What more can be said about CAT 2007? For many of you, it's the single most important moment of your academic and professional career.

Topping the CAT can lead to a degree from an IIM and a lucrative job as an upper-level manager. Bombing the CAT, on the other hand, can end your dream career before it even begins!

With that in mind, CAT expert Arindam Lahiri from Career Launcher joined us for a chat yesterday, November 6.

For those of you who missed the chat, here's the transcript:

infyanurag asked, a question to begin with. what should be the final chek ups for CAT?

arindam answers, Keep reading everyday for half an hour, revise grammar rules, quant formulae and shortcuts revisit past CAT papers and Mocks

abhi123 asked, i m feeling too scared and nervous and restless. My weak area is quant and how can i brush up my fundamentals in the alst few days and it is getting on my nerves.

arindam answers, First of all you should not be so nervous even though you are weak in Quantitative. You should just identify what are your stronger topics in Quant and try to strengthen them more so that you can answer questions on those topics in the exam. Just revise what all u have learned till now and dont try to learn anything new.

pooja asked, i am from arts back ground so can i join this course

arindam answers, Definitely there is no bar on background so long as you meet the 50% criteria in graduation.

sam asked, pls suggest some strategy on how to divide time while giving cat

arindam answers, Scan the whole paper for the first five minutes and then move on to the section your are most comfortable. spend around 40-45 mins on each section and at last move on to the section which is your strongest to maximise your score in that section

wellthen asked, what is the major difference between an MBA at IIMs and other private bodies like Symbiosis,icfai ets?

arindam answers, The difference can be in the intellectual level of students,facilities,brand name,faculty,placements: definitely the IIMs are at a different level.... but the other institutes are decent and competitive.... they have good vibes in the industry

AJ asked, Hi there. I am having my semester exams going on. So i havent been able to give enough time over the past few works toward CAT preparation. Am now concentrating more on XAT. So which are the institutes that I shd be aiming at? Do reply...

arindam answers, Dear AJ, the top institutes under XAT are XLRI, SP Jain, XIMB and GIM. So, you can aim at these institutes.

mam asked, Dear Arindam...what should be the strategy to prepare for CAT 2007 now?

arindam answers, You should revise whatever you have learned till now and try not to learn anything new which you come across. Identify the topics that are your strengths and concentrate more on them so that you can maximise your score in questions related to those topics.

skk asked, My maths is weak and therefore it appears that I will face difficulty in cracking CAT. Should I go in for SNAP? Do I stand a better chance there?

arindam answers, Dear skk,Yyes definitely the level of questions in maths is relatively easier in SNAP, so obviously cracking QA in SNAP is easier than cracking QA in CAT.

wellthen asked, how would you rate an MBA at IIT?

ARINDAM answers, SJ SOM at IIT mumbai is excellent rates just behind the IIM`s. DMS IIT Delhi is also very good only IIT Roorkee is not in the same league

AJ asked, I have been seriously looking at GIM. How would you rate this college?

arindam answers, GIM is a decent institute rated slightly below TAPMI on par with UBS Chandigarh. The entrance is through XAT

puntu asked, what shd be the quant approach for the coming 10 days??? for a starter in quant?? I am doin well in DI and ENg

arindam answers, Since you are a starter in quant you should just need to concentrate on clearing the cut-off in Quant. Identify the topics in QA which you find relatively easier and try to solve questions related to those topics in QA.

Amlan asked, Hi is MAT a good option if one does not do well in CAT??

ARINDAM answers, yes there are many decent institutes under MAT, which have excellent placement record

Bunty asked, I have seen people from IIM as well as other B-schools getting placed at same salary in same company at same designation. so whats the use of working so hard and passing out of an IIM

ARINDAM answers,  The choice of companies is wider at IIM`s the quality of faculty is best in India. Moreover the network you will built at an IIM will be far superior to any other B school. the alumni base would be much richer. then there is brand value

minu asked, any perdictions for this yrs cat?

arindam answers, CAT is known as a paperof apparent unpredictability, however broad topic areas broadly remain the same year after year. You can expect not more than 100 questions and with 5 options. It helps to look up old CAT papers for a good grasp on patterns.

