CAT Toppers 2024 List: Check Toppers Name, Score & Percentile
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Shivam Shrivastava
Exam score : 99.75 percentileA B.Tech in Textile Technology from IIT Delhi, Shivam cracked CAT 2017 with 99.75 percentile. Before joining IIM Calcutta, Shivam has worked with a professor, on a business idea, from the atmospheric sciences department at IIT Delhi. Later, worked at Geo Miller, an EPC firm, in the Mechanical department as an engineer.
Shivam belongs to Delhi. His father is a Cardiologist, currently practicing in Delhi at Max Hospital, Saket and mother is a house maker
Q. What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT? `
A. My strategy for CAT preparation was plain and simple, acing the mock tests and doing whatever might be required in achieving that. The first thing I thought of doing was figuring out my strengths and weaknesses. The best way to do that, in my opinion, was to take a mock test and try to understand my position on the preparation ladder and I did exactly that.
The test obviously didn't go well at all since I was completely new to this, but I got a vague idea about what all I need to put my hard work in. Thereafter, I bought some reputed study material and started solving problems from a wide array of topics from each section, to give myself a feel of what all I can be tested on. Time to time, I increased the difficulty level of the problems I was dealing with. While doing all this, I made sure I never missed a single mock test, and I also took some timed basic sectional tests online to keep myself out of the comfort zone of untimed problem solving. Even at work, if I got a break for lunch, I would make sure to complete at least one half-hour sectional test to keep my momentum going. This also helped me unwind from office stress.
Slowly but steadily I saw improvements in my mock test scores but I made sure to not get overconfident and worked even harder thereafter. I analysed each question, including the ones I got correct, from every mock test. This helped me build strategies on how to get more answers correct, and solve the correct ones a bit faster. All of this helped me make sure, that my CAT examination day was just like any other test day, wherein I focussed on my core strategies and kept my nerves calm.
Q. Please share your sectional preparation strategy for VARC in CAT
A. The first and foremost thing I did in VARC was reading. By reading I mean reading any article on any topic that I could get my hands on to. I realised what CAT is trying to test us on is not just our English language but rather our understanding of varied topics and the way we are able to comprehend and interpret new readings from all domains such as philosophy, economics, art, history and science among others. I used to read newspapers, editorials, magazines and other types of non fiction material. I did this from the very beginning and in a few months I could see improvements in my VARC scores. I also solved a lot of sectional tests, especially in the reading comprehension part, to increase my speed. Overall, I tried keeping myself calm before each mock, so that there aren't too many thoughts in my mind that may end up dragging my attention away from the RC sets, which happens with a lot of test takers.
Q. What was your preparation strategy for Quantitative Ability (QA) section?
A. Quant was more on the stronger side for me as compared to the other two sections. But that doesn't mean I took it lightly, at all. I made sure to complete all the topic problems from my study material but I did all of them timed. This helped me boost my performance further in quant, which gave the most crucial jump to my overall CAT score in the final examination. Thus, in a way, I worked hard on my weaknesses, but harder on my strengths.
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Q. How did you prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)?
A. DILR is the most tricky and unpredictable section in CAT. No one can ever know what kinds of new problem sets are going to appear in this year's exam. Therefore, what I thought of doing is setting quantitative goals in this section. I thought of completing 200-250 varied problem sets by the time my preparation was complete. And I analysed more and more papers, sometimes the same questions twice, to see the differences in my approach towards the set versus the expert solution, given along the tests. This helped me understand how to go about solving any kind of problem set I might come across.
Q. Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A. Yes, I was relatively weak in the DILR section, reason being that I was relatively new to such questions. Initially I had extremely low scores in this section. It was a little demoralising at first, but then I consulted some of my friends who had taken CAT the last year, and they said that a similar thing happened with them as well. This motivated me to work harder and harder in this section. I made sure that I solved DILR sets on a daily basis and gave this section double the amount of time as compared to the other sections. I analysed the solutions to each set and kept improvising my strategy for these sets. After a couple of tests I could see improvement in my accuracy level in the DILR section. I made it a point to read all questions carefully, thereby avoiding any careless errors that might cost me the whole four question set, and lead to negative marking. While analysing, I made sure not to leave out the tougher problems, which many students do as they feel they don't need to attempt them. But as we can't predict the difficulty level that we might have to face, it is best to be fully prepared. By the time CAT came closer, I was feeling more confident in this area.
