Atishaya Jain is presently studying at IIM A, the dream college for many MBA aspirants. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT Mandi, 2014-18) with a bachelor's in Mechanical engineering (8.79 GPA), he had scored 10 CGPA in SSC(class X CBSE, 2012) and 92.6% in HSC(class XII CBSE, 2014). Post-engineering, he worked for a few months as a sales officer in HPCL and later moved on to explore the educational sector where he worked as an IIT JEE maths faculty at an educational firm. Here is the entire journey of Atishaya during his CAT preparation and how he managed to score 189.43 with 99.84%ile [VARC: 50.48, 95.47 | DILR: 64.91, 99.86 | QA: 74.03, 99.76 ] in his first attempt.
There are many aspirants who will attempt for the second (or even third or fourth) time. What'd be your advice to them?
From my personal experience being a teacher and student as well, I feel that even after working on their weak sections students fail to perform in exams. Students appearing for 3rd or 4th time need to work on time and stress management. I have seen that many students after failing to solve 2 consecutive passages lose hope and attempt the rest of the paper with disparity and lack of hope. never do that. For me, DILR was a nightmare. In CAT 2019 DILR had approx 8 sections of 4 questions each. I could not solve the first 5 consecutive sections. After having lost 12-13 minutes and unable to solve a single question, pressure kicked in. But I maintained a calm composure. I told myself: No need to worry I still have 45 minutes and I just need to identify and solve 15 questions. 3 minutes per question. to my surprise, I was able to do more than that. I would also recommend students to maintain high accuracy. Out of 100 questions, I attempted 72, and I managed to get 65 correct. students try to solve more than 80 questions and end up have more than 20-25 incorrect. This strategy kills your chances. DILR and QA I recommend students to spend 3-4 minutes and quickly graze through the whole section. Don't waste much time on this. you will be able to identify 15 out of 32 questions that you are bound to get correct. do them first. solving them must not take more than 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes is for reiteration, where you identify 3-4 more such questions and solve them in this way, you don't attempt all 32-33 questions, rather than that you picked up 18-20 which you are bound to solve correctly.
How did you prepare – Self-study or Coaching? Which one do you think is better?
I prepared on a self-study basis. I was also preparing for GMAT. The verbal section of GMAT is tougher than CAT, that is what I felt. So, I did not have to give much effort into CAT Verbal. I was employed as a teacher and due to long work hours, I could not commit to online or offline classes. I believe that choice of coaching depends on the person. For someone who is self-disciplined and able to stick to a routine timetable, he does not need to take coaching. Coaching doesn't teach anything out of the world, all they make sure is a routine preparation. I would say go for a trial mock. if you are not able to get 75 percentile in a particular segment, then I would say you need some help or a coach. if above 80 percentile then you could reach 99+ within 3 months of practice.
According to you, what is the most important aspect of preparation?
Time and stress management is the most important aspect of preparation. it is a game-changer on D-Day and surprisingly no books or classes can teach you that. One way of doing this is intentionally putting yourself under stress. once you have practiced mocks for 2 months, try to solve every 1-hour section in a time-bound of 50 minutes. initially, you would have to increase your speed to maintain your performance and mistakes will happen a lot. But in another 1.5 months with practice, both your speed and accuracy will improve. This is an effective method of stress management.
Which mock series did you enroll for?
TIME
How many full-length mock tests did you take?
15
How many sectional mock tests did you take?
VARC- (30 mins test--65 | 60 mins test--65 )||| LRDI- (30 mins test--100 | 60 mins test--100 )||| QA- (30 mins test--30 | 60 mins test--30 ).
What was your approach while taking mocks?
