It’s that time of the year when you just want to get in full flow with your XAT prep. But thanks to the gazillion options for mock tests, coaching institutes and courses available out there, it’s easy to be confused about which one to go ahead with. It’s the same dilemma all of us struggle with and wouldn’t it be easier if you could get advice from those who managed to crack these exams last year? Well, guess what - we surveyed students who scored 99+ %ile in XAT 2021 and gathered the resources they relied on to boost their XAT preparation (Yes, you can thank me in the comments section). Read on!
Coaching Institutes
Having enrolled in a coaching institute myself, I was surprised to find out that almost half of all the 99+ %ilers surveyed did not join any coaching institute throughout their preparation. This goes against the popular notion that coaching is imperative to score a high percentile in MBA entrance exams.
Next up, about a quarter of the students joined TIME (I am amongst this number). Further down the line, 12% and 6% of the high-achievers went with IMS and Career Launcher respectively. Further, 37% of the students enrolled in only one coaching institute and 16% enrolled in two different coaching institutes.
Note: this data includes students who enrolled in more than one coaching institute, hence the percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Mock Series
Mock tests were the backbone of my XAT prep, as they are for almost every other serious aspirant.
The majority of XAT 2021 toppers honed their exam-taking skills by taking TIME AIMCATs (67%). Just about half of the students wrote IMS SimCATs, and a quarter of them enrolled in Career Launcher CAT Test Series.
The importance of mock tests is further underlined by the fact that only 6% of the students did not enrol for any mock series.
Note: this data includes students who wrote more than one mock series, hence the percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Around half of the students enrolled in two different mock series, 34% enrolled in only one mock series and 13% took mock series of 3 different institutes.
Free XAT Resources - Decision Making Mock Tests - Take Them Here!
MBA Blogs and YouTube Channels
Apart from studying subject material and solving practice tests, what also helped me in scoring 99+ %ile in XAT 2021 were different MBA blogs and YouTube videos. Personally speaking, these helped me to gain different perspectives on MBA and learn various tips and tricks on cracking XAT.
It does not surprise me one bit to learn that almost half of the 99+ %ilers surveyed frequently visited the InsideIIM website and YouTube channel to guide them in their journey.
PagalGuy is the next most visited forum, with 28% of the students regularly visiting it. Next up, around 20% visited the 2iim website and YouTube channel, and 28% did not visit any blog or YouTube channel whatsoever.
Note: this data includes students who frequently visited more than one MBA blog and YouTube channel, hence the percentages may add up to more than 100%.
With this article, I have tried my best to help serious aspirants like you get a clearer idea of what worked (and what didn’t) for those who scored 99+ %ile in XAT 2021.
Being someone who could have benefitted himself from this article one year ago, I hope that this article can help you get a better idea of how a high-achiever in XAT 2021 went about their preparation. Choosing the correct resources is just as important as preparing with those resources for the MBA entrance exams.
Take an informed decision and all the best for your preparations!
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