Last Updated on September 1, 2016 by MBAUniverse.com News Desk
CAT 2016: Target TITA questions first; IIMU student & CAT topper Harshit Goswami shares success mantra
CAT 2016 may not be all about round the clock study as your extra curricular activities and sports also contribute to boost your profile and add to your chances of getting into IIM
CAT 2016 may not be all about round the clock study as your extra-curricular activities and sports also contribute to boost your profile and add to your chances of getting into IIM of your choice.
This fact is elaborated by Harshit Goswami who scored 98.01 in last year CAT. Harshit is a football fanatic, and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) enthusiast and an amateur blogger. He loves to surf the internet and learn geeky stuff.
MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers success stories for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants. Now you have a good opportunity of getting guidance and success mantra from last year CAT toppers to boost their confidence level and derive benefit from their experience during preparation journey.
In the series we present the success story of confident Harshit Goswami who not only scored high overall percentile of 98.01 in CAT 2015 but also scored high percentile of 99.09 in Quant; 93.54 in VARC and 88.78 in DILR. Harshit converted his admission call to many of the top institutes including IIMs.
Harshit made it a point to prepare well and crack CAT 2015 with a high score so that despite getting shortlisted by number of institutes, he could get the best one of his choice.
Sharing with MBAUniverse.com Harshit highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and modestly attempts to give the success mantra to the CAT 2016 aspirants
MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Harshit (CAT topper): CAT is known to be unpredictable at times and 2015 was no different. With a revamped structure- introducing a new section and sectional time constraints, it demanded restructuring in ones preparation strategy.
I believed in giving enough mocks - aligned in the same time slot in which you are supposed to get you CAT exam slot, so that when the D-day comes, you will feel as if you are giving another mock.
MBAUniverse.com: Apart from CAT, which other exams did you appear in? What were your scores?
Harshit (CAT topper): I appeared in XAT and IIFT apart from CAT. My scores in XAT was 97.88 and in IIFT it was 95.86 (raw score-48.26 missed the cut-off by 0.24). My score in CAT was - Overall-98.01; Quant -99.09; VARC -93.54 and DILR - 88.78.
MBAUniverse.com: Please share some key preparation dos & donts for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants?
Harshit (CAT topper):Dos- Mocks analysis is an indispensable part of your CAT preparation. For a three hour test, you should be devoting equal or more time analyzing your weaknesses and identifying the areas where you are good at.
Donts
Going for wild guesses is a sign of naivet. It is better to leave such questions and get 0 marks than to attempt and get them wrong for even worse -1 marks.
MBAUniverse.com: What was your strategy in testing room to attempt the questions from different sections?
Harshit (CAT topper): Since the freedom to navigate through different sections was curbed in CAT-2015, there was nothing much as a choice to begin with. I targeted TITA - Type in the Answer questions first as they did not have any negative marking and were doable in less time and this left enough time for RCs.
MBAUniverse.com: How many GDPI did you take part in? What were your GD/WAT topics?
Harshit (CAT topper): The season took off with XLRIs GD/PI in March, closely followed by MDI and new IIMs. Then I had one GD-PI at IISc Bangalore in April. Some of the GD/WAT topics were
Should international bodies like IMF, World Bank be allowed to interfere in the Indias policy making? Managerial skills learnt in the classroom can never match those learnt from experience.
Is bureaucracy a hindrance to economic reforms in India? And the GD was held on the aforesaid topics only.
MBAUniverse.com: Few questions that were asked to you during PI round?
Harshit (CAT topper): The PI usually began with asking about myself, and some questions on the subject that I would mention as my strength. They also asked some basic terminologies related to marketing as I was basically interested in marketing itself.
In one of the interviews the interviewer asked me What is your name??
I replied Harshit.
He followed What does that mean?
I- The one who makes other happy and cheerful.
He- Are you making us happy?
I promptly replied Time will tell.
He smiled.
MBAUniverse.com: The institutes that offered you admission?
Harshit (CAT topper): I was offered admission in XLRI-HR, MDI-HR(PGDM- waitlisted), IIM-Udaipur, Raipur and other newest IIMs
MBAUniverse.com: Which institute did you decide upon to take admission and why?
