The last month before CAT: a four-week plan

In the final month, very little new learning happens, and very little should. The candidates who gain most in these four weeks use mocks to sharpen judgement, revise what they already know, and arrive at the test centre rested. Cramming a new chapter usually costs more than it adds, because it takes time away from the skills that actually decide the score: choosing questions and staying accurate under the clock.

What this month is for

If a topic is still completely new in the last month, it is usually better to decide to leave it in the exam than to half-learn it now. A half-learnt topic tempts you into attempts that you get wrong.

The four-week plan

Three mocks a week is the upper limit for most candidates, because each one needs proper analysis. If you are working, two mocks a week with thorough analysis is better than four without. Our mock strategy guide covers the analysis method in detail.

Match your slot

CAT runs in more than one slot, and your admit card tells you which. From the start of the month, take mocks at the same time of day as your slot. If your slot is in the afternoon, sit your mocks in the afternoon and eat the kind of lunch you would eat on exam day.

Shift your sleep too. A candidate who studies till 2 am every night and then faces an early-morning slot is asking their brain to perform at its least alert hour.

Using each mock as a rehearsal

In this month, a mock is not a test of knowledge. It is a rehearsal of decisions. Treat each one exactly like the real exam: same time, same seat, phone in another room, no pausing.

After each mock, spend at least as long on analysis as on the test. Focus on three questions per section:

1. What should I have attempted that I left? These are your easy marks lost to poor scanning.
2. What did I attempt that I should have left? These are your time sinks and your negative marks.
3. Where did I lose time without scoring? A set or passage that took eight minutes and gave nothing.

A worked example of mock analysis

Suppose an aspirant's DILR section in a mock looked like this:

Treating all as MCQs, the score is 9 × 3 − 2 = 25. The analysis shows that set B took the most time and gave the least. On review, the aspirant finds that set C was actually easier than B and was dropped after a hurried scan. The lesson is not "practise arrangements". It is "scan more carefully and cap each set at about 12 minutes". That single change could be worth 6–9 marks in the next mock.

Handling a bad mock

Mock scores swing widely in the final weeks. Papers vary in difficulty, and one tired evening can cost a large number of marks. A single low score tells you very little about the real exam.

When it happens:

• Analyse it the same way as any other mock.
• Pick one or two specific fixes, not a new strategy.
• Take the next mock as planned.

What you should not do is change your section strategy, buy a new test series or start a new topic because of one bad result.

What to revise

• QA: your one-page formula sheet (percentages to fractions, interest, progressions, geometry results), plus a set of 10–15 mixed questions daily.
• DILR: two sets a day, chosen from types you have already practised. Focus on setting up the table fast.
• VARC: two or three RC passages daily, plus a few para jumbles or summaries. Keep reading one long article a day so your reading speed does not drop.
• Error log: read through your logged mistakes twice a week. Most candidates repeat the same five or six errors.

The day before

• No full-length mock. A few light questions in the morning are fine.
• Check the admit card, the reporting time, the centre address and how long it takes to get there.
• Keep your original photo ID and the printed admit card together in one place.
• Read the admit card instructions on what you may and may not carry.
• Eat normally and sleep at your usual time.

Exam day

• Printed admit card
• Original photo ID as listed in the admit card
• Any other document or item the admit card asks for, and nothing it prohibits
• Reach well before the reporting time
• A light meal a couple of hours before the slot
• Your section plan in mind: scan first, attempt the safe questions, cap your time on hard ones

Inside the hall, remember the structure: VARC, then DILR, then QA, 40 minutes each, no going back. Between sections, take ten seconds to let the previous one go. A poor VARC section often feels worse than it is, because everyone found the same passages hard. See exam-day section strategy.

Quick decision drill

1. It is ten days before CAT. You score your lowest mock of the month. What do you do?
2. You have never studied probability. Should you learn it this week?
3. Your slot is early in the morning, and you usually study till 1 am. What should you change, and when?

Answers:

1. Analyse it normally, fix one or two specific issues and take the next planned mock. One score does not justify a new plan.
2. Usually not. Revise the arithmetic and algebra you already know. If a probability question appears, it is one question you can leave.
3. Start moving your sleep earlier from the beginning of the month, by about half an hour every few days, and take mocks in the morning.