CAT 2016: 'Non-MCQs need thorough knowledge of concepts'; success mantra by SPJIMR student, Shekhar Kapoor

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
October 7, 2016
CAT 2016 aspirants should understand that during their preparation journey they must focus on strengthening their concepts to crack 30% Non-MCQs
Presence of non-MCQ type questions meant that I needed to have thorough knowledge of various concepts to arrive at an answer CAT topper & SPJIMR student Shekhar Kapoor

During their next 50 days preparation, CAT 2016 aspirants should understand that lack of conceptual clarity can make it difficult for them to crack the 30% non MCQs going to appear in the exam on December 4, 2016. The Non-MCQs will require you to adopt a different approach of solving the question and then arriving at the answer instead of adopting the option elimination process.

CAT topper and SPJIMR student Shekhar Kapoor who scored 94.98 in CAT 2015 and 99.058 in XAT 2016 was a working professional before joining PGDM 2016-18 at SPJIMR, Mumbai. Despite all the odds and time crunch he marched on his preparation journey which yielded desired result of getting into the dream B-school.Sharing the success mantra for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants, Shekhar is of the view that the exam taker should manage the time well during preparation and while taking the exam. According to him use of on screen calculator for Quant or DI calculations in CAT 2016 could prove to be more time consuming  than what you could achieve manually and orally.  

Shekhar is a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering  and has a work experience of 21 months. A working professional himself, Shekhar had to balance his professional duties and the study hours but made it sure to score high in CAT 2015, XAT 2016 and get into SPJIMR Mumbai, one of the highly ranked B-schools in India.MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers’ success stories for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants. Sharing his success mantra Shekhar Kapoor highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and attempts to give the guidance to CAT 2016 aspirants

MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Shekhar (CAT topper): Since I had already been working when I decided to appear in CAT 2015, I knew that there would be times when my work deadlines would demand my undivided attention so it was better to start early. I started preparations in December 2014. I used to devote 1-2 hours on a daily basis. Once the new pattern was announced, I just focused on attempting as many mocks as possible to get my timing right.

Moreover, the presence of non-MCQ type questions meant that I needed to have thorough knowledge of various concepts to arrive at an answer, as elimination of options was not possible for such questions.

MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Shekhar (CAT topper): I divided my time unequally among the three sections based on my level of proficiency. For my strong sections, I used to perform sectional tests and used to touch upon only those areas where I felt I needed to brush up. While for my weak section, I used devote some extra time in order to first get my basics in place to gain accuracy, and then practicing extensively to gain speed.

MBAUniverse.com: Did you change your preparation strategy after the announcement of the pattern change in CAT 2015 or you followed the same routine?
Shekhar (CAT topper):  The new changes mandated one to not only have in-depth understanding of the section(s) of one's interest to maximize the score but also to have breadth of knowledge by showing one's proficiency in the other section(s). From the knowledge point of view, I feel that the changes were for the best but I think too many changes were introduced simultaneously. However, as shared above I divided my time unequally among the 3 sections based on my level of proficiency.

MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Shekhar (CAT topper): Quantitative Methods was my strongest area while LRDI was my weak area. I tried to keep calm in the area and focused more on attempting few questions correctly rather than attempting many questions but with low accuracy.

MBAUniverse.com: What was your Time Management formula for the CAT?
Shekhar (CAT topper): I divided the 60 minutes allotted to me in 3 chunks. The first chunk was of 30 minutes where I started with the first question and kept on attempting only those which I felt were sitters. I simultaneously kept on marking the questions which, though a bit lengthy, were easy to solve. At the end of 30 minutes I reached the end of the paper with all the questions to be attempted in the second chunk already marked. Then, I started attempting the marked questions spending not more than 2 minutes per question. This chunk was for 20 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, I tried to attempt at least 3 to 4 questions among the ones I had previously not marked thinking that they were difficult.

MBAUniverse.com:  Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Shekhar (CAT topper): The new CAT introduced an additional burden of managing time for each section while earlier we had the liberty to distribute time as per our levels of confidence among the three sections. This made attempting CAT even more difficult as we were expected to be equally good at attempting every section. The presence of the on-screen calculator didn't affect my way of attempting questions as performing calculations using the calculator would have been more time consuming than oral or manual calculations. In my view, the officials could have introduced one  change, among sectional time limits and Non-MCQ questions, at a time.

MBAUniverse.com: Please share your GD/WAT topics.
Shekhar (CAT topper): My WAT topic at SPJIMR was:“What is that one area which people are good at but you can never be?” It took me a while to gather my thoughts and then present them in the form of an essay. I talked about my inability to develop and sustain namesake personal relationships. I have had come across a lot of people who are friends with someone for an ulterior motive.  The structure was the basic Intro-Body-Conclusion type wherein I started with my philosophy in life, followed by a description of an instance, followed by what I learnt from it.

MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for the PI-WAT rounds? What influenced your selection?
Shekhar (CAT topper):   I joined TIME WAT-PI prep in Bangalore and used to attend their knowledge transfer, Group Interview, Group Discussion and Personal Interview sessions over the weekend.

My on the spot thinking, awareness of the topics discussed, coupled with a positive body language was the key to my success.

MBAUniverse.com:  Which B-school you decided upon and why?
Shekhar (CAT topper): I decided upon SPJIMR. The one thing that I like the most about SPJIMR is its agility. SPJIMR is quick to adapt to the changing needs of the industry and is always in a quest to produce managers who have a global outlook yet don't forget their Indian values.

MBAUniverse.com:  What made you pursue MBA?
Shekhar (CAT topper):   While interning at Honeywell Technology Solutions Ltd., I realized that I was not meant to be a software programmer in an IT firm. But the clarity of thought was missing as to what I wanted to become. It was only during my stint with CISCO that I realized what my inner calling was. In an all-hands meeting at CISCO, I watched the Vice President of our business unit address a crowd of 300 employees. The way he presented his strategic ideas to take down the competition, his way of engaging the audience and communicating his vision for the business unit left me spellbound. That was a defining moment for me.

MBAUniverse.com:  Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016.
Shekhar (CAT topper): I think one gives one's best when one is least bothered about the outcome. Just give your best to the preparations and while attempting the paper without worrying about the results or which college you'll join. No one can keep a person devoid of what one deserves. So work to deserve what you need!

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