CAT Toppers 2024 List: Check Toppers Name, Score & Percentile

Add Review

close
MBA ADMISSION ALERT! LAST DATES FOR TOP CAT, XAT COLLEGES
Welingkar Mumbai & Bengaluru Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now
S P Jain Global GMBA & MGB Admission Open   | Apply Now
JAGSoM Bangalore (Avg. Salary Rs. 13.3 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
BIMTECH Greater Noida (Avg. Salary Rs. 11.24 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
IFMR GSB Krea University (Avg. Salary Rs. 13.5 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
Woxsen University Hyderabad MBA Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now
Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur Open   | Apply Now
Sri Balaji University Pune MBA Admission Open   | Apply Now
NDIM New Delhi Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now

CAT 2023 Results were released on December 21. MBAUniverse.com presents List of CAT Toppers 2023, and Interviews with CAT 2023 Toppers.

 

cat 2023 topper

Inviting CAT 2023 Toppers to share their Success Story with lakhs of Aspirants.

Email to [email protected] with your CAT Scorecard & Contact Details. 

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Closing for Top CAT, XAT Colleges | Apply Now 
IFMR GSB Krea University | Closing Soon | Apply Now BIMTECH Greater Noida| Closing Soon |Apply Now
Welingkar Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
S P Jain Global Mumbai | Closing Soon | | Apply Now JAGSoM Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SDA Bocconi Asia Center | Closing Soon | Apply Now VBS Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now
Woxsen University | Closing Soon | Apply Now       Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SOIL Gurgaon | Closing Soon | Apply Now Mahindra University HYD | Closing Soon | Apply Now
IBA Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now JIMS Rohini Delhi | Closing Soon | Apply Now

 

CAT 2023 Topper Name
Percentile
Toppers Highlights
Soham Katkar 
100%
IIM Calcutta student of 2022-24 Batch and KJ Somaiya College of Engineering Mumbai graduate
Viraj Modi
100%
Viraj Modi is a Final year BBA student at NMIMS, Mumbai
Alamuri Kumar Sai Vishnu
100%
Alamuri Kumar Sai Vishnu, a student from Vishakhapatnam has scored 100% in his second attempt.
Shobhit Nandan Tripathi 
99.99% 
NIT Calicut Engineer; CAT 3rd Attempt.
Parikshit Tomar
99.99%
IIT Kanpur Students
Rachit Dhanania
99.99% 
Kolkata native, Student of Economics pursuing BA (Hons) Economics at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata; CAT 1st attempt
Sayandip Chaudhuri
99.99%
B.Tech from IIT Pallakad, Hails from Bankura in West Bengal
Souradeep Banerjee
99.95%           
Final year of engineering student.
Pallav Goyal
99.95 %
IIM Ahmedabad PGP 23-25 Student
Priyadarshini Das
99.91%
Belongs to Kolkata, West Bengal
Raunak Tikmani
99.90 %
Raunak Tikmani has scored overall 99.90 percentile in CAT 2023. Raunak comes from Teghra, a small place in Begusarai District of Bihar.
Nishakar Kumar
99.83%
B.Tech IIT Kharagpur, Comes from Madhubani, Bihar, Prepared with focus on Mocks Read MBAUniverse.com Interview
Shiladitya Bhadra
99.38 %
Hails from small town of Barasat in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal; Bsc Mathematics from University of Calcutta Read MBAUniverse.com Interview
Pranshu Sanghai
99.37
Comes from Kolkata, West Bengal

CAT 2022

Soham Katkar,  CAT 2023 - 100%

IIM Calcutta student of 2022-24 Batch and KJ Somaiya College of Engineering Mumbai graduate, CAT 2023 topper Soham Katkar has achieved 100 percentile for the second time! “It feels amazing. I was expecting another 100 percentile, but checking the result still felt surreal! It was a good challenge. I always like challenging myself, and hopefully I can keep doing this every year,” says Soham. Congrats, Soham!

Viraj Mod, CAT 2023 - 100%

Viraj Modi is a Final year BBA student at NMIMS, Mumbai and has cracked CAT 2023 with 100 percentile! Sharing his journey with a newspaper, he said, “I had taken coaching from IMS, Mumbai and tried to attempt as many mock tests and cover all study materials.” Congrats, Viraj! You are an inspiration.

Alamuri Kumar Sai Vishnu, CAT 2023 - 100%               

Alamuri Kumar Sai Vishnu, a student from Vishakhapatnam has scored 100% in his second attempt. He says he couldn’t do well last year in VARD, but is very happy about scoring 100% this year. He says it was challenging as he was also working while preparing for the CAT 2023. I’ve been preparing for CAT since last year while also being in college.

Shobhit Nandan Tripathi, CAT 2023 -  99.99% 

Shobhit Nandan Tripathi, who scored 99.99 percentiles in CAT 2023, radiates joy after achieving success on his third attempt. He completed his engineering degree at NIT Calicut in 2022, initially working before dedicating himself to CAT preparation. Tripathi, now triumphant, offers valuable advice to fellow candidates, emphasizing the importance of staying calm on exam day. He encourages aspirants to approach mock tests with seriousness, considering them instrumental in learning effective time management—a key aspect of his success strategy.

Parikshit Tomar, CAT 2023 - 99.99%

Parikshit Tomar, a 21-year-old achiever with an outstanding 99.99 percentile, is elated with his success. Currently in his final semester of B Tech at the prestigious IIT Kanpur, he remarkably cracked the exam on his maiden attempt. With high aspirations, he anticipates calls from all the IIMs and is particularly keen on securing a coveted spot in either IIM Ahmedabad or IIM Bengaluru.

Rachit Dhanania, CAT 2023 - 99.99%

Rachit Dhanania has achieved a remarkable 99.99 percentile in the CAT 2023. Currently a student of Economics, Dhanania is eagerly embarking on the journey toward his entrepreneurial aspirations. Fueled by a longstanding desire to start his venture since his teenage years, the Kolkata native views an MBA as the pathway to realizing this dream, with the IIMs serving as the ideal launchpad. In his final year pursuing BA (Hons) Economics at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, CAT 2023 marked Rachit's first attempt! 

