Most CAT aspirants make a lot of use of social media platforms for an ever-increasing proportion, especially in terms of time, of their CAT preparation. This is true even for those who are not taking CAT preparation online classes, and are taking offline classes for CAT or are engaged in self preparation for CAT.
There are YouTube channels devoted to different parts of CAT prep. Then there are WhatsApp Broadcast lists. There are (now-not-so-popular) groups on Facebook (declining in popularity). And of course there are (increasingly more popular) 24×7 groups/channels on Telegram. Given everything else in between, the sheer number of choices and volume of content that can be consumed are staggering.
Free Content for CAT Prep
Arguably, there is enough free quality content – pdfs, videos, tests, copies of the material of CAT coaching institutes, and more. So, one should be able to prepare him/her self at zero cost. But then that right there is the biggest issue; the volume is such that you could practically drown yourself in it, without even realizing.
You could see, practice, use, and spend a lot of time on things that are useless for you. There is so much out there that most would perhaps be overwhelmed.
Why content isn’t the big difference?
Think of it another way – content, even when things were not so Internet-driven, was never an issue. Everyone has access to similar content in school and college, but we still seek quality teachers, especially in areas we struggle with in classes. In fact, when it comes to test prep, copies of the study material of coaching institutes were easily available in some well-known book shops even before the social media made it super easy.
The challenges of free content
The key challenges of making best use of the vast amounts of free material available are to:
Find the most relevant quality content for your preparation
Avoid drowning in the excessive volume
Knowing the path to improve – the order and priority in which to use content
Do the above 3 in limited time
Conclusion:
At MBAGuru, each of the Telegram groups and channels has a clear, distinct purpose and is made accessible to students for whom it would be advantageous. We have reduced the clutter – no need for our students to track us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or anywhere else. The Telegram communities at MBAGuru ensure that the first 3 steps are taken care of as the content, its timeline, routine/regularity and so on supplements and complements the regular ADAPTIVE Classes for CAT.
The 4th challenge still remains a tough one to overcome for most students. More on that, soon.
About the author: Deekshant has sleep-walked through several 100 and 99.9 %iles in practically every section of the CAT. That he is a cricket fan and he writes okay is evident from most of his posts. 1000s of our students swear that he can motivate almost anyone to double his/her percentile through very simple yet powerful inputs. And that’s why every MBAGuru student has direct access to him via mail and Telegram. Oddly, he somehow also finds the time to write songs professionally. And yes … almost missed this … he is an alumnus of IIT Delhi & IIM Cal 