Come September and the heart beat of lakhs of aspirants preparing for the IIM entrance examination, becomes faster. It is the final countdown to arguably one of the most competitive and prestigious examinations in the country. The IIM CAT (Common admission test), held typically in November is taken by lakhs of aspirants wanting to enter the hollowed portals of the Indian Institutes of Management. The number of these aspirants just keeps going up every year! What does it take to succeed in the IIM CAT and other components of the IIM admissions process? This article tries to answer this and much more.

Lets begin with the IIM CAT, which is just the first hurdle (though maybe the most critical one) an aspirant needs to cross in his journey to get into an IIM. The CAT has questions on English, mathematics, data interpretation and logical reasoning. But do you need to be a quant geek or an expert in English to crack the CAT? The answer is a simple No! If the IIMs really wanted quant geeks they could have specifically asked for Mathematics PhDs. If they wanted literary people, they could have required only English majors to apply! The CAT expects you to have decent ability to solve problems and have a good knowledge of English. Beyond that it actually tests you on two important aspects. The two essential ingredients of success in the corporate world (and even in life in general) are time management skills and stress management.

The IIM CAT really tests you on these two skills. We all function well when we are in our comfort zone. How do we react when faced with a surprise or uncertainty? So many test takers become nervous just on seeing a new exam format on the day of the CAT. If you are used to there being three sections in the IIM CAT and in the actual exam, there are five sections, what do you do? If you start sweating on seeing a new type of question or a totally new section, you have just lost the battle even before it started! It is important to be prepared for surprises and welcome them. This requires that one doesn't go with any preconceived notions or fixed mindset about the exam. It also helps to have taken a number of mock tests, which ideally should cover a variety of formats.