CAT 2021 Topper Interview: Know How Chirag Gupta Scored 100 Percentile
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
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4 Nov '26 - 29 Nov '26
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?
Commonly asked questions
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
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.
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: 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?
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.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 21 hours ago
Career Launcher (Rajkot) and TIME are CAT coaching Institutes in Rajkot that offer weekend batches.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 21 hours ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Rajkot, candidates must consider the following points:
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 21 hours ago
The average fee in Rajkot ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹18,000 to ₹35,000 for online courses.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
CAT coaching institutes in Durgapur that offer weekend batches are Career Launcher (Durgapur), IMS, TIME, Smart Edge and Xcella Skills.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Durgapur, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
The average fee of CAT coaching in Durgapur ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹18,000 to ₹35,000 for online courses.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
CAT 2026 exam pattern remains stable with 68 questions and a 120-minute duration. Only the registration fee has been increased to INR 2,700 for general candidates and INR 1,350 for reserved categories.
R
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
IMs and top business schools use CAT percentiles and sectional cutoffs to shortlist candidates for selection rounds. For final selection, they assign a 25 per cent to 65 per cent weightage to the CAT score, combining it with academics, work experience, and interviews.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
Almost all CAT coaching institutes in Haldwani offer weekend batches. However, it is suggested to connect with the institute directly for more details.
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Answered 2 days ago
Based on your location preferences, budget, and course duration/type, you can choose the best CAT coaching institute in Haldwani for yourself.
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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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