Honestly, it doesn't matter whether you do self prep or taking coaching. Its about the right material. I've seen student taking expensing coaching and still not able to crack CAT and on the other hand something doing self prep (usually in second attempt) had flaired with fying colours. The most important thing here is discipline. Sitting everyday for hours and consuming a lot of infomation is something what you should be get comfortable with. 

My personal experience was that through coaching you get to follow a structured journey, the practice questions are in gamified manner so the process of solving them is also exciting, the "green tick" you get if you solved it correctly give you a mind adreline rush...and similar you get psyched with you miss the right answer. 

So the best way out there is try both, take a coaching, see if you connect with the faculty, CAT prep is a long journey so think of how you can make this jouney exciting. And if doesn't work out of you then there is always good old self prep. 

All the best !!!!!

Still confused honestly. Coaching feels like a safety net, but I also think a lot depends on how much you study at home. Some seniors told me they wasted coaching because they didn’t revise regularly. So, I’m scared of spending money and then not using it properly.

I’m mixing both, took a crash course for 3 months just to understand the concepts and strategies, then switched to self-study. That way, I got expert guidance but didn’t waste too much money or time traveling for classes.

I’m doing complete self-prep because I already have good basics from college and I can’t afford coaching fees. There’s so much free content on YouTube, Telegram, and test series from different institutes. I think it’s more about discipline and practice than sitting in a classroom.

Honestly, I joined coaching because I needed a fixed schedule and peer competition. The faculty gave shortcuts and tricks I wouldn’t have figured out myself. Also, the mock tests and doubt sessions kept me on track. If you struggle with consistency like me, coaching might be worth it.