Amlan asked, Hi I am extremely strong in Quant and DI but weak in English....what shld be my approach??

arindam answers, Attempt the sitters in English first. Usually, they are the relatively easy Verbal Logic and Para Completion questions. Attemp the RC passage which you can understand, and answer the questions accurately without hurrying up. Aim for accuracy.

abc asked, i seem to do better if paper is easy..but bunder if its on a tougher side...what can we expect this year and what can i do??

arindam answers, You should not expect anything as far as the difficulty level of the paper is concerned and your aim should be to maintain a high accuracy while solving the questions. The paper if tough would be tough for everyone so just keep your nerve and solve as many questions as possible correctly and do not bother about how tough the paper is.

koolguy asked, How do you compare ISB hyd with IIMs?

ARINDAM answers, completely different programme. ISB meant for work ex guys , most placement is laterlal. vastly different learning pedagogy. ISB compares well with the i tear programme for working executives of IIM A and IIM C

abhi123 asked, ok thanks... Please suggest some final strategies for belling the CAT when its just 3 weeks to go . Any last minute

arindam answers, Dont get troubled by anything new that you come across. Identify what are your strengths and weaknesses. Attmept questions of topics in which your are comfortable and neglect the questions on the topics which you often dont understand. This will help you maximise your overall score.

arnab asked, sir, i hav been getting around 91-92 percentile only in mock cats,highest being around 96. so should i apply for MDI? another question, is the fees of MDI very high? plz reply sir.

ARINDAM answers, yes you should, if you keep your cool can expect an upward swing of 4to 5 percentile in actual CAT. cutoofs will be lower for the IB and HR specialisation at MDI. should not bother about the fee, can easily get loans

jimmy asked, is there anyway to improve yourself in the english aspect of cat in 2weeks time remaining

arindam answers, Yes. THE LAST TWO WEEKS ARE EXTREMELY CRUCIAL as one seems to discover many strategies. Try to improve concentration and understanding of whatever you attempt in the English section. Think about theme tone and scope again. Be smart in selecting questions, do not be afraid of any particular type of question.

great asked, PLease comment on Great Lakes Institute of Management?

ARINDAM answers, GLIM is again a decent institute with a one year model like ISB, however not ion the same league as the ISB.placements are good,(lesser than ISB), however since fee is also half that of ISB. ROI is good. it is coming up very well

Hitesh asked, Hi..with around 3.5 years of work ex, would you recommend 2 year MBA at IIM or 1 year MBA at ISB?

ARINDAM answers, isb would be a good idea also see the 1 year SPJAIN programme

cvb asked, Hii i have done well in the mock cats .. and i m confident that i,ll do well in the cat as well.. only concern that i have is that i have a big 5 year gap after my 12 standard... i had joined engineering and for some reasons could not complete it and left... and then i did BBA where i score very well ( stood first always)... i just wanted to know how to manage that gap.. this thing stays in my mind and sometimes affects my confidence levels..

arindam answers, Since you are doing well in Mock Cats there should be no reason why you should feel not confident. Forget the past and think about the present and the future. You are quite confident that you will do well in CAT so you should not worry about anything else.

vishal asked, Hi Arindam.. I am equally strong in all the three sections and equally weak in all the three questions..!!! How should i go about selecting the section to answered be first ?

arindam answers, In the first five minutes, scan the paper. Attempt the section first which increases your confidence and energy level. Probably the one which has always been your natural strength.

koolguy asked, Considering the fact that ISB requires GMAT which is a comparately easier exam than cat

ARINDAM answers, wont say that GMAT is easier than CAT(except quant). it is a completly different paper

koolguy asked, Do the singapore and dubai campuses of SP Jain institute of management fare well internationally?

