Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
In this exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Sayantan Sur shares his CAT preparation journey with a few tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Sayantan Sur aced CAT 2023 with 99.54 percentile.
CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Sayantan Sur 99.54%iler
CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Sayantan Sur, a 99.54 percentiler commenced his CAT preparation in May 2023. While, he was aiming for all the top IIMs in India, Sur shared that he is not satisfied with his CAT result 2023 as he was expecting 99.9+ percentile. While sharing his reaction to CAT Result 2023, Sayantan said, "I underperformed in my strongest sections and I was aiming for a 99.9+. That being said, it is still more than what I expected when I came out of the exam center." After cracking CAT 2023, Sayantan wants to pave his way in the management field by targeting top b-schools in India.
Also Read:
In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Sayantan Sur shares his CAT preparation journey with a few tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Sayantan Sur aced CAT 2023 with 99.54 percentile. CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT exam was held on November 26.
Check out the table below to get an overview of the Sayantan Sur CAT percentile 2023:
| CAT Sections |
CAT Percentile |
|---|---|
| Overall |
99.54 |
| 97.89 |
|
| 99.83 |
|
| 94.48 |
Also Read:
Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
Sayantan: Thank you! To be completely honest I’m not at all satisfied with my score as I underperformed in my strongest sections and I was aiming for a 99.9+. That being said, it is still more than what I expected when I came out of the exam center.
30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25
17 Oct '25 - 24 Nov '25
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25
30 Sep '25 - 10 Dec '25
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25
21 Dec '25
31 Dec '25
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
Sayantan: No, this was my second attempt. I gave my first attempt just for the sake of it while I was in the final year of college.
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Sayantan: I started preparing for CAT from May and the main strategy was to stay consistent throughout the journey instead of overburdening myself on a few days and not getting anything done on another. I focused on covering all the concepts in depth as I was starting from scratch, followed by rigorous practice.
Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
Sayantan:
VARC-This was my strongest section so my goal was to maximise my score through this section. I struggled mainly with speed so I prepared for this section mainly through the mocks I appeared from and by reading a few dense articles that got me accustomed to a wide variety of ideas. Overall, I did not do any dedicated preparation for this section as I had to dedicate my time to qa/di. However, if somebody is facing trouble in this particular section they should focus on accuracy first and try to develop their thought process by analysing every question by figuring out why one particular option is incorrect in addition to why one answer is correct. Try to read dense articles from good sources like Aeon, JSTOR etc as you’ll develop your reading habit/speed, focus, as well as an inclination towards different topics. Finally, attempt this section logically instead of intuitively if this doesn’t come naturally to you.
Lrdi- Try to solve as many sets as possible from diverse sources and focus on the thought process. While practicing, take your time with a difficult set and don’t jump to the solutions before racking your brain. This is a section where the attempt strategy is very important so once you have a decent understanding and have solved 100-200 sets, focus on time bound practice and try to solve 3-5 sets daily.
QA- Cover every concept in depth without fail as it’ll help you connect the dots easily when you come across questions with mixed concepts. Written practice is very important so once you’re done with the basic concepts solve as many good quality questions as possible and appear for sectionals and mocks. While attempting the section, solve the easier ones first and leave the difficult ones ruthlessly and come back to them later.
Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Mock Tests are game changers, says Dixit Sur, 99.55%iler
Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Sayantan: I referred to Time Institute’s material for practicing QA problems in the beginning of my preparation.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
Sayantan: I attempted 60+ full length CAT Mocks along with multiple sectionals for qa and lrdi. In my opinion, mock tests play a very crucial role, especially for an average student like me as they help you get accustomed to the time-bound solving scenario and allow you to strategise your overall attempt. They also help you to spot and fix your weak points and they’re the best source for high quality questions-especially for the logical reasoning and quantitative ability sections.
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Sayantan: Yes, I joined an online institute and it gave a great boost to my preparation as it allowed me to learn all the concepts in depth and access to good quality questions.
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Sayantan: My strategy was to stay calm on the exam day and attempt it like any other mock. I also made sure to leave questions ruthlessly when they took too long to be solved. Since lrdi was my weakest section, my goal was to maximise my scores in the other two sections and play it safe in this section. Although it didn’t work out as planned, it still helped me make the most out of this attempt.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Sayantan: I’m targeting the top 5 IIMs, such as IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, along with Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi and XLRI Jamshedpur.
Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
Sayantan: I just graduated this year with a bachelor's in business administration. I’m passionate about working out, reading, and playing sports and I thoroughly enjoy watching tv shows and movies in my free time.
Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Know how Parul Garg cracked CAT with 99.93%
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Sayantan: One should always have a clear goal and action plan in mind and stick to it. You’ll also have to work on the days you don’t feel like it and stay consistent throughout. There should be two phases in this process- In the beginning, one should always cover every concept in depth and focus on written practice to get a hang of every section and have a good knowledge repository. In the second half the main priority should be appearing for as many mock/sectional tests as possible and analysing them thoroughly.
In the last leg of the preparation the tests should be given in your time slot so as to ensure that your body clock is used to it. Your mock test scores and performance during the journey will be a good indicator and benchmark for you but they don’t reflect the final result so don’t beat yourself up about it if they aren’t satisfactory (For context, I used to get 60-80 percentile in the lrdi section and 99-100 in the varc section. The final result is in front of your eyes :) )
Read More:
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25 | XAT 2026 mock test 3 |
10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 Exam registration |
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25 | SNAP 2025 Registration Process |
28 Nov '25 - 6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 admit card session 1... |
28 Oct '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Admit Card Issuance |
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Rescheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25 | MAT PBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
23 Oct '25 - 15 Dec '25 | MAT CBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Registration |
5 Nov '25 - 27 Dec '25 | IBSAT Slot Booking 2025 |
17 Oct '25 - 24 Nov '25 | CMAT 2026 registration and app... |
Dec '25 | MAH MBA CET 2026 registration ... |
2 Sep '25 - 4 Sep '25 | MAH MBA CAP 2025: Reporting to... |
Jan '26 | Publication of TANCET notifica... |
Jan '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '25 | IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno... |
Feb '25 | IRMASAT Personal Interviews |
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 4 days ago
At GIBS, they keep the entrance exam part really simple. For PGDM or MBA, they accept almost all the common exams like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT. Even state-level or institute-level scores are considered.
Honestly, GIBS doesn't stress too much about “only one specific exam.” As long as you
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 5 days ago
At GIBS, the faculty-to-student ratio is around 1:15, which honestly makes learning a lot easier. Since the classes aren't overcrowded, the faculty actually get time to focus on each student.
You can easily ask your doubts, get personal guidance, and have open discussions. It feels more like a mentor
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
The online application for GIBS Business School is very well-organized and student-friendly for its MBA, PGDM, and BBA programs.
Application Procedure Step 1: Access the Admissions Portal
Go to the official website of GIBS Business School, and click on "Apply Online", which can be found under the sect
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
GIBS Business School considers the overall CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT scores for the admission of candidates in the PGDM and MBA programs. Rather than using solely high cut-offs, the entrance test scores are used to judge the aptitude of a candidate in terms of analysis, quant, and verbal f
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 weeks ago
GIBS Business School, Bangalore, has a strong and dynamic Placement Cell that helps in securing excellent career opportunities for the students. Every year, more than 260 reputed companies have visited the campus for recruitment, offering versatile jobs in sectors like BFSI, IT, consulting, manufact
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 weeks ago
Getting into the MBA programme of NIT Trichy with a 300 SC CAT rank is somewhat uncertain. As the recent data sets suggest, NIT Trichy's CAT cutoff for SC category admission stands around 65th percentile. A 300 SC rank could be borderline depending on how many SC candidates apply and the quality of
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a month ago
Candidates who did not appear for the CAT entrance exam can apply St. Xavier's College, Kolkata admissions as it is not a mandatory entrance exam. The candidates who wish to gain admissions into the MBA course of the institute have to appear for the Kolkata University entrance test for St. Xavier's
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
PGCET and CAT serve distinct purposes. The PGCET is primarily conducted for MBA admissions in colleges in the state of Karnataka, specifically for government colleges and private universities with lower fees. CAT is a national level exam for top-ranking B-schools and colleges such as the IIMs that h
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
That's a wonderful goal to push your son toward right at the start. To obtain previous CAT model papers, you can check many available popular exam preparation books in any bookstore or online store. Coaching interest such as TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, etc., usually have mock tests and sample papers
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, you can get admission to Jaypee Business School (JBS), Noida for MBA even if you don't have CAT. JBS accepts scores from several other exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, GMAT, ATMA, and also CUET-PG. Just make sure you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks, then apply with any of those va
Contributor-Level 9
Yes, CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of the candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.