Q. What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
A. I feel like mock tests are the most important in one's CAT preparation journey. Firstly, these mock tests are the only way to give ourselves an almost real-like CAT taking experience, provided we take them seriously. When we give an invigilated mock test it helps simulating the actual examination hall scenario, thereby enabling us to get accustomed to it. It definitely helped me on the final day because I was calm and composed before starting the test. Secondly, mock tests give us a chance to try all types of strategies that may occur to us. This helps us in optimising the basics such as how many questions to attempt and which ones to avoid. Finally these tests are in themselves a form of study material. As we are exposed to a hundred new questions in every test, it amounts to more than two thousand total questions, if we consider the average number of tests taken by a serious aspirant. Thus, students who are good with the basic concepts of all sections or others who are repeating CAT, may not need any material other than the mock tests. I attempted about 22 full mocks before the final exam, but I spaced them out evenly so as to give myself some time and scope for improvement. Other than these I took about 20-30 sectional mocks of varying difficulty levels in each domain. I think these should suffice for most aspirants, but others may to need to vary these numbers according to their preparation levels. `
Q. Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
A: I joined a coaching centre close to my house to help me with my CAT preparation. One of the main reasons I did this was to get some regularity in my studies. As I was working, my classes were scheduled on the weekends mostly. This helped me stay in the preparation zone week after week and did not let me slip away. Also, these classes help you understand where you stand among other students that might be preparing for the same exams. If someone is falling behind, they can take inspiration from other students and try to work harder, instead of getting demoralised. And if someone is in front, they can be more confident towards their results in the final exam. I benefited a lot in both ways. Also, if I had any doubts in any areas I could consult the faculty on how to approach those areas. Though everyone might not like classroom coaching as much and may want to prepare at their own pace, but I personally found it quite beneficial.
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Akhil Garg
Exam score : 99.73 percentilePutting a positive note to inspire CAT 2017 aspirants in their preparation journey, CAT topper with 99.73 percentile and IIM Ahmedabad student of PGP 2017-19 batch, Akhil Garg shares his experience on CAT preparation journey which he completed with self preparation. He suggests to improve on your weak areas and monitor the improvement regularly.
One of the key facts about the preparation for CAT by Akhil is that he never went to any regular offline coaching institute to prepare for the exam. However, he suggests to take as many Mocks during your CAT 2017 preparation but emphasizes that without due analysis of Mock, attempting a mock test may not be useful.
Akhil Garg has done B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. He is a fresher and got IIM Ahmedabad without any work experience. Akhil belongs to Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). His father is Senior Manager in THDC Pvt Ltd and mother is a home maker. His interests include playing Table Tennis, watching TV Series and reading novels.
Determined to crack CAT with high percentile, Akhil appeared only in CAT exam and did not apply to any other B-school apart from IIMs. With his right preparation strategy and well devised plan, he scored 99.73 percentile.
My exam prep strategy, experience & Advice:
For the benefit of MBA aspirants, MBAUniverse.com asked Akhil Garg about his preparation strategy and advice to do well in MBA entrance exams. Details follow:
MBAUniverse.com:What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Akhil (CAT topper): My main preparation strategy was regular practice. I regularly solved questions of each section with time limit, and also gave mocks at least once a week.MBAUniverse.com: How did you prepare for each section QA, VARC & DILR? What study materials and books did you use?
Akhil (CAT topper): VARC and LRDI section in CAT do not require any specific theoretical understanding, and having a mathematics background I was fairly familiar with the concepts needed for Quant Section. However, I did do some separate preparation for VARC and DI. I wrote down whatever new words I encountered after reading at least 5-6 newspaper articles every day and for DI, I practiced approximation techniques for quick calculations.MBAUniverse.com: Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Akhil (CAT topper): I was relatively weak at VARC. Hence, I focused a lot on reading different articles and novels, conversing in English with friends and even watching English TV series and movies.MBAUniverse.com: How can candidates use Mock tests better? What is your advice?
