CMAT September 2014 topper: Gaurav Dave believes GK is the deal clincher

Scoring 100 percentile in CMAT September 2014, Gaurav J Dave emerged as this year’s CMAT topper. “I am quite happy with the results,” says Gaurav.  

Gaurav scored a whopping 323 marks, more than the highest marks scored in CMAT September 2013 and CMAT February 2014.

But this is not the first time, Gaurav has attempted CMAT. “My first CMAT attempt was when it was introduced in 2012,” he says candidly.

“Over the years, the test has become more difficult, especially the Quant and RC sections,” says Gaurav while analysing CMAT results. He is an expert with TestFunda, an online coaching website.

The CMAT results were declared on October 30, 2014. The exam was held from September 25 to 29, 2014.  

Gaurav’s scorecard reads: 

Read CMAT topper Gaurav Dave’s exclusive interview with Shiksha.com:

Q: Congratulations for topping CMAT. Please introduce yourself to our readers?

A: Hi I am Gaurav Dave and I am a senior manager at Testfunda.com.

Q: Gaurav tell us about your family and your educational background.

A: I have a Marketing MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), batch 2006. I have approximately 10 years of experience in the field of aptitude test. Then I worked as an AVP with HSBC for around three years.

Q: IS this your first CMAT attempt?

A: My first CMAT attempt was when it was introduced, that would be 2012.

Q. What kind of changes have you observed in CMAT over these last two-three years?

A. When CMAT was introduced it was a very simple examination. I would say it was easier than a bank level exam. But over the last couple of attempts, somewhere from September 2013, the quality of CMAT questions has gone up. While the difficulty level is not too on the high side but the quality has gone up. Even today there are occasional errors in the CMAT questions, with ambiguities as well. But the quality is quite good.

The deal clincher is often the GK section.  So if you really want to ace CMAT, you need to be good at static GK. Other exams like IIFT tests your knowledge of current affairs. But in CMAT, if you have done well in static GK, then it works out well for you. You will score heavily in CMAT.

Q: When you say that the quality has gone up and the exam has become more difficult in the last few years. How would you compare it with CAT?

A: Even now, CMAT is way simpler as compared to CAT. But if we look at CMAT two years back and CMAT today, then the difficulty level has gone up by 20 - 25%. Right now, CMAT is tougher than SNAP but definitely not tough as say NMAT, IIFT, CAT or XAT.

Q: What do you think is the minimum time frame needed to prepare well for CMAT for regular students?

A: If a student is preparing simultaneously for other exams such as CAT or NMAT then the amount of theory preparation required is minimal. I would suggest students to start working on the mock tests at least one month to 40 days before the exam. Because the flavor of the CMAT questions is very different compared to other exams. So, while a student may be looking at the same chapter in all these exams, the way the question is framed differs from exam to exam.

A student needs to work on at least anywhere between 8 - 12 mock tests. A good number would be around 10 mock tests. A person should take it out at intervals of three to four days. In totality, anywhere between 30-35 days is the time required for mocks. As for theory preparation, a couple of months is what you require at the most.

Q: Did you also have a similar study plan?

A: Yes, I did have some sort of a study plan. Of course, in my case things become easier because I keep taking these exams from time to time. So, I don’t really need to prepare and study separately.

But if I were a student, then for the September CMAT (which was held in September-end), I would say one needs to start preparing from somewhere around July 15. From July 15 to August 15, the whole month should be divided into three parts. Devote approximately 10 days to the three major areas— Mathematics i.e. quant, reasoning and verbal ability. Then start practicing the mocks.

As far as the GK is concerned, students should look at it in last 10-15 days. Because as I said this is static GK. You get questions asking ‘Which state does this dance form belong to?’ etc.

These are questions where one needs to read a lot of data, assimilate a lot of information and retain it. GK in CMAT is more of a memory test. Do you this trivia? So there is no point in preparing GK three months before the exam. It’s best to read it as close to the exam as possible.

Q: What kind of changes you are expecting in the next CMAT February test?

A: Right now, I would not expect any changes in the February CMAT. Over the last three years, I have observed that September and February CMATs generally have the same pattern. So what we’ve seen is that, the structure of reading comprehension (RC) passages has changed from February 2013 to this September 2014. Instead of five passages we now have four long passages. These things can be expected in the February CMAT as well.

CMAT aspirant should look at the analysis of the current CMAT available on the internet and prepare accordingly. Candidates should also take mocks that are based on the September CMAT. Mocks based on CMAT September 2014 will be available soon. So they should practice at least 8-10 test of that type.

Q: Thank you for talking to Shiksha.com. We wish you best.

A: Thank you so much.