Parneet Kaur completed her undergrad in B.Sc, her major being Physics, in 2022, with a CGPA of 9.22 (77.85%). Her academic profile is 80.57% in 10th, 79.38% in 12th, and 9.22 CGPA in Undergrad (at Jai Hind College, Mumbai). In this interview, Parneet shares her preparation strategy that helped her score 95.43 percentile on CAT 2022, and her journey to SPJIMR Mumbai! Read on!
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Hi Parneet! Congratulations on making it to SPJIMR Mumbai! Can you please share your sectional score and percentile with our readers?
|
Score |
Percentile |
| Overall |
61.35 |
95.43 %ile |
| Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension |
32.4 |
97.05 %ile |
| Data Interpretation And Logical Reasoning |
12.47 |
84.21 %ile |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
16.48 |
89 %ile |
That's great! Can you walk us through your preparation strategy?
Getting into prep, around late April 2022, I knew that VARC would be my strength and that I would need coaching to not only get stronger at DILR & QUANT but also to get some direction for how I could improve mock after mock. So while I was taking demo classes at institutes, I started with basics such as tables, squares, cubes, doing small puzzles, etc. Once I started coaching under IMS in May, I was waking up, studying, going to classes, and coming back and studying as I wasn't working. I did take sitcom and reading breaks, however. Sometimes, I'd even write.
With Quant, the revision was very important. I revised and studied simultaneously. Initially, while there was a constraint on the time I spent on each sum, it wasn't a hard and fast rule. Sometimes I'd spend up to an hour on a single sum, trying to figure it out so the progress felt very slow. But it was important to do that because I wanted to keep clearing my basics. With VARC, it was just practice. Very early on, I started to figure out what type of questions I am good at and what kind I had to keep improving on or maybe even abandon if I don't improve much right before the test.
With DILR, completing just 4 sets could take me a day initially. But practice makes a woman better! I had no set timetable for what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. That came to be naturally, as I started to understand and predict my potential with practice. The journey was imperfect, with discrepancies in intensity, but never in consistency. I had a journal to take notes for areas of improvement which allowed for constant re-assessment and re-direction. I also had to learn to manage stress, to not take low percentiles too personally, to have a growth mindset, and to believe in myself a little more each time.
While I improved consistently in DILR, I wasn't improving in VARC and QUANT till November. I believe this was due to the support of my parents, my brother, my mentors and due to being able to better my mindset a little every day. I learned to learn rather than to measure and limit. I had been taking mocks ever since May in-center so I could get used to the environment. Reading up and watching videos on new strategies and other people's journeys was also a great help!
Basically, practicing and re-assessing are the most important aspects of my CAT journey.
After a few last-minute miraculous tips and courage, I had a terrible slot 2 paper. After a few cries, I continued on with a growth mindset and went on to give a few more papers and started preparing for the personal interaction round. I wanted to do my best no matter what. I started to revise undergrad concepts and started introspecting for HR questions.
According to you, what is the most important aspect of preparation?
Mindset. The reason I saw sudden improvements in November is that I went through a significant change in my mindset. Instead of the fear of failure, it was the learning that was driving me. The improvements I was making were not only in the exam but also at times, in the way I thought or approached a problem. This way, I fell in love with the process.
Which mock series did you enroll for?
IMS
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How many mock tests did you take, and how did they help you prepare for CAT 2022?
I took 25 mock tests. I sat in-center for 15 of them. Sitting for them in-center definitely helped me take the temperature of the exam. The external distractions and the internal thoughts. Hands shaking as I solve whilst looking at the time. So getting used to all of that was of huge help.
Which section was your Achilles heel? How did you overcome that?
For me, it was QUANT. I overcame it by spending a significant time on each sum, regardless of whether I could solve it or not. It really helped me clear basics and that is the most important aspect of QUANT.
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What was the lowest point in your preparation journey?
About two months into prep, I caught covid but about a month after I had recovered, my parents also caught covid whilst my younger brother left to start his undergrad and caught viral.
I'd already started my CAT journey late, but with this happening plus the consistently low marks and percentiles I was scoring in mocks, I was definitely more stressed. I'd say that was the lowest point of my prep journey.
Fortunately, I got through it, especially due to my parents' support. I'm very grateful to them!
Parneet, CAT 2022 went well for you. We'd like to know the interview calls that you received.
I received interview calls from SPJIMR Mumbai, IIM Shillong, IIM CAP, IIM Nagpur, IIM Amritsar, NMIMS Bangalore, and Goa Institute of Management.
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Amazing! Please share how you prepared for the interviews.
I started off by doing GK and current affairs. I was already reading editorials but I found a few more sites like either/view, finshots that helped me think more critically. Once I got into a habit of that, I started making a list of all important questions and started introspecting and writing down my answers. As I got into a habit of that, I started practicing writing WATs. And then I revised my undergrad subjects. Instead of starting all aspects of the personal interaction round together, I brought in each aspect one by one which made the task of preparing for interviews less daunting and more manageable.
How did your SPJIMR interview go? What according to you helped you convert the interview?
My friends were surprised at how I talked about my S P Jain Interview experience. The concept of a group interview is fantastic to me because it's ideal and we get to explore different perspectives right there in the interview. Not only are you challenged individually, but your listening ability and the breadth of your perspective are also challenged as well. While GI Round 1 was the technical round, round 2 was the real highlight. An interview can be draining at times but after round 2, I left feeling like I had learned so much. It was refreshing.