Akhil (CAT topper): Mocks are not useful until you thoroughly analyse your performance afterwards, understanding where and why you went wrong so that you know which areas to work upon. Identify your weak areas, plan your strategies and monitor your improvement through future mocks.MBAUniverse.com: Did you go to offline coaching centre? What role does a coaching centre play?
Akhil (CAT topper): No, I did not go to any offline coaching centre and preferred to adhere to self-preparation strategy.MBAUniverse.com: Other than CAT, which exam did you appear?
Akhil (CAT topper): I appeared only for CAT examination.MBAUniverse.com: Which institutes did you apply for admission?
Akhil (CAT topper): IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode and IndoreMBAUniverse.com: Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
Akhil (CAT topper): For the most part I chilled out the day before CAT examination, just revising some shortcut formulas for Quant section and vocab words for VARC section. Based on mocks, I had planned which questions I would attempt first and how much time I would spend before moving on to next questions. -
Siddharth Srivastava
Exam score : 99.64 percentileAn inspiration to working professionals preparing for IIM-CAT, Siddharth has earned 3 years of working experience before cracking CAT 2017 with 99.64 percentile and got admission in IIM Calcutta. With a civil engineering background, Siddharth continued his quest for excellence in CAT preparation, although he had scored 99.27 percentile in his 1st attempt in 2014.
Siddharth belongs to a modest family with a mix of business, academic and banking environment. He worked for 3 years at Uber but continued his CAT preparation.
Q. What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
A. This was my fourth attempt at CAT, having scored 99%ile in multiple past attempts, I realised that I only needed to get test practice in order and I shall be ready. I attempted almost 40+ mock tests, relying on test series of most major CAT coaching institutes. Maintaining my temperament in the exam is absolutely critical for me and by exhaustive mock tests I ensured that I was doubly prepared for CAT. `
Q. Please share your sectional preparation strategy for VARC in CAT
A. I have found VARC to be the easiest section and I tried to max out my marks here. I also tried to finish the section early in mocks and get a small break which allows me to clear my head for the subsequent sections
Q. How did you prepare for Quantitative Ability (QA) Section?
A. My preparation strategy here used to be attempting 34 questions in 40-45 mins by artificially limiting the section duration. The idea was to build speed and also buy time for some questions which I would not be able to crack in the first attempt
Q. What was your Preparation Strategy for DILR?
A. This was the toughest section for me, and I approached it with the ‘Easy first, Medium difficulty next, tough questions last’ approach where I would kill the easy LR and DI sets first and then progressively move ahead. This was very different from Quant and VARC where I was comfortable enough to move around sequentially
Q. Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A. I was weak at LR despite spending countless hours of preparation. I would employ multiple tactics like option elimination, multiple attempts at the difficult sets after finishing off the paper to ensure I scored reasonably enough to clear cut offs
Q. What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
A. Immense. All my practice and results were down to Mocks ONLY. This year due to personal commitments I could not attempt more than 40 odd mocks but in the previous 3 attempts I had attempted 80-100 mocks each year
Q. Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
A. I Self-prepared. I found Coaching adding very little value except to those who need some
Level of discipline instilled.
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Abhishek Kumar Pandey
Exam score : 99.63 percentileAn inspiration to CAT 2018 aspirants, Abhishek Kumar Pandey has scored 99.63 percentile in CAT 2017. He is offered admission at IIM Calcutta. For the benefit of CAT 2018 aspirants, MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers’ success stories alongwith their success mantra that led them to crack CAT with high percentile. In the series we present the success story and CAT preparation journey shared by Abhishek Kumar Pandey:
MBAUniverse: What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
Abhishek: Because of my background, my basics were already clear and therefore I didn’t enrol for any classroom program for CAT ‘17. For improvement, I wrote ~15 all India Mock Tests of a few coaching institutes. I analysed them thoroughly to learn from my mistakes. RC & QA were my key area of strengths, so I tried to capitalize on them by attempting maximum with decent accuracy.
MBAUniverse: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for CAT? How did you prepare for each section?
