For many CAT aspirants, the biggest challenge isn't solving questions—it's trusting the preparation process when results aren't visible. Soumodeep Rana experienced exactly that. During his preparation, he even scored as low as 12 marks in one of his mocks. But instead of changing his strategy every few weeks, he focused on improving his process, one mock at a time.
That approach helped him score 99.06 percentile in CAT 2025, including 99.53 percentile in VARC, and secure admission to IIM Mumbai.
Soumodeep Rana has joined IIM Mumbai's PGP 2026–28 batch after scoring 99.06 percentile in CAT 2025. He graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi. Before joining IIM Mumbai, he worked as a Performance Marketing Consultant at Dentsu for 4.5 years, managing performance marketing campaigns for leading North American clients. Academically, he secured a 10 CGPA in Class 10, 81.33% in Class 12, and 7.89 CGPA in graduation.
His CAT 2025 sectional scores were:
- Overall: 85.46 | 99.06%ile
- VARC: 47.14 | 99.53%ile
- LRDI: 21.92 | 95.87%ile
- QA: 16.40 | 93.36%ile
"The Process Is More Important Than The Result"
Soumodeep says the philosophy that shaped his preparation came from MS Dhoni's famous quote about trusting the process.
There were days when he scored as low as 12 marks in mocks, and believing that the process would eventually work wasn't easy. Yet, instead of chasing shortcuts or changing resources repeatedly, he focused on improving every section methodically.
How He Improved VARC From Around 20 Marks To 99.53 Percentile
VARC became Soumodeep's strongest section, but it wasn't always that way.
In CAT 2024, he had scored only 21 marks in VARC, and his mock average also stayed around 22 marks. After analysing his performance, he realised that Reading Comprehension was consistently stronger than Verbal Ability.
Instead of trying to improve everything at once, he redesigned his strategy.
He allocated exactly 8 minutes to each of the four RCs, completing them in 32 minutes, and used the remaining 8 minutes for Verbal Ability.
One important habit he consciously developed was avoiding the sunk-cost fallacy. Even if he had solved only two questions in an RC, he refused to spend extra time trying to complete the remaining questions. Once the 8-minute timer ended, he immediately moved on.
For preparation, he:
- Solved 5 GMAT Club Critical Reasoning questions daily
- Practiced 4 RCs every day
- Started taking VARC sectionals every 2–3 days from June onwards
- Used sectionals from Cracku, Rodha, Career Launcher, TIME, and Anastasis Academy
- Watched Gejo Sir's mock analysis videos after every Career Launcher mock
The result was a jump from 21 marks in CAT 2024 to 47.14 marks (99.53 percentile) in CAT 2025.
LRDI: Practicing Every Set Under Timed Conditions
LRDI was the section Soumodeep feared the most.
His mentor, Ravi Prakash Sir, advised him to practice at least 500 sets to start recognising recurring patterns. While he couldn't complete all 500, he solved enough sets to significantly improve.
One rule remained constant throughout his preparation:
He never solved LRDI sets without a timer.
Every set was attempted within 20 minutes, helping him improve decision-making under pressure.
His daily routine included:
- Cracku Daily Dose
- Rodha topic tests and sectionals
- Previous year CAT LRDI sets from 2017 onwards
His LRDI raw score improved by approximately 214% compared to CAT 2024.
QA Preparation
QA had actually been Soumodeep's strongest section in CAT 2024, where he had scored 99 percentile.
For CAT 2025 preparation, he relied almost entirely on:
- Rodha Dashboard
- Career Launcher mocks
Rodha's 3,000+ questions, including topic tests, booster questions, mocks, and sectionals, became his primary source of practice.
Although QA didn't go as planned on the final exam day, he believes the preparation resources were more than sufficient.
Mock Strategy: Analyse, Revisit, Retain
Soumodeep believes mock analysis is where most aspirants lose valuable learning.
He attempted:
- 30 full-length Career Launcher mocks
- 100+ sectional tests from Rodha, Cracku, TIME, Anastasis Academy, and others
Instead of simply checking scores, he followed a three-step process:
- Attempt the mock.
- Analyse every question thoroughly.
- Revisit the same mock after a cooling-off period to check whether he had actually retained the concepts.
He also maintained a logic sheet, where he recorded particularly insightful questions and reasoning patterns so he could revise them regularly.
According to him, the biggest improvement comes from balancing new practice with revision of previously missed concepts.
The Most Important Lesson From CAT Preparation
Soumodeep believes many aspirants spend unnecessary time worrying about profiles, calls, and admission criteria even before writing CAT.
His advice is simple:
Focus on maximising your percentile first. Profile-related discussions can come later.
He also strongly recommends staying away from unnecessary online discussions during preparation.
"Stay away from Reddit. Use Reddit only after you're done with CAT."
Resources He Used
- Career Launcher – Full-length mocks
- Rodha – QA, LRDI, sectionals
- Cracku – Daily LRDI practice and VARC sectionals
- TIME
- Anastasis Academy
- GMAT Club – Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension
Interview Preparation
Soumodeep divided his interview preparation into three parts.
Work Experience
With 4.5 years of experience in Performance Marketing at Dentsu, he thoroughly revised concepts like:
- 4Ps
- STP
- AIDA
- Byron Sharp's brand growth principles
- AI's impact on digital marketing
Academics
Since he had graduated in Computer Science Engineering in 2021, he used ChatGPT to prepare concise revision notes for subjects like:
- RDBMS
- Big Data
- Cloud Computing
- AI
- Networking Basics
Contrary to his expectations, every interview included 3–4 academic questions.
Current Affairs
For current affairs, he regularly followed:
- Think School
- Zerodha Markets
- StudyIQ IAS
- Vajiram & Ravi
He also maintained his own notes covering important events from 2025 and early 2026.
B-School Calls And Converts
Interview Calls
- IIM Mumbai
- MDI Gurgaon
- IIFT
- IIM Udaipur
- JAP
- CAP
Converts
- IIM Mumbai – Core, OSCM & SM
- MDI Gurgaon – IB (Core waitlisted)
- IIFT Gift City (Delhi & Kolkata internal waitlist)
- IIM Raipur
- IIM Ranchi
- IIM Kashipur
- All CAP colleges
- Convertible waitlist at IIM Trichy
He has joined IIM Mumbai.
His IIM Mumbai Interview Experience
Soumodeep's interview was conducted on 22 April 2026 at the IIM Mumbai campus.
The discussion covered:
- His transition from Computer Science to Marketing
- Designing a LinkedIn marketing strategy for a Machine Learning course
- Big Data concepts, including the 5Vs
- Data Analytics vs Data Analysis
- Use of analytics in marketing
- Cloud Computing and its deployment models
- DigiLocker
- Questions about his hometown
Although he fumbled on a couple of technical questions, he described the overall interview as relaxed and conversational.
Interestingly, he had to travel from Jharkhand to Mumbai because Mumbai was the only available interview location for that round.
Soumodeep's Advice For CAT Aspirants
Looking back, Soumodeep believes his journey can be summarised in one sentence:
Trust the process, analyse every mock deeply, revise the logic behind your mistakes, and focus on improving consistently rather than chasing quick results.