How a BBA Graduate and Fresher from Surat, Yashvi Bansal Cracked CAT with 94.72%ile and got into IIM Udaipur for MBA 2021

IIMs are no more the MBA destination only for Engineers or candidates with work experience. This has been proved by Yashvi Bansal who has done BBA Marketing from Auro University Surat and is a fresher without any work experience but has cracked CAT 2020 in her first attempt with 94.72 percentile and has joined IIM Udaipur MBA 2021-23 batch.

Yashvi converted all the nine new CAP participating IIMs including IIM Udaipur but preferred to join IIM Udaipur for various reasons. During her preparation, she found herself weak in some areas, but with her preparation strategy she turned it into her strong area. She has proved that it is the smart preparation for CAT exam and your keen interest in reading and writing that can lead to admission in your dream IIM as was achieved by her by converting IIM Udaipur and many other top B-schools.

Yashvi belongs to a modest business class family of Surat in Gujarat. MBAUniverse.com invited Yashvi Bansal to understand her CAT preparation plans, how she cracked IIM Udaipur interview and more.

Q:  Apart from IIM Udaipur, which were the other top B-schools that shortlisted you for final selection round.
A: I was shortlisted for the PI by IIM Udaipur, IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur, GIM

Q: Which top B-schools have offered you admission and which one you have finally chosen?
A: Apart from getting final admission offer from IIM Udaipur for MBA 2021-23 batch, I  converted all the new IIMs that participated in CAP round and GIM. I finally decided to join IIM Udaipur

Q: What motivated you to choose IIM Udaipur over other B-schools? Please share top 3-4 reasons
A: Key reasons that motivated me to join IIM Udaipur were:

• Academic Rigour- Top notch faculty with updated curriculum
• Core Values resonated with mine
• Transparency

Q: What are your academics, interests and family back ground? Do you have some work experience as well?
A: I have done BBA-Marketing from Auro University Surat. My father is a businessman, we trade in sarees, based in textile market of Surat, Gujarat. We originally come from Rajasthan. My mother is a home-maker. We’ve been living in Surat for the past 30 years. And I have a twin-brother, who is pursuing Chartered Accountancy currently. My hobbies include Reading and Writing.

Q: How did you perform in CAT 2020?
A: I scored 94.72 overall percentile in CAT 2020; 88.56 percentile in VARC section; 92.53 in DILR Section and 93.45 percentile in Quantitative Ability section. CAT 2020 was my first  attempt.

Q: Apart from CAT 2020, which other exams did you appear?
A: Apart from CAT 2020, I appeared in XAT 2021 and scored 98.489 percentile

Q: What was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
A: I made sure that I had high accuracy in my strength areas, major focus was to get high accuracy and then worked on speed. I worked on different strategies to get better at selection and elimination.

Q: Did you self-prepare or attend a coaching centre and why?
A: I studied from IMS Surat, my sister had prepared from the same so I knew it was a good institute. Attending a coaching centre worked the best for me as I had access to material and good faculty mentors.

Q: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
A: I was weak at DILR initially, practiced at least 3-4 sets with different concepts in a day. Tried to understand the difference in the approach in the solution and mine, then worked on lowering the gap.

Q: Please share your CAT sectional preparation strategy for VARC?
A: For VARC, I worked on elimination of options as selection is difficult since options are close. Eliminate the options which contain information not mentioned in the RC passage.

Q: Please share your CAT sectional preparation strategy for DILR?
A: For DILR, I practiced set selection. 3/6 sets are doable, so tried to select the right one. Also, practised a lot so that I was familiar with the concepts.

Q: Please share your CAT sectional preparation strategy for Quant?
A: I made sure I was able to solve questions from my strong areas, so I identified the easy ones and attempted.

Q: What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
A: I started attempting mocks from around May, mocks are really important. Analysed mocks, IMS mocks were great, close to actual paper. Mocks is the only way I could implement the strategies so that I could finalise the one that worked the bets for me.

Q: Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
A: As for the last minute preparation, I had prepared notes from the beginning, used to note all the important formulae, concepts and any bit of information that seemed important. I went through that in the morning, I had the evening slot, so I made sure I was well-slept. I used to practise giving mocks on the same timings as the slots (even before the actual slots are given, you can gauge the slot timings based on past years data).

As for the stress, of course panicking is normal. I just made sure when the timer starts, my only focus is to solve the questions. I didn’t talk to many people on the day of the test. Also, made sure that I was thinking about things other than CAT and stayed away from the news of how the slot previous to me was.

Q: How did you prepare for IIM Udaipur GD/PI/WAT? Please share some of your WAT topics & PI questions?
A: I used the question bank floated by IIM Udaipur for PI Preparation itself. I read and watched news everyday. I worked on the common questions and since I was a fresher, I revised my concepts to make sure I was able to answer all the acad-related questions.

• Why MBA?
• Tell me something about yourself
•  What is your family background
• Specific Academic related question from BBA-Marketing
• Questions on accounts and economics (grade 11 and grade 12)

Q: In this pandemic situation, was you PI-WAT conducted in person or was conducted Online? How was your PI-WAT experience?
A: My PI was conducted online, it was a very good experience because as there was time consumed in travelling, I gave more time to the actual PI preparation.

Q: Your final message and tips for candidates preparing for CAT 2021
A: For CAT 2021 aspirants, my message is:

• CAT isn’t as difficult as we think it is
• Practice makes everything easy
• While solving the paper, focus must be just to solve the questions on the screen, doubts about the marks shouldn’t be entertained at that moment
• CAT is a different exam, not difficult or at least not as difficult as you think it is

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT Preparation Strategy by Toppers