Abhishek:
- VARC: I never prepared specifically for this section. I have had a habit of reading the Hindu newspaper for past 3 years, because of which my reading speed had improved. Also, since it covered almost all genres of texts, RCs of the mocks and eventually the exam became relatively easier to solve. I suppose this was something that helped me in the VARC section
- Quant: My background played a major role here. Because of the basics being already clear, my focus was on giving as many mocks as possible and keep a track of all the tricks I found from the solutions. Besides, I also tried to increase my speed and skip the questions that I found difficult.
- DILR: This section has been my Achilles heel (as evident from my CAT performance as well). The key to acing this section, according to me, was the right selection of sets. I would suggest practicing as many varieties of sets as possible and evolve one’s own strategy for this section.
MBAUniverse: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Abhishek: I was weak at the LRDI section. I tried to improve by solving as many varieties of LRs and DIs as possible and identify the kind of sets at which I was good. This strategy helped in improving my mock scores. However, due to CAT ’17 being quite different and tough in LRDI section this year, my actual exam performance wasn’t as per the expectations.
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Rohan Joshi
Exam score : 99.63 percentileRohan Joshi, a working professional cracked CAT 2017 with 99.63 percentile. He has been offered admission by IIM Lucknow, MDI Gurgaon but wants to join JBIMS Mumbai for which Admission Process was started on June 7, 2018 and the first CAP 2018 Round is scheduled on June 21. Rohan is confident to get JBIMS, Mumbai as he has scored high percentile of 99.96 in MH CET 2018 and 99.63 in CAT 2017. Both the exam scores are acceptable in JBIMS, Mumbai and Rohan is confident to get admission in JBIMS with such a high percentile.
For the benefit of CAT 2018 aspirants, MBAUniverse.com has brought a round of CAT toppers’ success stories alongwith their success mantra that led them to crack CAT with high percentile. In the series we present the success story and CAT preparation journey shared by Rohan Joshi:
MBAUniverse: What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
Rohan Joshi: My main strategy was to learn through mocks. I used mocks to find my weaknesses, strengths. I practiced basics of my weak areas, gave some topic tests and moved on with full length mocks. This helped me gauge my preparation level and improve on a continuous basis.
MBAUniverse: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for CAT? How did you prepare for each Section
Rohan Joshi: VARC: This section was most challenging for me and my motive was to just clear the sectional cutoff. I gave many specific topic tests for RC’s and almost all sectionals for Verbal.
- Quant: I started with solving basic questions and slowly moved on to higher difficulty levels as my preparation advanced.
- DILR: CAT is known to ask trickiest questions in this section. I regularly solved different puzzles and Sudoku’s to enhance my logical thinking ability. Gave many sectionals to test my preparation.
MBAUniverse: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
Rohan Joshi: Verbal ability was the section where I was consistently scoring less. To overcome my weakness I practiced solving lots of RC’s which has significant weightage in the VA section.
MBAUniverse: Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
Rohan joshi: I didn’t attend any coaching for my preparations as I feel enough resources are available to get oneself prepared for CAT. But the test series by coaching institutes are a must.
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Ketki Gupta
Exam score : 99.58 percentileKetki Gupta has scored 99.58 percentile in CAT 2016. Breaking the myth that only engineers are better placed in IIMs’ Common Admission Test, Ketki Gupta, 3rd year Economics (Hons) student of Lady Shri Ram College for Women – Delhi University cracked CAT 2016 with 99.58 percentile. Ketki got her dream B-schools IIM Ahmedabad. Ketki was shortlisted by all the top IIMs for Writing Ability test and Personal Interview round on the basis of her CAT 2016 score, academic profile and diversity, gender diversity among other key parameters
Began preparation in 2015
According to Ketki “I started preparing for the IIMs' Common Admission Test (CAT) from October 2015. This helped me to achieve the 99.58 percentile in CAT 2016.”
Always aspired to become a business leader
An MBA is a natural choice of Ketki as she always wanted to become a business leader. This belief got further strengthened during her preparation for CAT 2016. At the age when kids are busy in routine plays and games, Ketki at 10 years of age, googled “Best business school in the world”
Coaching strengthened the ambition
Ketki is of the view ‘through these years of coaching, my belief in my ambition has been strengthened.’ She adds ‘With professional coaching, I found an opportunity to learn from IIM alumni and study in a collaborative yet competitive environment.’
