CAT 2016: 98.52%iler, Krishna shares his success mantra

Krishna Kinker Singh

Once CAT 2016 result was announced, test-takers were anxious to know how much they had scored in one of the most important management tests. Krishna Kinker Singh too had appeared for the exam and having scored 95.97 in VARC, 92.32 in DILR and 99.05 in QA, his overall percentile was 98.52. 

Quiet happy with his performance, Krishna believes that it is important to improve accuracy first and then focus on speed. This is what he told Shiksha. 

Q. Was this your first CAT attempt?

Answer: Yes. 

Q. How satisfied are you with your score?

Answer: Preparing for only 3 months that too without attending any coaching, and having my semesters alongside, I think 98.52 is a decent percentile to score. So, I'm quite satisfied. 

Q. Tell us something about yourself.

Answer: I had joined IITK but left it in 10 days to join SCRA conducted by UPSC. Currently I'm an SCRA in Indian Railways. I've done most of my schooling from my hometown Sultanpur. 

Q. What area of specialization you intend to choose?

Answer: I've not given much thought to it yet. 

Q. Tell us about your preparation strategy.

Answer: I was confused in the starting about what to study and what not. I started with Arun Sharma's book for QA and also joined e-test series of a popular national coaching institute. My verbal section was never good, so I started improving on my comprehension skills by reading a lot (I was not much of a reader). I improved my VARC scores by attempting mocks – I started with scoring 67%ile and reached 90%ile (max). My quant was good, so I just had to brush up my concepts. In DILR, I usually got 99+ in my mocks – this made me overconfident and I didn't practice much of it. I gave a total of 5 mocks and analyzed each one of them properly. For the remaining things, I relied mostly on YouTube and online sites. 

Q. What is the minimum time frame needed to prepare for CAT, and when did you start off with your preparations?

Answer: I would say that the time preparation factor depends from person to person. For example, a person from any IIT or NIT may not need as much time for quant preparation as a person pursuing B.A. Some have a strong verbal background and some come from Hindi medium schools. So, one can't really define the minimum time required for the preparation of CAT. I started my preparation in Aug 2016. 

Q. What did you do to improve your weak areas?

Answer: My weak areas were mostly RC and VA. I started reading a lot, comprehending everything I read. At first I was steady and slow and focused on improving my accuracy, then my speed. My priority was comprehension not reading speed. 

Q. Is it important to join a coaching institute?

Answer: No, it is not necessary. I, myself, didn't attend any coaching, but coaching surely helps as you get a peer group, mentors, and well planned time table to follow. All the inefficiencies are taken care of by your coaching institute. Still, I would prefer coaching's role as a guide, not one as gholo aur pee jao. 

Q. What’s your dream institute?

Answer: The holy IIM A. 

Q. Tell us about your hobbies.

Answer: My hobbies include playing flute, billiards and exploring spirituality. 

Q. Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

Answer: Yes, be safe and target for 100%ile.

CAT scores are used for admission to 19 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.