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

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  • Nandagopal V

    Exam score : 99.99 percentile

    MBAUniverse.com is excited to present inspiring success stories of XAT toppers who secured admissions in XLRI and after taking judicious decision made it to their dream B-school. Get motivated from their well-planned preparation strategies, valuable insights on MBA entrance exam readiness, Personal Interviews, and MBA college selection.

     

    Today, meet Nandagopal V from Kochi. He busts the myth that XAT is a higher difficulty exam. In his view XAT is not more difficult than CAT. He scored higher percentile score in XAT than in CAT. Nandagopal cracked XAT 2023 with 99.99 percentile and CAT 2022 with 99.15 percentile. He declined admission offers from IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode and joined XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM-BM 2023-25 batch as XLRI conforms to his criteria of choosing the best B-School.

     

    A B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani, Nandagopal has a work experience of 2 years in the Consulting area with ZS Associate, Pune from 2021-2023 where he drove customer engagement by 33%, and sales lift of 40% across the portfolio; Led end-to-end operations in the Digital Customer Engagement space for a Global 500 Client. His parents are Lawyers in the High Court of Kerala and his brother is currently in Class 12.

     

    A Quizzer, bits and pieces photographer, an avid cricket fan and a music enjoyer, Nandagopal’s CAT and XAT preparation journey is full of lessons. For instance, he overcome his weakness in DM section, and very well used previous papers and mocks to maximize on his strengths. 

    Q: How did you perform in XAT 2023?
    A: 
    In XAT 2023, I scored 99.9902%ile overall and 99.7871%ile in QA; 99.2965%ile in Verbal; 99.9561%ile in DM and 96.6078%ile in GK

     

    Q: Hod did you perform in CAT 2022?
    A:
     I scored 99.15 overall percentile in CAT 2022. I also appeared in CAT 2021 in which I scored 99.17%ile.

     

    Q. How different/unique is XAT as compared to other MBA entrance exams in your opinion?
    A. 
    The Decision Making section in XAT is what that separates it from CAT (I cannot speak for other entrance tests). Additionally, XAT is a 3 hour paper, while CAT is only for 2 hours. Speaking of the other sections, Verbal is very variable, when it comes to the difficulty and predictability of questions, as compared to CAT. While questions in QA can be considered more difficult in XAT, the extra 1 hour provides a good enough buffer to handle the section with relative ease. Also, since XAT has 5 options for each MCQ as compared to 4 in CAT, the process of elimination may not be always the best approach to solve questions.

     

    Q: Any myth you would like to bust regarding XAT exam or its preparation?
    A: 
    There are two myths about XAT, I would like to comment on them:

    • People assume XAT to be more difficult than CAT when it comes to the level of questions. It really is not, and is a fairly high scoring exam.
    • People also assume that Decision Making (DM) section is easy, and that is a myth

    Q: What was your overall preparation strategy for XAT?
    A: 
    I had prepared for the MBA entrance tests myself, and did not go for any coaching. Like many others, I did not specifically prepare for XAT, except for the DM section. Someone who is preparing for XAT would have prepared for CAT as well, so the QA and Verbal sections can be covered by CAT. The best way to prepare for DM would be to solve only DM sections from past year papers. This section is very subjective, and more often than not, 2-3/5 options might feel correct. They could even be correct, from a different perspective. Unfortunately, XAT does not care about the subjectivity, and that is why it is paramount to practise the previous year papers. This way, the candidate will be able to understand how the examiner is thinking, and will be able to curb their natural thought process to arrive at the correct answer.

     

    Q: How long should a candidate ideally prepare for XAT?
    A: 
    QA and VA will go hand in hand with CAT. Maybe in the month of December, between CAT and XAT, the candidate can focus on the DM section. Also brush up on GK, specifically current affairs.

     

    Q: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for XAT? How did you prepare for Verbal & Logical Ability?
    A: 
    I may not be the right person to answer this, since I never prepared specifically for Verbal sections, for either CAT or XAT. I would recommend going through mocks. To fine tune the candidate’s grasp over the English language, one can learn maybe 5 new words a day. In addition, there is a small yet significant difference between CAT and XAT Verbal reading comprehension. A candidate preparing for CAT from a coaching institute might be instructed to read a passage by skimming through it after reading the opening and closing statements, go through the questions, and then come back to the passage. While a great strategy, this may not always work for XAT, since the XAT passages focus on a comprehensive understanding, deeper than the surface level, to answer the questions. Hence, I would recommend spending time reading the passage, and understand its essence properly.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for Decision Making?
    A: 
    Decision Making is the most important section in XAT. It can make or break your entire score. If you are attempting XAT, you would be targeting over 99%ile. Let’s face it, everyone who ends up with this percentile are good in QA. Most are really good at Verbal. As a result, DM becomes the differentiating factor between a 99%iler and a 99.9%iler. Putting numbers into context, 99%ile started around 50-55% if I remember correctly. 99.5%ile was at around 60%, and 99.8 around 65%. So there is a huge traffic in the 60-65 range, which implies that 1-2 questions can be very pivotal in gaining a huge advantage. Also, it is very easy to not clear the sectional cutoff for DM. So to prepare for DM, my recommendation would be to practise previous year papers, as many times as you want, specifically the DM section. Each of us has a unique perspective that might give us different yet valid answers for the questions in DM. Unless this perspective matches with the examiner’s, there is no point in our justifications. So, that’s why by practising previous year papers, the candidate will be able to get into the mindset of the examiner.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for QADI?
    A: I prepared for the QA section in CAT by practising questions from the Arun Sharma book. Most people with over 99%ile are engineers, and are really strong in QA-specifically arithmetic, algebra, ratios, probability and such, since they would have already prepared for JEE math. However, what most of these engineers are weak at, and generally ignore, are concepts in geometry and mensuration. Yes, I know they are boring, but the competitive advantage of putting in the extra hours in them are two-pronged. Primarily, you won’t shy away from answering them since you have prepared. Additionally, now that you are prepared, you might know some theorems and lemmas that can help you solve these questions really fast, thus saving time. Hence, just bite the bullet, and go through these topics thoroughly.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GK & Essay? How important they are in your view in XAT?
    A: 
    For GK, I looked only at current affairs. If you are going for coaching, just do what they say. If you don’t, like me, just search for material online (Reddit has a lot of quality and free stuff), or leech off your coaching friends. Do not spend too much time prepping for these sections, just try to score 90%ile (14-15 correct out of 25), and get it done with. Regarding the essay, I feel you can do it without any preparation. Just go through common topics – events of national importance like G20, climate crisis, political events and such. (I personally did not even know there was an essay until I saw the questions.)

