CAT 2023 Topper Interview: Know how Vishesh Jain, 99.68%iler cracked CAT without coaching
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 5 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
CAT 2023 Topper, Vishesh Jain with 99.68 percentile shares his preparation strategy and important tips to crack India's biggest MBA entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know more about his CAT preparation journey and post-result career plans.
CAT 2023 Topper Interview: 99.68%iler
CAT 2023 Topper Interview: With a 99.68 percentile, Vishesh Jain is targeting IIM BLACKI. Jain has completed his BSc in Applied Statistics from NMIMS, Mumbai. After cracking CAT 2023, Vishesh is aiming to pave his way in the management field by targeting top b-schools in India such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and more. In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Vishesh Jain shares the CAT preparation strategy along with a few tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. Read further to know more about CAT 2023 topper Vishesh Jain.
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CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26.
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CAT 2023 Topper Vishesh Jain: Interview Highlights
Check out the table below to get an overview of the Vishesh Jain CAT percentile 2023:
| CAT Sections |
CAT Percentile |
|---|---|
| Overall |
99.68 |
| 99.13 |
|
| 92.62 |
|
| 99.74 |
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Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
Vishesh: Yes, I'm satisfied with my result. I was expecting a much better score in VARC (99.9+) due to it being my strongest area.
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
Vishesh: This was my first genuine attempt. I had attempted cat last year without much preparation.
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Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Vishesh: I started preparing in April this year. Focus on studying the basics of all sections, especially QUANT until July. After July only did mock tests and analysis.
Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
Vishesh:
- VARC - Reading is crucial but more importantly is solving a lot of RCs. There is a huge difference between being able to read/understand and being able to solve the RC questions. VA is underrated and hard work in VA may give you great ROI.
- DILR- Solve 500+ sets ranging from all topics. Many people recommend sudoku, puzzles, etc. but it is the last priority. First, you should be able to solve a variety of easy-medium sets and master a few types of sets.
- QA- Focus heavily on arithmetic and algebra. It makes up a significant portion of the test. You need to solve at least medium level of questions with ease, as we have seen in this cat paper, with a majority of LOD 2 questions.
Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Vishesh: Solved Arun Sharma for Quant. For the other 2 sections, books aren't as useful.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
Vishesh: Attempted around 60 CAT Mocks tests. Mock test is THE MOST CRUCIAL aspect of the cat preparation journey. It will help you build your test-taking strategy and stamina and prepare you to make the right question selection.
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Vishesh: No coaching institute for preparation. Only for mocks.
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Vishesh: Overall Strategy - Don't keep any targets and be free of any constraints. You have to solve as many questions as correctly as possible. Having a range is good but keep it flexible, as we have seen in this year's difficult paper.
VARC- Spend 30 seconds scanning for the best RCs. Did 3 of them consecutively in 30 minutes. Spent the rest 10 minutes solving all VA questions. In a difficult section like S2, accuracy becomes crucial and after solving many mock tests, you'll be able to judge the level of questions asked.
DILR- SET SELECTION is crucial. Spend 5 minutes going through all 4 sets and the approach to solve them. Spend around 5 minutes on a set. If you cannot crack that set, move to the next one. You need to maximize the questions solved, not the sets. Hence it is okay to solve 2-3 questions from each set. This strategy becomes critical when no one set is a sitter.
QUANT - The strategy of leaving questions in 10-20 seconds will be a disaster in this year's difficult paper. You need to give adequate time(2-3 minutes) to calmly solve around 10-15 questions with extremely high accuracy. Being able to guess smartly is also an underrated skill.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Vishesh: I am targeting IIM BLACKI (IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore) and FMS, SPJIMR
Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
Vishesh: I have studied BSc in Applied Statistics from NMIMS, Mumbai. My father is a businessman and my mother runs a baking institute. My hobbies are to read to business books, researching stocks, and cooking.
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Vishesh: CAT is a game of strategy. You might only be able to solve easy-medium questions and be average in all sections and still score 99+. What you need to focus is on reducing the gap between your actual mock scores and the potential score (which is high for any well-prepared candidate)
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