Ketki searched for best fit coaching institute. An optimum faculty student ratio, to the point study material, regular teacher performance evaluation were the key parameters to choose the right coaching institute. Ketki needed an institute which could deliver the content in short with to-the point lectures as well as online service providing practice questions, mock papers, performance evaluators, a teacher-review section, an accurate prediction of CAT percentiles, additional material among others.
Success Mantra: Discipline and Mocks
The most important factor that determines test success according to Ketki, is discipline. Ketki followed no particular routine. Initially, Ketki’s daily schedule included reading new concepts and completing the worksheets. Then, as months went by, it became more about taking mock tests, analysing them, and marking important questions that she wanted to look at again.
Closer to CAT, Ketki started revising these questions. Mock sessions helped her to understand the weak points, improve performance, and predict scores. Ketki says “I remember telling my parents after the actual test that it was like a mock test.”
Ketki shares that one's attitude is even more important. When stepping into the test centre, you should be confident that these three hours will change your life.
Sharing the ups and downs during her preparation journey, Ketki says “All I needed was a disciplined routine to practise. However, this period has been a roller-coaster ride. There were days when I felt low and unsure of my chances or when I could not study well and did not know what to do. At such times, I needed a mentor who could not only motivate me but also guide me through difficulties.”
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Palash Jhawar
Exam score : 99.51 percentilePalash is a fresher with B.Tech in Computer Science from SRM University, Chennai. He scored 99.51 percentile in CAT 2018 and converted call to MDI Gurgaon.
Palash belongs to Surat in Gujarat. His father is a Chartered Accountant and mother is a teacher in secondary school.
Q. What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
A. I had opted for a number of online platforms for self-preparation. I had started my preparation in a very unconventional method, I attempted a few mock tests. But, this approach gave me the current standing in all the sections. I realized that I needed to first revise all the concepts, fuzzy since the school days and then dramatically increase my speed of solving questions by practicing, a lot. So, I spent the months of July and August learning and memorizing all the key concepts and types of questions. Then, the last three months, I practiced almost 8-10 hours daily, spread equally throughout the sections and gave a mock test every Sunday and analysed it the next day. This analysis formed the practice plan for the next week, and I continued this rhythm till the D-day.
Q. Please share your preparation strategy for VARC Section in CAT
A. Being an avid reader, the RCs didn’t trouble me as much. I faced the major difficulty in the parajumbles. I couldn’t get a single PJs right in the first few attempts, but slowly I got the hang of it. The key is to practice, a lot. I also read business newspapers and analysed the structure of the articles to form summaries. This helps in both RCs and PJs.
Q. How did you prepare for Quantitative Ability (QA) in CAT?
A. No shortcut here. I just practiced a lot of questions from the book on QA by Sarvesh Verma. I mastered the topics, one by one, and revisited topics occasionally to be in touch. I also had a list of 3-4 topics which I was not particularly good at, so I spent more time and effort on them. It is advisable to keep in mind the weightage of each topic and then proceed with the preparation.
Q. What was your preparation strategy for DILR Section?
A. The trickiest and unpredictable section of the exam. But, I didn’t particularly have extra trouble here. I practiced from Question Bank from Cracku and joined the Learnquest classes as well for better techniques to solve these questions in minimal time.
Q. Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A. I was weak in QA in the beginning of my preparation. To overcome that I set practice goals of about 50 questions a day from QA to improve my accuracy and efficiency. I attempted topic wise tests to identify my weak seat of topics and revised their concepts to increase my accuracy in them too.
Q. What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
A. Mock tests have played the greatest part in my success in CAT’17. I had attempted about 30-40 full length mock tests and 50 sectional tests before the D-day, which helped me identify the weak areas and created a superb practice and strategy for when I actually attempted the exam.
Q. Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
A. Given my pre-existing hectic schedule in the 6th semester of my engineering, I decided to prepare for CAT 2017 without attending any regular coaching classroom program. Instead I opted for a number of online platforms for self-preparation.
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Sakshat Goel
Exam score : 99.21 percentileA Telecommunication Engineer from PESIT Bangalore with work experience of 14 months as Market Analyst at Futures First, Sakshat Goel scored 99.21 percentile in CAT 2018. He was offered admission by IIM Shillong, New IIMs, MDI Gurgaon but he chose to join SPJIMR Mumbai.
