Ajay Kaushik shares his CAT journey: From 70.7%ile to 99.7%ile

Ajay Kaushik

One of the biggest dreams of any MBA aspirant is to clear CAT, the toughest management exam and secure a seat in any of the top B-Schools. Every year thousands of test-takers appear for the exam –some pass with flying colours while some fail to achieve their desired results. 

There are many CAT aspirants who get disheartened if they do not clear the exam in the first attempt or score less percentile than they had expected. Ajay Kaushik is an inspiration for all such test-takers. Ajay’s first CAT attempt was in the year 2014 in which he scored 70.7 percentile. Not dejected by the score, he promised himself to work hard again and reappear for the exam next year. In 2015 he showed a massive improvement by scoring 98.07. However, still unsatisfied with his score, he thought of appearing for the exam once more. Finally, all his dedication and hard work paid off, and an elated Ajay scored 99.7 percentile in CAT 2016. 

Shiksha got in touch with Ajay to know his preparation strategy.

It completely depends on the individual's ability and calibre. Since, I personally didn't take any coaching, I can say it is definitely possible without coaching. However do buy some good mock series to keep track of your progress.

Present moment is the best moment to start preparing for CAT 17. However people have cracked CAT with even less than 90 days preparation. Therefore, it depends solely on the dedication & concentration of the individual.

Routine again depends on the individual, whether he is fresher or working. A fresher should try and devote as much time as possible in first covering the topics, and then giving mocks and analysing them. Working professionals should try and devote maximum time during weekends and give as many mocks as possible.

After completing recommended books for QA & VA like Arun Sharma, Sarvesh, one should complete material provided by coaching institutions & give mocks (& practice past years’ CAT papers & past years’ mock papers). For LR DI, past year CAT papers & past years’ mock papers of TIME, CL, IMS and Bullseye would suffice.

First of all, one should identify 1 section that he is very comfortable with & try and maximise the number of attempts in that section. Next, identify the weak sections and improve them till CAT. For individual section; follow strategy as given above.

I personally believe that one should attempt as many questions as possible. But since CAT is relative paper, one should be smart enough to judge the difficulty level of the paper and attempt judicially. (In CAT’15, I attempted 31 questions & got 78 marks with 99.78%ile. But in CAT 16, I attempted only 24 questions and got 60 marks but 99.64%ile. Therefore, decide the number of attempts while giving paper, & not attempt 'n' number of questions because you want to increase your attempts.)

Yes, time management is important, be it while preparing for CAT or while giving CAT. While preparing, try and give as much time as possible to your weak area. However, in CAT follow the strategy that you have devised while giving mock papers.

To some extent a person is aware of the area that he is not so good at. But mocks do help one analyse the area in which he is good and areas in which he is not so good.

It is always better to give all the papers as CAT is very unpredictable paper. Irrespective of the amount of effort one puts in, one bad day can ruin the whole game. So, it is always better to give all the management papers for backup.

Do's:

• First after clearing all the basics, give as many mocks all possible & analyse them
• While giving mocks devise a strategy that suits you the best, find different types of questions that you are comfortable with and not so comfortable with
• In CAT always be ready to change your strategy as difficulty of the paper cannot be predicted

Don’ts

• CAT is an aptitude test, so don't think you cannot achieve a good percentile
• Don't blindly follow the strategy that worked for others as it might not fit yours

CAT scores are used for admission to 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and various other top B-Schools. Are you eligible for the IIMs? To know more, click on the image beside.