if you are keen on finance you can do so. The key is to do what we want to in life. 5-10 k more or less is not the sissue

Rahul says, Hi Sorry Junta, thats all the time we have today. All the best for all of you. For any further queries pls mail info@time4education.com Bye

arkssrinivas says, Thank you very much. Any more queries please write to info@time4education.com