MBAUniverse recently interviewed Sakshat to find out more about Sakshat’s CAT preparation journey. Edited excerpts of the interview follow:
MBAUniverse: Which year did you take CAT? What was your overall and sectional score?
Sakshat: I appeared in CAT 2018. My overall score was 99.21 percentile and sectional percentile for VA was 95.15, for LR/DI was 99.66 and for QM it was 97.45MBAUniverse: Tell us briefly about your preparation strategy that helped you crack CAT.
Sakshat: My preparation strategy focussed on taking mock examinations on a regular basis to analyse the weak areas and improve accuracy.MBAUniverse: Apart from SPJIMR, which were the B-schools you were shortlisted at?
Sakshat: I was shortlisted for MDI Gurgaon, IIM Shillong, IIM Kozhikode and New IIMS.MBAUniverse: How did you prepare for GD-PI round?
Sakshat: I read newspaper on a regular basis, undertook mock GD and practice interview rounds.MBAUniverse: Which B-schools did you convert for admissions?
Sakshat: Apart from SPJIMR, I finally converted MDI Gurgaon, IIM Shillong and New IIMS.MBAUniverse: Why did you choose SPJIMR over other top B-schools?
Sakshat: I chose SPJIMR because it has a few unique strengths. SPJIMR has unique pedagogy with Non classroom learning programs like Abhyudaya and DOCC, Value Based Program. There is a strong location advantage – Mumbai being Financial Hub.MBAUniverse: Tell us about your SPJIMR Experience.
Sakshat: The journey in SPJIMR till date is the high point for me. The constant learning through interaction with diverse people is very enriching. Professors provides me an opportunity to develop holistically.MBAUniverse: Your message to MBA Aspirants who are currently preparing for CAT/XAT?
Sakshat: My message to MBA Aspirants will be to channelize all their energies towards CAT preparation. Work on time management skills and try giving as many mock exams as possible. -
Adarsh Srivastava
Exam score : 98.99 percentileAdarsh scored 98.99 percentile in CAT 2017 and has joined MDI Gurgaon as the student of 2018-20 batch. A student of NIT Kurukshetra(Electronics and Communication Engineering), Adarsh has earned 11 months work experience at EXL services, Gurugram.
Adarsh lives in a joint family. His father works in Private Service and his mother is a homemaker.
Q. What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
A. I started my preparation from July. Since, I also did job along with preparation, so I used to give 5-6 hours during weekends and 1-2 in weekdays. I gave 2 mocks each week and then giving whole day for analysing that. I also wrote some shortcuts which would be helpful in future. And in other days, when I didn’t give mocks, I gave sectional tests, or solve questions of a particular section from Study MaterialsQ. Please share your preparation strategy for VARC section in CAT
A. Every day I targeted at least one RC since the proportion of RC is maximum. And once a week, I practiced para jumbles, Odd one out
Q. How did you prepare for Quantitative Ability (QA) section in CAT?
A. I had prepared my own quant formulas sheet. So, I used to update it whenever I came across any shortcuts or innovative solution. And since it was my strongest section, I used to solve questions whenever I got free time even during office hours
Q. What was your preparation strategy for DILR Section?
A. This section requires lots of patience. I used to take at least 10 mins to solve a set. My focus was to solve the entire set initially. I watched video solutions of the sets and look for the approach for different types of sets
Q. Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A. My weakest section was VARC. I never got confidence whenever I attempted RC questions. My accuracy was very low. So, to improve I started solving at least one RC each day of different topics just to get aware of how to approach different topics. Also, I joined online course for English to improve my performace and gradually the accuracy started to increase.
Q. What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
A. Mocks play an integral role in any aspirant’s preparation. Firstly, it helped me to revise the concepts and that too in a virtual exam like setup. It tested all my 3 sections and how I handle each section. It also tested my patience for 3 hours. By analysing it, I got to know about my weak and strong areas. And most importantly, it made me familiar with the style of the actual exam. I gave around 30-40 mocks before CAT exam.
Q. Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
A. I took Test Series of IMS and BullsEye and took English online course by Iquanta. I did self-preparation because I was very thorough with the topics. I just needed to improve upon my current skills. As I was weak in VARC section, hence I opted for online course. Attending a coaching centre was according to me time wasting because the p[ace with which they teach is slow for a person who has already given CAT earlier and know some topics.
