Khushboo Balani is a keen finance student with a strong academic base. She has co-authored six research papers and also maintains a blog on Speaking Tree. She has been awarded by multiple field experts and holds certifications from Bloomberg, NISM, AMFI, French Alliance, Mentora, and Trinity, while also being a 2-time national level award holder under the National Financial Literacy Test and French Word Power Exam. Khushboo has also been featured in the Business Standard Newspaper and Sans Frontiere French Magazine In this interview, she shares how she prepared for CAT 2022, and made it to her dream B-School, SPJIMR Mumbai, in the finance specialization. Read on!
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Hi Khushboo! Congratulations on making it to SPJIMR Mumbai! Can you please share your CAT 2022 sectional score and percentile with our readers?
| Score | Percentile | |
| Overall | 55.31 | 93.35%ile |
| Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension | 26.34 | 93.02 %ile |
| Data Interpretation And Logical Reasoning | 17.60 | 93.25%ile |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 11.38 | 78.36%ile |
Can you walk us through your preparation strategy?
My preparation strategy for CAT was as follows:
I began with IMS CAT Preparation classes 1 year prior to the exam date, this included classwork, homework, and practice sums. After the sums, I did the section tests on the IMS portal. For further speed in maths, I downloaded a Vedic math application on my phone and did it as a fun game whenever I had free time. I also downloaded a vocabulary builder app on my phone and made it a point to spend 30mins on it every day. Learning the first 30 squares, cubes, roots, fractions to percentages values and tables also helped me.
I also wrote the solving technique for each type of question right next to it in the books, and for practice sums on the IMS portal, I made a Word doc where I pasted the screenshots of the solutions right away so I don't lose track. I further downloaded quick formula sheets for each chapter and memorized them so at least by base is strong. Next for each chapter, I made a rulebook of what steps to follow in each possible type of question, so that there is no uncertainty.
We often think of covering every single topic, which is often not feasible with time therefore the priority topics within sections should definitely be given more time and effort. Therefore, I highlighted the important chapters according to their weightages in past papers and solved them first.
I then started attempting mock CAT exams and did almost 50 of them and kept meeting with the IMS faculty every 2 weeks to analyze my weak areas. IMS also has pre-recorded videos on best ways to attempt each section and I watched these as and when they were uploaded.
I maintained a notebook where I wrote each and every trick, acronym, method, and formula used across the 3 sections, in an easy-to-remember diagrammatic or tabular format, which was a 30-minute full proofread for the morning right before the examination.
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According to you, what is the most important aspect of preparation?
The most important part of my CAT preparation was analyzing the results of each mock I attempted and mentally graphing out my increase in the scores.
The process I followed was,
I would go through all my answers, then make a table where I wrote how much time I took per question, and how much time I should have taken in it ideally. Then I made a chart on how the wasted time could be accommodated better to solve another doable question. For example, if question A was very difficult and it took me 2 minutes, but questions B and C were manageable and I couldn’t do them since I ran out of time, I should’ve rather spent those 2 minutes in the form of 1 minute each on question B and C.
I also classified the reasons for my incorrect answers into categories like silly mistakes, lack of practice, lack of time, or lack of conceptual clarity. Then based on this matrix, I made another ideal table of what is the maximum score I could have gotten according to my potential and capabilities at that moment.
The way this helped was that, after manually doing this for the first few papers, from around the 10th paper onwards my mind was conditioned to automatically be aware of these factors while writing the exam and therefore I made really wise choices of which questions I solve since there is negative marking involved.
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Which mock series did you enrol for?
I had enrolled for the CAT preparation package IMS offers, starting from 1 year prior to when I attempted the exam. This was a comprehensive package that included everything from study material, resources on the portal, mock exams, classroom lectures, special workshops, assistance with form filling and choosing B-schools, current affairs classes, live paper solving with professors, and GDPI preparation.
How many mock tests did you take, and how did they help you prepare for the actual test?
I took around 50 mock tests and these definitely helped me with my performance after analyzing each mock and not making the same mistakes in the next one. Also after the first 20 mocks, it becomes really relaxing since you’re in the habit of writing it, and therefore on the actual day, it doesn’t seem scary at all, just seems like another mock.
Which section was your Achilles heel? How did you overcome that?
For me, this section was Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.
I was always pretty confident that I won’t require much practice for Verbal since I’m good at English. However, through the mock exams, I realized that I wasn’t scoring as well as I thought and it made me feel really upset since I thought I was doing well when attempting it.
However, I countered it in the following manner:
Comprehension in Verbal is the most scoring area ever however it's often neglected during practice thinking it’s just plain reading. It is extremely crucial to practice these since unless you are in the mental habit of reading big cases, you'll find yourself extremely pressed for time in the exam. My approach is, first I read all 5 questions to familiarize my mind as to what answers I'm broadly looking for. since otherwise then people read the paragraph, then read the questions, then read the paragraph again, and this is a 3-step process as compared to the 2-step one you can do. Also, as I read, I make a mind map in my head of the flow, the constituents, and the structure so I have a crystal-clear picture to find my answers faster. Often people rush to read the paragraph for the sake of finishing it and are left blank since they didn't absorb it at all, and then waste time to read it again.