CAT is an energy-draining exam. So it is necessary to practice on Sundays at the exact time slot of your exam so that you don't feel sleepy on the D-Day. In the Verbal section, there are 34 questions(6 passages of 4 questions each and 10 questions based on grammar and para jumbles). I was never confident with para jumbles. My strategy from the beginning was to pick 5 out of 6 passages and give nine minutes to each(4 mins for reading and 5 mins for questions). this is more than sufficient time. Before reading the passage read 1 or 2 questions so that you don't have to reread the passage to find answers again. After spending 45 minutes on passages, in the last 15 mins pick 8 questions that you could solve. it ensures that you have sufficient time for all questions that you pick. So by this strategy, you have solved 27 out of 34 questions. Assuming that you have 75% accuracy you can still score around 53, which gives you 99 percentile. Never sit with a mindset to attempt the complete paper. It eases your stress to a huge extent. This was my approach from the beginning. My QA section was the strongest. Since I am an IIT JEE mathematics teacher, I never had to revise this area. From day 1 itself, I was scoring 99+ in mocks. so no such strategy here. In this section, I attempted mocks to solve all 33 questions correctly in the least possible time. So the aim of practicing mocks here was to improve speed and accuracy. LRDI was a headache. In the beginning, my strategy was to go sequentially with questions. but this didn't seem to work out and I ended up wasting 15 mins without getting any question solved. So I decided to make 2 fundamental changes. all 32 questions are divided into 8 passages of 4 questions each approx. So I decided to give more and more time in each section. but the CAT exam lacks time. I figured out that if I spend 10 mins per passage and find 5 easiest passages out of 8. I can easily get 20 questions correct. The job is done. Anything more than that I could score is a boon. This technique eases stress and reduces the mistakes you could make thereby eliminating chances of negative marking.
How do you think the mock tests helped you in your preparation?
A lot. During the first 20 days, they helped me identify my weak areas. In the next 1 month, it helped me try different strategies to solve the paper and in the last 45 days, it helped me to improve my speed and accuracy. during the last month, my accuracy went up from 65 % to almost 90%
Which section were you strong in? Since you were strong in that section, how did you focus on the other sections?
My greatest strength was QA. So I gave relatively least number of mocks for this section and that too of highest difficulty level, just to push my boundaries. I diverted all that time and effort into LRDI. For every 5 mocks in LRDI and VARC, I gave 2 easy, 2 medium, and 1 difficult mock. Mistakes in easy level mock help you identify your weakest areas. You need to read the theory and practice of this section a lot. Mistakes in medium level mock help you identify your errors in solving methods. This is the level of questions asked in the CAT paper. These errors could be due to poor time planning or lack of knowledge of shortcut time-saving techniques or poor time management. It is up to you to identify what is the problem and improve it. A little bit of practice can improve this section. Make efforts to stick to time. Go to the tough section only when you achieve more than 97-98 percentile consistently for 6-7 mocks. The ability to score here shows what is your strength and you need not reduce your practice time for these topics in sectional mocks.
Which section was your Achilles heel? How did you overcome that?
Through mocks, I realized that my scores in VARC and QA had saturated to 50 and 70 respectively. In order to receive a top IIM call, I needed at least 55-60 in LRDI. This section was my Achilles heel. This section had very fluctuating scores in mocks. On a particular day, I could score 99 percentile in mocks, and the other day I was just scoring 85-90 percentile. This irregularity in performance was worrying me. By analysis, I found that in the LRDI section there were questions related to arrangements. they were time-consuming. I decided to skip this portion. On a deeper analysis of past years' papers I realized that even if I skip this section, there is plenty of space to score. On the D-Day, we are only supposed to score 20 questions out of 32 and the job is done. Moral: not everyone is perfect at everything. Try to play on your strengths.
How much time did you devote to preparation on a regular basis?
I was working 6 days a week. So I could devote 2 hrs per day (1/2 hr study and 1.5 hr sectional mocks) at night. On Sunday I could devote 6 hrs a day (4 hrs mocks and 2 hrs analysis of mocks).
Tell us about the lowest point in your preparation journey and how did you overcome that?
