Overall Score- 60.68, Overall percentile- 96.67
VA: Overall score- 25.73, Overall percentile- 93.07
LRDI: Overall score- 17.40, Overall percentile- 93.39
QA: Overall score- 17.54, Overall percentile- 95.44
- Can you walk us through your preparation strategy?
I started preparing for CAT 23 in mid-July after I started my job in Bangalore. I realized that I could write CAT 23 again after a disaster CAT 22 because I purchased a 2IIM All India Mock and I got almost all VARC correct (maybe it was very easy). My VARC performance made me feel that I could write CAT again and do well this time.
I decided to self-prepare because my basics in QA were clear. I read consistently and maintained a disciplined time plan for LRDI preparation (my weakest section). I made a rule that no matter what happens, I will solve 2 sets of LRDI and read 3-4 articles every day. It worked like magic.
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I purchased IMS SIMCATs and started writing them by the end (start my July if you start preparing early). I realized that my decision-making skills need work because I was being too egoistic with Algebra which is my strong part in QA. I wrote approx. 30 mocks which changed my way of writing CAT and increased my pace and most importantly, I became very comfortable with the paper, especially the LRDI section.
My mantra during the entire prep journey was not to have any negative thoughts and to prepare every day with a positive attitude. Never think you don't have the capabilities and never compare yourself with other's scores. I never indulged in any study groups or went for group studies or anything related to interacting with many aspirants. This was done to avoid negativity.
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I did all this throughout the next 5 months and achieved a 96.67ile with a 93+ in all sections. If I can do it, who got a mere 40ile in CAT 22, then you can do it as well.
- According to you, what is the most important aspect of preparation?
During my CAT 23 prep journey, I realized that more than anyone else, you are your biggest supporter. Your parents are an essential part of your journey no doubt but you are the one who can motivate yourself more than anyone else. You hardly need external motivation if you can motivate yourself. You will be alone in this journey most of the time, especially when you are going through a bad time (when you score consistently low in your mocks or struggle with a section). This will be the moment when there will be only one person to guide you and take you out of this mess, that's you.
Respect yourself as much as you can and have self-love. It's not selfish.
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- Which mock series did you enroll for?
I enrolled for the IMS SIM CAT mock series and completed the majority of the take-home and proctored SIMCATs. In the last few weeks before CAT 23, I also purchased CL's AIMCAT series. The purpose of that was to test me on different styles of questions since a mock series by a particular institute has a similar style of framing questions on a broad level. So, I wanted to be equipped with solving questions framed by different authors. Lastly, I solved 3 2IIM's all-India mock series too.
I would suggest that every aspirant should aim for multiple institute mocks if they can afford it. The biggest advantage, as I said, is to get used to questions framed in different styles and sizes.
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- How many mock tests did you take, and how did they help you prepare for the actual test?
Adding all the mocks of different institutes, I approximately solved around 28-30 mocks. Everyone has their unique count of mocks and one should understand one's skill level when deciding the number of mocks one should target.
I used to be very weak in LRDI so I wanted to do many mocks so that my fear of the section goes away and I gain more pace in that section and also become comfortable in reading the sets.
Doing around 30 mocks helped me tremendously in becoming very comfortable with all three sections, especially VARC and LRDI. As you write more mocks, your pace increases, but for me, the most important aspect of writing more mocks is the level of comfort you want to reach when you see a particular section.
I would suggest everyone to write more and more mocks if they consider themselves very weak in any one section or more. The more you see 'that' section, the more you become friends with it.
- Which section was your Achilles heel? How did you overcome that?
I have written CAT twice (22 and 23). I was always scared of LRDI and I used to avoid practicing it a lot because I was not able to solve a majority of the sets while practicing. Hence, I couldn't solve a single set in CAT 22.
The LRDI journey for CAT 23 started on a somewhat similar note. I was again avoiding LRDI practice to avoid self-embarrassment. However, there came a time when I was again scoring 0s in the section which was making my efforts in VARC and QA also useless because if you don't clear the cutoff for each section, there is no use in getting a 99%ile in the other two.
I finally got very serious with my LRDI preparation around August and September and practiced good quality CAT-level sets regularly. I started following a very good YT channel for LRDI where exact CAT level questions were solved and I solved the entire channel at my own pace. Secondly, I started giving a lot of LRDI sectionals. The best strategy for LRDI is to keep facing the section as much as you can. The biggest key for this section is comfort. The person who isn't scared at all when they see a set will always be ahead of the person who gets uncomfortable when they see a set even with the same skill level.