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Open for Top Colleges | Apply Now
Welingkar Mumbai & Bangalore | Apply Now Rajagiri Business School Kochi | Apply Now
SCMS Cochin | Closing Soon | Apply Now SDA Bocconi Asia Center Admission | Apply Now
Woxsen University | Closing Soon | Apply Now Delhi School of Business (DSB) | Apply Now
Rajagiri Business School Kochi | Apply Now Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
XIME Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now NDIM New Delhi (NDIM) | Closing Soon | Apply Now
Sparsh Greater Noida | Closing Soon | Apply Now SIES Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now

Souradeep Banerjee, CAT 2023 - 99.95%

Souradeep Banerjee has had a remarkable journey from uncertainty about the final year of engineering to achieving a stellar percentile of 99.95% in the CAT 2023 exam. Initially sceptical of CAT coaching institutes, Souradeep enrolled into iQuanta ABC batch. A dedicated routine established a month before CAT involved daily commitment to giving one mock exam in the evenings. Consistently scoring above 99%, Souradeep aimed for greater accuracy, eventually achieving and surpassing the target of 99.8% in the first attempt. This success story underscores Souradeep's resilience, commitment to continuous improvement, and the effectiveness of a personalized and focused approach in CAT preparation.

Pallav Goyal (IIM Ahmedabad PGP'25) – CAT 2023 99.95%  

Pallav is an MBA student at IIM AHMEDABAD, and Economics Honours from Hindu College, DU. He has worked with ICICI Bank and Bajaj Capital. After scoring 99.95% in CAT 2023, he wrote, “I did appear for CAT 2023 to experience the new type of CAT…This exam involves a considerable amount of luck, and I feel that I was lucky to crack all 4 DILR sets and get good accuracy in the VARC.” He released his CAT 2023 on social media, as below.​​

CAT 2023 Topper-Raunak Tikmani: 99.90%ile in CAT 2023

Raunak Tikmani has scored overall 99.90 percentile in CAT 2023. Raunak comes from Teghra, a small place in Begusarai District of Bihar. Raunak has scored 98.21 percentile in VARC section; 99.71 percentile in DILR and 99.78 percentile in Quant section

Raunak Tikmani

Nishakar Kumar, CAT 2023 – 99.83 Percentile

Nishakar Kumar is a B.Tech in Instrumentation Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He belongs to Madhubani in Bihar. He is a fresher and he scored the high CAT percentile in the first attempt. He focused his preparation strategy on practicing more with mock tests especially in last month to CAT exam. Read MBAUniverse.com Interview

CAT 2023 Topper - Shiladitya Bhadra: 99.38%ile in CAT 2023

Shiladitya Bhadra has scored overall 99.38 percentile in CAT 2023. He hails from small town of Barasat in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal. Shiladitya has score 94.43 percentile in VARC section; 99.71 percentile in DILR which was rated a very difficult section and 97.87 percentile in most difficult Quant section. Read MBAUniverse.com Interview 

Shiladitya Bhadra

Check table below for more details on Number of CAT Toppers by Gender and States.​  

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Open for Top Colleges | Apply Now
Sri Balaji University Pune MBA | Apply Now JAGSoM Bangalore Admission 2024 | Apply Now
IBA Bangalore Admission 2024 | Apply Now CIMP Patna PGDM Admission 2024 | Apply Now
Amrita Business School Admission 2024 | Apply Now  MDI Murshidabad  Admission 2024| Apply Now 
IPE Hyderabad Admission 2024 | Apply Now Appejay School of Management | Apply Now
SSIM Hyderabad Admission 2024 | Apply Now Sri Balaji University Pune MBA | Apply Now

 

CAT 2023 Toppers Highlights: Male, Engineers Continue to Dominate CAT

First up, here are CAT 2023 Toppers Highlights.

 

14 Male Candidates Score 100% in CAT 2023

  • No Female Candidate;
  • 4 from Maharashtra
  • 11 Engineers, 3 Non-Engineers

29 Candidates Score 99.9 % in CAT 2023

  • Male-28
  • Female-01

29 Candidates Score 99.98 % in CAT 2023

  • All Males

Overall CAT Percentile

Total Numbers

Total Gender Numbers

Total State Wise Numbers

100 percentiles

14

All Males

1 – Andhra Pradesh
1 - Delhi
1 – Gujarat
1 – Jammu & Kashmir
1 - Karnataka
1 - Kerala
4 – Maharashtra
1 – Tamil Nadu
2 - Telangana
1 - Uttar Pradesh

99.99 percentiles

29

Male 28
Female-01

1 – Bihar
7 - Delhi
2 – Haryana
4 - Karnataka
9 - Maharashtra
1 - Tamil Nadu
2 - Telangana
2 - Uttar Pradesh
1 - West Bengal

99.98 percentiles

29

All Males

1 - Bihar
3 – Delhi
1 - Gujarat
1 - Haryana
1 - Karnataka
1 - Kerala
8 - Maharashtra
1 - Odisha
3 – Rajasthan
1 – Tamil Nadu
3 - Telangana
3 – Uttar Pradesh
2- West Bengal

Table of Contents

1. CAT 2023 Toppers’ Interviews

2. Know Your CAT 2022 Toppers

3. CAT 2022 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

4. Know your CAT 2021 Toppers

5. CAT 2021 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

6. Know your CAT 2020 Toppers

7. CAT 2020 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

1. CAT 2023 Toppers’ Interviews

CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26, 2023 with highest number of 2.88 lakh test takers in the history of CAT exam. CAT result is expected in the first week of January 2024. The success stories of CAT 2023 toppers will be updated soon after release of CAT 2023 result 

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Closing for Top CAT, XAT Colleges | Apply Now 
IFMR GSB Krea University | Closing Soon | Apply Now BIMTECH Greater Noida| Closing Soon |Apply Now
Welingkar Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
S P Jain Global Mumbai | Closing Soon | | Apply Now JAGSoM Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SDA Bocconi Asia Center | Closing Soon | Apply Now VBS Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now
Woxsen University | Closing Soon | Apply Now       Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SOIL Gurgaon | Closing Soon | Apply Now Mahindra University HYD | Closing Soon | Apply Now
IBA Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now JIMS Rohini Delhi | Closing Soon | Apply Now

