IIM Bangalore CAT topper Shashank Success Mantra "Learn to attempt easy instead of difficult questions"

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
September 14, 2016
Preparation and test taking in CAT 2016 exam will be easier if the CAT aspirants follow the guidance and tips from toppers like Shashank Heda, IIMB student and 99.99 percentiler in CAT 2015
Time spent in solving two Very Difficult questions could have been better utilized in solving three Medium/Easy nature questions Shashank Heda, CAT topper and IIM Bangalore student

CAT 2016 aspirants stand benefitted with the success mantra shared by last year CAT toppers who not only cracked the exam with high percentile but also converted their call to top B-schools. MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers’ success stories alongwith their success mantra that led them to crack CAT with high percentile.

In the series we present the success story and CAT 2016 preparation tips shared by Shashank Heda, CAT topper with 99.9 percentile and a student of PGP 2016-18 batch at IIM Bangalore.

The success mantra by CAT 2015 toppers is more important for the CAT 2016 aspirants as the exam structure and content in 2016 will be more or less similar to last year exam.

Shashank belongs to Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. He attributes his success to his parents and teachers. Shashank is a B.Tech in  Electrical Engineering (Hons.) with Minor in Computer Science from IIT Gandhinagar.  He has 11 months of work experience with Texas Instruments to his credit. He loves sports along with his studies and has keen interest in Athletics especially in Sprinting & Swimming.

In view of Shashank you should devise your preparation strategy for CAT 2016 by keeping it more comprehensive than going for exhaustive model and instead of focusing on difficult questions learn to attempt the easier ones first.

MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT 2015?
Shashank (CAT topper): I began CAT preparation in July 2015. In my case, apart from the test material, analysis of mock test results was a key source of learning throughout the four months before the exam

MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Shashank (CAT topper): I referred the material that I received from my coaching centre for sectional preparation. A few mistakes many people do is referring to multiple books/material for a topic but the strategy should be comprehensive and not exhaustive.

Also, one must not spend too much time on a single topic. Joining a test series helps a lot in analysing the areas that need more focus. Major resources for the exam include coaching centre material (to learn the theory), mock tests (to analyse section-wise performance and to improve time management) and chapter-wise mock tests.

For interview preparation, reading newspaper, forming a rational opinion on important global/national events/policies, complete knowledge of recent happenings in the areas of your personal liking (for example, hobbies) etc. is helpful.

MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Shashank (CAT topper): In my case, the scope of improvement in VARC was more when compared to other sections. Thus, I spent more time in solving passages and did detailed analysis of that section’s result in each mock test.

MBAUniverse.com: How can candidates use Mock tests better? What is your advice?
Shashank (CAT topper): The mock tests make it very easy for a person to find his/her areas of improvement. Advice from my experience:

-CAT pattern changed in 2015 and the total time available for each section was restricted to 60 minutes. Formulate the strategy as per the CAT format for the year. In my case, the focus was to reach the last question of the section by the time 60 minutes allotted to it were over. It involved attempting/skipping a question (and coming back to it later if time permitted) after estimating the time the question would probably take.

-Analyse the mistakes in each section. Identify the gaps. Go back to the test material if you are not able to solve questions from a particular chapter (conceptual issues are seen mostly in QA and sometimes in VARC).

-Check if all ‘Easy’ and ‘Medium’ difficulty questions were attempted. There might be something wrong with time management/question selection if most of the questions that were attempted belong to ‘Difficult’ or ‘Very difficult’ section. This would imply that the time spent in solving two ‘Very Difficult’ questions could have been better utilized in solving three ‘Medium/Easy’ nature questions.

-Concentrate more on weaker areas. Look for the problems that were of ‘Easy’ nature and took more to solve time than usual. Learn the approach to solve them. This is because arriving at the answer in minimum possible time is more important than just finding the answer.

MBAUniverse.com: Did you go to offline coaching centre? What role does a coaching centre play?
Shashank (CAT topper): I received test material from my coaching centre and joined its test series as well but did not join the regular classes. Personally, I feel that the most important aspect of a coaching centre is its faculty and peer group. For any doubt/problem, try resolving it with peers, if any to save time. Otherwise, make a list of your doubts and interact with the faculty. Concentrate more on learning the approach than arriving at the answer.

MBAUniverse.com: Other than CAT, which exam did you appear?
Shashank (CAT topper):  None

MBAUniverse.com:  Which institutes did you apply for admission?
Shashank (CAT topper): I applied to IIM A, B, C, K and L.

MBAUniverse.com:  Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Shashank (CAT topper): Last minute preparation involved revision of complex QA formulae. I feel that no preparation is needed for DILR and VARC on the CAT day as there is not much that can be done for those sections in short-term.

Test taking plan developed over the time through analysis of mock test results. The focus was not to cover each question of the section in the specified order but to reach the last question of the section by the time the duration for the section ended. For a few candidates, the exam centre may not be the first preference that was filled in CAT form. Plan the travel in advance to avoid last minute anxiety about reaching the centre.

MBAUniverse.com: Please share your GD/WAT topics & PI questions at different institutes and the ones who offered you admission?
Shashank (CAT topper): For the five interviews that I appeared for, GD/WAT/PI topics were from following domains:

IIMA (Interview form is very important):
WAT - related to conflicts involved in decision making process for a manager (IIMA);
PI - Related to work experience, detailed explanation of technical aspects of work experience to a layman, why MBA, questions related to WAT topic and hobbies

IIMB (SOP is important):
WAT - Free basics and its impact
PI - Banking industry collapse, NPA declarations, Oil prices, Mr. Rajan’s policies, technical aspects of work-experience, why MBA, profit analysis of banks, recent developments/news in athletics

IIMC (Interview form is important):
WAT - Related to a financial event that happened probably in January
PI - Quant questions, probability, explain differentiation and the reason it is used to a five-year-old kid, Marketing campaign design to promote organ donation among school-kids, recent news related to blood/organ donation, why MBA, about relevance of air-crash investigations, recent news in athletics

IIMK
GD and WAT- Relevance of reservation for girls at top academic institutions in today’s context
PI - Related to work-experience in detail, reasons behind air crashes and technical aspects, recent news in athletics, interview performance at other IIMs, questions on GD topic in detail

IIML
WAT - an abstract topic
PI - Related to M.K.Gandhi and his philosophy, Dandi march, why MBA, role of ethics in day-to-day life, aspects involved in decision making as a placement team member

MBAUniverse.com: Which B-school you decided upon and why?
Shashank (CAT topper): I chose IIM Bangalore among the final converts (B, C and K). To decide a B-school, I would suggest participating in city meets held by each B-school after the final results are released. Also, interact with seniors/alumni to find the best fit.

MBAUniverse.com: Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016.
Shashank (CAT topper): For CAT 2016 exam, do not focus on a particular subject/topic. Be ready for surprises related to change in CAT format and most importantly, keep calm and believe in yourself.

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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success mantra stories and CAT 2016 preparation tips from toppers