MAT 2018 Topper Interview: Know the Winning Strategy of Shubham Kanwar Rajawat
Management Aptitude Test 2026 ( MAT )
Admit Card - 26 Feb '26
Scoring 99.92 percentile in MAT exam was not easy for Shubham Kanwar Rajawat with just two months preparation. She adopted focus and certain winning strategies to crack MAT. We unfold it in this interview piece. Read More!
Cracking MAT exam opens up enormous opportunity to make a thriving career in management. With this in mind, every year a large number of students appear for MAT exam. However, only a select few manage to clear the exam with glaring percentile. Shubham Kanwar Rajawat- a SAP consultant by profession managed to be among the toppers list by clearing MAT exam with 99.92 percentile. With MAT 2019 December exam round the corner, Shiksha interviewed Shubham to know more on her preparation strategies that helped her score MAT exam successfully.
Explore colleges based on MAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
Below is the transcript of the interview with Shubham, read on.
Q: Are you satisfied with your MAT result? How much score were you expecting?
A. Yes, I am satisfied. I was expecting above 95 percentile.
Q: Was this your first MAT attempt?
A. Yes it was my first attempt to clear MAT.
Q: When did you start preparing for MAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
A. I started preparing around two months before the exam. My strategy was to practice more and more for concept clarification and maximizing attempts with accuracy.
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
28 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
3 Mar '26
23 Feb '26
TANCET
5 Feb '26 - 2 Mar '26
2 Mar '26
12 Feb '26 - 16 Mar '26
14 Feb '26 - 10 Apr '26
Q: Please, share with us your section-wise strategy?
A For Quantitative Analysis, Critical Reasoning and Data Analysis & Sufficiency I, it was more or less the same, “Practice”. For English and GK, it was to read the newspaper.
Also Read: MAT 2019 Pattern
Q: Which books did you refer to for MAT preparation?
A Yes I have referred to coaching material and online mock test series.
Also Read: MAT 2019 Cut-off
Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does coaching institute help in exam preparation?
A No, I haven’t joined any classroom coaching, but I was having coaching material. The benefit of coaching material is that we can get all the required information at one place, we need not refer to multiple sources.
Q: How important is practicing MAT mock test series?
A. By practicing Mock Test series, one can strategize to maximize one’s attempt depending upon strong and weak areas.
Also Read: MAT 2019 Question Paper
Q: What was your exam day strategy?
A. It was simple, to remain calm.
Q: Which other MBA entrance exams did you take or are planning to take?
A. I am planning to take CAT, IIFT, SNAP and NMAT.
Q: How did you deal with your strengths and weaknesses while preparing for the exam?
A. For weakness, my approach was to first clear basics and then increase the speed with accuracy so That I maximize the number of correct attempts. For strengths, maximizing number of correct attempts.
Q: Any tips for future MAT aspirants?
A. For me practice is the key, so practice as much as you can.
Q: Which Institutes did you join/aim to join?
A. I have not joined any institute for now and aim to join one of the top MBA colleges in India.
Read More
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
29 Jan '26 | XAT 2026 Cut Offs Release |
16 Jan '26 | XAT 2026 result |
Aug '26 | NMAT 2026 Registration Window |
Aug '26 | NMAT 2026 Scheduling Window |
5 Aug '26 - 23 Sep '26 | CAT 2026 application |
29 Nov '26 | CAT 2026 exam |
Jul '26 | IBSAT 2026 Registration |
27 Dec '26 - 28 Dec '26 | IBSAT 2026 Exam Date |
17 Feb '26 | CMAT 2026 result |
31 Jan '26 - 2 Feb '26 | CMAT 2026 exam answer key obje... |
9 Jan '26 | SNAP 2025 result announcement |
20 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 session 3 |
7 Apr '26 - 8 Apr '26 | MAH MBA CET 2026 exam |
9 May '26 | MAH MBA CET 2026 exam 2 |
28 Feb '26 | GE & PI Shortlist Declaration |
28 Feb '26 | MICAT 2 result declaration |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
Feb '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '26 | TANCET admit card download |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The last day to register for MAT 2026 is March 2. Candidates will be able to download the admit card for MAT 2026 exam on 5 March from the official website.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Standard books useful across these exams include Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma or R.S. Aggarwal, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation by Nishit Sinha, and Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis for building a strong vocabulary.
L
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
Candidates who have not appeared in any entrance test should have a Bachelor's Degree with at least 55% marks. They will have to give a written test: same as I-CET. Students have to qualify in Written Test, Group Discussion and Personal Interview for taking admission in MBA at Vignan's Foundation
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Students of GIBS Business School participate in internships and live projects which are cross-functional opportunities to gain practical experience in key functional areas (marketing, sales, finance, HR, business development, and operations). Students engage in internships to gain practical exposure
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
MAT mock test practice is essential but not enough. You will need to go through the MAT syllabus and understand the fundamentals of all topics, only then you'll be able to crack questions in mock test.
P
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
It is not compulsory to attempt MAT GK section as the score in not considered for percentile calculation but it is not recommended to skip it all together as it may dent your chances in colleges that look at candidates' sectional scores too.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
MAT is conducted in February, May, September and December. You can appear for it whenever ready and confident of scoring high. However, it is seen that maximum applications are done for December and February sessions as that's the main season of all other national level MBA entrance exams and admiss
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
MAT and CMAT both are moderately difficulty exam, but have their own challenges. While, CMAT has one extra section Innovation and Entrepreneurship, MAT has a separate section for Data Interpretation having 30 questions. With focused preparation, you can crack either of the two that you choose.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
To crack MAT exam in first attempt, start preparation early; at least a month six months in advance. Cover each topic of the MAT syllabus thoroughly and attempt 40+ mock tests to have complete control on all possible types of questions asked. In the exam, avoid negative marking by skipping questions
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
MAT scoring is done between 200 to 800, so a nearly 650 or 700 will get you 90 to 95 percentile. A score of 600 is also good as it converts into percentile between 80 to 85.
A
Contributor-Level 6