MBAUniverse.com is continuously publishing success stories of CAT Toppers to guide CAT 2014 aspirants in their preparation for CAT 2014 exam. In this seventh article of CAT Topper series we present the success story of Sumesh R Nair, a working professional who left his job to pursue MBA and scored 99+ percentile.
A Brief profile of CAT Topper Sumesh R Nair:
- Sectional and Overall Percentile of CAT: Quant - 98.84 & Verbal - 97.49. Overall - 99.28
- B schools which offered admissions: All 6 new IIMS, SPJIMR Mumbai
- Work Experience: 30 Months (TESCO, Affine Analytics (a start-up) and MU SIGMA)
- Percentage of marks in Graduation/B. tech and +2 exams:
10th - 87.33%
12th - 89.0%
Graduation - 74.3%
MBAUniverse.com will introduce a CAT Topper every week on MBAUniverse.com Forum where CAT 2014 aspirants can directly ask questions with CAT Toppers.
Q. What was the change in your prep strategy during last 30 days to CAT?
My preparation stage lasted from August to October. In the last month, that is October I made it a point to revise each and every concept studied for last 2 months. The strategy was to strengthen topics which I already knew and not be worried about questions which I didn’t know to solve.
Q. Did you expect to get this much percentile after your CAT? How did you evaluate yourself on the basis of your mock test scores before CAT?
Frankly speaking, this was the last time (4th time) I was writing CAT. I had given around 30 mocks which I did carefully analyze. However, I never hit a 99 in any of my mocks. The pressure was on me since I had quit my job to take a break and prepare whole-heartedly for CAT. I made it a point; I wouldn’t do random guessing for the mocks. I benchmarked myself on the different sections. I build on my strength areas and stayed confident with that.
Q. How did you prepare yourself a day before the D-day (your CAT Test day)?
I started relaxing 4-5 days before the exam. A day before the D-Day I went onto watch a movie met some friends and put myself to sleep quite early. I also made sure the food that I ate was right, because I didn’t have home food as I was staying away from home to write the exam. Read More
Q. What was your question solving strategy on the CAT testing day?
I had made a mental note to myself that I am not going to fall in love with a question. Strict 1.5 minutes for each question. If I wasn’t sure of an answer, I skipped it. It was very important considering the crucial time limit of the exam.
Meet CAT Toppers, Know how to Score 99+ %ile
Q. What was the toughest & easiest section for you in CAT? What was your strategy to handle the difficult part?
I clearly remember Verbal and DI section used to haunt me a bit, especially the grammar questions and certain parajumbles, reasoning questions. Quantitative sections in some mocks were very tough as well. The key for Verbal and DI section was to handle DI questions first, crack some of them, build some confidence and then move onto the Verbal questions.
Q. One preparation area which influenced your selection to this Top B-school heavily. How?
One critical area that you should know inside out is the work you did and most of the times the ultimate reason why you want to do an MBA. This is easier said than done but interviewers would like to hear from you that answer. I felt in most of my interviews I did that part well. Read More
Q. Your long-term preparation strategy for GD/PI
I was up to date with most of the current affairs. THE HINDU newspaper did help me a lot, especially the Editorial and Opinion page. More than building vocabulary, I got to know different perspectives regarding the same issues. The Economist is another magazine that you can read for different perspectives. Nowadays, the stress on WAT is there. Make sure, you can structure your thoughts about an article and pen it down. That is quite crucial in scoring marks for WAT. Read More
Q. What was your biggest mistake during selection process beginning with CAT
My biggest mistake came in the form of not preparing for GD PI mainly because I resumed by job in the industry after writing CAT. I had no formal coaching. In fact I was teaching CAT students as well for some time in my hometown, Trivandrum. That was one of the best sources of revising since you have to know your concepts deeply to teach students. So, the depth of studying was larger.
Q. Your advice for CAT 2014 Aspirants
I have a smile when I write this. Umpteen posts in various forums; I realized that the best advice is to listen to yourself. If you aim to be in the top 10 schools, please start believing that, talk to the students about the rigour and get mentally prepared for that.
The final day will be easier if you prepare earnestly. You wouldn’t see many surprises if you have covered most of the questions in your mock. Take mocks not to judge yourself, but to better yourself. Stay focussed on the end goal.
CAT is just a way forward, not the end. Best of luck!
If you want to talk directly to CAT 2013 Toppers to get right advice and suggestions for CAT 2014 preparation, Click Here:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/forums/forum/meet-the-past-cat-toppers-know-how-to-score-99-percentile
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