ARINDAM answers, not in the same league as NUS and nanyang in singapore, and definately not comparable to top 30 US B schools but then the fee is also far less

jimmy asked, wat is ur take on the approach required fir iift as it multiple answers...i mean which section 1st n all

arindam answers, Multiple answers should be no different as far as your strategy is concerned. Attemp the section which you are most comfortable first and follow the same approach as you follow for single choice correct answers

great asked, Do you suggest applying for GLIM when compared to courses like that of IIMs and SP Jain. I am more interested in the future prospect of the course rather than make a choice based on the ROI factor. I have close to 4 years of work experience with a reputed software firm.Should I wait for admission into a better 2 years program than apply to GLIM

ARINDAM answers, if ROI is not an issue then you should seriously consider appearing for GMAT and subsequently applying to top US b schools. your no of work ex is very suitable

bbb asked, do you think that Management Studies is really required for a person aspiring to work in India under bureaucrats/politicians (who are less qualified and does not understand the need of the country?

arindam answers, Yes, if you are considering Public Sector Management. There are countless examples of people who have done the same. You may well be ablt to set stsndards in the political arena.

Rahul asked, hi arindam..considering that fee at ISB is around 18-20 lacs, if one wants a job in India and not abroad, do you think it will give good ROI?

ARINDAM answers, ISB would be an excellent option at this cost , NUS and nanyang is singapore would be good choices as well at this cost. GLIM is also a good option

swati asked, will repeating past mocks where i now know the technique be a gud idea or should i practise new kind of questions?

arindam answers, Well to revise the concepts that have been used in the questions of the previous mocks would be definitely helpful same way as exploring new kinds of questions

Amlan asked, Hi I fear this type of questions in Maths "Answer 1 if the question can be answered by option 1, Answer 2 if the question can be answered by option 2, Answer 3 if the question can be answered by both options taken together and Answer 4 if the question cannot be answered taking these two options". What to do??

arindam answers, Well these types of questions involve finer concepts so one should be really strong in the basics, so try to strengthen your basics. Once you have done that you will be able to approach such types of questions with more confidence

jitesh asked, could you please let me know that should we give some more time to our weaker section or we should give the equal time to all the three section?

arindam answers, No. Give more time to your stronger section. And, devote enough time to the other sections to clear the cut offs.

gaurav asked, hi sir, will u plzzzzzzz help in this problem .sir i have completed my 12 class from sciencs stream but write now i am doing b-com(PASS) from delhi university or i am 2nd year. my problem is that my background is from sciencs write now i have to do b-com( PASS). i think i am not getting 60 percentage in my graudation what is the mimimum percentage of b-school in graudation is there any b-school near delhi and ncr whom eligibilty is only graudation . i am putting in paschim vihar is carrer laun punjabi bagh ins is ok , or otherewise i have to join another branch plzzzzzzzz gave me ans of all my question thanks with regrads gaurav arora (mygaurav77@gmail.com)

ARINDAM answers,  the criterion is 50 % and not 60 % for most B school, in graduation

abc asked, have cat guys told already that they'll have sectional cutoffs...i mean we all prepare like that..but if there is no mention in the question paper!!

arindam answers, They have not mentioned that it is sectional cut-off but they have mentione the minimum score that you should get in the sections. For example. IIM A has mentioned that one should get a minimum of 25% of the total marks of alloted to each section and 33% of the total marks alloted to the paper. This criteria varies for other IIM's.

vishal asked,  My accuracy is around 50%- 60% throughout my mock cats.!!! So should i attempt a strategy of maximising my attempts ?

arindam answers, No. Many of the mocks were a notch above the CAT level of difficulty. Don't compromise on accuracy. But if the number of questions increases you can think of the attempts strategy.

snowyboy asked,  Dear Arindam, during the paper, when do we come to know that we hav attempted enough questions to clear the cut-off?

arindam answers, It is a subjective assessment based on experience. If you have got an accuracy level of 75% you can attempt 60% of the section to clear the cut-off.

koolguy asked, does work exp really count in the admission process of IIMs?