     

    Q: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
    A: 
    I was weak at DM. I probably still am. I don’t think anybody can call themselves good at DM. I honestly did not prepare for the section until 1 day prior to the exam. I decided to attempt the previous year paper, where I scored 2.5 marks in the DM section, with which I couldn’t have even cleared 50%ile. Next day, during the actual exam, I got around 18/20 right, with a percentile of 99.96. So it is quite variable, and luck can play a huge factor. Another day, I would have scored 2/20 in the same paper. Hence, all you can hope for is to just stay composed, try thinking from an examiner’s perspective, try to critically question each option, and arrive at the best answer.

     

    Q: What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
    A: 
    I attempted 2-3 past year papers. Yes, mocks are the most important tools for the exam. Apart from the normal reasons why mocks are good, let me explain why they are needed for XAT specifically. You would have given maybe 10-20 mocks for CAT, and would have been used to the 2-hour long exams. A 3-hour long paper like XAT on the other hand is a totally different ball-game. In cricketing terms, CAT is like T20s, while XAT is like ODIs. Now that your body and mind have been habituated to attempt 2-hour long papers, you could feel lethargic after the 120 minute mark, and may not be able to utilize the 3rd hour as much as you would have wanted to. This is why, once CAT is done, mandatorily write a few XAT mocks, so that you can get used to the 3-hour mindset.

     

    Q: Did you self-prepare for XAT Exam or did you attend a Coaching Centre and why?
    A: 
    I prepared on my own. I was working also at the same time, so I did not have the bandwidth for coaching. Personally, I don’t think a students who would have already prepared for engineering entrance exams in 12th would require coaching. Self-practice would be sufficient.

     

    Q: Which books did you refer/ would you recommend during your preparation and how effective were they?
    A: 
    I followed Arun Sharma’s book on CAT Preparation for QA. It gives access to a lot of questions per chapter, which you can practice to excel in the topics.

     

    Q: Please share your strategy for the XAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your XAT test taking?
    A: 
    I knew that my strongest area was QA. My strategy was to maximize my score in QA (targeted over 90%, got 82% due to some silly mistakes). Since I had flunked the DM section from the previous year one day prior to the exam, I was very precarious regarding DM, so I started with it. I was confident in my abilities to solve questions in QA really fast (thus the silly mistakes :P), and therefore, I spent close to 70 minutes only on DM, analyzing each option multiple times. I do not recommend this strategy, unless you are really strong at QA and Verbal. Since I already spent a lot of time in this section (usually I would have spent hardly 25), I had to compensate for that during Verbal. I had to leave a few questions in Verbal. Also, I was already tired by the time I started attempting them. The Verbal section was fairly simple when I wrote, at 71%age my percentile was only 99.3. Verbal can be a very high scoring section.

     

    Q: Which top B-schools shortlisted you for GD/PI Round?
    A: 
    I was shortlisted for PI round at XLRI BM, HR and LSCM programmes, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore among others

     

    Q: Which top B-schools offered you final admission?
    A:
     I converted XLRI BM and HRM programs, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Indore

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GD/PI Rounds? How different was your preparation strategy for BM and HRM interviews?
    A: 
    We never had a GD, but it could be reintroduced from next year onwards. I prepared two questions – Introduce yourself, and why MBA. Though nobody asked me these, you must mandatorily have a solid answer for both. Especially to introduce yourself, be prepared to talk about yourself for at least 3 minutes. Also, keep it to relevant things, like your family background, maybe an interesting fact about your hometown, what did you do in your schooldays outside studying – I used to talk about cricket, music and quizzing, then fast forward to your college days, the committees you used to be a part of, your academic achievements if any, and if you have workex, briefly explain what you worked on without throwing any jargon.

     

    My HRM Interview at XLRI
    I had scheduled my HRM interview first since I was not interested in joining HRM, and wanted to use it as practice. The panellists will grill you on why you want to join HR, and they can clearly see through bullshit. So just be honest. I had written in my SOP and mentioned during the interview that I was not interested in HRM, still I had received an offer.

     

    My BM Interview at XLRI
    For the BM interview, they will grill you on 2 items definitely:

    1. The subject which you mentioned as your favourite in your SOP (specifically for freshers)
    2. Your workex/internships if any, and company/industry details

    As I had mentioned Supply Chain management as my favourite subject, and an Operations Professor was my panellist, so I was heavily grilled on the topic. He asked me a lot of questions on Toyota Production System, including Japanese jargon.

     

    Regarding my work ex, since I had worked in data science, they asked me conceptual questions from the topic, which are fundamental, but tricky.

