I prepared for the UPSC CSE exams full-time for two years after graduation. After this didn’t go as I planned, I decided to pivot and took CAT where I scored 98.73 percentile.

My UPSC Journey

As most of you might be aware to clear UPSC CSE Prelims we should crack both GS and CSAT papers simultaneously. I failed to clear the GS paper of prelims by around 5 marks on my first attempt even though I cleared CSAT qualifying marks. In my second attempt in May 2023, I scored 13 marks more than the GS paper, however, I failed the CSAT by 2.7 marks. This was the lowest point in my academic journey as I had given this exam my all.

My CAT Journey

Then I decided to join an MBA and started CAT preparation. The CSAT aptitude paper which is qualifying in nature is generally considered easier than CAT in terms of the level of questions. When I decided to write CAT, this always haunted me- “I couldn't even score qualifying marks in the CSAT, how can I even dream of IIMs?”. Many individuals suggested that I should go for an MA as I am from an Arts background and there will be tough competition by engineers in CAT. However, I was always interested in the administrative field- if not public administration, then corporate administration!

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I started with CAT preparation using Arun Sharma's Book for Quant, and Nishith K Sinha's book for logical reasoning, and when it came to VARC it mostly comprised analysing past year papers. VARC was my strongest area as I always had the habit of reading Hindu newspaper articles and complex write-ups. I wrote past year papers in the form of mock and it helped me get a clear idea regarding the difficulty level of CAT.

While solving the Quant section I made sure I picked the arithmetic questions which are easier for me. Since it was not my strongest area and as I had less time to prepare, I mostly focused on the arithmetic part. Regarding LRDI I felt we cannot skip any type of questions while preparing. Practicing a variety of questions even though we are not so comfortable with certain types of questions is the key as we cannot predict the type of questions in LRDI. In the VARC section, it is crucial to develop our strategy. While giving mocks we need to find out why we are making mistakes in reading comprehension, we should recognize the point which makes our logic different from the question paper setters’ logic. Note down your mistakes on a sheet of paper so that you will remember them.

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Finally, the most important factor that helped me score a decent percentile in CAT with minimal preparation is the peace of mind on the exam day. As it is an aptitude paper being calm and attempting the paper can make wonders.

All the best. Join her on LinkedIn!

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S Dharmashree Shetty

My journey from preparing for UPSC CSE to joining an IIM, Ft.S Dharmashree Shetty, IIM Udaipur