Saumya
Saumya Jain
Assistant Manager- Content
Updated on Jan 5, 2022 15:06 IST

Read the article below to know how Vinay Kotwal secured the 99.4 percentile in CAT 2021. 

Vinay Kotwal, a Computer Science engineer from Punjab University, secured the 99.4 percentile in CAT 2021 exam. He is working as a Business Technology Solutions Associate in one of the leading firms. He hails from Kolkata and made it to the 99 percentilers club. With an interest in data analytics, he wishes to pursue MBA in Business Analytics. Shiksha got to talking with Vinay and he shared his CAT success mantra. Read the article below to know more.

Also Read: CAT 2021 toppers list

CAT 2021 score:

Overall: 99.4 Percentile

Sectional Percentile:

VARC: 97.24

DILR: 99.81

Quant: 95.96

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

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A: Well, I was expecting this score as the Quant section did not go very well. I was expecting around 110. But I am satisfied with my score.

Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?

A: This was my second CAT attempt. I also appeared for CAT 2020 exam where I scored 97.95 percentile.

Q:   What is sectional cutoff in CAT exam?
A:

Sectional cut-off in the CAT exam refers to the section-wise percentiles required by the candidate to make it to the Personal Interview round of the IIMs or other top MBA colleges. The sectional cut-offs are lower than the overall cut-offs of any institute. To understand better, check the table below for sectional CAT cut-offs for IIM Ahmedabad:

Category

VARC percentile

DILR percentile

QA percentile

Overall percentile

General

70

70

70

80

NC-OBC-Transgender

65

65

65

75

SC

60

60

60

70

ST

50

50

50

60

PwD (General, NC-OBC-cum-transgender, SC)

60

60

60

70

PwD (ST)

50

50

50

60

For sectional cut-offs of all IIMs, check this article – IIM shortlist and selection criteria

Q:   What is the CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow?
A:
The CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow is usually around 97-99 percentile. The two courses - PGP Agri-Business Management (ABM) and PGP Sustainable Management (some) are extremely popular among MBA aspirants who wish to make a career in these areas. The institute also offers PGP programme. The qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 90 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST and PwD candidates, it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow PGP course. General category: 85 VARC 85 DILR 85 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) EWS category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall) ST category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Lucknow admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-lucknow-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-18509.
Q:   What are the qualifying CAT cutoffs for all the IIMs?
A:

Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of Iims for Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI are listed below. Candidates who MET the qualifying CAT cut off, were eligible for What-PI round. These qualifying CAT cut offs are for General Category. The cut offs for Reserved category students are lower:

  1. IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
  2. IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile 
  3. IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
  4. IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
  5. IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
  6. IIM Indore: 90 percentile
  7. IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
  8. IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
  9. IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
  10. IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
  11. IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
  12. 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
  13. IIM Jammu: 93 percentile 
  14. IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
  15. IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
  16. IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
  17. IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
  18. IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile 
  19. IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
  20. IIM Amritsar: 90 percentile

For complete details of IIM selection and admission process read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-shortlist-selection-admission-criteria-blogId-18787.

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

A: I started my CAT preparations in February 2020, since I also appeared for the CAT last year. Being from a mathematics background, I had a hold over the Quant section. I mainly focused on the VARC section. I referred to Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. I also used to read the newspaper daily to improve my English. I practiced Quant questions every day but I also focused a lot on the VARC section.

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Q: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.

A: For VARC,  I used to read newspapers daily and a lot of editorials. Because I think reading is very important as it helps you with the RC questions and the approach to these questions gets better.

For DILR, I think it is better to practice all kinds of questions so that you can choose which questions to attempt on the exam day. So I prepared and practiced various combinations of the questions.

For QA, I used to practice a lot. This section was a little easier for me, but I made sure to practice QA questions every day.

Q:   Are CAT cut offs announced along with the CAT result?
A:

CAT cut-offs are not announced along with the CAT result. The cut-offs are also not released publicly. They are known after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs will open the shortlist window based on the CAT cut-offs two to three days after the result announcement. The CAT percentile of candidates shortlisted for the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI) can be considered the cut-off for that IIM. For example, if a candidate with a CAT percentile of 99 belonging to the General category is selected for the WAT/GD-PI of IIM Calcutta, then the CAT cut-off for IIM Calcutta is 99 percentile. Only those candidates who make it to the WAT/GD-PI round of IIMs will get to know the cut-offs.

Check CAT cut offs and predict calls from IIMs and Non-IIMs accepting CAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all CAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

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

A: Because of COVID-19, I was not able to prepare a lot but I referred to Arun Sharma for different topics and I got a lot of help.

Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?           

A: No, I did not join any coaching institute. I secured the 99.4 percentile in CAT without coaching. But it may have helped me score 100 percentile but it is not absolutely necessary.

Q: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?

A: I attempted only one mock test a week before the exam. Juggling between work and preparations I did not have much time to attempt mock tests, but I feel that mock tests are very important to give you clarity. They are crucial and important as they help you understand where you stand right now and which areas require improvement. Students must aim to attempt at least two mock tests in a week.  

Q: What was your exam day strategy?                  

A: The only exam day strategy was to be patient and calm. No amount of preparation would be enough if you are stressed.

Also Read:

Q: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

A: Just that they should keep their mind cool during the exam and not be stressed. If they’ll be calm they’ll be able to score better.

Q: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

A: I am targeting IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta for MBA in Business Analytics.

Read More:

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About the Author
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Saumya Jain
Assistant Manager- Content
Saumya brings over seven years of editorial experience, with more than five years of wielding pen (and keyboard) at Shiksha. A graduate in English Literature from Delhi University, she is a storyteller at heart. A t Read Full Bio
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