CAT 2023 Topper Interview: Know how Kartik Bhageria scored 99.99 Percentile in CAT Exam
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
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.
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CAT 2023 Topper Kartik Bhageria: Interview Highlights
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.
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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.
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
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:
- IIM Ahmedabad: 85 percentile
- IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile
- IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
- IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
- IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
- IIM Indore: 90 percentile
- IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
- IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
- IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
- IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
- IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
- 1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
- IIM Jammu: 93 percentile
- IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
- IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
- IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
- IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
- IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile
- IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
- 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 cut-offs are not announced along with the CAT result. The cut-offs are also not released publicly. They are known after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs will open the shortlist 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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The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a highly competitive entrance exam for admission to various management programs offered by top business schools in India. The percentile score in CAT exam is based on the relative performance of the test taker compared to all the other test takers.
The cutoff percentile for admission to top business schools varies from year to year and also depends on factors such as the number of candidates, difficulty level of the exam, and the number of available seats. In general, a percentile score of 90 or above is considered a good score and can help you secure admission to some of the top business schools in India. However, to increase your chances of admission to the top-tier business schools, a percentile score of 95 or above is preferred. For IIMs, one needs to definitely have CAT percentile in the range of 97 to 99+ percentile.