     

    I had worked in ZS, a leading analytical consulting firm, most of whose clients are big pharma companies. Hence, for both interviews, I was asked a lot of questions from the pharma industry, many related to Covid vaccines. So, prepare accordingly for the interviews, know what is happening in your industry.

     

    Q: Something you think went really well for you in your interviews?
    A: HRM Interview
    : I felt this interview went really well, despite me telling at the start that I am not interested in HRM. It felt more like me doing a standup than an interview. My panelists asked me why most of the candidates from my college were from Mechanical Engineering, and after I gave them a detailed statistical answer, the panel burst into laughter. Maybe my candidness fared well with the panelists.

     

    BM interview: After the interview, I felt that it was a disaster. It was a proper stress interview, and was very technical. It went on for almost an hour. Usually interview panels have 2 good cops and 1 bad cop, but in mine it felt like everyone was a bad cop. The exact opposite of my HRM interview. But, the panelists are not looking forward to what answers you are giving. They are more concerned about how well you can handle the pressure. I was unable to answer many questions related to data structures, even fundamental ones, and regarding the pharma industry as well. But I had anticipated questions regarding Toyota Production System, and had prepared accordingly for it. So though the interview went very technical in this front, I was able to tackle the questions.

     

    Also, if you do not know the answer to a question, just say that you do not know, and move on to another question. Otherwise, you will be struggling to answer the questions which you have limited idea of, giving the panelists a wrong impression of you. Not knowing stuff is completely okay, faking things are not.

     

    Q: What were your top three criteria for deciding which B-school to apply or take final admissions to?
    A: 
    According to me, Fees, legacy and placements are the top three criteria for deciding on a B-school admission. I wanted to work in consulting, so XL was an easy option among all others. For me, my priority order was IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, FMS, XLRI, IIM Lucknow, Kozhikode, Indore. I didn’t get the first 4, so it was an easy choice.

     

    Q: According to you, overall, how can B-schools make their MBA admission process less cumbersome for MBA applicants. 
    A: 
    I don’t feel the B-schools need any improvement in their admission process prior to the results. It would be great if the results of all colleges come in the same week. Otherwise, with multiple rounds of iterations, it becomes hard for students to make decisions.

     

    Q: Finally, your message and tips for candidates preparing for XAT 2024
    A: 
    My message for XAT 2024 aspirants is Just keep your calm, write as many mocks as you can. Do not be complacent if you score well or depressed in case you don’t. Just trust the process, the results will really come through.

  • Tanish Jain

    Exam score : 99.99 percentile

    MBAUniverse.com presents the motivational interview with Tanish Jain who cracked CAT 2022 with 99.78%ile and XAT 2023 with 99.99%ile and declined the admission offers from FMS Delhi and has joined XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM-BM 2023-25 batch. In his view Quant in XAT is easier than in CAT. A B.E. in Electronics and Communications from NSIT Delhi, Tanish has gained 1 Year Work Experience with Bain & Company before joining XLRI

     

    MBAUniverse.com is excited to present inspiring success stories of CAT and XAT toppers who secured admissions to top B-schools and after taking judicious decision made it to their dream B-school. Get motivated from their well-planned preparation strategies, valuable insights on MBA entrance exam readiness, Personal Interviews, and MBA college selection.

     

    Today, meet Tanish Jain from Dwarka, Delhi. He feels that Quantitative Ability in XAT is easier than in CAT exam. He scored higher percentile score in XAT than in CAT. Tanish cracked CAT 2022 with 99.78 percentile and XAT 2023 with 99.99 percentile. He declined admission offer from the high RoI B-School-FMS Delhi and joined XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM-BM 2023-25 batch as XLRI conforms to his criteria of choosing the best B-School.

     

    A B.E. in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi, Tanish has a work experience of 12 months as Analysts and Senior Analyst with Bain & Company from June 2022 to June 2023. His parents are Doctors but he preferred to pursue his passion for management education.

     

    A reader of fictional novels, Tanish Jain’s CAT and XAT preparation journey is full of lessons. For instance, he overcome his weakness in DM section by practicing as many more questions, previous papers and mocks to maximize on his strengths.

    Q: How did you perform in CAT 2022 and XAT 2023?
    A: 
    I scored 99.78 overall percentile in CAT 2022. In XAT 2023, I scored 99.9951 percentile overall and 99.62 in QA; 99.91 in Verbal; 99.90 in DM

     

    Q. How different/unique is XAT as compared to other MBA entrance exams in your opinion?
    A. 
    Quants in XAT is easier: The Quantitative Ability section in XAT is generally considered easier than CAT. The question difficulty is lower. However, since the KPI is percentile instead of percentage, it means that there is a greater focus on accuracy in Quants. Also, since the section is shorter than CAT, there is significantly lower scope of skipping out on questions from chapters which are not well prepared.

    • Verbal in XAT: In Verbal section, Focus on poems along with proses make XAT unique.
    • RC in XAT: Reading comprehension for XAT requires a bit more thought on message/ theme rather than the mentioned facts.
    • DM-Unique Section: The Decision Making is a unique part of XAT exam. DM was very difficult to prepare for and was rather done based on prior experiences.

    Q: What was your overall preparation strategy for XAT?
    A: I
     prepared for quants for XAT along with my CAT preparation. I Practiced the verbal and DM sections from the previous 10 years papers and had been reading newspapers for the past 6 months which was enough prep for GK section.

