CAT 2016 aspirants must be getting preparation tips and innovative testing room strategy from the past CAT toppers and students of IIMs and other top B-schools like FMS, NITIE, IMT. These CAT toppers are sharing their success mantra based on their preparation experience and MBAUniverse.com is conveying it to you, the CAT 2016 aspirants.
For the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants, 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 Sambangi Abhishek, student of IIM Ranchi and CAT topper with a percentile as high as 99.32.
Sambangi believes that you should make a list of topics that you need to improve upon to crack CAT 2016. Besides he advises not to attempt a question in the testing hall if you are not sure of its answer.
Sambangi comes from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He has dual degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras 2013. Sambhangi has worked for 33 months after his bachelor’s degree as CAE engineer for new product development at HCL Technologies.
Sambangi has a keen interest in Cycling, Chess and Teaching. He attributes his success to his source of inspiration, his father.+
Apart from CAT 2015, Sambangi Abhishek appeared in XAT 2016 and scored 93.40 percentile. He also appeared in IIFT but missed the cut off by 0.2 marks only. Despite being offered admission by other IIMs also and MDI Sambangi opted for IIM Ranchi as he found the B-school the best among new IIMs.
MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT 2015?
Sambangi (CAT topper): My preparation strategy was to analyse my performance on weekly basis and improve on the weak areas. Once thorough with the conceptual knowledge, I took mock tests every weekend for 2 months and made a list of topics I needed to improve on, which I used to work on through the week. I believe this strategy had helped me in consistently improving performance throughout the journey.
MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Sambangi (CAT topper): Accuracy is the one thing which should be given the highest priority. I was very comfortable with QA and DILR from the beginning, so I concentrated mainly on improving the speed. I always knew that VARC is the area I need to improve on. As a part of it I referred a set of Norman Lewis books daily and developed a habit of reading relevant books and magazines which will also help in later stages. And through my experience especially for VARC, leaving the questions unanswered when not sure is the best strategy. Choosing the questions is the key to win over your weak areas.
MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Sambangi (CAT topper): I was initially weak at VARC section. Referring Norman Lewis books and habit of reading relevant topics had helped me succeed in the journey. Analysing the mock tests played a critical role in getting a clear picture of the progress.
MBAUniverse.com: How can candidates use Mock tests better? What is your advice?
Sambangi (CAT topper): Be regular in taking mock tests every week, preferably Saturdays. Analyse the exam as soon as possible, preferably Sundays. Create an excel sheet to maintain a database of areas which require more and less time, which you have highest and lowest accuracies. This will help you choose the questions wisely on the exam day and improve scores consistently.
MBAUniverse.com: Did you go to offline coaching centre? What role does a coaching centre play?
Sambangi (CAT topper): I had registered for IMS test series to take weekend mocks as I had very limited time during weekdays. The hardcopies of practice problem sets proved to be very useful whenever I got short leisure periods. I should say the IMS mentorship played a key role in my success as they had provided guidance at a personal level whenever required.
MBAUniverse.com: Other than CAT, which exam did you appear?
Sambangi (CAT topper): Apart from CAT 2015 in which I scored 99.32, I appeared in XAT 2016 and scored 93.40. I also appeared in IIFT entrance but missed the cut off by 0.2 marks.
MBAUniverse.com: Which institutes did you apply for admission?
Sambangi (CAT topper): Apart from IIMs, I applied for FMS, SJMSOM and MDI Gurgaon.
MBAUniverse.com: Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Sambangi (CAT topper): The 2015 South Indian floods resulted from heavy rainfall in Chennai made me reach the centre a day before and stay in a hotel nearby. I had gone through my learning notes once again the day before the exam. About the test, I planned to first choose the questions which I can answer quickly with high accuracy and later move on to the tougher questions. This strategy had helped me in getting a high percentile in DI section, which was the toughest in CAT 2015.
MBAUniverse.com: Please share your GD/WAT topics & PI questions at different institutes and the ones who offered you admission?
Sambangi (CAT topper): Shared below-
MDI Gurgaon
GD/WAT topic of MDI Gurgaon was about ‘Effect of mobile phones on generation X’ and PI questions were based on my employer background, few current affair questions and ‘why MBA’.
SJMSOM
WAT topic at SJMSOM was about ‘Technology is a double edged sword’ and interview went on the technical side of my work experience which included different optimization techniques and regression analysis.
IIM Ranchi
At IIM Ranchi, WAT topic was about ‘Socialism vs Capitalism- for India’ and interview were on my academic background, work experience, few QA problems and effect of media on society.
MBAUniverse.com: Which B-school you decided upon and why?
Sambangi (CAT topper): I was offered admission to all the new IIMs and MDI Gurgaon. I had been through all the placement reports of the colleges. The extensive placement report of IIM Ranchi having the information on various Student achievements, Colloquium speakers and the Corporate partners had made my decision easy.
MBAUniverse.com: Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016.
Sambangi (CAT topper): 5 tips that would help in improving performance in CAT 2016, in my view are –
-- Take a day or two to prepare your own time table as not everyone will get the same amount of free time or resources;
-- Take 5-10 min at the start of the day to prepare a Daily to-do list;
-- This will help not only for CAT 2016 but throughout your life;
-- Be regular in taking weekly mock tests and analysing performance;
-- Make sure that you go with a cool mind to the exam centre, this is as important as the whole CAT preparation.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success mantra stories and CAT 2016 preparation tips from toppers
