In an exclusive interview with Shiksha, Navneet Mangal shares his preparation strategy and tips for future CAT aspirants. Read further to know more about CAT 2022 topper Navneet Mangal.
CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Dixit Gupta, 99.55%iler
CAT Topper Interview: Navneet Mangal, a Mechanical Engineering graduate cracked India's biggest MBA entrance exam, CAT 2022 with a 99.31 percentile. Navneet also has a 3-year working experience at Godrej & Boyce. This was Navneet's second attempt at CAT and for MBA admission, he is aiming at some top IIMs such as IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, etc. keeping FMS, SP Jain and IIT Bombay as his backup. In an exclusive interview with Shiksha, Navneet Mangal shares his preparation strategy and tips for future CAT aspirants. Read further to know more about CAT 2022 topper Navneet Mangal.
IIM Bangalore declared CAT 2022 result two weeks earlier than usual, i.e. on December 21. CAT 2022 exam was held on November 27.
- CAT 2022 score
- Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
- Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
- Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
- Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
- Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
- Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
- Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
- Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
- Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
- Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
- Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
CAT 2022 score
Overall Percentile: 99.31
Sectional:
- VARC – 96.91
- DILR – 99.06
- QA – 97.60
Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
Navneet: I was always expecting to get above 99 during my prep but the exam was a bit more difficult than my expectations, and I wasn't that happy with my performance on exam day. I'm quite satisfied with the percentile though.
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Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
Navneet: This was my 2nd serious attempt at CAT, previously I gave CAT in 2018 and scored around 95%le.
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Navneet: I started in June, so almost 6 months. As for the prep strategy, I just wanted to finish the syllabus as quickly as possible and then give as many mocks as I could. I opine that the exam basically wants to test how well you can pick your battles and optimize rather than how much you know.
Commonly asked questions
After JEE session 2 is completed, only those candidates who are aiming for IITs need to start preparing for JEE Advanced after clearing JEE Main. Those who are above the 98th percentile should start preparing for JEE Advanced as soon as possible. Those below this, between the 95th and 98th percentile, should focus on attempting more mock tests and previous year question papers so that they have a better chance of clearing JEE Advanced
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 and secure 90 percentile. The Institute considers Writing Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds for final admission to IIM Ahmedabad along with CAT results. 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.
Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
Navneet: Both VARC and LRDI call for habit based prep, so solving RCs and LRDI sets on a daily basis is a must. I've always been good in VARC, so I put in extra effort in LRDI section. Even if was busy all day due to some reason I'd make time to solve at least 2 sets. And since CAT has upped the LRDI section difficulty in the past few years, it does call for extra efforts. Prep for QA is the easiest, just solve as many questions as you can. Personally, I did the breadth first approach, wherein you do atleast the basics of each topic and dive into the advanced level for your strength. I've noticed a few questions in QA where multiple concepts were involved so doing the basics of every concept is important.
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Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Navneet: I joined EduCorp-Chandigarh for my prep and their material was more than sufficient. In addition to that doing the previous year exams is probably the most important.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
Navneet: I probably did more than 40 mocks and mocks are second only to the previous year's exams in your prep. So even if you've not finished your syllabus, just give mocks.
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Navneet: Yes. I joined EduCorp-Chandigarh in June. Mostly for learning in a structured form, and they biggest support during the ups and downs of my prep. Confidence is very important to give your best in the exam.
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Navneet: Mostly just to remember my best mock and not to carry over any bad performance into the next section.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Navneet: IIM BLACI (IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore), , Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research and IIT Bombay - Indian Institute of Technology as my backup.
Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
Navneet: I have done mechanical engineering and then worked for 3 yrs at Godrej & Boyce. My father works in HR at an MNC, my mother is a teacher and my sister is a journalist.
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Navneet: Just do your personal best, don't let the exam overwhelm you and if you have done your best accept the results.
Read More:
- CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Mock Tests are game changers, says Dixit Gupta, 99.55%iler
- CAT Topper Interview 2022: Know how Akshit Agrawal cracked CAT with 99.91%ile without coaching
- CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Work hard & World is yours. That's key to crack CAT, says Arka Saha, 98.76%iler
- CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Know how Parul Garg cracked CAT with 99.93%
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