     

    Q: How long should a candidate ideally prepare for XAT?
    A: 
    If prepared well for CAT then the month between CAT exam and XAT exam is enough. Otherwise, a candidate should take 3-4 months to prepare for XAT

     

    Q: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for XAT? How did you prepare for Verbal & Logical Ability?
    A: 
    I prepared for verbal and logical ability by practicing the past year papers and a few mocks. I was already very confident in my grammar and logical reasoning. For someone who doesn't perform well in the first few mocks, I would recommend going through the required theory.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for Decision Making?
    A: 
    Decision making is comparatively subjective. I prepared by going through the previous year papers and then spending substantial time thinking on the underlying themes for every question that I was not able to answer.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for QADI?
    A: 
    As an engineer, I was confident in my quantitative ability. I practiced for quants and DI from Arun Sharma books and CAT mocks for the CAT exam. Since I performed well in CAT quants, I did not spend a significant amount of time preparing separately for XAT QADI.

     

    Q: How important are GK & Essay in your view in XAT? How did you prepare for them?
    A: 
    GK and essay have deceptively high importance in XAT. They might not directly have a weight in percentiles, but the preparation would help a lot during the interviews. The preparation strategy that I followed is:

    • GK- Read newspapers consistently for 6 months prior to XAT. Very difficult to prepare for GK last minute.
    • Essay- Went through and thought on songs of the previous essay topics.

    Q: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
    A: 
    I was initially unsure on the DM section. I overcame this challenge by practicing as many questions as possible. Whenever I got a question incorrect, I spent enough time to make sure that I would be able to solve any similar questions.

     

    Q: What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
    A: 
    Mocks played a major part in my success. Most of my preparation was based on practicing through mocks and previous year papers.

     

    Q: Did you self-prepare for XAT Exam or did you attend a Coaching Centre and why?
    A: 
    Being a working professional I did not have sufficient time for coaching etc. Accordingly I self prepared with books, previous papers, mocks, news papers, resorting to more practice questions and other material

     

    Q: Which books did you refer or would recommend during your preparation and how effective were they?
    A: 
    I would recommend a book having previous year papers and a lot of mocks with solutions and explanations.

     

    Q: Please share your strategy for the XAT Day.
    A: 
    Purposefully I did not have any last-minute preparation. My strategy for the XAT day was to have a calm pre-XAT morning.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GD/PI Rounds? How different was your preparation strategy for BM and HRM interviews?
    A: 
    I did several activities to prepare for the GD/PI process as below:

    1. GK- Religiously read newspapers for the past few months for current affairs. Watched a few UPSC prep YouTube channels to prepare for static GK.
    2. BQs- Wrote down every possible BQ question I could think of/ was available in any MBA interview guide (Got some interview guides form IIMs)
    3. Resume prep- Prepared a few talking points for each point on my interview. Wrote down pointers for any possible question on workex, UG, Extra-curriculars, etc.
    4. Functional knowledge- Prepared for basics of marketing, pricing, org behaviour, etc.
    5. XLRI specific prep- Studied basic knowledge on XLRI including the values, mission, popular alumni, etc.

    Q: Something you think went really well for you in your interviews?
    A: 
    The interviewers allowed me to guide the direction for most of the interview. In both my HRM and BM interviews, the initial questions were from my introduction and SOP. Post this, most of the questions were based on my previous answers.

     

    Q: Why did you prefer XLRI? What were your top three criteria?
    A:
     I chose XLRI after a well thought of decision. The key criteria were:

    • Job profiles offered: My long-term goal is consulting. I wanted to get into a B-school where all major consulting companies hire and XLRI is ideal for this
    • Alumni network: Strong alumni network like the XLMafia was a major criterion
    • Median Placement: Post both previous criteria, I arranged prospective B-schools based on their highest and median placements

    Q: According to you, overall, how can B-schools make their MBA admission process less cumbersome for MBA applicants. 
    A: 
    According to me, to improve transparency on the exam pattern, B-schools can provide detailed information about the exam structure, including the number of sections, duration, marking scheme, and question types. Sharing sample questions or mock tests can help applicants understand the format and prepare effectively.

     

    Q: Any myth you would want to bust regarding XAT exam or its preparation?
    A: 
    There is a myth that most of the B-School exams heavily favour candidates with a strong quantitative ability or those having more experience in quants (generally engineers). However, quants in XAT focuses more on logical usage of very simple fundamental quant problems. DM section is equally challenging for most candidates.

     

    Q: Finally, your message and tips for candidates preparing for XAT 2024
    A: 
    I would like to share following four tips for candidates preparing for XAT 2024:

    • Understand the Exam: Familiarize yourself with the XAT exam pattern, syllabus, and marking scheme. Understand the different sections and their respective weightage to plan your preparation accordingly.
    • Strengthen Basics: Build a strong foundation in quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, verbal ability, and decision-making. Focus on mastering the fundamental concepts before moving on to advanced topics.
    • Practice Mock Tests: Regularly practice mock tests to simulate the exam environment and assess your performance. Analyse your strengths and weaknesses and work on improving them.
    • Solve Previous Year Papers: Solve previous years' question papers to get familiar with the question formats and identify recurring patterns or topics. This will help you understand the exam better and boost your confidence.

    So, with this introduction, let’s get going with the interview!

  • Saswat Gupta

    Exam score : 99.98 percentile

    An inspiration to CAT 2018 aspirants, Saswat Gupta cracked CAT 2017 with 99.91 percentile and got admission in FMS Delhi. A graduate from IIT Delhi in Mechanical Engineering, Saswat appeared in XAT 2018 also and scored 99.97 percentile.

     

    Saswat was offered admission at IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, XLRI Jamshedpur, apart from FMS Delhi but preferred to join FMS.

     

    Saswat belongs to a modest family of four people – his home maker and artist mother; father doing private service, and his younger student sister.  

