Want to crack CAT 2014 with 99+ percentile, follow the mantra of CAT topper: Ankit Bansal

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
September 16, 2014
We present the success story of Ankit Bansal who scored 99.09 percentile in CAT 2013 and chose to join IIM Ranchi
"Single-minded focus and a one-track mind did the trick for me" Ankit Bansal CAT 2013 topper

MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT 2013 toppers’ success stories for the benefit of CAT 2014 aspirants. In the series we present the success story of Ankit Bansal who scored  99.09 percentile in CAT 2013 and chose to join IIM Ranchi.

 

Currently enrolled in the PGDM course (2014-16) at IIM Ranchi, Ankit Bansal is a student with multiple interests. He is the junior executive member of IIM Ranchi’s Consulting club, “Conundrum” and is blessed with an analytical bent of mind. Ankit scored a whopping 99.09 percentile in CAT 2013. Other than academics, Ankit has been quite active in extra-curricular activities during school, college as well as during his 30 months professional stint at Infosys, where he worked as a Java developer.

 

Sharing with MBAUniverse.com Ankit highlights his experiences in preparation for CAT 2013 and gives very clear ‘success mantra’ to the CAT 2014 aspirants.

 

MBAUni:   What was your preparation strategy?

 

Ankit (CAT topper): “CAT 2013 was my second CAT attempt, before which I had secured a percentile of 98.99 in CAT 2012. I had toiled hard while taking CAT for the first time, but had fallen slightly short of my expectations.  So, I decided to retake CAT again in 2013. My strategy was simple, nothing fancy. I enrolled for a mock test series and was consistent in taking the mock CATs. I used to perform a thorough analysis after each mock. The analysis helped me to figure out the loopholes and my weak areas so that I could improve on them and further fine-tune my strategy. Above all, I went about my CAT preparation with a cool head. I will attribute my success in CAT 2013 to my calm demeanour and the discipline that I showed in writing Mock CATs consistently.”

 

MBAUni:What was the strategy in the testing room to attempt the question from different sections: Quantitative Ability & DI, Verbal Ability & LR?

 

Ankit (CAT topper): “While attempting the QA and DI section, I laid great emphasis on overall accuracy rather than maximizing the number of attempts. It is important to discipline yourself in this regard. With practice, one quick glance at a QA/DI question will help you to assess whether the question should be attempted or skipped. Time is a scarce resource and you should make sure that you don’t get stuck at a question you are not able to solve in one go. Accept the might of the question and move on. For DI, sound calculation skills certainly help.

 

Verbal Ability and LR can be mastered if you are well-read and have a decent, if not rich, vocabulary. RCs were a cakewalk for me since I could read and comprehend them really fast. Being a bibliophile certainly helps you to steal a march on your competitors, when it comes to verbal ability and RC questions. Having a logical and analytical bent of mind helped me ace the LR section.”

 

MBAUni:  Which all exams did you write? How did you prepare for them? What score did you get?

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “In 2013, my entire focus was directed towards conquering CAT. This helped me to streamline all my energy towards one examination, rather than getting carried away by a deluge of different management entrance examinations. My sole motive was to bell the CAT and make it sound.  Single-minded focus and a one-track mind did the trick for me.  I scored 99.09 percentile in CAT 2013 and at the end, both my focused attitude and diligence paid dividends.

 

Nevertheless, I would encourage MBA aspirants to take all entrances that they wish to; the only caveat is that each paper will suit a different set of aspirants. For example, CMAT tests you on your General awareness; the same applies to TISS and XAT. To gain an edge over the competition in such papers, you should follow the news regularly. Again, aspirants who are willing to specialize in HRM should not miss out on writing papers such as TISS and XAT. “

 

MBAUni:  How many GD/PIs did you take part in? What were your GD topics?

 

Ankit (CAT topper): “After getting interview calls, I participated in roughly 9-10 Mock GD/PIs, during one month long GD/PI preparatory classes. I was exposed to different kind of GD topics, both abstract and factual. Some interesting GD topics that I can recall are:

 

‘Up the Down stairs’ (Abstract)

 

‘IPL, a boon or a bane for Indian Cricket’ (Factual)

 

‘If Eve was born before Adam’ (Factual)”

 

MBAUni:  Which institutes offered you admission?

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “I got admission offers from all the new IIMs. “

 

MBAUni:   Few questions that were asked to you during PI round......

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “I was asked questions related to the field in which I wanted to specialize. When I answered marketing, they asked me about the marketing function in which I want to build my career. My answer to that question was brand management. An advice to the future aspirants in this regard would be to dwell at length on the field of management that they want to specialize in and be well-versed with the basics of that specialization. I was also asked some complex quant questions in my interviews, but I handled them well. The intention of the interviewer is to test your approach and see how you go about answering the question; whether you get the right answer or not is completely irrelevant.

 

To crack PIs, I would exhort all future aspirants to know themselves really well. They should be clear about their career goals and vision and why they want to do an MBA.”
MBAUni: Which is the institute that you have decided to take admission and why?

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “Well, I had calls from IIM Kozhikode, SPJIMR and SJMSOM, IIT Mumbai. I could not covert these calls but the interview at IIM Kozhikode got me calls from all the new IIMs.

 

From there on, it was a clear choice; a no-brainer in fact. I decided to take admission in IIM Ranchi because it is certainly the best amongst all the new IIMs and has been steadily growing since its foundation. I am glad that I made the right choice; I live in a landscape where every day of my life is truly enriching.”

 

MBAUni:  What advice and tips you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2014?

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “I would just say that that there’s no substitute for diligence and regularity. Your success in CAT is directly proportional to your hard work. Read as much as you can; keep abreast with all the latest happenings. Most importantly, don’t delay your GD/PI preparation to the post CAT results stage. Getting a good score is only half the battle won. In order to secure a seat in the top 10 MBA institutes, you really have to go that extra mile and prove your mettle in the GD and PI rounds.”

 

MBAUni:  Your message to future MBA aspirants.

 

Ankit(CAT topper): Keep calm, work hard and you will surely reap the fruits of your persistence and tenacity.” “Preparing for CAT is a journey which should be thoroughly enjoyed.Don’t get too much obsessed about clearing the examination and things will eventually fall into place. Extra pressure will only add to stress and deteriorate your performance on the D-Day.”

 

MBAUni: Why did you want to do MBA?

 

Ankit(CAT topper): “My reasons to pursue an MBA were clear. Firstly, I wanted to switch from IT industry and secondly, I think MBA is one quick way to climb up the corporate ladder. Without an MBA, reaching a managerial level in any organization is time-consuming.”

 

Related links

 

Trends in CAT Exam; Still in Evolution process; impact will be on CAT 2014 test takers

 

Petty mistakes that create chaos in CAT 2014 Registration process; know how to get rid of

Do not miss the chance to enter IIM; CAT 2014 offers more chances this year

Speed Accuracy will be the big factor to ace CAT 2014 new exam pattern with 99+ percentile

Next 52 days of CAT 2014 Registration: What should Dr Rohit Kapoor Expect?

CAT 2014: How alarming with tricky questions will be the CAT new pattern

 

 

 

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success stories of CAT 2013 toppers