CAT 2021 Topper Interview: Know How Chirag Gupta Scored 100 Percentile
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
CAT 2021 topper, Chirag Gupta, shared his CAT success mantra of securing 100 percentile. Read the article below to know more.
Chirag Gupta, a BS-MS student of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, has secured 100 percentile in CAT 2021 in his first CAT attempt. He loves playing chess and likes watching anime shows and movies. He hails from the pink city of India, Jaipur. Chirag shared his CAT success journey with Shiksha. Read the article below to know more.
CAT 2021 score
Overall: 100 Percentile
Sectional:
VARC: 100 percentile
DILR: 99.99 percentile
Quant - 99.99 percentile
Q: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
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A: I'm very satisfied with my CAT result. Before CAT, I was expecting anything around 130-140 marks but after CAT I was expecting 160. 181 has been a very pleasant surprise for me.
Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?
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:
- IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
- IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile
- IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
- IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
- IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
- IIM Indore: 90 percentile
- IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
- IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
- IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
- IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
- 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
- IIM Jammu: 93 percentile
- IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
- IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
- IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
- IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
- IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile
- IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
- 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.
A: Yes, this was my first cat attempt.
Q: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
A: I started preparing in March 2021. I focused mainly on giving mock tests and analysing them. I used to work on my weaknesses by watching various CAT preparation YouTube videos on various topics.
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Q: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
A: For VARC, I read a lot in general. You can read anything you like. I read fiction mainly and even that helped me a lot.
For DILR, I focused on identifying certain types of sets and getting familiarised with them. I applied this strategy in the mock test and read every set in first five mins. I began the section by doing the easiest DI set/s, then attempted the easier sets of the LR section. It will ensure that you will always clear the sectional cutoffs.
For the Quant section, I focused on getting my basics right at the beginning of the preparations. I focused on doing only easy questions first, and later attempted the harder ones.
Q: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
CAT cutoffs are usually not announced with the CAT result. The CAT cutoffs are also not released to the public.
They are published after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs opens their shortlisting 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.
A: I didn't study from any books for CAT. I attempted various mock test series during my preparation.
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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 just took mock test series from IMS and TIME. I'm not too sure about how coaching helps in CAT preparation, but attempting a good number of mock tests definitely helps in the CAT preparations.
Q: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
A: I took about 50-60 CAT mock tests, as I think that it is probably the most important aspect of CAT preparation.
Q: What was your exam day strategy?
A: My exam day strategy was just to stay calm and not think too much about the results.
Q: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
A: Be honest with yourselves during the preparation. It is important for you to not overestimate as well as underestimate your understanding of the concepts.
Saumya Jain is an English Literature graduate from the University of Delhi. She has over 8 years of editorial and content writing experience. At Shiksha.com, she has spent more than six years creating research, stud
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 4 days ago
Yes, CAT is a compulsory entrance exam for all candidates who are a resident of India to qualify for PGPM admissions at IIM Shillong. For NRI candidates, the GMAT is the mandatory entrance exam to qualify for IIM Shillong PGPM admissions. Candidates also need to fulfill the eligibilty criteria for P
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
The CAT cutoff for IIM Shillong PGPM admissions 2026 ranges from 50 - 75%. The general and EWS category candidates are required to score at least 75% in CAT exam to qualify for the PI round for IIM Shillong admissions.
The SC category is required to score 60% while the remaining categories are only r
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Answered 4 days ago
Yes, students can get into IIM Ahmedabad without appearing for CAT. However, this is applicable for courses other than flagship PGP/ MBA programme. Students seeking to join programmes, such as the BPGP or executive programmes. For those courses, students need valid scores of other accepted exams.
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LIBA Chennai does accept CAT scores for admission to PGDM courses. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also apply for PGDM with XAT scores. Candidates applying for PGDM (Gulf/ FN/ OCI) programme can also appear for LIBA Admission Test. Selected candidates also need to pass WAT followed by G
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Guide-Level 15
Answered 4 days ago
N.L. Dalmia offers scholarships based on entrance exam scores of the candidates. Below is the criteria for scholarship based on CAT scores:
| Category | Scholarship |
|---|---|
| >90 percentile | INR 6.50 lakh |
| 85 to 89.99 percentile | INR 4.06 lakh |
| 80 to 84.99 percentile | INR 3.25 lakh |
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Guide-Level 15
Answered a week ago
One should keep 9 months for CAT preparation, but it is possible to prepare in six months too provided the plan is focussed and exhaustive. For a six month preparation plan, one will need to dedicate 8 to 10 hours daily.
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for admission to MBA at ISMR Pune. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants with a score in CMAT, MAT, XAT, MAH MBA CET, etc. can also get admission. Candidates selected based on their entrance exam scores also need to pass the personal interview round for admission
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Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into MBA course at Chhatrapati Shahu Institute of Business Education and Research. The institute accepts other national/ state level management entrance exams too. The names of the accepted entrance examinations are: XAT/ MAT/ ATMA/ MAH MBA CET.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into MBA course at GLA University, Mathura. The university also considers scores from other management entrance exam and one university level entrance exam too. The names of the other accepted entrance exams are: MAT/ XAT/ UPSEE.
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Answered 3 weeks ago
No, CAT scores are not important for enrollment into Masters of Business Administration course at Chitkara University. Because CAT is not the only scores which are considered by the university, it also accepts the scores of MAT/ XAT/ NMAT/ CMAT.
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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