  • Nipun Garg

    Exam score : 99.95 percentile

    MBAUniverse.com is excited to present inspiring success stories of XAT toppers who secured admissions to XLRI and other top B-schools and after taking judicious decision made it to their dream B-school. Get motivated from their well-planned preparation strategies, valuable insights on MBA entrance exam readiness, Personal Interviews, and MBA college selection.

     

    Today, meet Nipun Garg from Panchkula Haryana. He feels that Decision Making section in XAT is fun to solve. He scored higher percentile score in XAT than in CAT. Nipun cracked XAT 2023 with 99.9577 percentile and CAT 2022 with 97.02 percentile. He declined admission offer from MDI Gurgaon, 9 CAP participating IIMs and joined XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM-BM 2023-25 batch as XLRI conforms to his criteria of choosing the best B-School.

     

    A B.E. from BITS Pilani, Nipun has a work experience of 35 months (Almost 3 years) as Manager, Nirmaan Builders and Investments, Chandigarh from May 2020 to April 2023. His father is a businessman, mother is home maker and sister is a student. With all the support from his family and friends, Nipun continued his march to pursue his passion of doing MBA/PGDM from one of the top B-schools in India.

     

    Chess, Travelling, Geo-politics A keen observer and reader of Geo-Politics, Nipun loves playing Chess and Travelling. Nipun’s CAT and XAT preparation journey is full of lessons. For instance, he overcome his weakness in QADI section by practicing as many more questions, previous papers and mocks to maximize on his strengths.

     

    So, with this introduction, let’s get going with the interview!

     

    Q: How did you perform in XAT 2023?
    A: 
    In XAT 2023, I scored 99.9577 percentile overall and 99.47 in QA; 98.52 in Verbal; 99.81 in DM

     

    Q: How did you perform in CAT 2022?
    A: 
    I scored 97.02 overall percentile in CAT 2022.

     

    Q. How different/unique is XAT as compared to other MBA entrance exams in your opinion?
    A. 
    The two areas where I feel XAT is different from another MBA entrance exams are the time allotted for the exam, and the Decision Making. Other MBA exams have reduced their exam durations post COVID-19 with little intentions of going back. I strongly feel that the longer time frames are a truly a test of persons conceptual understanding where challenging questions could be asked whereas shorter time frames force one to switch to rote learning. Moreover, the Decision-Making part of the exam is something very unique to XAT and is a fun section to solve.

     

    Q: What was your overall preparation strategy for XAT?
    A: 
    My strategy mainly emphasised on focusing on my stronger suits, mainly DM and Verbal Ability. At the same time, I also made sure to very thoroughly cover all the topics and concepts in Quants section. For GK section, I only went through daily newspapers and there was not any specific preparation as such.

     

    Q: How long should a candidate ideally prepare for XAT?
    A: 
    I think a consistent (doesn’t have to be very intense) effort about 3 months before the exam could prepare any candidate for this exam.

     

    Q: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for XAT? How did you prepare for Verbal & Logical Ability?
    A: 
    My main source for preparation of the VA section was the daily newspapers (mainly The Hindu or Indian Express). Apart from that, one of the main things anyone should focus on is to read the RCs and poems in the exam extremely carefully before attempting.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for Decision Making?
    A: 
    For me, the past year papers were the best source for preparation for the exam. I tried to deduce a logically why the given answer was correct. I also relied on few of my friends to discuss the given case studies to gain a different perspective.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for QADI?
    A: 
    For Quants, I relied on solving as many questions as possible, especially for the section where I was weak. Questions itself were a source of preparation for me in the section.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GK & Essay?   
    A: 
    For GK I mainly relied on daily newspapers. The editorial sections of these newspapers came very handy in writing essay, not only developing my linguistic capabilities but also as a source of new and unique ideas.

     

    Q: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
    A: 
    QADI section is something which I struggled with. I relied on solving as many questions as possible, especially for the section where I was weak. Questions itself were a source of preparation for me in the section.

     

    Q: What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
    A: 
    I believe mocks played a very important role in my final preparation. Especially after covering the syllabus once, I mainly relied on mock for strategizing how to attempt the exam and manage the time.

     

    Q: Did you self-prepare for XAT Exam or did you attend a Coaching Centre?
    A: 
    I opted for self preparation and primarily referred to some YouTube channels. I also referred to TIME Institute coaching material and would recommend the same to XAT aspirants.

     

    Q: Please share your strategy for the XAT Day.
    A: 
    My main emphasis during the exam day was getting a proper full night sleep as well as not worrying about the exam a lot. I was fairly confident that I did my best, and was mostly indifferent about the results. Also, during the last week I avoided studying anything new and tried to revise whatever I had already done.

     

    Q: Which top B-schools Shortlisted you for GD/PI round?
    A:
     I was shortlisted by XLRI, MDI Gurgaon and all the CAP IIMs

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GD/PI Rounds? How different was your preparation strategy for BM and HRM interviews?
    A: 
    Again for GD/PI process I relied on newspapers. However this time I tried to form my own opinion on the dominant news during the time. I also appeared for 2-3 mock interviews. Since I had work ex, I made sure to brush up on all the different aspects of my roles and responsibilities and ensuring I am thorough with it.  

     

    Q: Something you think went really well for you in your interviews?
    A: 
    I was able to drive the interview in the direction I was most comfortable in, i.e. my work experience.

