Sarthak Gupta, from FMS Delhi's Co'24, had scored a perfect 100 percentile in the VARC section on CAT 2021, and an overall 99.93%ile. In this interview, he has detailed the strategy and the resources that helped him ace the VARC section and CAT in general. Read on!
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Q) How to improve VARC score?
There's no shortcut as such. You need to-
a. Build your comprehension skills thoroughly through reading practice and mocks
b. For VA questions, I believe that when you save time during RCs, you can invest some 12-15 mins in VA, which gives you sufficient time to crack them (provided that you practice enough)
Above all, be calm while you're reading. If you can't understand the passage immediately within 2-3 mins, skip it.
Q) What should be the tentative number of attempts in all three sections to get the 99+ percentile in CAT?
I believe more in the concept of NET NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS than simply 'number of attempts' Suppose two candidates get 40/66 in QA in the same slot. Candidate A has attempted 18, with a correct/incorrect split of 14/4, with 2 of the incorrect questions being TITA. His net attempts are hence 14 - 2/3 = 13.33 (due to +3/-1 rule in CAT).
Candidate B has attempted all 22, with a correct/incorrect split of 15/7, with 2 incorrect being TITA. His net attempts are also 15 - 5/3 = 13.33. Both will get the same %ile score. Now, having explained that the NET ATTEMPTS for each section to get 99%ile are: VARC: 13-15 out of 24 DILR: 9-11 out of 20 QA: 10-12 out of 22.
Q) What if I start my cat preparation in mid-July and spend 6 to 7 hrs productively till the d-day. Would that be enough to score above the 95 percentile?
Radhika Mohta (a Batchmate of mine, who is a BLACKI convert) said it best in her
InsideIIM article:
"Even an eternity to prepare won't ensure a 100%ile. However, 95%ile is achievable without 6-7 hours of study immediately. I won't stop you from doing that (unless it puts stress on your mental health)."
I, as a working professional, had a schedule of 2 hours per day during the weekdays, and 6-7 hours on the weekends for September to November (including mock taking and analysis).
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Q) How should I optimally divide time between all the sections to secure a decent percentile and from when should I ideally begin with mocks?
1. Start taking mocks from NOW. Take 1 mock every two weeks till August, then a mock every week till November.
2. Syllabus-wise, start with QA now, as it has what I believe to be a substantial syllabus. Cover the basics: speed Vedic math, all the arithmetic/algebra/geometry during June-July. You can later simply solve sectional tests to boost your QA strategy.
3. At the same time, start solving DILR questions from mid-July to the end of August. I won't give you much advice here, as I'm not very good with DILR
4. For VARC, start in June by reading a book from a field that interests you to learn how to read patiently (eg: if you like cricket, read books on the history of cricket by Boria Majumdar). Later, solve sectional tests for building your RC skills and read from good sources (Aeon, The Ken, HBR, etc.)
5. Your week should look like this -
i. Take mock on Sunday (2), do analysis (4).
ii. Monday- 2 more hours of analysis
iii. Tuesday - 2 hours QA .
iv. Wed - 2 hr DILR
v. Thu - 2 hr VARC.
vi. Fri - 2hr of sectional tests (2 of QA, 1 of DILR)
vii. Sat - 2 hr of sectional tests (1 of DILR, 2 of VARC).
Apart from Sunday and Monday, you can mix all the other days as per your wish. However, be stringent in giving 2*6 +6 = 20 hours per week to CAT, starting from August latest.
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Q) Since you have scored 99.93 percent you would've gotten at least one of IIM ABC, so what's the reason for choosing FMS? (apart from nominal fees which I've heard about)
I got interview calls from A and C, but they didn't even waitlist me after my PI. Get rid of this notion that a high percentile like mine means a definite BLACKI admission call. Your PI holds more than 50% weightage for almost all IIMs. Prepare better for your interviews than I did ;) That being said, I couldn't be happier that I am going to FMS! Paying the fee is not an issue for me (I have an IIML call); however, my reasons for choosing FMS are: Having done my graduation in an isolated Location like BITS Pilani, I wanted to have the experience of being able to do my MBA in an urban setting. Many friends of mine have started up their own companies in Delhi, and going there would give me the opportunity to collaborate with them seamlessly.
