CAT 2023 Topper Interview: Know How Riddhi Secured 99.91 Percentile
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
Riddhi Dugar got her name included in the list of CAT 2023 toppers with an overall score of 99.91 percentile. She shares her prep strategy and tips for future CAT aspirants here.
CAT 2023 Topper Interview with Riddhi Dugar
CAT 2023 Topper Interview: IIM Lucknow released CAT result 2023 on December 21. Riddhi Dugar, a final year BCom Hons student, scored 99.91 percentile and got her name included in the CAT 2023 toppers list. She is currently pursuing a degree course from Stella Maris College, Chennai, affiliated with the University of Madras. She aims to join tier-1 MBA colleges and has started the GDPI prep for the same.
While talking with shiksha.com Riddhi, CAT 2023 topper, expressed her interest in Finance and weight lifting. Besides her interests, she has been participating in debates nationally. Let’s take a deep dive into Riddhi Dugar’s preparation strategy to get 99+ percentile in CAT. Also, know the tips shared by Riddhi for future aspirants.
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| Name of CAT Topper |
Riddhi Dugar |
|---|---|
| College |
|
| CAT 2023 Percentile Score |
|
| Overall |
99.91 |
| VARC |
99.40 |
| DILR |
99.88 |
| QA |
98.26 |
CAT 2023 Topper Interview with Riddhi Dugar
Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
Riddhi: I'm in disbelief even at this moment. I didn't expect such a high percentile, especially in my first attempt being a non-engineer who found DILR intimidating. I was expecting a 99+ percentile but 99.91 was unexpected.
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at the CAT exam?
Riddhi: Yes, this was my first attempt. I'm still a final year student at Stella Maris College doing my BCom (Honors)
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
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Riddhi: I started preparing for CAT exam almost a year ago; however, I spent 2-3 hours a day while preparing. I joined a coaching Institute, where my mentor laid out a clear plan to ace the CAT exam.
My overall strategy was to finish the entire syllabus a few months before the CAT. From July, I focused entirely on taking mock tests and sectional tests to maximise my score and have a strategy for D-Day. I completed around 70 mocks from July until the CAT exam day.
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Shiksha: What was your CAT section-wise preparation strategy?
Riddhi: My section wise preparation strategy for CAT exam was as follows:
VARC: My goal was to read as much as possible. I read 30+ novels and many articles from HBR, NY Times. etc I took around 40 sectional tests to derive the best strategy for the section. I planned and attempted all the questions from the section, so that even if accuracy is lower I could score a good percentile.
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.
DILR: I scored 1 in my first sectional mock and was very intimidated by it. I did all the past year’s questions and saw many video solutions from the coaching institute to understand how to attempt questions in DILR. I took 40+ sectional mock tests and had a strategy to attempt at least 2-3 sets after analysing the doable sets.
QA: I found this section challenging and first built my basics. I prepared this section using Arun Sharma and Sarvesh Kumar books, which are among the best books for CAT preparation. I watched all the video lessons shared by the coaching institute. I followed a strategy where I will scan this section and attempt around 12-13 doable questions based on my preparation.
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Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Riddhi: I used the CAT study material provided by my coaching institute. Besides the allocated study material, I referred to Arun Sharm and Sarvesh Kumar books for CAT Quantitative Aptitude. Additionally, I attempted mocks and sectional tests offered by two different coaching institutes.
Also Read: Best Books to Prepare for CAT
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does a coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Riddhi: Yes, I joined a coaching institute to prepare for CAT in Chennai itself. It helped me because I was accountable to my mentor and had a lot of study material handy for CAT preparation.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt; highlight how crucial was mock test series during CAT preparation?
Riddhi: I attempted 70 mock tests for the CAT exam. I started to take the one mock exam every other day in July. Taking CAT mock tests became a crucial part of my preparation journey as I derived my exam strategy from mocks. I also understood how it would be to give CAT in an exam environment and how to remain calm while taking the test.
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Riddhi: My strategy was to attempt it like any other mock test I took. On the CAT exam day, my parents took me to the exam centre. I recall listening to music and stopping for coffee before I reached CAT exam centre. I wasn't nervous but confident. VARC and DILR went as per the plan. QA was tough but I realised it would be tough for other test takers as well and did not lose my calm.
Also Read: CAT Exam Day Tips
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Riddhi: Focus on conceptual clarity. Avoid worrying about calls, pattern and number of aspirants, focus on your preparation. Mocks are crucial but analysis after taking the mock tests is equally important.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Riddhi: I don’t have any particular list of desired MBA colleges in mind; I would analyse my options among the tier-1 MBA colleges once I get calls for GDPI.
After achieving 99.91 percentile, I am aiming to clear calls from any of the top 10 MBA colleges, such as
- IIM Ahmedabad
- IIM Bangalore
- IIM Calcutta
- IIM Lucknow
- IIM Kozhikode
- IIM Indore
- FMS Delhi
- IIM Mumbai (NITIE)
- SPJIMR
- IIT Delhi
Read More:
- IIM Admission Criteria 2024
- CAT Topper 2023 Anmol Gupta, 99.47%iles talks about how to ace CAT with Self Study
- CAT 2023 Topper Interview: Know how Vishesh Jain, 99.68%iler cracked CAT without coaching
- CAT 2023 Topper Shreemant Singi shares tips & hacks to score above 99 percentile in MBA entrance exam
- CAT Exam Cutoff
With a creative soul, Abhishek is inclined towards anything in the creative space be it drawing, painting, craft, or writing. He has been working in the ed-tech industry since he started his career. Besides creative... Read Full Bio
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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.
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