     

    Q: Which all top B-schools offered you admission?
    A: 
    I converted XLRI Jamshedpur BM, MDI Gurgaon and the CAP IIMs

     

    Q: Why did you prefer XLRI? What were your top three criteria?
    A: 
    I chose XLRI after a well thought of decision. The key criteria were: Legacy (for how long the institution has existed); Large Alumni Network; High Placement Statistics

     

    Q: According to you, overall, how can B-schools make their MBA admission process less cumbersome for MBA applicants. 
    A: 
    I think there needs to be a greater transparency post the examination stage, especially in the GDPI interviews. The objective criteria used for final selection in the interviews should be made public

     

    Q: Any myth you would want to bust regarding XAT exam or its preparation?
    A: 
    The Myth is that the XAT exam is way too difficult to even attempt. In fact, Decision Making is one of the best sections I had fun solving. Candidates need to let go of this fear and just try to give their best

     

    Q: Finally, your message and tips for candidates preparing for XAT 2024
    A: 
    My advice to the candidates for XAT 2024 would be:  

    • Give your best shot at this examination
    • Do everything you can to the best of your abilities, so much so that the results become inconsequential
    • Be excited and curious to learn about different and new things 
  • Mukesh Goyal

    Exam score : 99.80 percentile

    CAT 2017 can be conquered with 100 percentile by the determined students from small towns and with their self preparation, is the message Mukesh Goyal, CAT 2016 topper with 100 percentile and student of MBA 2017-19 batch at FMS Delhi shares with the CAT 2017 aspirants.

     

    Apart from CAT, Mukesh appeared in XAT 2017 and IIFT 2016 also. He scored 99.795 in XAT and 99.84 in IIFT but preferred to join FMS Delhi as it was his dream B-school.

     

    Mukesh hails from a modest family of small town Sunam in Sangrur district of Punjab. His father is a businessman and mother is homemaker. Sunam, as the name reflects represents a good reputation and true to the reputation of his birth place, Mukesh has added flying colours to it. Few may be aware that Sunam is also the birthplace of Shaheed Udham Singh, the great martyr who laid his life in Indian independence Movement by avenging of Jalianwala Bagh Massacre where British killed hundreds of innocent Indians.  

     

    Mukesh Goyal was a working professional when he started his CAT 2016 preparation. He balanced his CAT preparation with his working hours and managed both. It was not only simple preparation but also a good deal of devotion was required to overcome the weakness in VARC section.

     

    Breaking the myth that Coaching is required to crack CAT exam, Mukesh remained stuck to self preparation but took as many Mocks as possible. An inspiration to CAT 2017 aspirants, Mukesh advises the MBA aspirants to take more and more Mocks, analyse them and have peer discussion which will help in boosting your score in CAT 2017.

     

    Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) of Delhi University is the dream B-school for CAT toppers who prefer the campus to IIMs and other top B-schools due to the various USPs of this highly ranked B-school which has a legacy of more than 60 years. FMS Delhi is the highest RoI B-school with very low fee structure and high placements.

     

    Mukesh has been a consistent performer throughout his academics. He scored 91.2% in class 10; 87.8% marks in class 12 and 72% marks in Bachelor in Engineering (B.E.). Mukesh had worked as Market Analyst at Futures First before joining MBA 2017-19 at FMS Delhi. Mukesh has great interest in playing and watching Cricket & Football doing  Acting among other hobbies.

  • Amit Chakraborty

    Exam score : 99.55 percentile

    MBAUniverse.com in its series of CAT 2022 topper interviews, brings before you a success story of CAT, XAT, IIFT and NMAT exam topper Amit Kumar Chakraborty, who cracked CAT 2022 with 99.34%tile, XAT 2023 with 99.55%ile, IIFT with 98%ile and NMAT with 255 score and was offered admission by XLRI, MDI, NITIE, SPJIMR, but he preferred XLRI to any other top B-school.

     

    Coming from a modest Family of Durgapur (West Bengal), Amit Kumar Chakraborty is a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University. After completing his graduation, Amit joined Hindalco as a GET and worked there for 12 months. Then he gained 8 months of work experience at Protiviti as Technology Consultant. Amit scored high percentile in all the MBA entrance exams with his well devised preparation strategy and support from Mindworkzz Coaching Institute. Amit’s father works at Bhilai Steel Plant as ED (MM). Amit loves listening music, reading and travelling.

     

    MBAUniverse.com invited Amit Kumar Chakraborty to share his CAT, XAT preparation and exam day strategy, how he cracked CAT, XAT, IIFT and other exams, why he preferred to join XLRI instead of MDI, NITIE, SPJIMR and other B-schools. Read below his Interview with preparation strategy

    Q: How did you perform in CAT 2022?
    A: 
    I scored 99.34 overall percentile in CAT 2022. I scored 96.53%ile in VARC, 97.95%ile in DILR and 98.95%ile in QA.  

     

    Q: Apart from CAT 2022, which other exams did you appear? How was the performance?
    A: 
    Apart from CAT 2022, I appeared in XAT 2023 and scored 99.55%ile. I also appeared in IIFT and scored 98 %tile and in NMAT, I scored 255 marks.

     

    Q: With such good scores in all the MBA entrance exams that you appeared, which top B-schools shortlisted you for PI Round?
    A: 
    I was shortlisted by IIM Indore, SJMSoM IIT Bombay, DMS-IIT Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai, SPJIMR Mumbai, New IIMs based on CAT score and by XLRI Jamshedpur based on XAT score and by IIFT based on IIFT entrance exam score

     

    Q: Which were your final Converts after PI Round?
    A:
     I converted MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai, XLRI Jamshedpur, SPJIMR Mumbai. However, I have joined XLRI Jamshedpur flagship PGDM-Business Management 2023-25 batch.

