How I Scored 99+ Percentile In All Three Sections Ft. Anurag Sharma (CAT 99.97 %ile, IIM A'23)

VARC - 99.68%ile

DILR - 99.75%ile

QA - 99.93%ile

How did you prepare? What was the most critical aspect of your preparation?

I began my preparation for CAT 2019 in November 2018. Back then, I was not very serious, but ennrolled in TIME Indore, and attended 1 class per week. Sometimes I ended up missing classes.

However, from January 2019 I began preparing extremely seriously. The two most critical aspects of preparation are mocks, andn the time you give to your weaker sections. Don't assume which section you are weak at based on pre-concieved notions. Attend all classes seriously and understand your weakness in detail.

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Which mock series did you enroll for?

Only AIMCAT (TIME Full package)

How many full-length mocks did you take

35

How many sectional mocks did you take?

10 for each section

What was your approach while taking mocks?

Initially, I came up with random rules of my own, which really didn't work. In VARC, I would solve 4 out of 5 RCs. I was only giving 30-35 min to RC but not doing VA well despite giving it extra time. In LRDI, I started attempting sets as I came across them. I was trying to attempt all sets, and couldn’t identify easy/solvable sets for me. In QA, I had a massive ego. I could not accept that I wasn't able to solve a question. So I ended up sitting on questions for too long and my attempt rate became low.

This strategy led to terrible mock scores, and I reached out to a faculty member at TIME. He looked at 5-6 mocks I had given and told me that VA would be difficult for me to attempt since I do not read regularly. He advised me to attempt all RCs instead. For LRDI, he told me to segregate sets, identify 3-4 sets, and stick to them. For QA, he told me to stop letting my ego get in the way, and attempt easy questions first.

start giving VARC and LRDI sectionals (Aug) – Sept for quant. I was never doing well in LRDI – tests where I scored under 20 – scared to death – quant was uphill downhill – LRDI tried to practice enough questions for every type of question – when I struggled I attended topic specific lectures – mark questions that would help me revise later – score never improved till last day of CAT – best LRDI set that ive attempted was the D Day – tried treating mocks like real paper but never happened

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How do you think mocks helped you in preparation?

I started giving mocks very early, right from the beginning of my preparation journey. That was extremely beneficial as it helped me realize that I wasn't as strong at LRDI as I had assumed, and much better at VARC than I thought I would be. This is probably because I was so scared of VARC since the beginning that I devoted extra time towards preparing for it. This is why giving mocks initially is very essential. If I had identified my weakness in LRDI later, I wouldn’t have been able to work on it. Hence, mocks help streamline preparation and are absolutely essential.

Which section was your strongest? 

As with most engineers, QA was my strongest section. I did not need to attend the concept lectures for quants. However, as I mentioned earlier, overcoming ego in quants was my key challenge.

Which section was your Achilles heel? How did you overcome it?

Initially, I thought VARC would be my weakest section since I am not a voracious reader. In this fear, I started preparing extremely seriously for VARC. However, when I began giving mocks, I realised that my VARC was decent, but I struggled in LRDI.

To overcome this, I tried solving puzzles from various YouTube channels, and revisited topic-wise LRDI classes at my coaching. I also practiced identfying the right sets to solve by giving sectional and full-lenght mocks.

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How much time did you devote to preparation on a regular basis?

From Jan – July : 6 hours a week.

Then : 3-4 hours a day.

Towards the end : 6-7 hours a day.

During Diwali gave 8-10 hours a day because I was struggling with low scores, Once I even gave 2 full length in one day (although I would strongly advice against it!)

Tell us about the lowest point in your preparation journey? How did you overcome it?

My lowest point of preparation was during the Diwali days. I was struggling in RCs and LRDI also. For 3 consecutive mocks, I couldn’t even attempt 3 RCs. Quants was the only section I was scoring decently at, but the other two were distressing.

I overcame this by putting in extra preparation hours. I revisited the questions I had marked for review earlier, re-solved the entire TIME RC Module. This gave me the much-needed confidiece boost in VARC.

Do you believe than an engineer gets added advantage in management exams?

In the exams, definitely yes. In the entire selection process, however, I’m not so sure.

Had they given me Quants section in 11th or 12th I would’ve done very well then only. We engineers don’t need to study Quants at all. LRDI is nearly equal, but engineers can comprehend numbers well so they have a slight advantage there as well. The VARC section has little to do with your degree, it's mostly based on your reading habits.

What resources would you suggest 2021 aspirants?

I only solved the material of TIME, and Arun Sharma for VARC. I also regaularly solved puzzles from various YouTube channels, and noted the questions down in my notebook. I was lucky that some of those questions came verbatim in CAT.

What according to you are the Dos and Donts of CAT prep?

DON’T wait around to finish syllabus. If you aren’t giving mocks you aren’t preparing

DO identify your weaker section and weaker topics, the more time you have the better you will become.

Which mock series would you like to suggest to CAT 2020 aspirants? Is one mock series sufficient or do you suggest a combination of 2 different mock series?

TIME

What’s your final advice to aspirants?

Start attempting mocks asap, and whatever you are doing, be realistic in targets. Do not compare your mock scores to others, especially in the beginning. There will be people who are repeating CAT, so never compare yourself to them. Just ensure you are improving consistently.

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