Tryst with CAT: Insights from 2011 Topper with 100 percentile
Call 8585951111Got Doubts?
Soma Chaturvedi
Scoring an awesome 100 percentile, Shashank Prabhu attracted a lot of media attention among the nine toppers of CAT 2011. What makes him different is the fact that Shashank is not studying at any of the IIMs, by choice. He shares his tryst with CAT and winning insights in this interview.
Shashank Prabhu
Driven by the thrill of overcoming challenges, Shashank made some bold choices with no room for regrets. A consistent performer in school, he had the academic merit to pursue engineering or medicine. He chose to study medicine because it was perceived to be the tougher choice. But during his MBBS days at Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Shashank realized that the course did not seem to fulfill his career aspirations. After graduation, he shifted his focus to management studies. An MBA was his preferred gateway to discover broader professional horizons.
Also the topper in Maharashtra CET in the year 2010, Shashank made his dream performance in CAT 2011, in his third attempt. A 93.79 percentile in 2010 got him admission in Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi. But not satisfied with his score, he took another attempt at CAT the next year just to check his performance. Cracking CAT with a 100 percentile quenched his competitive spirit but did not tempt him to join IIMs. With a confident sense of direction, he confirms having no second thoughts on his decision.
You did not even apply to any of the IIMs in 2011. What made you stick to FMS?
I took a third attempt at CAT just to prove a point to myself that I could do better. I did not find it wise to waste my year at FMS, as getting into first year MBA again would effectively mean completing a 2-year degree in three years. Besides, FMS is a reputed B-School and I was doing well for myself and also had a good internship. Also, the fees at FMS is Rs 10,000 per year, whereas, I would have to shell out Rs 12-14 lakh at an IIM for a two-year program.
How was your third and winning attempt different from your previous attempts at CAT in terms of preparation?
There was absolutely no pressure on me to perform. FMS gave me everything I wanted out of my MBA and more. I had a good summer internship, I was enjoying my life at FMS and was settled. The sole motive was to take a shot at the test, which I had somehow failed to perform in during my previous two attempts. I always knew I had the potential to do well and it was just a matter of time before it happened.
With no professional coaching, how did you manage to instill discipline in your self-study schedule for CAT along with your college studies?
CAT is different from other exams / tests due to the fact that it is more of an aptitude test than being something more theoretical which one could normally prepare for. Preparation essentially means knowing the application of what one has studied in school. Once you get a hang of it, CAT is merely a formality. I have always believed that discipline comes automatically when one believes in a certain thing and also depends on how badly one wants to do a particular thing. Keeping yourself awake at 2 am in the night just because you want to solve that logical reasoning case or read that extra article on your favourite blog / website requires motivation of the highest order. Once one is motivated, the discipline comes from within.
How should students keep themselves constructively occupied and motivated when they drop a year to prepare for CAT?
Dropping a year to prepare for CAT is something I would personally not advise. The main reason being, once one takes a year off to prepare for CAT, there would always be a realistic threat of complacency considering that there is no real curriculum to finish. So, it is better to be occupied with something else while preparing for CAT. It could be a job, a hobby or anything that could help you not make CAT prep monotonous. It would also be helpful in answering the question as to what you did during the gap year.
What would be your advice to management aspirants with a phobia for math? How can they gear up for the CAT challenge?
Quant in CAT is not something worth having a phobia. It is basic 10th standard math which most of us are comfortable with. The only difference is the application part. Everyone knows the fact that speed equals distance divided by time but bring in an element of different time zones and it becomes a ‘CAT level’ tough quant problem. If one is clear in his/her mind about the application of a concept, there is no need to fear the section. Also, another common misconception is that, engineers have an edge in the quant section which is unfounded. With adequate dedication, logic and practice, anyone can do very well in the section.
What would be some dos & don’ts of approaching CAT in terms of mindset & preparation strategy?
Don’ts: Do not think of CAT as an end to all problems in life. It is not an end in itself but a means to something more significant. The challenge is going to get tougher with time. Also, not letting the preparation get monotonous and peaking at the right time is something one needs to be careful about. Solving the same set of quant and logic problems, reading similar material would become boring after a while and by the time one takes CAT, s/he would be uninterested in the exercise. Also, you would realise that your performance in mocks would not exactly be linear but cyclical. Hitting the peak on your CAT day is something that would need judgment from your side.
Dos: Distribute your risk evenly instead of keeping all your eggs in one basket. The unpredictability has increased a lot and so, it is not worth fighting for a single test if you are very keen on going for an MBA in the same year. Anything you do should be backed by a reason. The first thing you need to be sure of is why you want to do an MBA. It could be either for career advancement, networking, or opening a plethora of options so that you can move away from what you are doing currently. Also, what happens in an MBA programme and what you tend to gain out of it is something that needs to be clear in your mind before you take the plunge.
‘One size does not fit all’ when it comes to competitive exam preparation. But from your experience, please suggest useful study tips/plan/strategy for CAT (over a one-year window).
The maxim holds true for CAT as well. There isn’t a magic formula or potion that ensures a good performance in CAT. Personally, I was not much into solving subject matter and concentrated solely on mock-taking. Maybe it was because of the fact that I was reasonably decent on the content front. One has to be motivated, persistent and honest in one’s efforts to ace the test. Getting to know what one’s strengths and weaknesses are and working on them towards getting better is what is the essence of preparation. Content wise, going through the previous CAT papers and mocks, and knowing what all concepts are tested would help in getting a rough idea as to how to start preparing. Then it depends on an individual how s/he takes it forward.
Other interesting reads:
- 6 things to avoid while preparing for CAT