     

    Q: Before we understand your preparation strategy, please share your key criteria why you preferred to join XLRI instead of MDI, NITIE, SPJIMR and other top B-schools?
    A: 
    I arrived at a decision to choose XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM-BM 2023-25 batch after giving it a due thought on various key parameters including Ranking of the B-school; genuine recent Placements trends and the Brand value of the institute I found XLRI the best among all on all these parameters.

     

    Q: This is very thoughtful of you to have researched so well before finalising your B-school. Let us now understand what was your overall preparation strategy for CAT?
    A: 
    I started my preparation from Jan 2022. Exams like CAT and other similar exams hardly require memorising anything. It is just testing one’s aptitude within a limited time frame. Hence, I devoted a major portion of my preparation time in using the methods and concepts learned through taking mocks and doing their subsequent analysis. Since managing the preparation and my job at the same time was challenging, I used to plan my tasks for the week ahead beforehand. During the weekdays, I used to learn the concepts and take mocks during the weekends.

     

    Q: Please share your sectional preparation strategy for CAT? How did you prepare for VARC?
    A: 
    I used to read articles from AEON, The Guardian etc on a regular basis. This helped me build a reading habit and over the time it helped me comprehend the passages well. But reading articles is not enough unless we can answer the questions based on the passages correctly. Hence, I regularly took sectional test on VARC to test my understanding. 

     

    Q: How did you prepare for DILR?
    A: 
    I mainly prepared for DILR through taking mocks and doing a thorough analysis. Through this, I got to work on different types of sets and the solutions helped me find a better way to approach the set.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for QA?
    A: 
    I tried to learn the concepts and shortcuts for each topic after which I solved multiple questions on each of those topics. Topics like Profit and Loss, TSD, Averages and Alligations from Arithmetic and basic geometry and mensuration are a ‘Must to Prepare’ in order to score well in this section.

     

    Q: Was there any particular section/area that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?
    A: 
    I was weak at VARC. For this I read articles from various sources regularly which helped me comprehend the complex passages over time. Sectional test and full length tests helped me apply my learning. The main thing to remember when solving RC sets is to stick to what the author has mentioned in the passage and choose the option accordingly. For VA questions, it is better to solve the odd one out questions first and then attempt the summary questions and finally the jumbled questions (worked for me, but again this is an individual choice).

     

    Q: What role did Mocks play in your success? How many mocks did you attempt before the exam?
    A: 
    Mocks had played a major role in my success. During the initial months, I used to take one mock every weekend followed by thorough analysis. From the month of September, I took multiple mocks throughout the week. Mocks are very important for time management practice and also help to check how well one is able to compete with other candidates. I took around 40 mocks in all before the main exam.

     

    Q: Did you self-prepare for CAT Exam or did you attend a Coaching Centre and why?
    A: 
    I had enrolled in Mindworkzz CAT Prep course. For a working professional like me, it required me follow a proper plan for my preparation which Mindworkzz helped me do so. I had also taken mocks from institutes like IMS, CL and cracku to evaluate my performance and work on variety of question sets.

     

    Q: Which books did you refer during your preparation and how effective were they?
    A: 
    I mainly solved problems through sectional tests and full length mocks. For QA, I referred to Arun Sharma Sir’s book.

     

    Q: Please share your strategy for the CAT Day. What was your last-minute preparation? How did you plan your CAT test taking?
    A: 
    The mantra for the CAT Day is keeping calm. Although it is easier said than done, it is quite natural to have some anxiousness for the exam that we have been preparing for months. Yet, I tried to keep my cool. During the last week before the exam, I solved the question papers of CAT 2021. On the day before the exam, I just spent some time revising the formulas for QA. The rest of the day I spent my time watching TV and listening to music. I had already devised my test taking strategy during the mocks. I completed the RC  within the first 25 mins and spent the remaining 15 mins on VA. For DILR, I first went through all the sets and chose to solve the set that I thought would be easy. For QA, I solved the problems using the ABC method.

     

    Q: How did you prepare for GD/PI/WAT Rounds?
    A: 
    I had enrolled in the GDPI courses of different institutes. They helped me preparing my SOPs. Their strategies helped me develop my own strategy. The mock interviews instilled confidence in me and the feedback was quite helpful. I revised my UG subjects and regularly read the newspaper. I always keep myself updated with any ongoing event happening nationally or globally. This helped me answer a few GK questions during one of the interviews. My professional experience helped me explain the type of works that I had done. Overall the key areas that one need to cover is his/her UG topics, basic maths, GK (specially on current issues) and have a clear answer on works done during his/her professional period. 

     

    Q: According to you, overall, how can B-schools make their MBA admission process less cumbersome for MBA applicants. 
    A: 
    According to me, some B-schools take a lot of time to declare the final results. This time should be reduced as it creates an unnecessary burden on the candidate specially who are working as it creates problem regarding their notice period, if they are shortlisted by the B-school. If possible, there could have been a common application portal for all B-schools which could have eliminated the process of filling multiple applications. That being said, the process has become quite flexible than what is what few years back.

     

    Q: Finally, your message and tips for candidates preparing for CAT 2023
    A: 
    My message to all aspiring candidates is that be consistent in your preparation. Start early and don’t wait for the last months before the exam. This method does not work for all. Be your own judge. Identify your weak areas and work on them. Devise your own preparation strategy taking help from your mentors (if any). Keep taking mocks from the very beginning. This will help you track your performance and also help in time management. Finally, have faith in yourself. The preparation journey might not be very smooth. But don’t lose hope and keep preparing. Do not get disheartened by your mock scores but keep analysing them. Keep your cool on the D day and give your best !

