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Anum Ansari
Deputy Manager – Content
Updated on Jan 4, 2024 12:40 IST

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. 

Q:   What is sectional cutoff in CAT exam?
A:

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

Q:   What is the CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow?
A:
The CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow is usually around 97-99 percentile. The two courses - PGP Agri-Business Management (ABM) and PGP Sustainable Management (some) are extremely popular among MBA aspirants who wish to make a career in these areas. The institute also offers PGP programme. The qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 90 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST and PwD candidates, it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow PGP course. General category: 85 VARC 85 DILR 85 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) EWS category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall) ST category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Lucknow admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-lucknow-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-18509.
Q:   What are the qualifying CAT cutoffs for all the IIMs?
A:

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:

  1. IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
  2. IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile 
  3. IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
  4. IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
  5. IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
  6. IIM Indore: 90 percentile
  7. IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
  8. IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
  9. IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
  10. IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
  11. IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
  12. 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
  13. IIM Jammu: 93 percentile 
  14. IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
  15. IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
  16. IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
  17. IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
  18. IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile 
  19. IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
  20. 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 2023 Topper Kartik BhageriaInterview Highlights

Check out the table below to get an overview of the Kartik Bhageria CAT percentile 2023:

CAT Sections

CAT Percentile

Overall

99.99

VARC

92.35

DILR

100.00

QA

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.

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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.

Q:   Are CAT cut offs announced along with the CAT result?
A:

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 Scorecard

 

CAT Topper 2023 Kartik Bhageria 99.99%iler Scorecard

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"Writing is not about accurate grammar, it's about the honest thoughts you put in it". Having a versatile writing style, Anum loves to express her views and opinion on different topics such as education, entertainme Read Full Bio
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