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Anum Ansari
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Updated on Dec 26, 2023 12:20 IST
In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Anmol Gupta shares the CAT preparation strategy along with a few tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. He further talks about how CAT is possible by self-preparation. How CAT topper 2023 Anmol Gupta aced CAT 2023 with self-preparation?

CAT Topper 2023, Anmol Gupta with 99.47 percentile shares his CAT self-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 Topper 2023 Interview: Anmol Gupta 99.47%iler

CAT Topper 2023 Interview: With a 99.47 percentile, Anmol Gupta is targeting IIM BLACKI along with other Top MBA colleges in India such as MDI, FMS, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, etc. Gupta is a software engineer. He has completed his BTech in Computer Science fm a 3-tier engineering college. CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26. 

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After cracking CAT 2023, Anmol now aims to pave his way in the management field by targeting top b-schools in India. In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Anmol Gupta shares the CAT preparation strategy along with a few tips and tricks that helped him crack India’s largest management entrance exam, CAT. He further talks about how CAT is possible by self-preparation. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Anmol Gupta aced CAT 2023 with self-prepration. 

Q:   Is the CAT syllabus difficult?
A:

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.

Q:   Is CAT exam tough for an average student?
A:

CAT is a speed based test of analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems.

However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.

Q:   Are six months enough to prepare for CAT?
A:

Usually, it is recommended to start CAT preparation about a year or nine months in advance. However, one can prepare for this exam even in six months if they put 8-10 hours daily into it. Candidates who have attempted the CAT before may not face a lot of hurdles in six-month preparation as they have a foundation in CAT preparation from previous year, but candidates who are appearing in the exam for the first time may face obstacles, mostly related to accuracy. The syllabus of CAT is vast and includes a lot of reading.

One also has to spend a lot of time in practice sessions and mock tests to be able to master all types of CAT questions - easy, moderate and tough. If you are a student of engineering/technical or commerce background you will need to pay extra attention on VARC . 

However, you'll be able to manage the syllabus of DILR and Quantitative Aptitude with adequate practice of topics. But if you are a student from Arts background, it is advised to start CAT preparation much earlier because you will have to brush up a lot of Mathematics. Reading Comprehension is one subject that cannot be mastered by student belonging to any academic stream, if their English comprehension is not strong. To develop reading habit all CAT aspirants will have to start much earlier.

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Anmol: Thank you! Yes, I am satisfied with my result and really happy with what I have got. I wasn't expecting such a good result I was expecting 98.8-99%ile and the predictors were predicting 99.2-99.3%ile but result turned out to be much better.

Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?

Anmol: Yes, this was my first attempt at CAT.

Shiksha: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?

Anmol: I started preparing around June. At that time I just used to watch YouTube videos from Rodha and Elitea Grid and after that in the month of August - September I started giving some free mocks. Towards the end, my strategy was to solve every previous year CAT paper.

Q:   Why is CAT considered a difficult MBA entrance exam?
A:
The CAT is conducted as a difficult MBA entrance exam because it is the main national level test for MBA Admission in India. Over 2 Lacs candidates appear for it every year. Thus, the competition is high. The question paper is set by the IIM. Even though the score is accepted by over 1300 colleges the top colleges accept above 90 percentile. The Iims have cut offs above 95 percentile. It has been seen that out of the total number of test takers which is usually around 2 Lacs, only about 20 candidates are able to score 99-100 percentile. The difficulty level of CAT is the highest among all the MBA entrance exams in India. It is conducted for 2 hours and has 66 questions in total to solve. However, the difficulty level of all the questions from VARC DILR and Quantitative Aptitude is high. The VARC has tough and long Reading Comprehension passages. The Data Interpretation tables and charts are dense and calculation intensive. Logical Reasoning questions are also on the tougher side. Moreover, there is sectional time limit of 40 minutes for each section. Candidates have to complete a section in the given time limit only.
Q:   When should I start preparing for CAT exam?
A:

You should start preparing for CAT exam at least nine months ahead. CAT preparation requires long term planning thus you must start early. Best time to start CAT preparation is in March. Starting early will also help you decide that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not.