  • Shekhar Kapoor

    Exam score : 99.06 percentile

    Shekhar is a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering  and has a work experience of 21 months. A working professional, Shekhar had to balance his professional duties and the study hours but made it sure to score high in XAT 2016 and CAT 2015 get into SPJIMR Mumbai, one of the highly ranked B-schools in India.

    My exam prep strategy, experience & Advice

    For the benefit of MBA aspirants, MBAUniverse.com asked Shekhar Kapoor about his preparation strategy and advice to do well in MBA entrance exams. Details follow

    Q. What was your preparation strategy for XAT?

    A.Since I had already been working when I decided to appear in XAT 2016, I knew that there would be times when my work deadlines would demand my undivided attention so it was better to start early. I started preparations in December 2014. I used to devote 1-2 hours on a daily basis. Once the new pattern was announced, I just focused on attempting as many mocks as possible to get my timing right.

    I needed to have thorough knowledge of various concepts to arrive at an answer, as elimination of options was not possible for each question.

    Q. How did you prepare for each section VALA, QADI, DM? What study materials and books did you use?

    A. I divided my time unequally among the three sections based on my level of proficiency. For my strong sections, I used to perform sectional tests and used to touch upon only those areas where I felt I needed to brush up. While for my weak section, I used devote some extra time in order to first get my basics in place to gain accuracy, and then practicing extensively to gain speed.

    Q. Did you change your preparation strategy after the announcement of the pattern change in XAT 2016 or you followed the same routine?

    A. The new changes mandated one to not only have in-depth understanding of the section(s) of one's interest to maximize the score but also to have breadth of knowledge by showing one's proficiency in the other section(s). From the knowledge point of view, I feel that the changes were for the best. As shared above I divided my time unequally among the 3 sections based on my level of proficiency.

    Q.Was there any particular section that you were weak at? How did you overcome this challenge?

    A.Quantitative Methods was my strongest area while Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation was my weak area. I tried to keep calm in the area and focused more on attempting few questions correctly rather than attempting many questions but with low accuracy.

    Q.What was your Time Management formula for XAT?

    A. I divided the allotted time in 3 chunks. The first chunk was of 30 minutes where I started with the first question and kept on attempting only those which I felt were sitters. I simultaneously kept on marking the questions which, though a bit lengthy, were easy to solve. At the end of 30 minutes I reached the end of the section with all the questions to be attempted in the second chunk. Then, I started attempting these questions spending not more than 2 minutes per question. This chunk was for 20 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, I tried to attempt at least 3 to 4 questions among the ones I had previously thought that they were difficult.

    Q.Please share your strategy for the XAT Day. How did you plan your XAT test taking?

    A. Attempting XAT is little more difficult as we were expected to be equally good at attempting every section. But it didn't affect my way of attempting questions as I had practiced well and performed calculations using the oral and manual calculations. 

    Q. Which B-school you decided upon and why? 

    A.I decided upon SPJIMR. The one thing that I like the most about SPJIMR is its agility. SPJIMR is quick to adapt to the changing needs of the industry and is always in a quest to produce managers who have a global outlook yet don't forget their Indian values.

    Q.What made you pursue MBA?

    A. While interning at Honeywell Technology Solutions Ltd., I realized that I was not meant to be a software programmer in an IT firm. But the clarity of thought was missing as to what I wanted to become. It was only during my stint with CISCO that I realized what my inner calling was. In an all-hands meeting at CISCO, I watched the Vice President of our business unit address a crowd of 300 employees. The way he presented his strategic ideas to take down the competition, his way of engaging the audience and communicating his vision for the business unit left me spellbound. That was a defining moment for me. 

    Q. Any message you would like to share with the candidates preparing for XAT.

    A. I think one gives one's best when one is least bothered about the outcome. Just give your best to the preparations and while attempting the paper without worrying about the results or which college you'll join. No one can keep a person devoid of what one deserves. So work to deserve what you need!

  • Kumar Ravi

    Exam score : 98.80 percentile

    Kumar Ravi has scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2017 and is now the student of MBA 2018-20 batch at FMS Delhi.  Kumar is a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from VNIT Nagpur and has earned

     

    8 months working experience in Pidilite Industries Limited before joining FMS Delhi.

     

    Kumar Ravi hails from Munger, Bihar. Apart from CAT 2017, he also appeared in XAT 2018 and scored 98.8 percentile. Apart from FMS Delhi, Kumar was offered admission at XLRI-BM, MDI-PGPM but preferred to join FMS Delhi

  • Rajat Tomar

    Exam score : 98.67 percentile

    Rajat Tomar has done B.Tech in Mechanical Engg. from HBTI Kanpur and is now pursuing PGDRM from IRMA. He has a Work Experience of around 2 years in United Breweries Ltd. Rajat belongs to Baraut, Uttar Pradesh. His father is a teacher in primary school and his mother is a house-wife.

     

    Determined to crack CAT with high percentile, Rajat appeared in CAT exam and scored 92.5 percentile. 

     

    He has interest in Reading and Analyzing World Politics, Spirituality, Cricket, Badminton. 

  • Jhalak Agrawal

    Exam score : 98.23 percentile

    Jhalak Agrawal  has done B.Com (Hons.). She is a fresher and got admission in IRMA without any work experience. Jhalak Agrawal belongs to Guwahati.  Her  Father is a Businessman and her Mother is a housewife. She has younger brother and sister.

     

    Determined to crack CAT with high percentile, Jhalak Agrawal appeared in CAT exam and scored 83.59  percentile and in XAT exam scored 98.225 percentile. She also scored 18 in IRMASAT.

     

    She has interest in reading novels, watching movies and travelling.