Also, in Verbal the rearranged questions and summary questions are extremely scoring but very easy to go wrong if you're rushed or lose patience. People often solve these from the options, but I think otherwise since from options everything seems correct, and then confusion kicks in. So, it’s better to solve it independently first, then confirm with the options or mark the closest one that makes sense.
What was your lowest point in your preparation journey?
The lowest point in my preparation journey was when I felt very burnt out while managing CAT preparation alongside my final graduation year, and it made me decide that I would want to work for 2 years, and then pursue masters, since I needed a break from studying. I absolutely slowed down for the next 5 months after this decision and decided to give CAT just as a namesake attempt since I had already enrolled, and focused on finding job placements.
However, something flipped inside me 20 days before the exam, wherein I decided I want to go back to my original call of pursuing masters, and then the amount of shade I got from people around me was quite demotivating since I was told now it’s not manageable to get a good B-school if I am restarting so late. However, this is when I needed to study smart since making the most of those 20 days was all that mattered in the moment. I was really afraid of getting an extremely low percentile since that fear of seeing a number lower than 90 really freaked me out.
Therefore, growing out of this shell and still finding the courage to work hard when faced with that vast syllabus was really difficult. I did do my best in CAT in the possible time period; however I did not lose hope since after this the GDPI section was my redeeming chance since its equally as important, and I put my 110% in that to convert my SPJIMR call.
What according to you are the DO's and DON'Ts of preparation?
According to me, the do's for CAT preparation are:
1. For logic, we often tend to think it doesn't need practice since its common sense, however this is a big misconception since knowing tricks to solve the types of cases gives a massive advantage and this only comes with actually practicing solving these instead of doing them orally. Also, I recommend doing the data interpretation questions first since these are just easy but length calculations so its guaranteed marks.
2. For quants, while attempting the paper I skimmed through all the questions within 1 minute to sense the waters and know what's manageable, then attempting those questions first which I know will take me 30-40 seconds or lesser. After finishing these and securing those marks, I attempted those that will take me upto 1-1.5 minutes but I'm sure I know the exact process to reach the answer. If time permits, out of the remaining I tried those questions which have options that can be substituted to find the answer since though time consuming, there will be a definite correct choice.
3. For verbal, this may seem cliché, but reading daily really helps, especially reading newspapers, since it accustoms you to not feel scared when faced with a lengthy fine print.
4. Always attempt the questions where you need to manually type out the answer since they don’t have negative marking.
5. Always look at past CAT statistics to know how many questions you need to correctly do per section to achieve a good percentile, this helps since it mentally creates a placebo of doing lesser questions so it eases the mind, and also choosing the right questions that you definitely know instead of trial and error through all questions is a definite game changer.
6. Do not guess answers, better keep the question un-attempted if you don’t know it, due to negative marking.
7. When deciding which questions to choose for attempting, I’ve found it faster to go through the full question preview at the top right of the window instead of going through each sum by clicking next, since every second you save does count in a competitive exam.
According to me, the don'ts for CAT preparation are:
1. Don’t keep blindly giving mock exams without going through it afterwards. People often think attempting as many mocks as possible is the key to improvement, but it has to be along with writing down the analysis for each, and re-solving every question you got wrong or couldn’t attempt; without this if you just keep taking mocks after mocks, the score will remain stagnant, therefore you need to keep upgrading after each exam attempt.
2. Don’t neglect verbal and logic during preparation, these need rules, theory, and practice too. For logic you may know how to solve it, but the practice will give you shorter and faster tricks that you wouldn’t have known if you didn’t study it.
3. Don’t think your work is done after the CAT exam, after CAT is where part 2 of the work starts. For CAT there is a definite pool of subject topics that need to be studied, and there is a trend in the paper across years. However, GDPI is the real competition since it’s the choosing of that 1 person out of hundreds of people across fields, age groups, qualifications, interests, talent,s and personalities. The GDPI preparation should not be postponed until the day the call letter comes, it should be started within a week after CAT.
Khushbo, can you please share the interview calls you received?
Out of the colleges I had applied to, I had calls from SP Jain, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Nagpur, IIM IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Trichy, and IIM Udaipur.
After converting my top preference B-school, SPJIMR, I did not partake in the rest of the interview process for my other options.
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How did you prepare for the interviews?
Since I was a fresher without CA, CFA, FRM or work experience, and my CAT percentile wasn't above 95%, GDPI had to be my redeeming section where I would really get to portray myself and I wanted to do this in the best possible manner. Therefore, I started my preparation within 10 days after giving CAT. This was necessary since competing against working professionals in an interview for a top institute that has a very small acceptance rate is a big responsibility and it deserves top notch effort and knowledge portrayal.
