Toppers Mantra: Know success strategies of 99.35%iler Sumedha Deogharia

Ms Sumedha Deogharia scored 99.35%ile in CAT 2012. Presently a student of 2013-15 PGDIM batch of NITIE, Mumbai, Ms Deogharia shares her success mantras on cracking CAT. In this exclusive session with MBAUniverse.com, the alumni of DAV Shyamali, Ranchi and Jadavpur University Kolkata, talks on the challenges she faced while preparing for CAT and which part of her preparation helped her score high percentile in CAT and secure admission to the top B-school like NITIE.

She also talks on her GD/PI strategy, weekly study plans and what she finds as the best part of doing an MBA.

What was the toughest & easiest section for you in CAT? Why?
For me the toughest part was solving the DI questions. I could attempt only 1 out of the 3 problems. This was due to the fact that the DI questions needed a lot of calculation in a short span of time. A lot more practice on mental calculation and vedic mathematics could have helped me solve the problem.

I found the QA section really easy which had simple formula based calculations. As a result of which, I was able to attempt all the questions in that section. It was only because of a good accuracy in this section that my percentile shot up to an overall of 99.35.

What was your strategy to handle difficult parts?
First of all, I glanced through all the questions quickly. I knew that there was no individual cut-off for QA & DI separately. So, when I found out that the DI questions were difficult and needed rigorous calculations, I thought of doing them in the last. First, I solved all the questions in the QA section and then started with the DI questions where I was successful in solving one out of them.

How did you manage your weekly study schedule? What should be the ideal duration for study every week?
I attended my coaching centre regularly in the evenings. As I am a fresher, I used to study for two hours in the morning. I used to study for another 2 hours after college. A total of 5-6 hours of effective study per day would do the magic!! I used to take a day off and enjoy myself during the weekends so that I could start the next week with renewed energy.

Please mention one preparation area which influenced your selection to this Top B-school heavily. How?
Since NITIE only takes engineers, I already knew they would harp at my technical knowledge. So, I had prepared all my subjects very well. And as expected, the professors in the panel chose a random subject from each of the semesters and started throwing questions one after the other, all of which I was able to answer. It was only because of my thorough preparation that I was able to get through NITIE.
What was your long-term preparation strategy for GD/PI

The 5 points that I kept in mind as an effective GD/PI strategy are:
1. Be thorough with the current affairs and read newspapers daily
2. Participate in GDs regularly in your coaching classes.
3. Watch videos of prior GD-PI workshops conducted by your coaching classes
4. Make sure that you appear for at least three mock PIs
5. Read as much as you can from internet, magazines, books and television.

What was your biggest mistake during selection process beginning with CAT?
The biggest mistake that I had committed was that I had not given much importance to the HR questions and did not prepare for them. Most of the B-Schools access the candidates on the interpersonal and management front by asking a lot of HR questions during the personal interviews. It helps them to identify the kind of person you are and how you will respond in certain situations. I somehow managed to convert most of my calls in spite of not preparing properly on this front.
Your advice for CAT 2013 Aspirants

One good piece of advice for CAT 2013 aspirants from my side is that you should practice a lot; only practice can make you perfect and improve your accuracy. Take as many mock tests as you can. Come out with a proper analysis of your performance after each mock test and try to find out weaknesses and strengths. Read editorial columns in newspapers to improve your knowledge base and reading ability. Keep revisiting your CAT preparation material from time to time. Work very hard if you want to bell the CAT this year itself!

What is the best part of doing/being an MBA?
The best part of doing an MBA is that you get to meet and interact with a lot of people: your seniors, alums and people from the industry. You get to learn a lot from these people. Another aspect that the B-schools touch upon is honing your people skills. Going for a management career enhances ones decision making and problem solving skills, vision, creativity and innovation. Once you enter the corporate world, you are led by a group along a specific path but whether the path being traversed is the right one or whether there are any alternative paths available to do the job more efficiently, you dont know. Hence, going for an MBA would help bridge the gap between your technical and management skills and would help you contribute to the society by doing your job more effectively.

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