Don't run away from the section, accept it, put your ego aside, and start practicing every day. I ended up scoring a 93.39%ile in the LRDI section, only because I stopped lying to myself and gave it another push.
- What was your lowest point in your preparation journey?
I clearly remember that there was a day in October when I scored a 0 in the LRDI section because I couldn't solve a single set. CAT was just a month away and here I was scoring 0s in the LRDI section whereas others were getting 1.5-2 sets regularly. It was one of the worst days of my CAT 23 prep journey. I never wanted to quit because I was too close now to give up entirely.
The only choice you have during such pathetic periods is to give it a day's break and re-collect yourself. I did the same and it worked to a certain degree, however, that scar helped me be even more serious during the last month of the prep.
- What changes did you make in your preparation from your first attempt?
I scored a mere 40%ile in CAT 22 with a decent amount of preparation. The reason why I scored so low even after studying for months was my very low self-confidence. During my CAT 22 prep days, even though I was studying, I always knew that I would never be able to solve an LRDI set or do well in QA. This weak mindset ruined my entire year.
The biggest and the most important change I made for CAT 23 was high self-confidence. I, for the first time, was finally trusting my abilities and was studying with a positive attitude. I also was working during my CAT 23 prep journey so I didn't have enough time to be too negative but being away from social media and other aspirants helped me a lot. I distanced myself from large study circles and CAT discussion forums because these places aren't for people who start feeling dejected when they see their poor scores but other's high scores.
The second change would be consistency. I have seen my most consistent version during my CAT 2023 prep journey. No matter how tough the office was or how my day was going, I always used to read 4-5 articles every day and used to solve 2 LRDI sets every day on weekdays (on weekends, the quantities increased). Consistency is the best thing you can do for yourself during your CAT prep. It makes you a disciplined learner and if you achieve this, most of the job is done
- How did you overcome D-day/ last week's exam stress?
The last week of the exam was very calming. I stopped giving mocks 3 days before the exam. I made a very detailed notebook for all QA formulas, theories, secret theorems, and shortcuts. I revised my QA notebook twice a day for those 3 days and was reading my favorite subject (sports) articles at a normal pace (no speed reading). I used to watch a movie a day during the last days of prep.
My last days were full of gratitude and peace. I was very happy with how I approached my prep this time. I was much more mature and practical and never wasted any day.
Try to not do anything new in the last week because it never helps. Trust your preparation and just revise whatever you have done. Don't do mocks at all because you might write a tough mock which might disturb your mood. Just enjoy and watch movies instead.
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- According to you, what are the DO's and DON'Ts of preparation?
DO's
- Be consistent: There is this misconception among the aspirants that by consistency, people mean, studying 10 hours every day. Consistency means studying something every day without fail. You don't have to be a superhero hero every day, you just have to put in a little bit of effort every day. Normal consistency has a compounding effect which you will realize later in your preparation.
- Be patient: CAT preparation if done right, will make you a very patient person. Don't expect immediate results in anything. Your mock scores will improve slowly if you are putting in consistent efforts. Your patience will take you places. Don't ever make the mistake of quitting the preparation because you don't see a quick jump in scores.
DON'Ts
- Over-importance to CAT: The most common and the worst thing you can do to yourself in your prep journey is to start considering CAT above you and your health. CAT is just an exam like your boards were. Your health and well-being will always be above without any question. Treat CAT like an important exam and nothing more. Don't attach your next 5-6 years with your CAT prep. Trust me, ain't worth it.
- Not making a separate notebook: I see many aspirants never even thinking about making a separate notebook for QA where they can write all their formulas and theorems and revise them before their mocks or actual exam days.
- Which B-School interview calls did you have? How many of them did you convert?
Calls- SPJMR, MDI-G, IIFT-D, IIM CAP, IMI-D, GIM, XIMB-BM, IIM Rohtak
Converted- 5
- Which institute have you joined?
- Can you describe your institute interview experience?
My IIM CAP round went very smoothly. My CAP round was a mix of academic knowledge and GK. They asked me questions about Economics and Indian Politics. I was pretty well prepared with all the answers and the hygiene questions. hence, I achieved an excellent score of 40/50 in the CAP PI round.
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