CAT 2021 Topper Interview: Know How Palash Kashyap Scored 99.34 Percentile
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
CAT 2026 application submission
3 Aug '26 - 22 Sep '26
Palash Kashyap scored 99.34 percentile in CAT 2021. Check here CAT 2021 topper interview where he talks about his preparation strategy.
CAT 2021 score
Overall Percentile: 99.34
Sectional:
- VARC - 95.78 percentile
- DILR - 99.72 percentile
- QA - 97.71 percentile
Palash Kashyap scored 99.34 percentile in CAT 2021 to get into the toppers list. CAT 2021 was his third attempt at the national level management entrance exam. He passed a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Shri Shankaracharya Group of Institution in 2020. His hobbies include playing cricket, he has also played cricket at the state level. In his previous attempts, he was able to score 79.42 percentile and 85.62 percentile. He has been working as an Assistant System Engineer Trainee in TCS. We got in touch with Palash Kashyap, CAT 2021 topper, to know about CAT preparation tips/ tricks and exam day strategy.
Q: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
A: Yes, I am satisfied with my score. I was expecting a 99+ percentile.
Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?
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A: No, this was my third attempt at the CAT exam. I took the exam in 2019 and 2020; I was able to score 79.42 percentile and 85.62 percentile respectively.
Q: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Commonly asked questions
Yes, IIM Bangalore is one of the toughest business schools to get admission to, and every year, even CAT 99+ percentilers miss out on a call from the institute. IIM Bangalore uses multiple parameters, namely academic performance as well as candidates' scores in CAT/GMAT to select candidates for the PGP programme. IIMB adopts a two-phase selection process and accordingly, these selection criteria are applied in two phases. The first phase of the process is applied to all eligible candidates who appear for CAT to determine candidates to be called for a personal interview (PI). Candidates selected for the PI process will be additionally required to take a Writing Ability Test (WAT).
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
No, one can't join IIM without CAT. Candidates seeking admission to the IIM Ahmedabad MBA course must appear for CAT. The institute sends call letter to aspirants with score equal or above qualifying cutoff for Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. Students must meet both, the overall CAT cutoff percentile and the sectional cutoffs.The Institute does not release CAT cutoffs in the public domain and are exclusively accessible only via account login to candidates who have appeared for the exam.
A: I started preparing for CAT in May 2021. For VARC, my focus was to read as much as possible. For LRDI, I solved multiple sets during the day. For Quant, my focus was to calculate in my mind to solve questions faster.
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Q: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
A: I followed below mentioned approach for all three sections:
VARC - Read as much as possible from Aeon essays, editorial, and ask questions why, how, reason, try forming an opinion about everything that u come across, that way u will be better able to connect to what authors are trying to express. In aeon, one can actually read from different genres.
LRDI - I solved at least 8-10 different types of sets every day and write down shortcuts, tricks and strategies that you want to go ahead with. It surely helps in picking right sets in mocks.
Quant - Try not to use a pen, try solving things in mind, it saves time as well as increase attempts. I wrote down all the formulas for all topics including algebra, geometry, arithmetic, and more; I went through the formula every time while preparing for the Quant section.
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Q: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
A: I did not refer to any particular book. However, online material provided by coaching institutes helped me prepare for CAT.
Also Read: Best Books to Prepare for CAT
Q: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
A: Mocks are the most important part of the prep, my suggestion would be to not wait to complete the syllabus, and start taking mocks as early as possible. I gave around 25 mocks. Ideally, 25-30 mock tests are sufficient enough for CAT preparation.
Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
A: Yes, I joined an online mock test series offered by a coaching institute. It is very helpful.
Also Read:
| Articles for CAT Preparation |
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| CAT preparation: Your love for reading can get you the desired result |
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| CAT Preparation plan for data interpretation & logical reasoning | |
Q: What was your exam day strategy?
A: I considered the CAT exam as one more mock that I am appearing in. This helped me reduce the exam anxiety.
Q: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
A: I wish for admission into any of the top IIMs, FMS, NITIE Bombay.
| What After CAT Result? | |
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Abhishek Dhawan is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He holds a BA degree from the University of Delhi. At Shiksha, Abhishek primarily covers MBA and BBA entrance
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