CAT 2016: My second appearance pushed score to 99.51; Vaibhav, NITIE student

An inspiration for second timers going to appear in CAT 2016, Vaibhav Gaur has set the bench mark of taking the CAT score to new heights from 97 to 99.51 with second appearance in CAT without attending any offline coaching.
A working professional himself, Vaibhav had to balance his professional duties and the study hours but made it sure not to leave any stone unturned to further improve his CAT scores from 2014 level. As a result not only he improved his score but also converted his call to top B-schools like IIMs, IIFT, MDI, NITIE among others.

MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers success stories for the benefit of CAT 2016 aspirants. Sharing his success mantra Vaibhav highlights his experience in preparation journey to CAT and modestly attempts to give the guidance to CAT 2016 aspirants

Vaibhav scored 89% in Class 10; 78.6% in class 12 and 61.7% in his graduation. Vaibhav belongs to Delhi and has a working experience for 35 months with Parametric Technology Corp. He decided to crack CAT while continuing working. He loves reading novels, playing football and watching movies.

Sharing the success mantra for CAT 2016 aspirants Vaibhav is of the view that you must take at least 30 mocks and analyse them well while preparing for the exam day.
Apart from CAT, Subham also appeared in IIFT wherein he scored 99.61 and also converted the call but he preferred NITIE.

MBAUniverse.com: What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): Starting preparation at right time is very important. I started to give mocks regularly 4 months before CAT and used to spend significant time on mock analysis. My aim was to give more than 30 mock test before appearing for CAT. I finally gave around 35 mocks. I joined test series of both CL and TIME.

MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): I had taken test gym and other materials that coaching gave with test series. Plus I studied Sarvesh K. Verma for Quant and Arun Sharma for Verbal. I was preparing regularly with these along with the test series. These material helped me to focus particularly on the parts (Para jumbles and Para completion) I was weak in.

MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): I also appeared in CAT 2014 and scored 97 percentile but my percentile in VALR was 89 only. When I decided to appear for one more time in 2015, I knew I need to work significantly on verbal part. So I started reading newspapers and novels every day. This helped in increasing my reading speed and to go through Reading comprehensions quickly. I also practiced from online material and other books.

MBAUniverse.com: How can candidates use Mock tests better? What is your advice?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): My advice would be to take mock as if you are appearing in CAT. Sit on a chair with your computer on a table in an environment with minimum disturbance. Try to complete the whole mock in one go.
Analysing each mock is very very crucial, note down the mistakes in a journal and regularly go through it. After getting CAT 2016 slot, synchronise your mocks as per your CAT slot so that your brain is a fully active in that time frame.

MBAUniverse.com: Did you go to offline coaching centre? What role does a coaching centre play?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): No, I only took test series.

MBAUniverse.com: Other than CAT, which exam did you appear?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): Apart from CAT, I appeared for IIFT. I was able to secure 99.61 in IIFT 2015.

MBAUniverse.com: Which institutes did you apply for admission?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): I applied to all the IIMs, IIFT, NITIE, MDI and FMS.

MBAUniverse.com: Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): Mine was morning slot so I went to sleep at 9 PM on day before CAT. I wanted to have a good sleep before the attempt. I took a water bottle with me to the centre that helped a lot.
Taking many mocks helped me to prioritize questions to get maximum output. Not getting emotional with a question one thinks can solve is very important.

MBAUniverse.com: Please share your GD/WAT topics & PI questions at different institutes and the ones who offered you admission?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): Tell us about yourself, Why MBA? Why this college?; Questions on GK, work experience and academics were frequently asked in almost all the B-schools.GD/WAT topics were mainly on current events like Make in India, Womens bill passed in parliament etc. and their effects and importance.

MBAUniverse.com: Which B-school you decided upon and why?
Vaibhav (CAT topper): I converted MDI, NITIE, IIFT, IIM Udaipur, Rohtak, Raipur, Kashipur. Finally, I joined NITIE because I was interested in doing MBA in operations and NITIE is one of the finest in India for Operations.
MBAUniverse.com: Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for CAT 2016.

Vaibhav (CAT topper): Practice, practice and practice regularly, take as many mocks as possible and analyse them thoroughly and work on your mistakes.
Plan ahead and set aim of how many mocks, RCs, DI and LR sets you will solve before CAT, make a schedule and stick to it.