Approaching the CAT Quant Section Without Losing Your Mind
I spent three months going through Arun Sharma's material for CAT prep and honestly, it's neither the gospel nor a waste of time. It depends entirely on where you're starting from. The books cover algebra, geometry, number systems, and modern math in a structured way that most coaching institutes still use as reference. But there are real gaps you'll run into if you just read cover to cover. The core issue people face is that the difficulty curve in these books isn't consistent. You'll see straightforward examples right next to problems that feel like they belong in a different exam altogether. I remember working through the geometry chapter last year and hitting a question about cyclic quadrilaterals that required constructing an auxiliary line I couldn't figure out for nearly twenty minutes. Eventually I realized the trick was extending one of the chords to form a triangle, but the book never actually explains that reasoning step. You just get the solution at the back and are supposed to reverse-engineer the logic. Here's what actually works: treat the theory sections as quick references and focus your energy on the solved examples first. Do every single one. Then move to the exercises but only attempt the first two difficulty levels. The advanced section has its place, but it's disproportionately long and includes problems that rarely appear in the actual CAT. Skipping the hardest tier saved me maybe forty hours across the whole prep period.
One thing the books don't make clear is that they're not designed for people who haven't done math since school. If your basics are weak in something like LCM or HCF, you will stall in the number systems chapter and waste days. I had to pause and watch a few YouTube playlists on basic arithmetic before continuing. That detour cost me a week but prevented me from bouncing between chapters randomly. The answer keys are generally reliable but occasionally have errors. I caught two wrong answers in the permutation and combination section by verifying with a different source. Don't trust them blindly, especially on the harder problems. Cross-check with official CAT papers or coaching material when something doesn't add up. Another practical detail: the print edition is better for annotation and margin notes. The Kindle version I tried had cramped layouts in the geometry chapters where diagrams got cut off. If you're studying the visual topics, stick to physical copies or print the relevant pages.
You don't need to finish all three books in the Quant section. Many students I've worked with got good percentiles using just the algebra and number systems volumes. The modern math chapter in the third book covers sets, permutations, combinations, and probability, which is useful but sometimes overlaps heavily with what you'll find in free resources online. I'd prioritize the first two books and skim the third. If you're aiming for a 99 percentile, the books give you the foundation but you'll need to supplement them with timed mock tests and previous year papers. The problems in Sharma's books are well-crafted but they don't always mirror the actual CAT pattern. The real exam has shifted toward more data interpretation and less pure calculation in recent years. The books lag slightly behind those changes. The download links for these books circulate on various forums and Telegram channels, but I won't share those here. They're available through major retailers and e-commerce platforms if you want legal copies. Supporting the author keeps these updates coming.
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My honest assessment after using this material: it's solid for building conceptual clarity if you approach it strategically. It's not a complete preparation plan on its own. Pair it with practice tests, track your weak areas, and don't let the difficulty spikes discourage you. Most people hit a wall around the middle of the algebra section and either push through or quit. The difference between those who make it and those who don't usually comes down to consistency, not intelligence.