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Q) Like how people read newspapers for improving GK, what should I impart in my daily routine in order to become more prepared for CAT? (I'll be writing CAT only after 3 years)
I would actually suggest you read the Hindu religiously for 1/2 hour every day if you can. There is no better way to build your GK and vocabulary than doing that. For DILR, you can solve puzzles like Sudoku and brain teasers from various books. For QA: Go through the
Vedic Maths books by Rajesh Thakur.
Q) How to improve in VARC my reading speed is slow and my accuracy is also not up to the mark?
There's a wonderful book by Justin Hammond on Speed reading. Its ebook edition costs 75/-
Check here!
One line from his book is about how reading slow sometimes results in the reader going back through the passage repeatedly without understanding it. I don't need to explain how poor understanding will impact your accuracy I'll let you read this book and figure stuff out on your own. Trust me, it's worth the effort.
Q) How do I select DILR sets in mock that are easy to do? Also, I am doing self-prep how do I clear my doubts?
Wait for Ashish Yadav (another Batchmate who got 100%ile in DILR) to do something like this! He's the best guy to answer this. All I'll advise you to do while selecting sets is to invest 1-2 minutes in reading the problem and estimating if you can do it or not. For doubts, CATaholic (this server) is a great channel to discuss all these things. There are many channels on Telegram as well.
Q) How to develop a no-fear mechanism for VARC?
The only way to conquer your fears is to embrace them (Ra's Al Ghul, Batman Begins). For VARC, just read. Read endlessly, either through sectional tests/mocks or online/offline content. My mantra for RCs during CAT was: Enjoy the passage, understand what is written as if it's your own words, answer the questions, and then forget everything and move on to the next passage.
Q) I feel the quants portion is never-ending! How did you work on that? Also, how did you work on time management during exams when I increase my speed my accuracy goes for a toss, and when I don't, no. of questions attempted goes for a toss! How did you develop the skill to identify within 2-3 mins whether you want to attempt that particular LRDI set/RC passage?
I think the best thing I did for quants was that I finished the essential syllabus (Algebra/arithmetic/geometry) first off by Mid-August. Then, when CL's QA1000 self-prep course came out, I used it as a refresher of concepts and learn some numbers and modern maths. I never skipped ANY questions in VARC, ever. I can't help you there. Since this section was my best, I was always aggressive with it. On average, 28 mins for RC (7 mins per passage, with 3-4 mins of reading). In LRDI, my set selection skills were extremely good on some days and horrible on others. On CAT, it was horrendous again, but I won't complain too much about that now.
Q) How can we select the right academy for CAT coaching?
I will actually advise against going for full-time coaching. If you are in college, try to focus on college studies/getting an internship. For CAT, choose good self-study courses. For VARC, take VARC1000 without any compunctions about spending your money. Gejo sir is a wizard and the best on-screen friend I ever had. The fact that I now chat with him on WhatsApp is just a bonus (yes, I'm showing off right now, but I don't care) For DILR, you can go with any of the self-study courses. TIME/IMS/CL. CrackU's module is very cost-effective and good as well. Same as above for QA.
Q) Which mock series to buy?
Echoing
@Vaidehi from earlier, any two from TIME/IMS/CL.
Q) How to improve reading comprehension?
Read through all my answers above here. But above all, don't feel pressured to get a high VARC score. I got a 90.71%ile in DILR, because it's my weakness, maybe. Ashish Yadav (my Batchmate who got 100%ile in DILR) got only 87%ile in VARC! Yet, we're both going to a great B-school. In short, focus on your strengths to compensate for your shortcomings. Isn't that life?
Q) Will a gap of 16 months create an issue in the interview?
