Gambling with Options Possible in CAT2015?

CAT 2015, which is scheduled on 29 November, 2015 came with a lot of surprises. IIM-Ahmedabad, which is the conducting body of CAT this year, changed the examination pattern. CAT 2015 is an objective as well as a subjective type paper. Also, there are sectional time obligations which mean one cannot shuffle through the sections according to their own yearnings. The main question that arises is will this new pattern benefit the students? Is gambling with the options possible?

Having options makes one confident while answering the questions. Also, one could easily gamble with the options by picking the option that is nearest to the answer obtained by the candidate. As there is no negative marking for incorrect subjective answers, candidates can mark their answers without hesitation or double thoughts.

The main problem that arises with the gambling of options is that there is not much time to invest in it. Since, there is time-boundation, one cannot think of utilizing time in one section more than the other. Marking and re-marking is a waste of time. One can think of doing that at the end of a section if there is still some time left. Also, remarking options creates a lot of confusion and one tends to lose the sight of actually trying to solve it. Even if one solves the questions correctly, they are not confident enough to mark the achieved answer, thus wasting time in the gamble.

CAT aspirants should take as many mock tests as possible before the actual exam. This will help one to figure out the exact strategy one should follow to achieve better results. Further, they will gain a sense of confidence and would avoid the marking-remarking game. Sometimes it’s better to skip a few questions if one is not confident enough or the question is not in their forte. Instead of getting negative marking, it’s better to get none.

In CAT 2014, some new pattern of questions was present in the verbal section. Students who attempted the questions accurately and skipped the ones they were not confident about were the ultimate winners. The higher the accuracy level, the better the score.

There is still around 1.5 months for CAT 2015. Aspirants should gear up and form their strategies of attempting the paper. Aspirants should also solve as many mocks and sample papers as possible so as to be confident.

Anshika Srivastava, an English(H) graduate from Delhi University, currently covering all the relevant aspects of education through writing.