CAT was scheduled for 24 November. On 31st July there was a cloudburst in Vadodara. My house was flooded and my father broke his arm. All responsibilities fell on my shoulder. It took me more than a month to get out of this mess. So I lost precious time I could have used for preparation. So I had to change my preparation timeline and strategy to fit into 3 months instead of 4 months that I had planned. I cut down all the easy and medium level sectional mocks in QA since it was my strength. What I am trying to say is there could be some shocks in your journey and you should not cry over it, rather come up with a plan to face it. Finally, that is what a manager is expected to do. LRDI was my headache. On a particular day I could score 99 percentile in mocks and the other day I was just scoring 85-90 percentile. This irregularity in performance was worrying me. By analysis, I found that in the LRDI section there were questions related to arrangements. they were time-consuming. I decided to skip this portion. On a deeper analysis of past years' papers I realized that even if I skip this section, there is plenty of space to score. On the D-Day, we are only supposed to score 20 questions out of 32 and the job is done. Moral: not everyone is perfect at everything. Try to play on your strengths. In the Verbal section, there are 34 questions(6 passages of 4 questions each and 10 questions based on grammar and para jumbles). I was never confident with para jumbles. My strategy from the beginning was to pick 5 out of 6 passages and give nine minutes to each(4 mins for reading and 5 mins for questions). this is more than sufficient time. Before reading the passage read 1 or 2 questions so that you don't have to reread the passage to find answers again. After spending 45 minutes on passages, in the last 15 mins pick 8 questions that you could solve. it ensures that you have sufficient time for all questions that you pick. So by this strategy, you have solved 27 out of 34 questions. Assuming that you have 75% accuracy you can still score around 53, which gives you 99 percentile. Never sit with a mindset to attempt the complete paper. It eases your stress to a huge extent. On 22nd November I was diagnosed with Dengue. So I was a bit worried about my performance. I had to take shots to control my fever for at least 4 hours of test time. Under such circumstances, family support was a huge help.
Do you believe that an engineer gets an added advantage in the management entrance exams?
An Engineer does get some advantage in the QA section. But the other 2 sections are a level playing ground for all. If you look closely at the QA section most of the QA syllabus is nothing but class( 8,9 and 10) primary grade stuff. People mostly look at CAT as a high profile exam and ignore the basics. that is where the problem arises. Engineers tend to be touch with algebra for a bit longer time and hence have an added advantage, but it can be easily compensated by going through primary grade concepts.
What resources would you suggest to 2020 aspirants?
Just pick 1 test series and practice a lot. In my opinion, TIME is the best.
What according to you are the DOs and DON'Ts of CAT preparation?
DO's 1) Stick to one type of material. it makes choices and processes easier. 2) Maintain consistency. A long gap in preparation will spoil months of hard work. 3) 2: 1 analysis ratio. For every 3 hrs of paper 1.5 hr of analysis. analyze your types of mistakes. 4) Keep a track of improvement. what kind of questions you are getting wrong despite efforts? What kind of questions you are getting wrong due to silly mistakes? 5) Make your won timetable. You would not be able to follow someone else's timetable. that is something I can guarantee you. DON'Ts 1) Don't forget anything mentioned in Do's column.
Which mock series would you like to suggest to CAT 2020 aspirants? Is one mock series sufficient or do you suggest a combination of 2 different mock series?
Just stick to 1 test series. changing series will just create confusion and chaos. for working people, 1 series is more than enough.
What would be your final advice to CAT 2020 Aspirants?
Every year 1 section in CAT is tougher than others. But remember one thing its tough for all. The mind has a habit of overthinking. If one section goes bad, people end up spoiling others. while solving mocks make a habit of forgetting. Forgetting what? Forgetting what you did in the last section. Till the point you keep crying back in your mind over the spoiled section you would not be able to give your 100% in the current and upcoming section. That is the difference between 95 percentile students and 99.6 + percentile students.