CAT 2025 Topper Interview: How Harsh Khudania Scored 99.93 Percentile with Consistent Practice
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Harsh Khudania secured 99.93 percentile in CAT 2025 exam. Shiksha got to talking with him, and he shared how consistency and regular practice helped him make it to the CAT toppers list. Read the article below to know Harsh's CAT success mantra and more.
CAT 2025 Toper Interview: Harsh Khudania, who secured 99.93 percentile in CAT 2025, shared his CAT success mantra and how he made it to the CAT toppers list. IIM CAT result 2025 was released by IIM Kozhikode on December 24, 2025. Harsh hails from Rajasthan and is a BTech graduate from NIT Surat. The electrical engineer, Harsh, has worked with Deloitte Consulting as a Software Developer. He wishes to pursue an MBA and wants to work at MBB consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG and Bain). He is a massive Virat Kohli fan and loves watching and playing cricket. He is also a trekking junkie and has completed a few Himalayan treks.
In an interview with Shiksha.com, Harsh shared his CAT success mantra and how consistency helped him make a mark. Read the article below to know his CAT journey from 98.83 percentile to 99.93 percentile.
Also Read: CAT 2025 Toppers List (OUT); Check State & Gender wise List of 100 & 99 Percentilers
- CAT 2025 Student Profile
- CAT 2026 Topper Interview with Harsh Khudania
- Other CAT 2025 Topper Interviews
CAT 2025 Student Profile
Check the table below to know the student's profile of CAT Topper Harsh Khudania:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Harsh Khudania |
| College | NIT Surat |
| CAT 2025 Percentile | |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | 96.82 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 99.93 |
| DILR | 99.86 |
| Overall | 99.93 |
Commonly asked questions
The CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore hovers between 97-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off required for being eligible for IIM Bangalore's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 85 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST candidates, it is 65 percentile and for PwD candidates it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore.
- General category: 80 VARC 75 DILR 75 Quantitative Aptitude 85 (Overall)
- NC-OBC category: 75 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
- EWS category: 70 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
- SC category: 65 VARC 60 DILR 60 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall)
- ST category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 65 (Overall)
- PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall)
CAT 2026 Topper Interview with Harsh Khudania
Shiksha: Congratulations on the CAT score! Are you satisfied with your score? How much were you expecting?
Harsh: Yes, I am happy to get this score. Before appearing for CAT, I was targetting 99.9+ percentile as that was required for me to get calls from top IIMs and other BSchools. Though I feel I left 10 to 12 marks which could have gotten me 99.96 percentile or above.
Shiksha: Was this your first attempt?
Harsh: No, this was my second attempt. I appeared for CAT 2024 as well where I scored 98.83 percentile.
Shiksha: When did you start preparing for CAT?
Harsh: I started my full-fledged CAT preparations in mid August.
Shiksha: What was your CAT preparation strategy?
Harsh: My preparation strategy was to practice and nothing more. I practiced till I started getting the desired scores. I also analysed the topics where I was making mistakes and gave extra hours to that topic to eradicate the errors. Talking about tackling difficulty levels, the only way to score well is through practice. It is not that complicated. Another thing to be added here is last minute revisions. These are very important.
Also Read:
| Best time to prepare for CAT exam |
Shiksha: Any specific books you referred to for CAT exam preparation?
Harsh: Yes, I used Arun Sharma's books for Quantitative Aptitude and DILR sections. I also took CAT mocks from iQuanta.
Also Read: Best Books to Prepare for CAT
Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute?
Harsh: Yes, I attended the ABC batch from iQuanta and used mock tests from Cracku.
Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt? How important do you think they are?
Harsh: I took around 40 full length CAT mock tests and 20 mock tests in the last month of CAT exam preparation. Mock tests are the most important part of preparation if one wishes to score well in the exam.
Also Read:
Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
Harsh: Try to complete the CAT syllabus two months before the CAT exam date. Keep the last two months for taking mocks and revision. Keep attempting mock tests regularly and consistently practice. Aspirants should focus on one goal and trust the process. One may get low scores sometimes, which can demotivate them, but keep the focus intact. Analyze the weaknesses and work on them. Eventually, the marks will start getting better.
Shiksha: Which IIMs/institutes are you targeting?
Harsh: I am targeting the following B-Schools:
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Other CAT 2025 Topper Interviews
Check the table below to know other CAT topper interviews:
| Name | Interview link |
|---|---|
| Anmol Gupta, 99.96 percentile | Click here to read full interview |
| Aishiki Sen, 99.18 percentile | Click here to read full interview |
| Aman Hussain, 99.47 percentile | Click here to read full interview |
| Pranshav Shah, 99.80 percentile | Click here to read full interview |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The minimum marks or CAT cut off to appear for IIM selection round is different for every institute. Tier 1 colleges select candidates with CAT score above 95 percentile, Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score between 80-90 percentile and Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score lower than
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no CAT PI shortlist for IIMs. Candidates have to simply login with their CAT credentials and fill the PI shortlist form.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no minimum qualifying marks for CAT. Anybody scoring above 0 in the exam is eligible for admission, however the B-Schools select candidates on the basis of cut offs which are 60 and above percentile.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
The final CAT cutoff are not released publically. However, candidates can check qualifying cut offs in the admission criteria document released by IIMs and other institute before the exam.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
CAT cut off is prepared by all accepting colleges individually. There is no one authorized body to do so. Even the IIMs determine their admission cut offs separately.
J
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
If we're talking about GIBS Business School Bangalore, they don't have some super high CAT cutoff. In simple words, you don't need to be in the 99+ percentile to get considered.
- They look for a decent CAT score, usually around 70–80 percentile as a safe benchmark
- Scores are important, but they also ca
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Not CAT necessarily, but still, you need to take a national-level entrance exam required for MBA admissions.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Most IIMs require a CAT percentile of 90 to 99 for MBA in Business Analytics. Private colleges like Great Lakes and NMIMS accept scores between the 70th and 85th percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, it is possible to get admissions at some of the top private MBA colleges in India with a low CAT score, between the 80th and 85th percentiles. These are some.
| Top Private MBA Colleges in India | CAT percentile |
|---|---|
| TAPMI CAT Cutoffs | 85 |
| GIM Goa CAT Cutoff | 85 to 88 |
| FORE School of Management CAT Cutoff | 75 to 85 |
Note: All info. is from official sites and can change.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, students can get admission in Sandip University, Nashik without CAT. The university also accepts other national/ state CETs. These are MAT/ XAT/ State CETs. Students can also appear for the Sandip University Management Aptitude Test - SUMAT.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Saumya Jain is an English Literature graduate from the University of Delhi. She has over 8 years of editorial and content writing experience. At Shiksha.com, she has spent more than six years creating research, stud
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