The Common Admission Test. For those unfamiliar with this fascinating invention, this test is a three hour duration paper testing candidates across three sections, namely, their Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude. For those familiar with it, yes it might have changed since you gave it or read of it last.
Changes in CAT:http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/9554/CAT-2016
This post however is not a review of it nor is it a commentary on it. This article is inspired by it. The CAT has always been, not about scoring aces but just trying to find a balance between accuracy and the numbers and pardon the generic response that will follow, but it seems so much like life. (Yeah big surprise that right?)
Lesson 1:
You Know it all. (Pun intended)
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| Well, almost everyone. |
This examination asks you to utilise skills you learnt far back in school. Till 10th. The lessons that you learnt as a kid. It asks you to use those basic principles to solve problems of a not so basic nature. For example as you go out in the world, you realise not all people think the same and what you heard in stories like, "everyone is special" and "everyone deserves to be heard", might actually be a little poisonous but is a absolutely essential because our entire is society is based on mutual principles and the act of simply denying them to others can have repercussions for the entire species.
So what this paper asks you is to use that knowledge but not in a manner as black and white as one would want because honestly nothing in the world can be seen through that lens. Our actions are black and white, however our motives are extremely variations of grey and it is impossible to separate the two. Hence you need to employ your maturity and what you've learnt in the years since your lesson forming years to actually take decisions about things that matter now.
Lesson 2:
The Divides of Life.
Your life is made up of a lot of things. Work, play, school, college, family, friends, hobbies etc. Over dependence on one is an exceedingly short term view of things and honestly will never be enough to bring you overall satisfaction. Excelling in one section but ignoring a lot in the others or even in one is enough to throw a monkey wrench in your entire plan for a smooth running machinery. Nothing in your life can be entirely compartmentalized away from the other. There is just a certain level of balance you need to maintain. If you ever want to receive a higher call (I am not referring to IIM A. They might need you to also be an ET Neurosurgeon).
Lesson 3:
Time.
It is all about time. Every question in the CAT can be done by anyone if you give them all the time in the world, but that s one thing we do not have, Since the day we are born our clocks are set and boy are they running. Before you know it your years of philosophical clarity are replaced with protests over vegetables and in the twisted ways of the world a few years down the line you are the one buying those green leafy ironic plot twists.
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| Personal Experience Talk: Don't giving soliloquies in the vegetables section |
As is what goes down here. you need to time yourself and play against the clock. You have an hour for each of the parts and you need to make the best of it in that regard. With the latest change you have to spend an equal time on all, but previously it was up to you to decide how much time to spend on each. It might also be interesting to note that while at the first go that might seem to be slightly different from the reality but if you think about it, it does happen right? You're at work and suddenly everything for the day is done and you are left with this excess which you could spend, say with family, or friends or collecting stamps or making the Death Star, but as reality bites you think that the traffic might probably reduce that advantage. Or that maybe your family/friends might still be out and busy or that Harrison Ford is in town so probably not the best day for intergalactic imperialism. (Note:Not a good day for Nazi Treasure collectors or Russian Separatist leaders looking to infiltrate Air Force One either)
Of course it goes without saying the crunch you feel when there is a paucity of time. Which is always. Be it the five more minutes to defeat the final boss, or the five more minutes you want before you present to your first boss. There isn't nearly enough of it for all the things you want to do, so it becomes essential for you to pick up what matters to you and show that in your actions. The wayside is filled with incomplete manuscripts, Tyre swings, skills, books, even people. It is absolutely essential for you to be able to identify what has to be with you in this entire journey because things in life are just always a few steps from just fading away.
Lesson 4:
You Win Some, You Lose Some.
This paper is known for lulling you in with a false sense of security till you actually see how many questions you got right or wrong, and you can bet on it you will get things wrong. Mistakes my friend are such an integral part of life that if you think you can move on without them, you have probably made one with that assumption. However unlike your usual exams in formal education you won't be told what is a mistake at that point of time. Similarly, a mistake you make here won't actually register to you as a mistake because you wouldn't have made it in the first place and there is no retake unless you wait a year. By which time you probably have a whole different load to work with. In life you will do somethings right, you will do somethings wrong. But it is important to realise that the mistakes you make will have a negative impact and they will reduce your metaphorical score, but that doesn't mean it has to affect everything you do after that. Every different issue you tackle has boundaries beyond which the only thing connecting them is you. So there is no point saying that the reason you missed your aim in Sniper school and duck hunt was because of wind. Probably you just aren't a great shot. (On the bright side you'd probably never shoot yourself in the foot intentionally. Pun and paradox intended)
There is going to be a lot to make you happy in it and plenty to make you tired of it. The thing to remember is to bash on regardless.
Lesson 5:
Happy Birthday!
It is an annual affair. It makes you think what you've actually done in the past year. Most prefer to go at it alone and yes your extended clan and brethren will be aching to know what and how you did it. Ugh. Is nihilism not mainstream yet?
Lesson 6:
There is a start, there is an end. It has all the twists and turns in between my friend.
The three hours will probably not be like an hour of video games or an hour at a buffet or an hour at work (in case your work is in the overlying area between video games and buffet). But it will still be something that gives you a challenge in a make you feel alive way. You will like it. More importantly you will make it through it. Of course what happens after is kind of better left to a matter of faith.
So there you have it. A learning lesson from an exam. Funny how these things usually happen when you're actually supposed to be doing something absolutely else.
So there you have it. A learning lesson from an exam. Funny how these things usually happen when you're actually supposed to be doing something absolutely else.
