Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Kartik Bhageria, one of the 99.99 percentilers of CAT 2023 shares his CAT preparation journey with some important tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Kartik Bhageria aced CAT 2023.
CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Kartik Bhageria 99.99%iler
CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Kartik Bhageria, a 99.99 percentiler secured an overall scored 118.57 in his first attempt. Bhageria commenced his CAT 2023 preparation in July. As a tip to score well in CAT exam, he advises aspirants to maintain consistency in their preparation. Kartik is aiming for all the three top IIMs in India. After cracking CAT 2023, Kartik wants to pave his way in the management field by targeting top b-schools in India.
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In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Kartik Bhageria, one of the 99.99 percentilers of CAT 2023 shares his CAT preparation journey with some important tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Kartik Bhageria aced CAT 2023 with 99.99 percentile. CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26.
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:
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.
Check out the table below to get an overview of the Kartik Bhageria CAT percentile 2023:
| CAT Sections |
CAT Percentile |
|---|---|
| Overall |
99.99 |
| 92.35 |
|
| 100.00 |
|
| 99.91 |
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Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
Kartik: Thank you! I am thrilled with my CAT result, and it exceeded my expectations. I had aimed for a high percentile, but achieving 99.99 percentile is beyond what I had initially anticipated.
31 Jan '26 - 2 Feb '26
7 Feb '26 - 8 Feb '26
9 Feb '26
10 Feb '26 - 13 Feb '26
23 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
3 Mar '26
5 Feb '26
22 Mar '26
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
Kartik: Yes, this was my first attempt at CAT.
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Kartik: I began my CAT preparation around July 2023. Being an engineering student, I did not spend a lot of time learning new concepts in the Quant and DILR sections. I spent most of my time giving mocks to practice and try to increase my attempted questions with better accuracy in each attempt.
Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
Kartik: For the DILR section, persistence is a key but it could get a bit tricky. Sometimes, if you just think about a question for another minute the whole question might get solved but in doing that, you might waste time which can be spent on other questions. So, with practice in CAT mocks, you can get a better idea on how to give time to each question set.
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.
For the Quant section, try to attempt the easier questions first and leave the difficult ones. If you are left with time, you can re-attempt those questions but it is mandatory to at least get the easy questions right.
Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Mock Tests are game changers, says Dixit Bhageria, 99.55%iler
Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Kartik: I did not refer to any books for my CAT preparation, I’ve solely relied on Mock papers and section-wise tests.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
Kartik: I attempted 35-40 CAT Mocks tests. Mock tests are incredibly crucial as they simulate exam conditions, help manage time effectively, and identify areas of improvement. Analysing mock tests played a pivotal role in refining my strategy.
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Kartik: Yes, I joined TIME and IMS for their Mock test series, I also took a VARC1000 course to help me with my VARC scores.
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Kartik: On the exam day, I ensured a good night's sleep, had a healthy breakfast, and reached the exam center well in advance. Also, before entering the exam hall, I had a chocolate to put me in a good mood. Remaining calm is the key, the paper may turn out to be difficult but it shall be difficult for everyone so one should simply focus on giving their best.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Kartik: I am considering applying to IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta
Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
Kartik: I have a background in Applied Mathematics. My family has been incredibly supportive throughout my preparation. Outside academics, I enjoy playing various sports and Valorant to unwind and relax.
Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Know how Parul Garg cracked CAT with 99.93%
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Kartik: My advice for future CAT aspirants would be to start early, maintain consistency in preparation, focus on weak areas, and take mock tests seriously. Additionally, staying calm and confident during the exam is key to performing well.
CAT Topper 2023 Kartik Bhageria 99.99%iler Scorecard
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 4 days 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
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 4 days 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.
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 days 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.
C
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week 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.
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Minimum qualifying cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 95 percentile whereas for IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, it is 85. However final cut offs for these three top IIMs are between 99 to 100 percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
GIBS is pretty flexible when it comes to entrance exams. They accept almost all the common management tests — CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, State CET, and even GMAT. In my batch itself, we had students who came through different exams, not just CAT.
Honestly, that's one thing I liked about GIBS — they d
M
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can join Adarsh Institute of Management and Information Technology without appearing for CAT. This is because, the institute also accepts other tests. The accepted exams include CAT/ XAT/ MAT/ CMAT/ KMAT/ PGCET/ GMAT. Hence, if you have appeared for any of these, you can still apply.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, Myra School of Business does offer CAT scores based Scholarships upto INR 1.5 lakh. In recognition of outstanding performance in CAT, MSB awards special scholarships as follows:
h
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
LISAA School of Design, Bangalore BDes admission is done based on performance in the in-house entrance test. LISAA CAT is conducted at the LISAA centres. Candidates need to connect with the admission team to set up a time slot. Besides, it is important that the eligibility criteria is fulfilled.
M
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CAT is not mandatory for School of Business and Management, Christ University MBA admissions. Students can alternatively submit scores of other national-level management exams. These include MAT/ XAT/ CMAT/ ATMA and GMAT/ GRE are also accepted.
S
Contributor-Level 10
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