How to Become a Dhurandhar at CAT Mocks

Sep 14

4 min read

CAT preparation is not just about how many questions you solve. It is also about how you behave when things don't go your way. I want to break down the mindset I believe you need during the mock-test phase because the goal isn't to win every mock. The goal is to become better after every mock.

Part 1: Nazar aur Sabr.

When you start giving mocks, don't get emotionally attached to your first few scores.

You might get a 60 percentile. Then 72. Then 68. And suddenly you start wondering:

"Is CAT really for me?" Don't.

At least initially, keep your sabr.

Your first few mocks are not there to tell you what percentile you'll get on CAT.

They are there to teach you how CAT works.

Think about what you're actually getting from one mock.

You are potentially going through 5 good DILR sets. 5 good RCs. Dozens of Quant questions.

And hundreds of possible decisions about what to attempt, what to leave and where to spend your time. That's valuable exposure.

So instead of obsessing over the percentile, absorb the solutions. Introspect.

Ask yourself:

Why didn't I see this set?

Why did I spend 8 minutes on that question?

Why did I reject this option?

Why did I choose this RC?

Why did I get stuck between these two options?

That is where your improvement is going to come from.

Train your gut feeling

One of the most underrated skills in CAT is the ability to choose between two close options.

Especially in RCs. You read the passage.

You narrow it down to two options.

And both look right.

How do you decide?

You develop that "gut feeling" through repeated exposure.

But gut feeling isn't magic.

It is trained intuition.

Every time you analyse an RC, debate with the author.

Why is this option better?

What exactly in the passage supports it?

Why is the other option slightly off?

Is it too extreme?

Does it go beyond the author's argument?

Does it distort what the author actually said?

Do this repeatedly and you start recognising patterns.

Eventually, your brain begins to develop that instinct.

The same applies to DILR and Quant.

Don't binge concept videos after every mock

This is especially important for Quant.

You get a question wrong.

You see a solution.

And suddenly you feel like you need to watch a 90-minute video on the entire topic.

You probably don't.

Sometimes one good solution is enough to revise the concept.

Sometimes it teaches you something new.

Sometimes it shows you a better way of approaching a familiar concept.

Use the solution as your learning material.

Don't automatically go back to binge-watching lectures every time you encounter a question you couldn't solve.

The mock is already telling you what you need to learn.

Listen to it.

Keep your Nazar on the lower-hanging fruits

Your objective in CAT isn't to solve everything.

It is to maximise your score within the time limit.

So while analysing your mocks, start noticing the lower-hanging fruits.

Which questions could you have solved within the time limit?

Which questions did you unnecessarily leave?

Which types of questions are becoming easy for you?

Which sets look intimidating but contain 2–3 manageable questions?

That is the kind of awareness you need to build.

And don't expect your percentile to jump from 70 to 99 overnight.

Give yourself milestones.

First: 80.

Then: 90.

Then: 95.

Then push beyond.

Every milestone tells you that something in your preparation is working.

Part 2: Honsla. Eendhan. Badla.

Once you've given enough mocks, the biggest enemy isn't lack of knowledge.

It is losing hope.

A bad mock can destroy the confidence you've built over the previous few weeks.

Don't let it.

Stay emotionally unattached.

Stay hopeful.

Stay in a learning mindset.

Your job isn't to judge yourself after every mock.

Your job is to analyse yourself.

If Mock 7 went badly, don't carry Mock 7 into Mock 8.

Take the learnings.

Leave the emotions.

Come back with a new strategy.

With honsla.

With eendhan.

And maybe, just a little bit of badla.

Treat every mock like unfinished business

Instead of thinking:

"I got a bad score."

Think:

"Okay. What can I do differently next time?"

Maybe you realise you're spending too much time on VA and should prioritise RCs.

Maybe you're choosing the wrong RCs.

Maybe in a difficult RC, you should stop trying to solve everything and instead identify the easier questions within the passage.

Maybe you're wasting time trying to solve a Quant question when looking at the options differently could have helped.

Maybe you realise Modern Maths isn't giving you enough returns and you would be better off mastering Arithmetic and Algebra.

Maybe your accuracy is strong enough that increasing your attempts could give you a significantly higher score.

These are the decisions that mock analysis should help you make.

Not:

"Am I good enough?"

But:

"What change am I making before my next mock?"

Your next mock should have a mission

Don't walk into every mock hoping for a better percentile.

Walk into it with something to prove.

"I will not repeat that mistake."

"I will identify the easier RC questions."

"I will not spend 10 minutes on one Quant question."

"I will attempt more questions while protecting my accuracy."

"I will select DILR sets more carefully."

Give every mock a purpose.

Then analyse whether you achieved it.

That's how mocks become training.

Part 2: Become a Dhurandhar.

For the next few months, stay quiet.

Work.

Analyse.

Learn.

Come back.

Don't worry about what percentile someone else is getting.

Don't panic because someone started preparing six months before you.

Don't lose hope because one mock went horribly.

Keep your Nazar on what can be improved.

Keep your Sabr when the scores aren't moving.

Keep your Honsla when things go wrong.

Use every mistake as Eendhan.

And come back for Badla in the next mock.

The goal is not to peak today.

The goal is to keep improving until, somewhere before the D-Day, you see that percentile on your screen.

The percentile you had been dreaming about.

And when that happens, you'll know it wasn't one great mock that got you there.

It was every bad mock that taught you what to change.

Be patient.

Be ruthless with your analysis.