Okay, major reveal: I failed in my 5th semester of engineering (actually, I skipped my final exams then). I had no good explanation for it, but I still got through FMS. Many people have such blots in their profile and have still made it to IIM-A/B/C. If you can explain your 16-month gap effectively, please try to do so. Otherwise, try to convince them of the fact that your past is just that: your past. It has no impact on your future. More than convincing the interview panel, you need to convince yourself of that fact :)
Q) Can you share your strategies for the VA section?
It mostly revolved around reducing the time I took in my RCs (to 25-28 mins) so that I got enough time to solve Para jumbles. I was fairly good with Parasummaries so never explicitly practiced for VA apart from mocks.
Q) I appeared for CAT'21 just to get the essence of the online examination and I scored 60%ile overall with 25%ile in VARC, 78%ile in DILR, and 80%ile in QA. Now I am not doing a job and amply into CAT Preparation. Seeking some expert advice on the same.
I would first be very straightforward in saying that, if possible, please try not to prepare for CAT full-time. If, not a job, start something on the side for yourself through internships or freelancing, etc
Real-world experience is far more valuable as a B-school student than preparation for an exam that happens one day every year and can be highly unpredictable.
Q) What should be the approach if someone is weak in all 3 sections?
I didn't deal with that aspect very well, to be honest. All I tried to do was to ensure that my DILR score doesn't below 90%ile in any mock.
You can try to improve your knowledge about each section till October ends. But when November comes, let it all be as it is. Otherwise, stress from your poor section will result in you spoiling the whole exam for yourself.
Q) Sometimes, I get lost in the reading passage of VARC and then realize that I didn't understand the passage and it kills my time. How should I deal with it?
This is a very common phenomenon. I like to call it the 'Mast Magan' syndrome (spell-bound for the non-hindi folks).
Read the Justin Hammond book I mentioned earlier. He highlights all the bad habits readers develop by reading slowly because of the fear of missing anything in the content.
That's the major reason why people read slowly.
Q) While doing QA, I learn the concepts of a topic, solve a couple of questions and while giving sectionals or full mocks I get stuck. There seems to be a gap in the level while solving normal questions as compared to mocks, any suggestions on this particular aspect?
Career Launcher does these open sessions called "Race to 99". You can attend them by paying a small fee to CL (-100/-). It's free for CL Test series folks though. When the topic of QA comes up, Gautam Pri (GP) Sir enunciates one very critical fact: "When we begin our prep, we solve algebra and QA like we're back in class 10. Neatly writing the proof and all sorts of 'Hence Proved' shit (sorry for my language, I'm frank even in text)
CAT is not some cute little fur ball. It's an effing sly beast designed by these semi-evil IIM folks to trick, cheat and bamboozle. Hence, you need to 'Break Bad' and blow all the rules out of the window. I will tell you one thing about these "QA shortcuts": they can't be simply told to an aspirant. They need to get kicked down by their first mock so that they can then retreat, do what becomes necessary, and then solve every question using dirty tricks you make for yourselves. Something as simple as Multiplying N by 5 can be done better as N *10/2. There are so many of them. You need to explore QA adequately to build them for yourself.
Q) I read business news (the business standard) every day for my GK... Is that enough or should I read Hindu?
In my opinion, The Hindu has the best quality of editorials. UPSC aspirants read it for a very obvious reason: it's the best newspaper in India (honesty and all I don't know, but the content is neat and well-written).
Q) Which test series should we take?
Everybody (and me) says any two out of IMS/CL/TIME. I prefer CL because its AI analysis page is the best in the CAT prep industry.
Q) How many mocks should one take ideally?
My schedule was of 2 VARC sectional tests and the full month mock every week. So, I solved 72 VARC questions every week. I also took great care in the analysis of my mistakes. Accuracy is only possible with careful preparation that is based on sound analysis.
After all, you can't control what you can't measure. In fact, solving less (1 mock and 1 sectional) with good analysis is enough for 99%ile.
Q) What was the major difficulty you faced and how did you overcome that?
My major difficulty was with DILR. I will explain more in my upcoming InsideIIM article and how I tried to overcome it, but it didn't work out in the end.