CAT Topper Tips: Mocks prepare you for all sorts of possibilities, says 99.98%iler

Shikhar Sachdeva

Like numerous CAT exam aspirants, Shikhar Sachdeva, too appeared for CAT 2017. A final year student of Delhi Technological University, Shikhar was confident of scoring well in the exam, but his happiness knew no bounds once the result was announced. Much more than what he was expecting, this Delhi lad scored a whopping score of 99.98 percentile with sectional scores being VARC – 98.15 (71.07), LRDI – 99.76 (53.68), QA – 100 (98.09). 

Already having placement offers from Amazon India (As a Software Developer), and Bain & Co. (As an Analyst), Shikhar is keen on pursuing MBA. He dreams of being a student of INSEAD in Europe, and among the Indian institutes, IIM Ahmedabad is his dream institute. His hobbies include playing cricket, watching and collecting movies, and reading. 

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

Not at all. I knew I’d done well, so I was kind of expecting a good result. But, I had no idea how good it would be. There were two sides to me all through the waiting period. One side was the realistic side, wherein I was expecting not more than 99.8. And there was another side that was wishing for an amazing result, and that side of me was constantly praying for 99.98. That exact figure. And it’s an amazing coincidence that I got just that.

Yes, this was my first shot at CAT.

I’ll probably go in for Finance. Watching all those amazing Wall Street investment bankers in movies has always aroused my curiosity about what it would actually feel like. Moreover, I was the Treasurer for the Cultural Council of my University during my 3^rd year, so that has added to my experience as well.

I started my preparations last year in August. I joined the classroom course at T.I.M.E., CP. Simultaneously I joined the FB group iQuanta, which was a group for like-minded CAT aspirants. I think iQuanta played the biggest role in my preparation. Even when I couldn't go to classes due to exams or other reasons, I kept solving questions on the group. And moreover it connects one with a diverse bunch of people, each of whom have different doubts, which prepares you for all sorts of challenging questions. Moreover, I was pretty good at Maths from a young age, so that played a part. I personally think that CAT, as an exam doesn't test learnt skills, but lays more importance on skills that you gain over time. 

I did not spend much time studying from books. I've always believed that practice is the best form of preparation. So I invested most of my time in doing practice questions and giving mocks, and as I said solving questions on iQuanta. Giving mocks is probably the most important thing one has to do in their CAT preparation. It prepares you for all sorts of possibilities. Moreover, I've experienced that a lot of people focus only on their strong areas, and do not give enough time to their weak areas. In fact even I went through this phase during the early stages of my prep.

One thing that I'd like to add is that it's never about the quantity of time you put in, but about the quality. So I've always worked with that mindset.

My weakest area was LRDI. And I’ve always felt that to master our weakest areas, practice is the key. Teaching and guidance will only take you so far. After that it all comes down to your own motivation. What I did was work on my strong areas early on during my preparation. Later on I focused my attention solely on my weak zone (LRDI), and developed my own unique strategies that helped me counter it, one of which was to go through all the sets, before I attempted even one question. This helped me prioritise on which was I question comfortable with, and which I wanted to leave.

I took coaching. I was part of the classroom course at one of the most renowned institutes. And personally, I’ve come to feel that classroom coaching is not necessary for CAT. There are amazing web courses available like iQuanta, at a fraction of the price of the classroom courses. The best strategy for an aspirant would be to take CAT mock test from renowned institutes, 1 booklet series, and then make use of any one web course. I’ve myself found iQuanta to be the best in their domain.

Well my dream B-School, without any doubt is INSEAD in Europe. The experience of studying in Europe, at one of the best institutions in the world, and the amazing ROI they offer is something unparalleled. Among the Indian B-Schools, I’d love to be a student at IIM Ahmedabad if given a chance. As one of my seniors said, “IIM A is not a college, it’s a feeling”. I’d love to be a part of that feeling.

Do not prepare alone. Find a partner to prepare with. There will be moments when you'll be highly demotivated. There'll be times when you'll feel low and would need your closest people to support you. Take their help. Talk to them. Share things with them. Also, it is okay to fail once in a while. Another thing that a lot of people do is just focus on their strong areas, and do not give enough time to their weak points. That's a very expensive mistake to make. And at no point forget that you’re the best at what you do. Just enjoy the journey, and make the best of it.

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.

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