Abhay Agarwal

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Abhay comes from a modest family of small town of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh where education facilities are not so equipped as those in metropolitan cities. Abhay completed his schooling from St. Mary’s School Bijnor (U.P.) and has held a consistent good academic record. He scored 86.83% marks in class 10 and 91.71% marks in class 12. Apart from devoting time to study, Abhay has great interest in reading novels and playing guitar.

 

Abhay was studying in B.Tech (Biotechnology), Pantnagar University, Batch 2012-16 when he appeared in CAT last year. He scored 74.87% marks in his B.Tech exam and cracked CAT simultaneously with a high score of 99.99 percentile. Abhay converted his call to FMS Delhi, IIM Lucknow and other new IIMs who offered him admission but he preferred FMS Delhi.

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Exam:

Exam Score
99.99 percentile
Exam year
2015
Exam experience

My exam prep strategy, experience & Advice
For the benefit of MBA aspirants, MBAUniverse.com asked Abhay Agarwal about his preparation strategy and advice to do well in MBA entrance exams. Details follow

 

Q. What was your preparation strategy for CAT 2015?
A. My Preparation was primarily based on several Mock Tests and their analysis. I started regular and serious preparation from January, 2015. I used to build up my content by attending weekend coaching and studying a lot on my own. 
I used to keep a check on my preparation by mock tests and used them to identify my weaknesses. By November 2015, I had identified and removed several of my weaknesses and had a dream run in the CAT exam.

 

Q. How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use? 
A. We all have a weak section and a strong section. When I took first few mocks, I realized that I was pretty decent in DI/LR. Not being overconfident, I used to regularly give sectional tests for this.

But my English was pathetic and also I needed to speed up my calculations in Quant to be able to attend more questions in the given time. There were several speed tests that helped me in this regard. Study Material was available online and also I borrowed some of the Arun Sharma books from my friends.

 

Q. Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A. Yes, I was weak in English. When the new pattern for CAT’15 was announced, I was demoralized because I used to escape English by attempting more of LR questions. But then it became a compulsion.

I applied all my efforts in improving my English. I read 4-5 novels in a span of 1-2 months. I read novels which were not at all interesting. This reading habit helped me greatly in focussing on the RCs. I could then critically analyse the passage and could answer the questions properly. Although it took me many attempts in the mocks but finally English was one of my best sections in CAT’15 Result.

 

Q.  How can candidates use Mock tests better? What is your advice?
A.
Mock tests can be a great tool for students. Merely sitting for a mock test of 3 hours is not the solution. A Candidate needs to analyse his/her performance very deeply as he can find his strengths and weaknesses in that analysis. Identify your weaknesses and never repeat them again. Learn from your mistakes. Find new and faster ways to solve those questions which consumed most of your time. Apart from this, There can be n number of problems specific to each candidate and answer to all those problems lies in that analysis.

 

Q.  Did you go to offline coaching centre? What role does a coaching centre play?
A. I studied at Pantnagar University in Uttarakhand. There is no permanent coaching there but there was a provision of weekend batches of TIME. I used to attend those classes. I believe that while coaching can strongly guide a student, he/she should not be too much dependent on coaching. Coaching can only set a path for you. It is you who has to walk on it. So, Self-Study is very important along with coaching.

 

Q.  Other than CAT, which exam did you appear?
A.
I appeared for IIFT entrance exam. I cleared the written examination of IIFT with 97.6 percentile and got a call for PI round. For MBA, I only appeared for IIFT and CAT. Apart from this I also appeared for AFCAT as I also wanted to try for defence services.

 

Q. Which institutes did you apply for admission?
A.
I applied for IIFT, all major IIMS and FMS.

 

Q.  Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
A.
My CAT test center was Meerut and it took me almost a day to reach there just a day before CAT. I knew that I was well prepared but it all comes down to those 3 hours which can change your life. I did not prepare anything extra on penultimate day and trusted myself. The Realization of the importance of those 3 hours sent chills down my spine but I knew that key is to remain Calm. As my exam started, I was devoid of all the other thoughts and the only thing that mattered to me at that time was the question flashing before me on the screen. DI/LR was difficult but I kept trying and ultimately after 3 hours, I realized that I had performed better than any of my mock tests.

 

Q.  Which B-school you decided upon and why?
A.
I ultimately was offered admission by IIML, FMS and other new IIMs. I decided upon FMS after doing lot of research on IIML vs FMS, and the factors that drove me in favour of FMS are its limited batch strength,  ROI among others. I wanted to build a profile for myself. Reviews from my seniors also gave me insight that FMS can help me in doing that.

Also, as I stated, Limited Batch Strength at FMS is also a strong point. The Kind of opportunities I saw at FMS were exactly what I was looking for. ROI factor was also a major factor which helped me in finalizing my decision and each day I feel proud of myself for taking that decision.

 

Q.  Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016. 
A. CAT is not a tough exam but the impact that it has on careers of the students makes it seem tough. Do not be tensed about the outcome. Focus on the efforts. There will be several demoralizing moments but you need to get past all that. Be Confident. There will be several things to push you down and in this quest only the last man standing wins the battle.

Final calls
IIM Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management
FMS New Delhi Faculty of Management Studies
IIM Lucknow: Indian Institute of Management
Topper Admission
FMS New Delhi Faculty of Management Studies