2. Know Your CAT 2022 Toppers: Scored 100%ile & 99+ %ile

Below are details of some of the CAT 2022 Toppers with 100 and 99+ percentile

CAT 2022 Toppers

 

CAT Toppers List

Some of the CAT 2022 toppers with 100 percentile, 99+ percentile with their academic background, preparation strategy are as below:

Name of CAT Topper
CAT %ile Score
Academic Back Ground
CAT Preparation Strategy
Suneet Kumbhat
100
B.Tech IITD; IIMC Alumnus
CAT Coach
Maruti Konduri
100
IIMA Alumnus
CAT Coach
Renjith Thomas Joshua
100
B.E.
CAT Coach in Kerala
Srajal Gupta
100
B.Tech
Prepared with Coaching
Soumik Banerjee
99.95
B.E. (Mech Engg)
Self Preparation Read More
Shreyasee Sarkar
99.68
B.Tech (ECE)
Prepared with Mindworkzz; Read More
Risshi Agrawal
99.99
B.Tech
Took T.I.M.E Mock Tests
Pranav Chaturvedi
99.98
B.Tech
Prepared with CL Coaching
Parul Arora
99.93
B.Tech
Prepared with MissionCAT coaching
Akshit Agrawal
99.91
B.Com
Self prepared with Arun Sharma Books
Adit Sanjanwala
99.9
B.Tech
Self Prepared with Books and study material, Mocks
Geet sai sumant
99.89
--
Prepared with iQuanta coaching
Pranav Bahedia
99.82
B.Tech
Prepared with Coaching
Atish Naskar
99.81
B.Tech
Prepared with Coaching
Mohul Kishore
99.08
B.A. Hons - DU
Self Prepared with Arun Sharma Books and joined Takshzila coaching
Shauray Tiwari
99
B.Com. - DU
Self Prepared with Arun Sharma Books and joined Coaching also

3. CAT 2022 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

In their Interviews with MBAUniverse.com, CAT 2022 Toppers have shared their success stories with CAT exam preparation strategy, how they overcame their weak areas, how they prepared for GD-PI-WAT.  Many of these CAT 2022 Toppers who have scored 99+%ile, self-prepared or joined some of the best Coachings or opted for a combination of coaching and self preparation.

(1) CAT 2022 Topper Soumik Banerjee Interview: CAT 99.95 %ile; Self Prepared

A B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and working professional for 6 years in BPCL, CAT 2022 topper, Soumik Banerjee cracked the exam with 99.95 percentile with his self preparation and with some Online Coaching help. Soumik was shortlisted by IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, other IIMs and MDI Guragon but planned to join IIM Ahmedabad. Read his CAT preparation strategy and success mantra Read Full Interview

(2) CAT 2022 Topper Shreyasee Sarkar: CAT 99.68 %ile; Prepared with Mindworkzz; Student of IIM Calcutta 2023-25 Batch

An IT professional, CAT 2022 topper, Shreyasee Sarkar cracked the exam with 99.68 percentile. She prepared for CAT with Mindworkzz and had converted number of top B-schools including IIM Calcutta. Before joining and improving the academic diversity at IIM Calcutta, she earned 3.5 years of work experience as Software Tester. Read Full Interview

 

CAT 2022 Topper Risshi Agrawal-99.99 %ile: IIT Delhi alumni Risshi Agrawal scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2022 exam. He belongs from Mirzapur, UP and is a graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has work experience as an Associate Analyst at Putnam – a heathcare management consulting firm. He referred to TIME coaching materials and CL mock test series. His CAT 2022 Sectional scores are: DILR: 99.99%, VA: 85.65%, QA: 100%

CAT Topper 2022 Parul Arora, 99.93%ile: IIM Ahmedabad Student 2023-25 Batch

Hailing from Bhatinda, Punjab, Parul Arora is one of the top scorers of CAT 2022. This was her first attempt to CAT. She is a BTech in Computer Science from NIT Jalandhar. Parul has worked at Accenture. Her CAT 2022 sectional scores are VARC – 99.41; DILR – 99.55; QA –99.63 

 

CAT 2022 Topper Akshit Agrawal, 99.91 %ile: Akshit Agrawal was a final year B Com Honours student from Ramjas College of Delhi University. He scored 99.91 percentile. His overall score and percentile in CAT 2022 were 111.36 and 99.91 percentile. He referred to Books by Arun Sharma for both QA and DILR. This was his first attempt to CAT. He did not join a coaching institute. His Sectional scores are VARC – 42.49 (99.48 percentile); DILR – 35.04 (99.74 percentile); QA – 33.83 (99.11 percentile)

4. Know your CAT 2021 Toppers: CAT Toppers List

CAT 2021 was successfully conducted by IIM Ahmedabad on November 28, 2021 at 438 test centres spread across 156 cities in India on 28 November 2021 in three shifts. The duration of the test was of 120 minutes. Around 1.92 lakh candidates appeared for the exam out of 2.30 lakhs registered eligible candidates. The overall attendance was approximately 83%. Out of the 1.92 lakh candidates taken the exam, 35% were Females, 65% Males and 2 candidates represent Transgender.

 

Total 9 Candidates had scored maximum 100% in CAT 2021. All were males. Maximum number of CAT Toppers – 4 Toppers --were from Maharashtra! UP had 2 Toppers. Maximum number of CAT 99.9 Toppers – 4 Toppers -- were from Maharashtra and Gujarat! Total 19 Candidates had scored 99.9 % in CAT 2021. Again, all were males. As per CAT 2021 result, CAT Toppers were:

