CAT 2019 Topper Interview: 99.31 percentiler, Nihal Singh, shares his success mantra

Nihal Singh scored 99.31 percentile in CAT 2019 exam. He shared his success mantra and preparation strategy with Shiksha. To know more, read the article below.

Nihal Singh

Overall CAT percentile: 99.31

VARC percentile: 90.6

DILR percentile: 99.39

QA percentile: 99.5

Nihal Singh, an engineer from IIT Kharagpur, scored 99.31 percentile in CAT 2019. Currently, he is working at Ernst & Young as a management consultant. Shiksha got to talking to Nihal and he shared about how he prepared for CAT exam with a full-time job and his success mantra. Read the article below to know more. 

Q: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?

A: I targeted 99.7+ percentile to get calls from all the IIMs and my preparations were also in line with this score. I was also scoring somewhere near to this percentile in my mock tests too. But on the day of the final exam, I faltered a bit in the VARC section which brought down my score. So, I gave my best and have no regrets. But I would have been happier if my percentile would have been a bit higher.

Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?

A: No, this was my second attempt.

Q: When did you start preparing for CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?

A: Since this was not the first time that I was appearing for the CAT exam, I was pretty much aware of the CAT exam pattern and the basics. I started my preparations from the month of August 2019. Earlier when I appeared for CAT exam, then also I scored the least in the VARC section. My strategy earlier was that I'll focus on scoring the highest in the other two sections as I found VARC very tough. But this time, I made up mind that if I have to score good, then, I will have to get a score in all three sections. So I started focusing more on VARC section as that was my weakness. This time I was more focused and strategic on how to attempt the Verbal Ability questions. So I started primarily with the VARC section. For DILR, the only strategy was constant practice. I realised that this section can be aced only by practice. When it comes to DILR, it is more about training your mind to think spontaneously and think fast. The caselets are interlinked i.e. DI and LR both. So it is important to quickly analyse the question and find out a solution. No coaching study material or any book for that matter has questions that have similar sets. So the more you practice, the better. Also, it is very important to select the right sets, because there are eight sets and it is very difficult to solve all of them in an hour's time. Let's say one person solves four sets, it will fetch a good percentile. With practice, it is also important to learn the skill of choosing the right sets. So if one ace these two things, i.e. skill to choose the right set and enough practice, then this section will be a smooth sail. For Quant, my main focus was on my weaker areas and improving those in order to get a score in all the sections and then I moved on to my stronger pursuits. I knew I was very weak in some topics such as geometry, integrations, etc. So I strengthened my basics and then moved on with my preparations. From August to September, I focused on covering the basics and after that, I focused on attempting CAT mock tests. I have been good at mathematics since my school days, so my strategy was to brush up my basics even it was a small topic. CAT is about solving the questions quickly in the given time. Speed and accuracy are the key players here. So my strategy was to make a plan for all the topics and I followed it religiously. Along with that I also practiced a lot. 

Q: Which books did you refer to for your CAT preparation?

A: I referred to How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma for Quant section. I also joined an online coaching platform called iQuanta. The material provided by iQuanta for the Quant section was excellent. Most of my Quant preparation was from iQuanta study material. For DILR, I did not use any books per se, I only referred to the previous year's CAT question papers and I had the last three year's repository of CAT mock tests from TIME, Career Launcher and IMS which I used for practicing. For VARC section, I referred to GMAT guide. I also referred to previous year's question papers. As mentioned above, I was weak in VARC, so I wanted an explanation for every answer. So, I found that in the previous year mock test series which proved to be really helpful.

Q: How many CAT mock tests did you attempt?

A: I attempted around 35-40 mock tests which were mostly from IMS and TIME. It is very important as they help the aspirant to adapt to the exam pattern. It helps you get used to sitting for three hours with full concentration. Mocks also helped me in evolving my strategy. Earlier I had a very juvenile approach and strategy for the VARC section by not attempting VA at all. After five or six mocks I realised in DILR section I was attempting the wrong set of questions, i.e. I was focusing on the questions which I found tough and not quickly answering the ones which were easy. Earlier I used to waste more time, but mock tests helped me a lot in time management.  

Q: What was your CAT exam day strategy?

A: The only strategy that I adopted for the exam day was to be calm and treat the final CAT exam as any other mock test. I made sure that nervousness did not creep inside my head. Though I faltered a bit when the exam started and ended up with not a great score in the first section. So it is very important to not be nervous on the day of the exam. It is important for one to realise that if the exam is difficult then it is difficult for everyone, so at the end of the day, it is important to be confident about your preparations and be calm throughout. One should go with a free mind and give their best shot at it. This is what I prepared myself for. 

Q: Any tips for the future CAT aspirants?

A: Yes, if you are appearing for CAT exam for the first time then start early. Start with your preparation latest by June and start with the basics. Secondly, practice. Practice a lot of mock tests and strengthen your basics.

Q: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

A: I have been targeting IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and IIM Lucknow. I got a call from IIM B and IIM L and now I am trying to convert these. 

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