Q:   Can I prepare for CAT within 3 months?
A:
Hi Swaleha, 3 months are not enough for CAT as there many students with brilliant mind applying for CAT, you have to compete with them. So, at least, you have to start preparing for CAT before 6 months of exam. Rest of the information is given below. Exam preparation tips for CAT: Rather than focusing on all the topics, students need to try and select those topics with which they are more comfortable. Even on the exam day, with the question sheet in hand, students shouldn't try to solve each and every question and waste their energy, they should rather spend 5 minutes in scanning a section and selecting questions from their area of expertise and skill. In order to ace CAT, students should look at questions from the previous year's CAT paper and understand its syllabus. They should assess whether they are proficient, average or need improvement in each of the areas. The areas that fall in the third category should be focused on first followed by the second and third. CAT aspirants should always start early in preparing for the exams as an early start would benefit them in gaining knowledge about the kind of questions to be asked. Another advantage to it can be spending time in developing extra reading habits and increasing vocabulary. The best way to go on with the CAT preparations is to evaluate oneself in every 10-15 days, which is done by mock tests. But one thing that students should be careful about is to not to repeat the mistakes made by them in either the mock CAT or while practising at home or the whole purpose of taking mock tests would be lost. While preparing for the CAT question paper, one must keep in mind that management schools seek to test understanding of basic concepts that the student possesses. So, students should stop looking for the toughest material to practice and realize that their understanding of concepts is not as good as they think it is. Some things which CAT aspirants must do on an everyday basis are- Minimum 10 hours study everyday, especially before the 6 months of CAT exams. Preparation of minimum 10,000 words to enhance Vocabulary, study of newspapers and editorials for 2 hour's everyday and reading at least two magazines and one novel each week. Time management is an essential ingredient to crack the CAT exam and make it to your favorite college. Managing one's time includes balancing speed with accuracy, handling the pressure and you.

Shiksha: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.

Anmol:

VARC - I tried solving all the previous year papers

that I could solve in the time frame. Try to understand the passage and comprehend it.

DILR - It was my strongest section, yet, I did this wrong in the exam. My strategy was to understand the set first, try solving by looking at the conditions given and reaching out towards the answer. I didn't wasted more than 5 minutes if I know that the set is not getting solved.

QA - I made a formula book and revised all the quant formulas and solved all the previous year questions.

Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Mock Tests are game changers, says Dixit Gupta, 99.55%iler

Shiksha: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?

Anmol: I didn't refer to any book specifically but I will advise if someone wants to use books, he/she can refer to Arun Sharma books.

Shiksha: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?

Anmol:

I attempted around 5-7 free CAT Mocks and mostly I attempted previous year papers from 2015-2022 of all slots as mock. Mock test series is not at all important but solving previous year papers and analysing them is the key.

Shiksha: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?

Anmol: I self-prepared for CAT. Didn't join any coaching institute.

Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?

Anmol: It was same which I used in previous year papers.

VARC - Tried solving 2-3 RC first and then jump to the VA section.

DILR - Read a set, try devoting 5 minutes if I am able to progress ahead then tried solving the set.

QA - I always solve arithmetic questions first. This time there were inital questions from Algebra which really made me tense. But, towards the mid luckily I could find arithmetic questions.

Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

Anmol: I am targeting all the Top MBA Colleges IIM BLACKI (IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore). IIM Mumbai and FMS, MDI, IIFT, XLRI via XAT, IIT Bombay and IIT-Delhi.

Shiksha: Tell us something about your educational background, family and hobbies.

Anmol: I am a software engineer. I have done engineering from a 3-tier college, ABES Engineering College. My specialization is in computer science. My family has always been very supportive in my journey and they were happy to see my result. I love to write poetries.

Also Read: CAT 2022 Topper Interview: Know how Parul Garg cracked CAT with 99.93%

Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

Anmol: My advice would be to "Trust yourself." And those who feel is it possible by self-preparation, then, I would like to say yes, just be focussed.

CAT 2023 Topper Scorecard 

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