CAT 2021 Toppers

5. CAT 2021 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

  • Sumedha Srinivasan, a CA and Asset Management Expert cracked CAT 2021 with 94.78%ile and got into IIM Ahmedabad – Read More
  • Padmasandhya S, a CA, NTSE Scholar and a Published Poet cracked CAT 2021 with 98.49% and got into IIM Ahmedabad – Read More
  • Rahul Chodankar from Mumbai, a mechanical engineer from IIT Kanpur, scored 99.87 Percentile in CAT 2021 with his 4 months of prepration;
  • Ghaziabad boy Sahil Siddharth scored 99.68 % in CAT 2021;
  • Shaunak Vora, a chemical engineer from Mumbai scored 99.10 percentile in CAT 2021.
  • Chirag Gupta, student of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, is one of the nine candidates to secure 100 percentile in CAT 2021. Chirag started preparing in March 2021, and relied on self-study -- following books and notes apart from taking mock tests. He managed to crack CAT in his first attempt itself. Chirag wants to get into any one of the Top 3 IIMs- IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta.
  • Soham Katkar cracked CAT 2021 with 100 percentile. Soham belongs to Mumbai and has done graduation in Engineering in Computer Science from K J Somaiya College of Engineering Mumbai. 
  • Ritik Gupta has secured the 99.99 percentile in CAT 2021. He is from Faridabad and is pursuing BBA from a private university in Gurugram. Ritik was pursuing MBBS from DY Patil Medical College, Pune after qualifying NEET but to pursue his interest he prepared for CAT to join MBA. He wants to launch his own start up
  • Yash Mandhana has scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2021. A student of B.Tech Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay, Yash is targeting IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta. After completing his MBA he plans to take up career in an FMCG Company in the area of Finance or General Management or Strategy
  • Maruti Konduri, Co-founder of CAT Coaching Cracku scored 100% in CAT 2021.
  • Amrit Anwesh cracked CAT 2021 with 99.98 percentile. Amrit is a student of final year of engineering at NIT Rourkela. He cracked CAT in his first attempt and with his self preparation. Amrit is targeting IIM Ahmedbad, Bangalore, Calcutta and plans to become an entrepreneur after completing his MBA.
  • Sayali Kale, also Co-founder of Cracku, excelled in CAT 2021.  She secured 99.97 percentile. Sayali Kale is also an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad. Sayali is from Mumbai and completed her B-Tech in Computer Science from VJTI Mumbai.
  • Gauravi Kabadi scored 99.95 percentile in CAT 2021 in her first attempt. Gauravi was a working professional with an MNC Analog Devices after completing her B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bhubaneswar. She quit her job to prepare for CAT. Gauravi belongs to Maharashtra and is targeting IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. She plans to launch her own start up.
  • Palli Dolananda Saivardhan has secured the 99.94 percentile in CAT 2021. He is from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and has completed Computer Science Engineering from VIT University, Vellore. He is currently working as a Software Developer at Wipro.
  • Rudrakha Gupta scored 99.9 percentile in CAT 2021. Rudrakha did his B.Tech from IIT Delhi and was a working professional with Invest India. He belongs to Indore.
  • Shubh Agarwal Noida has 99.61 percentile in CAT 2021. His Sectional scores are 99.98%ile in VARC, 93.65%ile in DILR and 95.35%ile in QA. He is looking for admissions to IIM and FMS Delhi.

These CAT toppers share their CAT success stories and Preparation mantras in detail. Check Here 

6. Know your CAT 2020 Toppers: List of CAT Toppers

CAT 2020 Toppers

CAT Result was released on January 2nd. Here are some important CAT Toppers details. IIM Indore CAT Centre 2020 has shared following important details about CAT 2020 Toppers with MBAUniverse.com.

  • 9 candidates have scored an overall 100 percentile in the CAT 2020 examination. They are all males.
  • 7 out of the nine candidates receiving the highest overall percentile are from the engineering/technology background, 1 candidate is from mathematics background and 1 is from management background.
  • Of the nine candidates, 5 candidates are from the IITs, and the remaining four candidates are from IIM Indore (IPM program), BITS Pilani, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, and YMCA institute of Engineering respectively.
  • Of the candidates scoring an overall 100 percentile, 3 candidates are from Rajasthan and the remaining six candidates are from Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
  • 19 candidates have scored an overall 99.99 percentile in CAT 2020, of which 18 are male and 1 is female. Out of these candidates 16 are from the engineering/technology, 2 are from economics and 1 is from management background.
  • A total of 1,90,144 candidates had appeared for the examination. The gender distribution of candidates who appeared for CAT 2020 is as follows:
    • Number of female candidates: 66,755
    • Number of male candidates: 1,23,388
    • Number of transgender candidates: 01

7. CAT 2020 Toppers’ Interviews: Success Stories with Preparation Strategy

MBAUniverse.com spoke to many CAT 2020 toppers and summary of their journey is below. 

 

(1) Nandan Goel, IIM Calcutta Student, Cracked CAT 2020 with 99.95 %ile; shares CAT Preparation Strategy & Key Tips  Read More

 

(2) Ekansh Gupta, a Poet and Working Professional from Moradabad cracked CAT with 99.91 %ile & Got into IIM Calcutta for MBA 2021 Read More

 

(3) Nancy Jain, A Graphic Designer, Painter with B.Tech, Cracked CAT 2020 with 99.72 %ile and got into IIM Calcutta for MBA 2021-23  Read More

 

(4) Shubham Bajaj, a Software Developer at Nomura and IEM Kolkata Graduate from Surat - cracked CAT with 99.98%ile and got into IIM Calcutta  Read More

 

(5) Yashvi Bansal, a BBA Graduate and Fresher from Surat, Cracked CAT with 94.72%ile and got into IIM Udaipur for MBA 2021 Read More

 

(6) Pranita Maheshwari, an Arts & Craft lover, a blogger with BMS, Cracked CAT with 98.81%ile and got into IIM Udaipur for MBA 2021  Read More

 

(7) Jaipur’s Jitesh Mittal scores 100 percentile in CAT 2020: Jaipur’s Jitesh Mittal has scored 100 percentile in CAT 2020. Jitesh graduated in civil engineering from IIT-Gandhinagar in 2020 and hopes to pursue MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Not getting a good campus job proved to be a blessing in disguise for him. “Had I got the job, I wouldn’t have given my best shot in the exam,” said Jitesh.

