Here GA reader Adarsh Sharma, an IIM Indore student who scored in the 99 percentile in CAT 2008, shares his advice...

CAT is an exam of uncertainties and preparation is the only thing that can equip you to manage this uncertainty. But how you prepare varies from individual to individual. I know people who have got IIM calls studying half an hour a day and have seen people with equal capabilities failing at the same despite putting in several hours every day.

Talking about myself, I gave CAT in 2008 and managed 99.73 percentile to get a couple of IIM calls and now am studying in IIM Indore. I had not performed very well during my engineering entrance exams and the journey during engineering was also not turning out to be a fun ride. So for me, CAT was my last chance to prove to myself that I could do something big. Of course you can say that I could have sat for CAT the following year as well but I think if you don't challenge yourself and see this year as THE year, success is tough to come. So, my first tip would be --challenge yourself.

I believe regularity is more important than the number of hours you study ie studying one hour every day is better than studying 10 hours on one day or 5 hours on two days. The reason for this is simple -- you just can't maintain the same level of concentration for such long hours and regularly brushing up concepts is better than trying to gulp everything at one go. Hence, my second tip is -- be regular.

Whether to go for coaching classes or not totally depends on the individual. I did join an institute and my personal experience is that such classes don't add much to your knowledge but they do show you a path. In case you don't opt for coaching, you won't know how exactly to go about your preparation. Also, being in the company of other students vying for those sought-after calls helps you keep a check on your own performance and you know if you need to work harder or not. So, I suggest do give coaching classes a shot unless you just can't take out time.

I attribute a large part of my success to the peer group I had. We were a group of 5-6 friends who used to sit together and attempt mock CATs, help each other with any problems we had in any section and whatever else we could do. This was really an asset as all of us had our own strengths and weaknesses, and coming together aided us in improving the weaknesses. So if possible, a good peer group certainly helps.