CAT Topper 2023 Kishan Agarwal, 99.61%iler, shares strategy to crack CAT in 4 months

In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Kishan Agarwal shares his CAT preparation journey. He also talks about cracking CAT exam with just four month of preparation. Read further to know how CAT topper 2023 Kishan Agarwal aced CAT 2023 in his honest first attempt.

CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Kishan Agarwal 99.61%iler

CAT Topper 2023 Interview: Hailing from Durgapur, West Bengal, Kishan Agarwal has scored 99.61 percentile by preparing for approximately four months. By making it into the top One percentile, CAT 2023 Topper Kishan is aiming for all the top IIMs in India. Agarwal, who is also a Chartered Accountant by profession started his CAT preparation in August this year. Agarwal says, this was his first honest attempt for the CAT Exam. While sharing his reaction to CAT Result 2023, Kishan said, "I am happy that I could make it into the top 1 percentile considering the unpredictability of the exam." After cracking CAT 2023, Kishan wants to pave his way in the management field by targeting top b-schools in India.

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In his exclusive interview with Shiksha, CAT 2023 topper Kishan Agarwal 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 Kishan Agarwal aced CAT 2023 with just four months of preparation. CAT 2023 result was declared on December 21. CAT 2023 exam was held on November 26. 

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CAT 2023 Topper Kishan Agarwal: Interview Highlights

Check out the table below to get an overview of the Kishan Agarwal CAT percentile 2023:

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Shiksha: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?

Kishan: I am happy that I could make it into the top 1 percentile considering the unpredictability of the exam. 

Shiksha: Was this your first attempt at CAT?

Kishan: This was my first honest attempt after preparations. Although, I wrote the paper last year to see where I am standing.

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

Kishan: I started preparing for CAT in August this year. At first, I tried to cover the syllabus. Then I started giving sectionals from the fag end of September. Post that, I gave full-length mocks every 2 days. My overall strategy was to find out at which sectional my strength lies. During preparation, I was super comfortable while attempting the Quants section. I devoted some extra time to it and it helped me to balance my overall score on the D-day as well. Also, after every mock, I devoted significant time on the mistakes I made and tried to find alternative solutions to questions where I was consuming significant time

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

Kishan:

For VARC, I watched a lot of videos on various topics like- How to attempt RC, para jumble, Odd One Out, Summary, and Para Completion. At first, I was not able to attempt the complete VARC section during my mocks. So I used certain permutations and came up with a strategy to solve 3 most comfortable sets of RC first. Then move to Verbal and finally move to the 4th RC.

In DILR, I used the strategy to pick 1 out of the 4 sets and solve it completely. This will help in clearing the sectional cut-off. This also gives a mental peace as this section is the most unpredictable one in the entire paper. Then I tried solving the other sets based on my comfort zone.

In Quants tried to stick to building my concepts and revising entire quant syllabi every day from October onwards.  Also, I developed tricks gradually while solving multiple questions.

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

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

Kishan: I didn't refer to any book for VARC and LRDI. I bought Arun Sharma and solved LOD-1 & 2 level questions for Quants.

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

Kishan: I gave around 30+ full-length mocks and multiple sectionals before attempting the actual CAT. Sectionals were very helpful before giving full-length CAT Mocks. A mock test helps to find your weak areas and also provides insight on important formulas that you might have missed during your preparations.

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

Kishan: I took mock test series from several institutes. 

Shiksha: What was your exam day strategy?

Kishan:  The most important strategy that I followed was not to get nervous. This is an unpredictable exam. If any section has come tough, it will be difficult for the majority of the candidates. So, I maintained my calm and focussed more on accuracy.

Shiksha: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

Kishan: I am targeting all of the top IIMs- A,B,C,L,K,I such as IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore

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

Kishan: I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and an alumnus of St Xavier's College, Kolkata. I hail from Durgapur, West Bengal. I belong to a business family and my hobbies are reading, traveling, and teaching

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Shiksha: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

Kishan: I have started my channel "Fin Tube" wherein I have started uploading lectures on Quantitative Aptitude including my detailed notes and practice questions for each topic in Quants. I am confident that MBA aspirants can largely benefit from the same. You can find the link to the channel here-https://youtube.com/@Fin-Tube?si=i91yZXFqGUquIlfF

CAT 2023 Topper Scorecard 

CAT Topper 2023 Scorecard

 

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