CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Know How CA Parshva Dugad Secured 99.13%

CA Parshva Dugad became a CAT 2022 topper securing 99.13%. He shares his overall preparation strategy and tips for future aspirants here.

CAT 2022 Topper Interview with CA Parshva Dugad

CAT 2022 Topper Interview: IIM Bangalore released CAT results on December 21, making Parshva Dugad a CAT 2022 topper with 99.13%. Parshva Dugad is a Chartered Accountant who had previous cleared some of the most competitive exams, including JEE, BITSAT, and IPMAT. With a 99.13% he aims to convert calls from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Indore.

Parshva’s keen interest in Finance led him to pursue CA after Class 12. In an interview with Shiksha.com, Parshva shares his section-wise CAT preparation strategy and exam day strategy to help future aspirants.

CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Highlights

CAT 2022 Topper Interview with CA Parshva Dugad

Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? What was your expected CAT score?

Parshva: If I was told after coming out of the exam hall that I would score 99.13%ile, I would happily accept it with open arms. Although I have scored more in a lot of mocks, the actual exam is a different ball game. After the answer key was out, most predictors predicted a lesser percentile. Hence, I was pleasantly surprised with the actual score. Therefore, I am satisfied overall and will try to convert the best calls I get.

Shiksha: Was this your first CAT attempt?

Parshva: Yes, it was my first attempt at CAT exam.

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

Parshva: Since my childhood, I have been giving a lot of competitive and olympiad exams, also participating in a lot of quizzes and debates. So, in a way, these were small bits of preparation that helped me unknowingly prepare for CAT. When it comes solely to CAT, I started preparing in the mid of August 2022. The first 15 days went in researching and deciding the sources from which I will be studying. Post which I made a section-wise plan and strategy for the next 3 months.

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

Parshva: My section-wise preparation strategy for CAT 2022 was as follows:

VARC: I started preparing for CAT late as compared to other test-takers; thereforeI didn’t have enough time to read novels and Aeon essays and similar resources. I tried to be more exam oriented and focused on only the question types that are asked in CAT with a major emphasis on Reading Comprehension. RCs constitute 16 /24 questions and improving comprehension skills also help in the VA questions. Initially, I focused on mock tests and previous year papers. However, later on during the VARC preparation, I took help of different mentors to come across a better approach at RC by eliminating options. It was more effective to eliminate the wrong answers first instead of looking for the right answer. I improved by vocabulary by noting down any difficult words I encountered while reading a passage and its meaning. Every day, I would take a quick glance over the difficult words which eventually became a part of my vocabulary.

LRDI: During my prep phase, I discovered that LRDI is all about processing the information given in front of you and coming to the conclusions required to answer the questions. The only way you can prepare for it is if you learn about different ways to approach a set and learn about the most effective way to represent the data. I practised a variety of sets during my preparation. I practised as many sets as I could via several youtube channels and different online resources. In the exam, it is very important to select the right sets. So, before I began to solve, I would take two minutes and scan all four sets once. Based on familiarity and perceived ease of solving, I would decide the order in which I want to attempt them. If after 10-12 minutes I am nowhere near reaching a conclusion, I would leave the set and move on to the next one.

QA: Compared to other sections, I had always found Mathematics as my strength. Therefore, QA was the easiest section for me to prepare overall. However, I had lost touch with math in the past 5 years, so even though I was good at it, I needed to revisit all the concepts to get a grip on them. I referred to a YouTube channel to study QAS concepts for CAT. I used to learn from free sources and attempt the mock test series that I bought for CAT preparation. I had created a separate formula book to note down every formula. I left 3-4 pages after every chapter to note down tricky questions or important approaches and concepts that I come across in mocks or past papers. This made it really easy to revise the entire quants syllabus before mocks and the day before the exams.

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

Parshva: I studied via online resources for CAT. The only books I studied are Arun Sharma’s book on Quants and the Quants Study Modules from a coaching institute.

Also Read: Best Books to Prepare for CAT

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

Parshva: Yes, I joined an offline batch at a renowned coaching centre. Additionally, I took a 30-day crash course online. I learned from a few concept videos on topics I was weak in and met my daily targets for practice. I would say your efforts matter more than the Institute you enrol in. You could be imparted the best teaching in the classroom, but if you don’t put efforts at home, it will be futile. What the coaching institute does help the most is following and adhering to a schedule, which if you are self-disciplined, is not really needed

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

Parshva: I attempted 25 mock tests in total; however, its about the quality of analysis of the mocks and not how many mocks you take. The first five mocks I took were before I decided to prepare seriously, and I was just happy seeing my percentile so I never took steps to analyse them or improve. This was a mistake and once I realised how important the analysis is after mocks, I created a separate notebook to note down the following things:

• My mistakes
• For the incorrect questions, why the option I chose was wrong
• Questions I couldn’t attend in the live mock series. I would try to solve these questions and if I still couldn’t, would see the solution and note them down.
• Questions I spent more time than the toppers did. I would see if there was a shorter way to solve them and note it down.
• Though I would bookmark the important questions online, I noted some specific RC passages or LRDI sets that I must revisit before the exam.

Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?

Parshva: I had been allotted the morning slot. As I wasn’t accustomed to waking up early, I changed my sleep cycle a month before CAT and attempted mocks tests and past year papers in the same time range of my slot to ensure my mind stays active during that particular time of the day.

After waking up on the exam day, I revisited some QA formulae which I had bookmarked during the prep phase. Once I finished that, I meditated for 10 minutes before I left home to keep my mind fresh and calm. CAT checks the strength of your aptitude and how well you can make decisions. Therefore, I wanted to stay calm during the exam.

By the time I completed my VARC section I realised that it was not up to my expectations and that I may not meet them. But mocks taught me to never let the previous section’s performance affect my current section. The composure was why I did not panic when there was a twist in LRDI this year where we had four 5-question sets instead of the 4-4-6-6 from last year. Also being calm helped me attempt 18 questions in QA, which was more than what I could attempt in mocks.

Also Read: CAT Exam Day Tips

Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

Parshva: Please don’t wait to complete the syllabus before you start taking mocks. It does not matter how much you score in your initial mocks, get familiar with the pattern and interface, and know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Also, there will be highs and lows in your preparation journey, don’t let them affect you a lot. Don’t get too complacent about scoring well or too demotivated to score less. Believe in yourself and be consistent in your efforts.

Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

Parshva: Based on my profile and score, I am currently targeting the following b-schools

• IIM Ahmedabad
• IIM Bangalore
• IIM Kozhikode
• IIM Indore

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