Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
Swarnadeep Ghosh scored 99.92 percentile in CAT 2020 exam. Know what he has to say about his preparation strategy for CAT 2020 exam and his success mantra in the article below.
CAT 2020 Overall Percentile: 99.92
VARC percentile: 98.24
DILR percentile: 99.721
QA percentile: 99.77
Swarnadeep Ghosh is a final year engineering student from Bandel, West Bengal who loves playing cricket. He began his CAT preparation approximately a year before the exam. Swarnadeep made it into the 99 percentilers club in his first CAT attempt. Shiksha spoke to Swarnadeep about his preparation strategy and his success mantra for CAT 2020 exam. Read the article below to know more.
Q. Was this your first CAT attempt? Were you expecting this score?
A. Yes, this was my first CAT attempt. I was not accepting this score. I expected a score somewhere near the 99.2 percentile.
Q. What was your preparation strategy?
A. I started my preparations during the lockdown period. I had approximately ten months to prepare. I distributed those ten months in three phases. In the first phase, I began with solving problems without setting a time limit. It was all about being familiar with and understanding the concepts. In the second phase, I focused on attempting sectional tests. I had put on a time frame that I need to solve a certain number of questions in a certain time limit. This helped me in coping up with the time stance of the exam. I devoted the last two minutes to attempting the mock tests. I attempted more than 60 CAT mock tests. I also made an excel sheet to analyse my performance and tried to understand my stronger and weaker areas. This helped me improve with every mock test that I solved.
30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25
17 Oct '25 - 24 Nov '25
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25
30 Sep '25 - 10 Dec '25
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25
21 Dec '25
9 Oct '25 - 9 Jan '26
Q. What was your weak area(s) and what did you do to improve the same?
A. The VARC section was not particularly my strong suit. Being from an engineering background, I am good with numbers, so I was naturally good at QA and DILR, but the VARC section was a bit of a snag. To improve that, I followed a lot of editorials and blogs. I was intro reading into whatever I could get my hands on. This helped me improve my reading speed. This majorly helped in the VARC section.
Also Read:
Q. Did you get any calls from any IIMs? What are the IIMs/MBA institutes that you are targeting and why?
A. None yet, but I am targeting IIM Calcutta because I want to study finance. The finance department in IIM Calcutta is really good. Apart from that, I am also looking for FMS Delhi. I am looking forward to FMS because of two reasons, one of them being experimental learning which will give me practical experience. Secondly, I can pursue my ambitions with the ROI that the institute offers.
Q. Any specific strategy for WAT-PI?
A. As of now, there is no specific strategy. I am keeping a check on the current affairs and looking to improve my GK.
Also Read:
Q. How did you deal with the stress of CAT prep and exam?
A. To deal with the stress it is important to have a backup plan. You cannot put all your hope in the CAT exam. You must know what you would do next if you do not score well in this exam. A backup plan will give you freedom on the D-day to express yourself.
Q. What are your plans after completing MBA?
A. Since I want to study MBA in Finance, I would definitely want to work with some financial institution as an investment banker or a financial analyst.
Q. Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
A. Well, I think the most important thing before appearing for the CAT exam is practicing mock tests. Attempt a lot of mock tests. Attempting mock tests is the only way which will make you comfortable. Attempt all kinds of mock tests, difficult and easy. Maximize your strengths and do not stress about the weaker areas. I believe in equity in preparation, not equality.
Read More:
Q: Who scored the highest i n CAT 2020?
Q: How can I cope up with the stress of CAT preparation?
Q: Can I crack the CAT exam in first attempt?
Q: I got 90 percentile in CAT. Will I get a call from IIM-A?
Q: How much time should I give to prepare for CAT in a week?
Q: Can I score well while working full-time?
Q: I am from a non-engineering background. Can I get into top IIMs?
Q: I am from Arts background. Which books are the best to begin preparation for Quants?
A: NCERT Maths books of Class 9 and Class 10 are good resource to begin with understanding fundamental concepts of Quantitative Aptitude topics included in CAT syllabus. Once your concepts are clear, you can refer to other preparation books for CAT exam.
Q: Is practicing CAT mock tests enough for CAT preparation?
Q: How many mock tests should I practice to score at least 90 percentile in CAT?
Q: What are the important topics for DILR section in CAT?
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25 | XAT 2026 mock test 3 |
10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 Exam registration |
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25 | SNAP 2025 Registration Process |
28 Nov '25 - 6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 admit card session 1... |
28 Oct '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Admit Card Issuance |
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Rescheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25 | MAT PBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
23 Oct '25 - 15 Dec '25 | MAT CBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Registration |
5 Nov '25 - 27 Dec '25 | IBSAT Slot Booking 2025 |
17 Oct '25 - 24 Nov '25 | CMAT 2026 registration and app... |
Dec '25 | MAH MBA CET 2026 registration ... |
2 Sep '25 - 4 Sep '25 | MAH MBA CAP 2025: Reporting to... |
Jan '26 | Publication of TANCET notifica... |
Jan '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '25 | IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno... |
Feb '25 | IRMASAT Personal Interviews |
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 5 days ago
At GIBS, they keep the entrance exam part really simple. For PGDM or MBA, they accept almost all the common exams like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT. Even state-level or institute-level scores are considered.
Honestly, GIBS doesn't stress too much about “only one specific exam.” As long as you
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
At GIBS, the faculty-to-student ratio is around 1:15, which honestly makes learning a lot easier. Since the classes aren't overcrowded, the faculty actually get time to focus on each student.
You can easily ask your doubts, get personal guidance, and have open discussions. It feels more like a mentor
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
The online application for GIBS Business School is very well-organized and student-friendly for its MBA, PGDM, and BBA programs.
Application Procedure Step 1: Access the Admissions Portal
Go to the official website of GIBS Business School, and click on "Apply Online", which can be found under the sect
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
GIBS Business School considers the overall CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT scores for the admission of candidates in the PGDM and MBA programs. Rather than using solely high cut-offs, the entrance test scores are used to judge the aptitude of a candidate in terms of analysis, quant, and verbal f
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 weeks ago
GIBS Business School, Bangalore, has a strong and dynamic Placement Cell that helps in securing excellent career opportunities for the students. Every year, more than 260 reputed companies have visited the campus for recruitment, offering versatile jobs in sectors like BFSI, IT, consulting, manufact
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 weeks ago
Getting into the MBA programme of NIT Trichy with a 300 SC CAT rank is somewhat uncertain. As the recent data sets suggest, NIT Trichy's CAT cutoff for SC category admission stands around 65th percentile. A 300 SC rank could be borderline depending on how many SC candidates apply and the quality of
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a month ago
Candidates who did not appear for the CAT entrance exam can apply St. Xavier's College, Kolkata admissions as it is not a mandatory entrance exam. The candidates who wish to gain admissions into the MBA course of the institute have to appear for the Kolkata University entrance test for St. Xavier's
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
PGCET and CAT serve distinct purposes. The PGCET is primarily conducted for MBA admissions in colleges in the state of Karnataka, specifically for government colleges and private universities with lower fees. CAT is a national level exam for top-ranking B-schools and colleges such as the IIMs that h
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
That's a wonderful goal to push your son toward right at the start. To obtain previous CAT model papers, you can check many available popular exam preparation books in any bookstore or online store. Coaching interest such as TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, etc., usually have mock tests and sample papers
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, you can get admission to Jaypee Business School (JBS), Noida for MBA even if you don't have CAT. JBS accepts scores from several other exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, GMAT, ATMA, and also CUET-PG. Just make sure you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks, then apply with any of those va
Contributor-Level 9