The key highlights of my preparation are as follows:
1. Since my academic background is in finance, I brushed up on every important calculative formula, concept, valuation methods, tax rates that I had learnt throughout from 11th grade to my final year of graduation.
2.I self-introspected and wrote down answers to every single possible question the panel could ask me from any part of my life. For example, I play the keyboard as a hobby, so I learnt the top 5 pianists, basic instrument knowledge like number of chords, keys, etc., famous songs in each piano key, and so on.
3. I memorized the people currently appointed in every important political, sports, social activity, and financial position and the previous 3 title holders for each position as well. I also memorized the ongoing Indian and global rates relating to Inflation, GDP, CRR, SLR, Forex, Oil Barrel prices, etc.
4. I watched CNBC TV 18 every day for 2 hours and really enjoyed Mrs. Latha Venkatesh’s daily coverage.
5. I made daily handwritten notes comprising of the summary of that day’s Economic Times newspaper.
6. I read up on every big historically significant event in the past 20 years as well as current situations, and not just the case facts, but also its implications, magnitude of effect, learnings, what could’ve been done differently, alternate endings, etc and had hour-long discussions on my day’s read up with my father.
7. I actively researched the stock market and did thorough research on the top 10 performers in each industry, successful and upcoming IPOs etc.
8. I went through almost 2000 possible interview questions across domains like academic, social, behavioral, moral, current affairs, personality questions etc. and typed out answers to each of these on a Word document and kept upgrading it.
9. I took part in almost 30 mock interview sessions from IMS tutors, external subscriptions for interview preparation, relatives with field experience etc. and noted down their feedback after each interview, to implement it for the next one.
10. I also gave mock interviews under the same person at gaps of 1 week, and asked them to judge my scale of improvement.
11. Every day, I practiced speaking in front of a camera to analyze my mannerisms, confidence, hesitations, level of calmness on my face, level of charisma etc.
12. I drew mind maps every day of every possible question that could be asked to me. For example,
Where did you do your internship? TVS Capital. Founder? Mr. Gopal Srinivasan.
What is its business? Private Equity. Its portfolio size? 1900 crore in the current fund. Top investments? Phone Pe, Insurance Dekho, Vivriti Capital. What is Viriti Capital’s business? A B2B lender headquartered in Chennai that underwrites high-quality high-yield credit. Its market share? and so on.
13. For the written assessment test (WAT), I picked up a list of topics across areas like historic events, abstract, political and social opinions, course of action in hypothetical situations; then I used to write 3 essays daily and get them checked by either by IMS teachers, or by a college teacher or senior.
14. I also read around 5000 ideal sample answers on as many WAT topics and interview questions I could possibly find online, as well as grammar and tenses rules to make sure my content is flawlessly written.
15. For moral questions, I made it a point to answer in a very structured manner. This means, if presented with an ethical dilemma question, I’d first mention why it classifies as a dilemma and its significance, then I’d tell the panelist the 2 possible options to solving the situation and for each of them, list down the feasibility, course of action, implications, parties involved and whether it is conventionally the thing to do or not. Then I would mention my opinion and why I would choose one option over the other and my reasons for it. Usually, the panelist checks your moral radar and sees how consistently you stick to your answer if presented by multiple follow up variations and adjustments.
16. For imaginative questions like what would you do if you are Prime Minister, or what would you do if you had a time machine; I tried to go as creative as I could since these questions are usually to check the radius of your free thinking and the innovative, the better.
Can you describe your institute interview experience?
I completed my interviews at SPJIMR institute and the experience is as follows,
Round 1 of the interviews was online and there were 2 panelists. It was a group interview of me and 3 other students. Both the panelists were extremely sweet and calm, and throughout they didn’t let any of us feel pressured or cornered. The interview started with them asking me for a 1-minute introduction and to mention things apart from what I had submitted in my profile. They then asked about my internship experience, my role, and which firms I interacted with and worked on. This was followed by questions on valuation methods used to choose investments and the formulas of WACC, DCF, and 7-8 financial ratios like leverage ratios, etc. After this, I was asked to talk about 3 successful IPOs in the previous year, including their subscription statistics. Other questions asked included the methods of applying for shares and which one is better, the working mechanism of ASBA, methods of portfolio creation, and stock selection. Questions were asked about Nykaa’s competitors and the reasons for the success of its IPO. I could successfully answer every question satisfactorily and later was told I had cleared the round.
The next part was a Written Ability Test, wherein my topic was about my opinion on the digitization of forms of entertainment like exhibitions, cultural shows etc. This was followed by another offline group interview at the campus itself wherein I was asked about my opinions that I had filled out in the form, and a moral question that if you were in a group project and it was found that I person plagiarized their content and therefore the whole group’s marks have been deducted, would you report him. This discussion lasted around 45 minutes with about 20-25 follow-up questions on the same to all the 5 interviewees as a group. The panelists were very welcoming, comforting, and easy to talk to, and they built a very fair and easy-going environment for us to voice our answers. It was a really pleasant experience.
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