 

(8) Navi Mumbai’s Ashish Sen cracks CAT 2020 with 99.99 %
Ashish Sen hails from Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. His CAT 2020 score is Overall 99.99 Percentile; VARC % - 99.98, DILR % - 99.95 and QA % - 99.46 percentile. Ashish started his CAT preparation in June 2020. He took a few full-length tests to gauge himself. Based on that, he made a 2-month study plan. Post that, he started taking mocks and analyzing them. He had opted for the study materials and Test series from T.I.M.E. He applied only to Top IIMs and FMS Delhi.

 

(9) Himachal student Vishesh Garg scores 99.9 percentile in CAT 2020
Another engineer Vishesh Garg, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, has scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2020. After completing his BTech from NIT Hamirpur in 2019, Vishesh worked nearly two years in a leading IT company in Bengaluru. IIM Bangalore and FMS Delhi are Vishesh’s top choices when it comes to B-schools. IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta are close second. He took online coaching from TIME and took guidance from online resources, followed toppers’ preparation strategies, and studied books like Arun Sharma’s CAT series. “Two things that helped me score well are the mock tests and a thorough study plan,” said Vishesh.  

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Open for Top Colleges | Apply Now
Welingkar Mumbai & Bangalore | Apply Now Rajagiri Business School Kochi | Apply Now
SCMS Cochin | Closing Soon | Apply Now SDA Bocconi Asia Center Admission | Apply Now
Woxsen University | Closing Soon | Apply Now Delhi School of Business (DSB) | Apply Now
Rajagiri Business School Kochi | Apply Now Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
XIME Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now NDIM New Delhi (NDIM) | Closing Soon | Apply Now
Sparsh Greater Noida | Closing Soon | Apply Now SIES Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now

(10) Debrup Poddar scores 99.11 percentile in CAT 2020
Debrup Poddar has scored 99.11 percentile in CAT 2020. This was his third CAT attempt. His score is Overall % - 99.99 Percentile, VARC % - 97.07%ile, DILR % - 85.41 and QA %ile is 99.56. Speaking with MBAUniverse.com, Debrup said, “I started my preparation in May 2020, giving myself an ample 5-6 months to complete the syllabus and practise mocks and past year papers. Having already appeared for CAT 18 (96.88 percentile) & CAT 19 (95.13 percentile) before, albeit without any preparation, I was determined to crack CAT 20. Hence I joined a local coaching class and spent my mornings attending lectures and evenings revising concepts. By the end of it all, I had taken nearly 30 mocks in the new format to build confidence.” Debrup’s dream colleges are SPJIMR, IIM Bangalore & IIM Indore. He plans to build his MBA career in Marketing.

Other CAT 2020 Toppers with 99+ Percentile 

  • Priyamm Garg of Delhi scored 99.81 Percentile
  • Shubham Yadav from Gurgaon got 99.7 percentile  
  • Kshitiz Garg from Mohali has scored 99.61 percentile
  • Vishal Agarwal of Cuttak scored 99.44 percentile
  • Gaurav Dhawan of Mohali has scored 99.29 percentile
  • Sargam Bansal from Chandigarh has scored 99.17 percentile
  • Himani Goyal has scored 99.05 percentile in CAT 2020

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for list of CAT 2020 Toppers List & Interviews.

 

Also Read:

CAT 2019 Topper Highlights

  • 10 candidates have scored overall 100 percentile
  • All the 10 candidates are males and are from the engineering/technology background.
  • Of these 10 Toppers, 6 candidates are from the IITs, 2 candidates are from the NITs, and 1 candidate is from Jadavpur University.
  • Of the candidates scoring an overall 100 percentile, 4 candidates are from Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • 21 candidates have scored an overall 99.99 percentile in CAT 2019. Again, 19 candidates are from the engineering/technology.

CAT 2019 TOPPER LIST

Meet CAT 2019 Topper Rahul Gupta: Makes Mumbai proud
A B.Tech from IIT Roorkee, Rahul Gupta from Mumbai has scored 100 percentile in CAT 2019. Presently, IIM Ahmedabad student of PGP 2020-22 batch, Rahul Gupta has also converted IIM Bangalore, Calcutta and Lucknow. He also converted XLRI with a XAT percentile 99.99. Rahul was a working professional when he started preparing for the exam. He suggests to begin with basics, understand the logic behind the solution and then apply them while attempting the questions. Read More about his CAT and GD-PI-WAT Preparation Strategy

 

Meet the 2 CAT 2019 Toppers from IIT Bombay

Rahul Manglik and Somansh Chordia, both friends and students of the final-year mechanical engineering programme at IIT Bombay, have cracked CAT 2019 – that too in their first attempt! Nagpur boy Somansh Chordia scored a perfect 100 percentile, and Delhi lad Rahul Manglik scored 99.99 percentile. Both of them prepared for CAT 2019 together, and focused on Mock Tests and analysed their performances after completing the test. They attempted at least 30 mocks during preparation. Not surprisingly, IIM Ahmedabad is the dream B-school for CAT 2019 Topper Somansh Chordia.
 

Meet Mumbaikar Rishi Mittal who scored 100% in 1st attempt!
Mumbai boy Rishi Mittal is a final year BTech civil engineering student from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Surat who scored 100 %tile in CAT 2019. What makes his success remarkable is that CAT 2019 was Rishi’s first attempt at belling the CAT! Rishi scored 99.99 percentile in Quant, 100 in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, but scored 98.76 percentile in Verbal abilities. CAT is an easy exam, one can crack it if they are honest in their preparation, is Rishi’s message to CAT aspirants. Not surprisingly, Rishi wants to join one of the Top 2 IIMs. 

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Open for Top Colleges | Apply Now
Sri Balaji University Pune MBA | Apply Now JAGSoM Bangalore Admission 2024 | Apply Now
IBA Bangalore Admission 2024 | Apply Now CIMP Patna PGDM Admission 2024 | Apply Now
Amrita Business School Admission 2024 | Apply Now  MDI Murshidabad  Admission 2024| Apply Now 
IPE Hyderabad Admission 2024 | Apply Now Appejay School of Management | Apply Now
SSIM Hyderabad Admission 2024 | Apply Now Sri Balaji University Pune MBA | Apply Now

Meet PESIT Bangalore student Ashwin who score 100 % and wants to join IIMB
Ashwin H., a 22-year-old engineer from Bengaluru, has secured a perfect score of 100 %ile in his second attempt at CAT exam. The electronics and communications engineer graduated from PESIT last year and joined a private IT firm. Last year, he secured 99.36 percentile in CAT 2018. He wasn’t satisfied with the score even though he got calls from FMS Delhi and IIM Kozhikode. He wrote CAT 2019 and rest is history! Ashwin is aspiring to join one of the top IIMs – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta or FMS-Delhi. Indeed, But IIM-Bangalore is his top choice as he will not miss his family.