Harshit (CAT topper): I decided to join IIM-Udaipur. Some people might raise an eyebrow for leaving XLRI-HR but let me tell you one thing If you are very sure to choose HR as a career then it is a no brainer. In my case, I never wanted to go for HR and moreover wanted to realize my potential during my first year and then choose a specialization in the second year. While Udaipur is doing really good among new IIMs, the brand IIM alone has its own perks.
MBAUniverse.com: Any inspiring story that motivated and helped you in getting success in the exam?
Harshit (CAT topper): I lost my aunt(bua) a day before IIFTs exam and a week before CATs. I had a close bond with her and she was always worried about my studies (though I was a good student) and wanted to see me getting one of the good B-schools this year. Her loss though broke me from inside, but it never let my enthusiasm down. In fact it motivated me to fulfill my dreams with much more zeal and in a way her dreams too.
MBAUniverse.com: Your message and tips you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016
Harshit (CAT topper): Do not ever give up before you sit for CAT. The only thing that can stop you from getting the desired results is no one but you. Let the bygones be bygones, do not let the bad performance in one test affect your preparation.
MBAUniverse.com: Thanks Harshit for sharing such a valuable guidance for CAT 2016 aspirants
Harshit (CAT topper): Thank you very much
Related Article
CAT 2016: Convener changes the Eligibility criteria; allows short duration bachelors degree
CAT 2016: Registration confusion; how to convert CGPA & letter grades to percentage - experts clarify
CAT 2016: IIM Calcutta slashes CAT score weight to 30%; admission criteria raise WAT & PI weight to 58%
CAT 2016: Dont study everything from beginning; CAT Topper 100 Percentiler & IIMA student-Pranjal
CAT 2016: Preparation Plan for 100 days, how to use 72 hrs of Independence Day
CAT 2016 Registration: FAQs from students answered by experts
CAT 2016: IIM Calcutta awards No weightage to bachelors degree but increases it to 40% up to Class 12 marks
CAT 2016: Dig out everything from last CAT Exam; will be a concrete step towards club 99
CAT Data Interpretation: Expect 4 Questions on charts; how to approach in CAT 2016
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success mantra stories and CAT 2016 preparation tips from toppers
This fact is elaborated by Harshit Goswami who scored 98.01 in last year CAT. Harshit is a football fanatic, and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) enthusiast and an amateur blogger. He loves to surf the internet and learn geeky stuff.
MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers success stories for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants. Now you have a good opportunity of getting guidance and success mantra from last year CAT toppers to boost their confidence level and derive benefit from their experience during preparation journey.
In the series we present the success story of confident Harshit Goswami who not only scored high overall percentile of 98.01 in CAT 2015 but also scored high percentile of 99.09 in Quant; 93.54 in VARC and 88.78 in DILR. Harshit converted his admission call to many of the top institutes including IIMs.
Harshit made it a point to prepare well and crack CAT 2015 with a high score so that despite getting shortlisted by number of institutes, he could get the best one of his choice.
Sharing with MBAUniverse.com Harshit highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and modestly attempts to give the success mantra to the CAT 2016 aspirants
MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Harshit (CAT topper): CAT is known to be unpredictable at times and 2015 was no different. With a revamped structure- introducing a new section and sectional time constraints, it demanded restructuring in ones preparation strategy.
I believed in giving enough mocks - aligned in the same time slot in which you are supposed to get you CAT exam slot, so that when the D-day comes, you will feel as if you are giving another mock.
MBAUniverse.com: Apart from CAT, which other exams did you appear in? What were your scores?
Harshit (CAT topper): I appeared in XAT and IIFT apart from CAT. My scores in XAT was 97.88 and in IIFT it was 95.86 (raw score-48.26 missed the cut-off by 0.24). My score in CAT was - Overall-98.01; Quant -99.09; VARC -93.54 and DILR - 88.78.
MBAUniverse.com: Please share some key preparation dos & donts for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants?