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Tushar Goel
Exam score : 98.89 percentileTushar Goel scored 98.89 percentile in CAT 2018. He was shortlisted and was offered admission by all the new IIMs, SJMSOM-IITB, MDI, NMIMS apart from SPJIMR Mumbai. However, he preferred to join SPJIMR instead of any IIM or other B-school.
MBAUniverse.com spoke to Tushar to understand his CAT preparation strategy and if he is happy with his decision to join SPJIMR over IIMs.
MBAUniverse: What was your overall and sectional score in CAT 2018?
Tushar: I took CAT in the year 2018. My overall percentile was 98.89 and sectional percentile for VARC was 98.25%, for DILR it was 92.22%, and for QA it was 98.6%MBAUniverse: Tell us briefly about your preparation strategy that helped you crack CAT
Tushar: I joined T.I.M.E. classroom course since I lacked the motivation to prepare on my own. I used to go to classes and work on weekdays. I subscribed to IMS mock tests and I gave 1 AIMCAT and 1 SIMCAT on weekends. Analyzing the mocks mostly helped me in cracking CAT.MBAUniverse: Apart from SPJIMR, which were the B-schools you were shortlisted at?
Tushar: I was shortlisted for IIFT, SJMSOM-IITB, MDI, NITIE, SIBM-P, NMIMS, IIM-Shillong, all the new IIM’s under Common Admissions Process (CAP).MBAUniverse: How did you prepare for GD-PI round?
Tushar: I read the newspapers regularly so as to get acquainted with the recent happenings. Also, I gave mock GDs and PIs with T.I.M.E. and IMS.MBAUniverse: Which B-schools did you finally convert for final admissions?
Tushar: I converted SJMSOM-IITB, MDI, NMIMS, All the new IIMs under Common Admissions Process (CAP) with SPJIMR.MBAUniverse: Why did you choose SPJIMR over other top B-schools?
Tushar: Information management is a niche specialisation offered at SPJIMR which was relevant to my work experience. Besides, SPJIMR has a small batch size and Mumbai location advantage, has unique pedagogy. SPJIMR focuses on holistic development of students rather than focus on just academics.MBAUniverse: Tell us about your SPJIMR Experience: What have been the high points?
Tushar: I like how the subjects are taught. It is easy for everyone to understand the concepts. The batch bonding is amazing. I never had to eat alone in the mess. Everyone is very talented in one or the other field. There is a lot of peer learning.MBAUniverse: What are your key achievements so far?
Tushar: SPJIMR gave me the platform to give the first public speech of my life. I also sang a song on stage for the first time in my life. These are big achievements to me.MBAUniverse: How is SPJIMR unique?
Tushar: The admission process is very unique. SPJIMR takes people by looking at their overall profile and not just their CAT scores. They also look for individuals with strong value system. This is reflected in the overall batch camaraderie.Initiatives like Abhyudaya (mentoring of under-privileged kids) and DoCC (Development of Corporate Citizenship, internship with an NGO) helps us become socially sensitive. SPJIMR focuses a lot on our mental health. Course like People & Performance, Journey to self-mastery, Yoga help in making a stress-free environment.
The whole batch travels to US under GFT program (Global Fast Track) for 3 weeks to study. There is a lot of focus on global relevance.
MBAUniverse: What are your Career Ambitions & how is SPJIMR helping you prepare for it?
Tushar: I would like to take up product management role with a leading company in E-commerce or IT segment. SPJIMR helps in teaching the relevant subjects. It helps in increasing my confidence by pushing me to explore more and more. They are very considerate in my mental well-being. The open door policy has helped me in reaching out to anyone or everyone whenever I am concerned about something.MBAUniverse: Your message to MBA Aspirants who are currently preparing for CAT/XAT?
Tushar: My message to aspirants is that you must understand what you want from the MBA program, then see what various B-schools have to offer to you. Then pick a B-school as per your career fulfilment. Batch strength and location really matter. Make your choice considering these factors. Lastly, listen to your heart. Most of the times it has the courage to take you to the right path.