 

Meet Jadavpur University student who scored 100 % but said no to IIMs
Debarshi Chanda, who scored a perfect 100 percentile in CAT 2019, is presently studying for her Masters in Energy Studies at the School of Energy Studies in Jadavpur University. But Debarshi does not want to go for an MBA degree. He has higher aims. He wants to do Phd in Economics and contribute towards developing the economic condition of the country. Debarshi has done his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University and had joined a private bank where he worked from 2018 to 2019, before joining his Masters program. 
 

Meet Patrick D’Souza, who scored 100 Percentile sixth time!
Mumbai based MBA coaching faculty Patrick D’Souza scored a 100 percentile for the sixth time. D’Souza, who has been taking the exam for the past 16 years to understand the changing pattern of the papers, scored a perfect 100 percentile. “This was my sixth time getting a 100 percentile. I took the test to understand how the patterns are changing every year so I can teach my students accordingly,” said D’Souza.

 

CAT 2019 Toppers​ List – 100 Percentilers

CAT Toppers

CAT 2019 Percentile

Rahul Gupta

100

Somansh Chordia

100

Patrick D’Souza

100

Rishi Mittal

100

Ashwin H.

100

Debarshi Chanda

100

 

CAT 2019 Toppers​ List – 99.99 Percentilers
21 candidates have scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2019. A list of these CAT toppers with their qualifying degree and home city is given below:

Candidate 

City

CAT 2019 Percentile

Education 

AMIT BIKRAM

Mumbai

99.99

BTECH

SAATHWIK KOLLURU

Mumbai

99.99

BTECH

SHUBHAM PANDIA

Pune

99.99

BE

DEVAVRAT MAHAJAN

Pune

99.99

BTECH

KAUSHIK VYAS

Pune

99.99

BTECH

RAJESH B

Chennai

99.99

BTECH

LAKSHYA KUMAR

Delhi

99.99

BMS - Management Studies

ABHANSHU GUPTA

Delhi

99.99

BTECH

ADITYA GARG

Delhi

99.99

BTECH

DHOLE SHREYAS KIRAN

Delhi

99.99

BTECH

RAHUL MANGLIK

Delhi

99.99

BTECH

ANURAG

Faridabad

99.99

BTECH

RAHUL SHARMA

Faridabad

99.99

BTECH

SHREYAANSH GUPTA

Haryana

99.99

BS/BSC

SUMIT KHANNA

Chandigarh

99.99

BTECH

SWAPNIL SUMAN

Bihar

99.99

BTECH

LOKESH SONI

JODHPUR

99.99

BTECH

KULKARNI SAURABH SADASHIV

Maharashtra

99.99

BTECH

THOMBRE SUSHANT SUNIL

Nashik

99.99

BTECH

RENJITH THOMAS JOSHUA

Trivandrum

99.99

BTECH

B GAUTHAM RAO

Mangaluru

99.99

BTECH

CAT 2019 Toppers’ Interview on CAT Preparation Strategy
CAT 2019 toppers with Diverse bavk grounds and varying percentile in the range of 97 to 100 have found admission to 2020-22 batch in top IIMs, MDI among other B-schools with their well devised preparation strategy. Shared below are the exclusive interviews of such CAT 2019 toppers with MBAUniverse.com:

 

Shantanu Yadav: 99.7%ile in CAT 2019; Gets into IIM Ahmedabad
Shantanu Singh Yadav, CAT 2019 topper from Surat, cracked the exam with 99.73 percentile and has converted number of top B-schools including IIM Ahmedabad. A graduate from NIT Hamirpur, Shantanu belongs to a modest service class family. While preparing for CAT exam, he earned 3 years of working experience in a fertilizer industry. Read here his CAT preparation strategy and success mantra

 

Sruthy S Kumar:  97.71%ile in CAT 2019; Gets into IIM Lucknow

Sruthy S Kumar, CAT 2019 topper from Alappuzha, cracked the exam with 97.71 percentile and has converted number of top B-schools including IIM Lucknow. A graduate from NIT Calicut, Sruthy belongs to a modest service class family. While preparing for CAT exam, she earned 2½ years of working experience in Reliance Industries. Read her CAT preparation strategy and success mantra

 

Tanuj Ruia:99.69%ile in CAT 2019: Gets into IIM Bangalore

Tanuj Ruia, CAT 2019 topper with 99.69 percentile took 30 Mocks before the exam. A Chartered Accountant from Surat, Tanuj is a fresher and converted IIM Bangalore and Calcutta but preferred to take admission in MBA 2020-22 batch at IIM Bangalore. Tanuj appeared in XAT 2020 also and scored 98.8 percentile. Read his CAT preparation strategy and success mantra

 

Chandanbala Shyamsunder Dhanawat: 98.28 %ile in CAT 2019: Gets into IIM Udaipur

Chandanbala Shyamsunder Dhanawat cracked the CAT 2019 exam with 98.28 percentile and has converted number of top B-schools including IIM Udaipur, Rohtak, Raipur, IMT, IMI among others. A graduate in Commerce with moderate percentage of marks, Chandanbala earned 2½ years of working experience in Sales while preparing for CAT. Read her CAT preparation strategy and success mantra 

Alert! MBA Admissions 2024 Closing for Top CAT, XAT Colleges | Apply Now 
IFMR GSB Krea University | Closing Soon | Apply Now BIMTECH Greater Noida| Closing Soon |Apply Now
Welingkar Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
S P Jain Global Mumbai | Closing Soon | | Apply Now JAGSoM Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SDA Bocconi Asia Center | Closing Soon | Apply Now VBS Mumbai | Closing Soon | Apply Now
Woxsen University | Closing Soon | Apply Now       Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow | Closing Soon | Apply Now
SOIL Gurgaon | Closing Soon | Apply Now Mahindra University HYD | Closing Soon | Apply Now
IBA Bangalore | Closing Soon | Apply Now JIMS Rohini Delhi | Closing Soon | Apply Now

