Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
CAT 2023 Topper, Shreemant Singi with 99.28 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: 99.28%iler
CAT 2023 Topper Interview: With a 99.28 percentile, Shreemant Singi is one of the above 99 percentilers of CAT 2023. Hailing from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Singi has completed his BTech in electronics and telecommunications from SGSITS, Indore. After cracking CAT 2023, Shreemant 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 Shreemant Singi 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 Shreemant Singi.
Also Read:
CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26.
Also Read: CAT Topper 2023 Anmol Gupta, 99.47%iles talks about how to ace CAT with Self Study
Check out the table below to get an overview of the Shreemant Singi CAT percentile 2023:
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:
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 Sections |
CAT Percentile |
|---|---|
| Overall |
99.28 |
| 93.91 |
|
| 98.09 |
|
| 99.61 |
Also Read:
Also Read: CAT Topper 2023 Anmol Gupta, 99.47%iles talks about how to ace CAT with Self-study
Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
31 Jan '26 - 2 Feb '26
7 Feb '26 - 8 Feb '26
9 Feb '26
10 Feb '26 - 13 Feb '26
23 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
3 Mar '26
5 Feb '26
22 Mar '26
Shreemant: Yes, I am satisfied with my result. I was expecting more, but a slight fluctuation in the VARC section lowered my score. But yeah, overall, I am satisfied.
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?
Shreemant: No, this was my second attempt. Scored 98.20%ile last year.
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
Shreemant: I started my preparation six months before the exam. I started focusing on all three sections, giving more time to the VARC section as it was my weaker point. But it took around six months of dedicated preparation to get this score.
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.
Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
Shreemant: In the VARC section, I usually attempted all 4 RCS within 28 minutes and rest time for VA. And for DILR, I used to scan the sets first and then choose which to attempt. For QA right from the beginning, I started with questions that did not take much time and came back with the ones that took more time.
Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
Shreemant: The material provided by Supergrads by Toprankers was enough for me to do the complete preparation. Their section-wise theory was to the point and helped me revise quickly before the exam. The practice questions discussed in class, the assignments, practice sheets and SuperCATs (full-length test series), were highly exam-oriented and contributed greatly to my preparation.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
Shreemant: CAT Mocks are very important as they help you strategize how to attempt and make the most of the time. I attempted around 25 full-length mocks and 70-80 sectionals.
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
Shreemant: Yes, I joined Supergrads by Toprankers. It helped me immensely to prepare and strategize how to prepare for the exam. Every class was extremely well-structured and interactive. From preparation to revision, short tricks and study techniques, everything I learned in the classroom has helped me achieve this score. I must mention, the key takeaways at the end of each class were extremely helpful as well!
Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?
Shreemant: The same strategy that I had used throughout my entire preparation. Never change what you did in mocks, as it would surely degrade your marks. So, implement what you have prepared for throughout the preparation.
Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
Shreemant: I am targeting old IIMs (IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta) and FMS, SPJIMR, MDI GURGAON, etc.
Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.
Shreemant: I am an electronics and telecommunications engineer from SGSITS, Indore. In my family, I have my father, who is a businessman and my two elder sisters who are married and working in the corporate world and my mother is a homemaker.
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Shreemant: Have faith in yourself. Never lose hope throughout the preparation. And practice how your mentors guide you.
CAT 2023 Topper Scorecard
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 4 days ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for admission to MBA at ISMR Pune. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants with a score in CMAT, MAT, XAT, MAH MBA CET, etc. can also get admission. Candidates selected based on their entrance exam scores also need to pass the personal interview round for admission
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 4 days ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into MBA course at Chhatrapati Shahu Institute of Business Education and Research. The institute accepts other national/ state level management entrance exams too. The names of the accepted entrance examinations are: XAT/ MAT/ ATMA/ MAH MBA CET.
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 days ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into MBA course at GLA University, Mathura. The university also considers scores from other management entrance exam and one university level entrance exam too. The names of the other accepted entrance exams are: MAT/ XAT/ UPSEE.
C
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, CAT scores are not important for enrollment into Masters of Business Administration course at Chitkara University. Because CAT is not the only scores which are considered by the university, it also accepts the scores of MAT/ XAT/ NMAT/ CMAT.
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Minimum qualifying cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 95 percentile whereas for IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, it is 85. However final cut offs for these three top IIMs are between 99 to 100 percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
GIBS is pretty flexible when it comes to entrance exams. They accept almost all the common management tests — CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, State CET, and even GMAT. In my batch itself, we had students who came through different exams, not just CAT.
Honestly, that's one thing I liked about GIBS — they d
M
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can join Adarsh Institute of Management and Information Technology without appearing for CAT. This is because, the institute also accepts other tests. The accepted exams include CAT/ XAT/ MAT/ CMAT/ KMAT/ PGCET/ GMAT. Hence, if you have appeared for any of these, you can still apply.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, Myra School of Business does offer CAT scores based Scholarships upto INR 1.5 lakh. In recognition of outstanding performance in CAT, MSB awards special scholarships as follows:
h
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
LISAA School of Design, Bangalore BDes admission is done based on performance in the in-house entrance test. LISAA CAT is conducted at the LISAA centres. Candidates need to connect with the admission team to set up a time slot. Besides, it is important that the eligibility criteria is fulfilled.
M
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CAT is not mandatory for School of Business and Management, Christ University MBA admissions. Students can alternatively submit scores of other national-level management exams. These include MAT/ XAT/ CMAT/ ATMA and GMAT/ GRE are also accepted.
S
Contributor-Level 10
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