Harshit (CAT topper):Dos- Mocks analysis is an indispensable part of your CAT preparation. For a three hour test, you should be devoting equal or more time analyzing your weaknesses and identifying the areas where you are good at.
Donts
Going for wild guesses is a sign of naivet. It is better to leave such questions and get 0 marks than to attempt and get them wrong for even worse -1 marks.
MBAUniverse.com: What was your strategy in testing room to attempt the questions from different sections?
Harshit (CAT topper): Since the freedom to navigate through different sections was curbed in CAT-2015, there was nothing much as a choice to begin with. I targeted TITA - Type in the Answer questions first as they did not have any negative marking and were doable in less time and this left enough time for RCs.
MBAUniverse.com: How many GDPI did you take part in? What were your GD/WAT topics?
Harshit (CAT topper): The season took off with XLRIs GD/PI in March, closely followed by MDI and new IIMs. Then I had one GD-PI at IISc Bangalore in April. Some of the GD/WAT topics were
Should international bodies like IMF, World Bank be allowed to interfere in the Indias policy making? Managerial skills learnt in the classroom can never match those learnt from experience.
Is bureaucracy a hindrance to economic reforms in India? And the GD was held on the aforesaid topics only.
MBAUniverse.com: Few questions that were asked to you during PI round?
Harshit (CAT topper): The PI usually began with asking about myself, and some questions on the subject that I would mention as my strength. They also asked some basic terminologies related to marketing as I was basically interested in marketing itself.
In one of the interviews the interviewer asked me What is your name??
I replied Harshit.
He followed What does that mean?
I- The one who makes other happy and cheerful.
He- Are you making us happy?
I promptly replied Time will tell.
He smiled.
MBAUniverse.com: The institutes that offered you admission?
Harshit (CAT topper): I was offered admission in XLRI-HR, MDI-HR(PGDM- waitlisted), IIM-Udaipur, Raipur and other newest IIMs
MBAUniverse.com: Which institute did you decide upon to take admission and why?
Harshit (CAT topper): I decided to join IIM-Udaipur. Some people might raise an eyebrow for leaving XLRI-HR but let me tell you one thing If you are very sure to choose HR as a career then it is a no brainer. In my case, I never wanted to go for HR and moreover wanted to realize my potential during my first year and then choose a specialization in the second year. While Udaipur is doing really good among new IIMs, the brand IIM alone has its own perks.
MBAUniverse.com: Any inspiring story that motivated and helped you in getting success in the exam?
Harshit (CAT topper): I lost my aunt(bua) a day before IIFTs exam and a week before CATs. I had a close bond with her and she was always worried about my studies (though I was a good student) and wanted to see me getting one of the good B-schools this year. Her loss though broke me from inside, but it never let my enthusiasm down. In fact it motivated me to fulfill my dreams with much more zeal and in a way her dreams too.
MBAUniverse.com: Your message and tips you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016
Harshit (CAT topper): Do not ever give up before you sit for CAT. The only thing that can stop you from getting the desired results is no one but you. Let the bygones be bygones, do not let the bad performance in one test affect your preparation.
MBAUniverse.com: Thanks Harshit for sharing such a valuable guidance for CAT 2016 aspirants
Harshit (CAT topper): Thank you very much
Related Article
CAT 2016: Convener changes the Eligibility criteria; allows short duration bachelors degree
CAT 2016: Registration confusion; how to convert CGPA & letter grades to percentage - experts clarify
CAT 2016: IIM Calcutta slashes CAT score weight to 30%; admission criteria raise WAT & PI weight to 58%
CAT 2016: Dont study everything from beginning; CAT Topper 100 Percentiler & IIMA student-Pranjal
CAT 2016: Preparation Plan for 100 days, how to use 72 hrs of Independence Day
CAT 2016 Registration: FAQs from students answered by experts
CAT 2016: IIM Calcutta awards No weightage to bachelors degree but increases it to 40% up to Class 12 marks
CAT 2016: Dig out everything from last CAT Exam; will be a concrete step towards club 99
CAT Data Interpretation: Expect 4 Questions on charts; how to approach in CAT 2016
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more success mantra stories and CAT 2016 preparation tips from toppers