Anushree Naik: 98.20%ile in CAT 2019; Gets into IIM Ahmedabad

Anushree Naik, a Chartered Accountant and Graphologist doing full time Finance Job cracked CAT 2019 with 98.20 percentile in her first attempt and got into IIM Ahmedabad PGP 2020-22 batch. She also converted number of other top B-schools including IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, IIM Shillong, SPJIMR Mumbai. Read her CAT preparation strategy and what is her success mantra

  

Nikita Agarwal: 99.22%ile in CAT 2019; Joins MDI Gurgaon leaving IIMs

Nikita Agarwal, CAT 2019 topper from Surat, cracked the exam with 99.22 percentile and has converted number of top B-schools but preferred MDI Gurgaon to the new IIMs. A BBA graduate from SDJIC Surat, Nikita has also taught at an NGO. Coming from a modest business family, Nikita cracked CAT in her first attempt. Read her CAT preparation strategy and success mantra

  

CAT 2018 Toppers List and CAT 2018 Toppers Interview: Rounak Majumdar, Swapnil Suman

CAT 2018 Result were declared at 10AM on January 5, 2019. Here are some key trends with list of CAT Toppers and their interviews on CAT preparation strategy:

  • Maximum 100 percentile was secured by 11 students in CAT 2018. Rounak Majumdar & Swapnil Suman are two of them.
  • All 11 toppers are Male and all are from Engineering/Technology education background.
  • A total of 21 candidates have scored an overall 99.99 %. Out of 21, 19 candidates from engineering or technology background.
  • Out of 2,09,405 candidates who took CAT 2018, 1,36,075 were male students and 73326 were girls
  • Seven students from Maharashtra have secured 100 %, while two from West Bengal, and one each from Karnataka and Bihar.
  • Twin brothers and IIT Delhi students have both secured 99.9 percentile!

MBAUniverse.com has published CAT Toppers List and CAT Toppers Interview below. Check now.

CAT Toppers 2018 

cat toppers 2018

CAT 2018 Topper List
Overall Percentile
Amit Bikram
100
Niranjan Prasad
100
Rickshesh Manchanda
100
Rounak Majumdar
100
Swapnil Suman
100
Anubhav
99.99
Kaustubh Vyas
99.99
Kishan Kashyap
99.99
Abhishek
99.97
Karan 
99.91
Mayur Arora
99.88
Kushaagr Panwar
99.6
Kuldeep Atri
99.44
Avinash Misal
99.37
Pratik Mishra
99.33
Sakshat Goel
99.21
Tushar Goel
98.89
  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Amit Bikram
    Scaled score in CAT 2018: 235.18
  • Overall 100 Percentile
  • Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension - 79.59 (99.6%)
  • Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation - 60.51 (99.93%)
  • Quantitative Ability - 95.07 (100%)
  • Amit Bikram belongs to Mumbai and he plans to join one of the top three IIMs-IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore or Calcutta.

Preparation Strategy:
Amit Started Self Preparation in May 2018. He spent first two months in concept revision and strengthening the fundamentals and did not take coaching for theory part. He started Taking Mock from August 2018 with one Mock per week and analysed it for mistakes and improved.

 

Later he took one mock per day during the month before CAT 2018 exam day. In all attempted 30+ Mocks he was weak in VARC and DILR and consistently worked upon to improve on them and scored well.

 

Amit took the Mocks from Career Launcher and registered for e-Test series of IMS and practiced the variety of questions from Arun Sharma. He improved vocabulary and reading skills by reading a lot. He did not believe in taking short cuts and practiced a lot.

 

Message for CAT 2019 Aspirants
According to Amit, Four months are good enough to complete CAT syllabus. He suggested to take only need based coaching. He said to Know your own strengths and weaknesses is the key to success in CAT. Make preparation plan accordingly and don’t follow others’ preparation strategy. 

 

  1. CAT 2018 Topper- Niranjan Prasad
    Scaled score in CAT 2018: 230.49
  • Overall: 100 Percentile
  • Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension – 89.63 (99.98%)
  • Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation – 73.15 (100%)
  • Quantitative Ability – 67.71 (99.81%)

is studying B.Tech (Dual Degree) in Final Year student IIT Madras and has scored top Rank in National Talent Search Competition. He belongs to small town Manipal in Udupi District. He started his self preparation Last Year and identified his weak areas first then practiced more to make them as his strengths

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Rickshesh Manchanda
  • Overall: 100 Percentile
  • VARC:99.44 percentile

Rickshesh Manchanda is an IIT Delhi graduate working in a bank. He prepared for CAT 2018 without any coaching. This was his second CAT attempt in CAT 2017 he had scored 99.99%. Last year’s CAT preparation clubbed with practicing and analysis of mocks helped him ace the CAT 2018 exam

 

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Rounak Majumdar
  • Overall: 100 Percentile
  • VARC: 99.95
  • DILR: 99.98
  • QA: 100

Rounak is a graduate from IIT Kanpur, and he has cleared Chartered Financial Analyst Level I. Rounak Majumdar’s preparation was focused on Mock Tests. He says he attempted around 30-35 mocks before the exam! He has applied to top IIMs, FMS and XLRI. He wants to pursue a career in finance, preferably investment banking, after MBA. Rounak says “Time management is the key. One should approach the easy questions first and maintain accuracy while gaining speed.”

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Swapnil Suman
  • CAT 2018 overall percentile: 100 %
  • VARC percentile: 99.23 %
  • DILR percentile: 99.99 %
  • QA percentile: 100 %

Swapnil Suman is a Mechanical Engineer. He was born in Patna and is working in Petrochemical industry. Proper use of Mock Tests was his success mantra at CAT 2018

He did not join any coaching institute for preparation but used Mock test series from prominent coaching institutes.