ARINDAM answers, IIMB has given some definite weightage to it. other IIKM`s are not clear on it. there is some definitive advantage nevertheless

prash asked, What to expect in VA section this time round? will they again be testing the analytical skills or will it be knowledge of english?Whats your take?

arindam answers, Trend has been towards testing analytical and logical skills and not knowledge, the above mentioned aspect may not change this year. CAT would continue to test your aptitude.

V asked, Hii, can you compare the supposedly weaker iim s with the other top b-schools like xlri and spjain? which ones do you think are better and why?

ARINDAM answers, XLRI in general could be prefereed over IIM I and IIMk. if you are interested in HR then XL is the best thing around in the country.

neetansh asked, i am not good at verbal should i devote time on it in one go or in two slots

arindam answers, Ideally one go. If it is your weak section, you should focus on clearing the cut-off.

koolguy asked, How does an mba at NUS or Nanyag fare internationally? Which programmes of MBA are they famous for?

ARINDAM answers,  one of the best in asia, excellent ROI(fee is 18 lakhs). not in the same league as top 30 US b schools

prasha asked, Which is the best way to darken the dots in the answer sheet? is it darkening it soon after the question,
darkening it after the end of a section or darkening it at the end?

arindam answers, Darken after every five or seven questions in order to minimise risk and disturbance in concentration.

db asked, the range of my percentiles in the mocks has been from 99 to 41.if the paper has more questions i feel at home but struggle a bit when the questions are a bit analytical,specially in DI.plz advise me what to do in the last few days.

ARINDAM answers,  identify which section you score pretty high when you get overall percentile in 90`s. devote more time to it. if you have not been able to clear cutoff ion Di even once, in any of the mocks then focus on improving overall percentile and forget abt sectional cuttoffs

prasha asked, how to go bout in DI nd LR in the coming 10 days?

arindam answers, Revise the last 5 year CAT papers for DI Section in these last 10 days. Also revise Mock CATs DI section.

sigma_26 asked, Is MBA from correspondence is vauable

arindam answers, Yes, but not when compared to the full time MBA.

roomno809 asked, m nt gettin more than 70-80 prcntl.. wat sud i do??

ARINDAM answers, maintain your cool in CAT you can easily swing your percentile to 90. tapmi Fore will open for you. SNAP, NMIMS etc are excellent opurtunities for you

koolguy asked, How are the MBA programmes in ausstralia? There seem to be very different from the ones in US

ARINDAM answers, are you talking about Monach or melbourne? clarify

Samir asked, I have 4.5 years work experience. If I clear the cut offs in all the sections, then is there any chance of me getting in any of the top 3 IIMs?

arindam answers, Sure, you can get multiple IIM calls if you maximise your overall score.

jayesh asked, sir, i hav been getting around 91-92 percentile only in mock cats,highest being around 96. so should i apply for MDI? another question, is the fees of MDI very high? plz reply sir.

ARINDAM answers, should esp the IB and HR. they have lesser cutoffs. fee is slightly higher but you easily get edu loans

amiy asked, In mock CAT I have been able to consistently scored more then 90 percentile, the problem is I haven't able to clear the minimum cut off in quant even though I have scored more then 95 percentile in English and DI DS section. I would like to know if there are few institute which looks for overall performance in spite of cut off in each section.

ARINDAM answers, UBS, tapmi, should even apply yo IMT and IMI

Rahul asked, Hi arindam..it appears that eligibility for 1 year MBA at SP Jain is min 5 years and 4-5 on case to case basis. I have 3.5 yrs work ex. Is SP jain out of option for 1 year MBA?

ARINDAM answers, try GLIM, and ISB

prasha asked, Wats a safe score in DI? (in %age)

arindam answers, Safe score in DI, 30% and 98 percentile.