Need help understanding why I can solve lectures but struggle with CAT PYQs
I’m preparing for CAT and I’m facing a problem in Quant.
I watch the lectures, make detailed notes, and then make short notes for revision. I can usually solve the questions taught by the teacher and even basic/simple questions from the same topic.
However, when I start solving CAT PYQs, I’m often unable to solve them. I can rarely solve 1–2 questions on my own, even though I feel that I understand the concepts.
I’m confused about where the actual problem is:
- Is my conceptual understanding not deep enough? - Am I lacking problem-solving/application skills? - Am I jumping to PYQs too early? - Should I practice more intermediate-level questions before PYQs? - Or is there a particular way I should analyse questions that I cannot solve?
For those who have improved their Quant scores, what did you do when you were in this stage?
I would really appreciate a practical approach or study method rather than just “practice more.” I want to understand why I’m unable to apply concepts to PYQs despite understanding them in lectures.
1 Answer
Pratibha jain · 2026-08-21 · 1 helpful
Honestly the main difference is that in lectures you already know which concept to use whiile in PYQs the real challenge is figuring that out yourself I’d suggest doing some easy to moderate questions before PYQs and whenever you get stuck spend 10-15 mins on it before seeing the solution then you can note down what you missed