  1. CAT 2018 Topper- Kaustubh Vyas
  • Overall CAT 2018 Percentile: 99.99 %

Kaustubh is a Final year B.Tech Electrical Engineering student from IIT Bombay he is from Nagpur. He started preparing for CAT 2018 from the summers after completing the internship. He enrolled in T.I.M.E especially for the test series they provide. Apart from that, he relied on Self Studies mostly. He made it a point to practice as many Mocks as possible.

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Kishan Kashyap
  • Overall CAT 2018 Percentile: 99.99 %
  • VARC – 99.23 %
  • DILR – 99.95 %
  • QA – 99.97 %

Kishan is a resident of Delhi and is CAT 2018 Topper from Delhi. He took CAT 2018 in second shift

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Karan
  • Overall Percentile: 99.91
  • Quantitative Aptitude: 99.49 %
  • DILR: 99.4 %
  • VARC: 999.88 %

Karan has been preparing for CAT 2018 for last 9 months. Karan joined a top coaching center to prepare in an organized manner. Mocks were the most important part of his CAT 2018 preparation and would have attempted 20+ Mocks. His preparation strategy is: Write mocks, check your scores and percentile, analyse all the questions in the paper, identify errors and weak areas, and work on them.

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Mayur Arora
  • Overall Percentile: 99.88 %
  • Quantitative Aptitude: 99.83 %
  • DILR: 99.59 %
  • VARC: 97.75 %

Mayur started his prep somewhere around July, he thinks 6 months are more than enough to study all concepts and take 15-20 mock tests. He took test series of IMS and TIME. He has applied to IIMs, FMS, MDI, XLRI, SPJIMR.

 

Mayur would like to work in a marketing/ product management function post MBA

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Kushaagr Panwar
  • Overall CAT Percentile: 99.56 %
  • VARC: 99.69 %
  • DILR: 98.76 %
  • QA: 97.3 %

He started his preparation in July. He thinks minimum 6 months are required to get a decent percentile. He had attempted around 40 Mocks of CL and Time. He has applied to all IIMs, FMS and XLRI. His dream career choice would be Strategy Consulting after MBA.

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Kuldeep Atri
  • Overall: 99.44 Percentile
  • VARC: 97.44
  • DILR: 99.16
  • QA: 98.43

Home Town: Udaipur (Rajasthan)

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Avinash Misal
  • Overall CAT 2018 Percentile -99.37 %
  • VARC: 99.4%
  • DILR: 98.49%
  • QA: 96.79%

Avinash did CAT Coaching at TIME in Bangalore. He studied at Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology. He is a Software Engineer by profession. His strategy was to give at least one hour every day for LR-DI and then give as many mocks as possible to expose him to different types of questions. He said mocks were crucial for his results. He gave close to 40 mocks. Mock Tests simulated a test day scenario and thus kept him on his toes with various twists and turns.

  1. CAT 2018 Topper - Pratik Mishra​
  • Overall Percentile: 99.33 %
  • VARC Percentile: 97.1 %
  • DILR Percentile:99.7 %
  • QA Percentile: 996.9 %

Pratik Mishra started seriously preparing for CAT 2018 in August only. He used Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma and solved Sudoku puzzle daily! He didn’t study at any coaching institute but the test series provided by coaching centres prove to be of great help. He also used Arun Sharma’s book on DI. Pratik Mishra has applied to all IIMs, FMS Delhi and NITIE Mumbai.

 

14. CAT 2018 Topper – Sakshat Goel

  • Overall Percentile: 99.21 %
  • VARC Percentile: 95.15 %
  • DILR Percentile:99.66 %
  • QA Percentile: 97.45 %

Sakshat focused more on taking mock tests on a regular basis to analyse the weak areas and improve accuracy. His most important advice to prepare for CAT is to channelize all the energies towards CAT preparation. Work on time management skills and try giving as many mocks as possible. To prepare for GD-PI-WAT, he read newspaper on a regular basis, undertook mock GD and practice interview rounds. Sakshat was offered admission by MDI Gurgaon, IIM Shillong, IIM Kozhikode, New IIMs and SPJIMR. He preferred SPJIMR Mumbai to any IIM and other top B-schools. 

 

15. CAT 2018 Topper – Tushar Goel

  • Overall Percentile: 98.89 %
  • VARC Percentile: 98.25 %
  • DILR Percentile:92.22 %
  • QA Percentile: 98.6 %

Tushar joined T.I.M.E. classroom course to prepare for CAT exam and used to go to classes and work on weekdays. He subscribed to IMS mock tests and took 1 AIMCAT and 1 SIMCAT on weekends. Analyzing the mocks helped him in cracking CAT. To prepare for GD-PI-WAT, he read the newspapers regularly so as to get acquainted with the recent happenings. Besides, he appeared in mock GDs and PIs with T.I.M.E. and IMS. Tushar converted SJMSOM-IITB, MDI, NMIMS, All the new IIMs under Common Admissions Process (CAP) with SPJIMR but he opted for SPJIMR Mumbai. His message to CAT aspirants is to understand what they want from the MBA program, then see what various B-schools have to offer before choosing the right MBA college.  

CAT 2020 New Pattern & Duration: Check Analysis by India's Top Exam Experts

Read Detailed CAT Toppers Interviews by MBAUniverse.com

  • Shivam Shrivastava

    Exam score : 99.75 percentile

    A 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.

    `

    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.

  • Akhil Garg

    Exam score : 99.73 percentile

    Putting 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 Indore

     

    MBAUniverse.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 percentile

    An 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.

  • Abhishek Kumar Pandey

    Exam score : 99.63 percentile

    An 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:

    1. 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
    2. 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.
    3. 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.

     

  • Rohan Joshi

    Exam score : 99.63 percentile

    Rohan 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.

  • Ketki Gupta

    Exam score : 99.58 percentile

    Ketki 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.”

  • Palash Jhawar

    Exam score : 99.51 percentile

    Palash 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.

  • Sakshat Goel

    Exam score : 99.21 percentile

    A 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 97.45

     

    MBAUniverse: 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 percentile

    Adarsh 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 Materials

     

    Q. 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.

  • Tushar Goel

    Exam score : 98.89 percentile

    Tushar 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.

Pages