Chhavi Gupta, the Delhi girl who scored 100 percentile in CAT 2017

Chhavi Gupta

Cracking CAT with cent percent marks is no mean feat, and when you are attempting it with a regular job, it is even more commendable. Chhavi Gupta, one of the two female candidates who scored 100 percentile in CAT 2017, did so not only in her first attempt but also with a full-time job.

Describing her intial reaction to cent percentile score, Chhavi said, "My family and I saw the result together on January 8 morning, and although I was expecting a good result, seeing the 100 percentile was a moment of immense happiness for all of us. My parents are elated since then!"

An IIT Delhi graduate in Biotechnology, Chhavi, who is currently working in Noida-based Opera Solutions as a business analyst, wants to join one of the top three IIMs.

"I have not decided on any particular area as of now, I would like to get a job as a consultant post MBA, apart from that I’ve not decided on anything. I would definitely like to go to IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta or IIM Bangalore to pursue my MBA," she told us.

"All IIMs have common curriculum for the first year and in the second year one has to choose the specialisation. I haven't thought of it yet and will make my choice then only," she added.

Chhavi, 24, who completed her dual BTech and MTech degree in Biotechnology from IIT Delhi, found little time to prepare for CAT as her full-time job left her with no time to study. She studied mostly on the weekends and joined a coaching institute.

"I used to go to work for 5 days a week, and found almost no time during those days. However, I tried to cut down my relaxing time at night and started waking up a bit earlier to get an extra hour to study in the morning. However on weekends I would solely focus on CAT preparation, which meant cutting down going out and meeting my friends and all, but I had to do it as that was the only time I got for preparation," she said.

When asked whether it is important to join a coaching institute, Chhavi was of the opinion that CAT does not require rigorous coaching. "I think CAT is more of an aptitude test, and does not really require a rigorous coaching. But if one is unable to find much motivation and persistence in preparation on their own then it is better to join an institute for better guidance and a proper timetable," she said.

About her own preparation strategy, she revealed that from starting, she used to give mock tests atleast every other weekend and used to analyse the same to keep a check on her strong and weak areas and note the improvement.

Though she didn't get much time to study during weekdays due to her job, starting September she tried to study for around 1 hour before office. Chhavi had a bit poor accuracy in VA portion (especially parajumbles) but with a lot of practice she imrpoved a lot. "I did all the mocks’ VA 2-3 times to ensure that I understood where I went wrong," she said.

At times she felt stressed about the exam and preparation, but then her family’s support helped her tide over it.

"It is absolutely necessary to have full family support in preparation of a competitive exam. My family not only supported me but encouraged me to do my best all the time. My mom, dad, sister and brother also helped me not feel stressed by talking and helping me relax, whenever needed," she said.

Music lover and an avid reader Chhavi has a message for future CAT aspirants: "Start giving mocks as soon as you start your preparation and keep a track of your own strengths and weaknesses. Focus on increasing accuracy to around 75-80% for VARC and 90-100% in LRDI and QA, and then increase your speed and number of attempts. Most importantly, stay calm on the final day. Good luck!"

The result of CAT 2017 was announced on January 8, 2018. The exam which was held on November 26, 2017 saw over 1.9 lakh students clearing it with 20 candidates scoring the perfect score of 100 percentile. Among them are three non-engineers and two female candidates.

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