MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT Topper 2013 success stories for the benefit of CAT 2014 aspirants. In this CAT Topper 2013 series we present the success story of Sneha Mittal, a CAT Topper who scored percentile of 97.91 in CAT 2013, 95 in XAT 2014, 99.24 in MAHCET and All India rank 454 in CMAT.
To help out CAT 2014 aspirants in their CAT exam preparation, MBAUniverse.com will introduce a CAT Topper 2013 every week on MBAUniverse.com where CAT 2014 aspirants can directly ask questions with CAT Toppers 2013.
Our first CAT Topper 2013 in this series is Ms. Sneha Mittal from Pune, Maharashtra. Apart from CAT, she has successfully appeared in XAT, MAHCET and CMAT exams too. To Talk to CAT Topper 2013, Ms, Sneha Mittal, visit MBAUniverse.com Forum or Click below:
Q. What was your CAT 2013 prep strategy?
Ans. I had started my preparations after I completed my graduation in 2013. I joined a 3 months’ crash course.
Q. Did you join some job along with your preparation?
Ans. I was selected for the job and my joining date was in November, 2013. I had ample time for my preparations. I scheduled my CAT exam for 10th November, 2013 (being a Sunday) as I needed good amount of time for my preparations.
Q. How did you utilize the Prep course to the optimum?
Ans. Regular study, practice, self analysis and adaptability to tricks were the main stakes for preparation. During the 3 months’ crash course, we were given sheets on each topic. Our teachers taught us tips and tricks to solve the questions in a fast and efficient manner. I solved the questions and made sure all my doubts were cleared in the class. I solved the remaining questions that day itself. On the next day of class, I started solving the study material provided to us and finished all of it as soon as possible. There were some tricks which appeared difficult at first, and the traditional methods appeared easier to me, but I made sure I solved the questions using the tricks rather than the traditional method. That helped me a lot. The tricks that teachers teach appear difficult at first, but practicing those helps you develop a faster approach of solving the questions.
Q. How did you keep yourself motivated?
Ans. This is very important. The best thing is to have peers who motivate you to do better. My friends and I used to sit and solve papers together, and compare our marks. We also compared the amount as to how much each of us has solved from the study material. This competitive streak helped me stay motivated all through those months of preparation.
Q. What were the innovative ideas that you adopted during preparation?
Ans. We used to sit together and ask each other general awareness questions from time to time to keep ourselves updated for other competitive examinations. We had brain storming sessions and tried to solve each other’s doubts. We had special whatsapp group which also included our teachers. We used to post our doubts there, and someone or the other would sort it out. This method is much easier and less time consuming.
Another important thing, however, is analyzing your papers to find out your weak points. I practiced on my weaker areas and made sure I improved my performance in my next mock test.
Q. What was the strategy in testing room to attempt the question from different sections: Quantitative Ability & DI, Verbal Ability & LR?
Ans. Quant & DI : The most important point to keep in mind is to stay calm and focused. While solving the QA & DI section, I browsed through the entire paper once. I attempted the easier questions first, and did not waste a lot of time solving the difficult ones. This helped me achieve a score of 98.23 percentile in QA&DI section. Also, if I was unable to solve a question, I did not panic. This is very important as there is a lot of stress while taking the exam, given that one exam decides the future for you.
VA & LR: For the VA&LR section, I solved the LR questions first. As LR was one of my stronger areas, it gave me confidence to solve that area first. With the VA section, there were a few vocab questions which I was not aware of. I did not mark those answers. This helped me maintain my percentile, eliminating the possibility of score reduction due to negative marking.
Q. Apart from CAT which exams did you appear? How did you prepare for them after CAT? What score did you get?
Ans. Apart from CAT, I appeared for the XAT, MAH-CET, NMAT, CMAT and prepared for them as given.
1) XAT:
I scored 95 percentile in my XAT paper. Even though my percentile for decision making was 96 and for LR was 93, my quant percentile was only 67. This happened as the quant section of XAT paper is very tough. Being busy with new job and work, I was not able to prepare well for XAT. I attempted a lot of questions from quant section, even though I was not able to solve them. I would advise the future aspirants to solve 2-3 papers of XAT and develop a fair strategy to solve the paper. It is much easier than the CAT paper, but the strategy should be right. Also, one should prepare for the essay section of the XAT paper. Aspirants are generally unaware of that section or do not pay much attention to it while preparing. It is one of the important area.
2) MAH-CET:
I scored 99.24 percentile in my CET paper. The right strategy for the preparation of CET is practicing. The paper is to be solved in 150 minutes and the number of questions is 200. There is no negative marking. Even though the questions are easy, solving them fast enough is what matters the most. I gave a lot of mock tests to prepare myself for the test. I chose to leave the difficult questions. I attempted them randomly as there was no negative marking.
3) NMAT:
I scored 209 on my NMAT paper. I took a lot of mock tests to ace myself for this exam.
4) CMAT:
I scored 233 on my CMAT paper. The most important section that needed attention was GK. As most of the other aspirants, I had a weak spot in the GK section. I browsed through a lot of online material to keep myself updated on this area.
Q. How many GDPI did you take part in?
Ans. I appeared for XIMB, new IIMs, TISS, IIT Delhi, IMI, NMIMS GDPI.
Q. Which are the institutes that offered you admission?
Ans. IMI and XIMB, awaiting new IIMs results.
Q. Which is the institute that you have decided to take admission and why?
Ans. XIMB as it is one of the top colleges for placement and has excellent faculty.
Q. What advice and tips you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2014?
Ans. Ask your doubts : I would specially like to mention this here, that due to inhibitions and fear of asking a silly doubt, many students don't ask their doubts in the class, and hence suffer. As I did not know anyone from the class, it was easier for me to clear my doubts and ask all kinds of questions that came up in my mind. This helped me develop my concepts better. My friends who were afraid to clear their doubts in class sat with the teachers outside the classroom and cleared their doubts with them. Those who didn't clear their doubts suffered later. Please clear your doubts and don’t be afraid to ask.
Q. Adopt right strategy with more practice exercises
Ans. CAT is not a difficult exam. The right strategy paired with a lot of practice will guarantee you a good percentile in the CAT examination.
Q. Your message to CAT 2014 aspirants.
Ans. CAT is not difficult, but not everyone can ace it. Do not be afraid of it. Work hard, and nothing is difficult for you to achieve.
Also Read:
CAT 2014 exam; An overview; Make the best use of remaining 180 days
CAT 2014: TCS set to replace Prometric as new CAT testing agency
Is CAT 2014 better bet than taking MBA admission now?
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