Topper Interview: How Omkar Gorhe scored 99.99 percentile in MAT Dec 2024

Omkar Gorhe scored 99.99 percentile in December 2024 shares his preparation journey with Shiksha. Read on this page how he strategically overcome prep challenges to score the highest among the test takers of his session. 

MAT topper interview

Omkar Gorhe, scored 99.99 percentile in MAT exam with only 1 month of preparation. Not because he had prior experience of CAT, but because he utilised that 1 month in a strategic manner. Focused daily plan and dedicates hours helped him become the top scorer of MAT December 2024 attempt. 

An IT engineer with a couple of years of experience as a .NET Developer, Omkar is currently a pursuing PG in management at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai. He has shared his MAT journey with Shiksha. Read on.  

MAT Topper Omkar Gorhe (99.99 percentile)

Sectional Percentile

• Language Comprehension: 97.65
• Mathematical Skills: 99.95
• Data Analysis & Sufficiency: 99.91
• Intelligence & Critical Reasoning: 98.38
• Economics & Business Environment: 99.99

Q1: When did you start preparing for MAT?

Ans:  I started preparing for MAT about one month before the exam. Initially, I wasn’t very familiar with MAT, but while researching management entrance exams with my family, I decided to give it a try. Since I had already prepared for CAT, I focused on solving easy to medium-level questions and dedicated 1 to 2 hours daily to Economics & Business Environment preparation, which helped me a lot during the exam.

Q2: How did you structure your overall study plan?

Ans: Since MAT has five sections, I divided my preparation time equally across all areas. Being relatively stronger in Quants, I focused more on Language Comprehension and Intelligence & Critical Reasoning. I practiced questions with timers, took regular mock tests every week, and studied around 4 to 5 hours daily.

📃 Download MAT Syllabus PDFs

Q3: Did you take coaching? How did coaching help you in performing so well?

Ans: Yes, I took coaching from The Top Percentile (TTP). It helped me immensely, especially through the mock tests and detailed analysis. Regular practice helped me identify my weaker areas, work on them consistently, and build confidence before the actual exam.

Q4: How much time did you require for MAT preparation?

Ans: I prepared for MAT for about one month. I was already confident in three out of the five sections, so I mainly focused on improving my weaker areas -  Language Comprehension and Economics & Business Environment. For the latter, I started from the basics by reading newspapers daily and following finance news, acquisitions, and important updates. In Language Comprehension, especially vocabulary and reading comprehension, I practiced extensively to build confidence and improve my performance.

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Q5: Did you follow any daily, weekly, or monthly study plan?

Ans: Yes, I followed a daily and weekly study plan. I made sure to practice all sections for at least an hour daily and revised them regularly on a weekly basis. Weekly revision was especially important for Economics & Business Environment, as it helped me retain important news and updates. Since I had only one month to prepare, I focused more on daily consistency rather than a long-term monthly plan.

Q6: Can you share your prep strategy, section-wise?

Ans: For Quants, I focused on learning formulas and practicing easy to medium-level questions from all topics, with extra emphasis on Arithmetic and Algebra since they carry the highest weightage in MAT. For Data Analysis & Sufficiency, I practiced calculations daily for 15 minutes and solved 2 to 3 sets based on different graph types.

In Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, I solved various puzzle types and single-question sets regularly to improve accuracy and speed. Since Language Comprehension was my weaker area, I dedicated extra time to reading comprehension and vocabulary using books like Word Power Made Easy and Barron’s 800.

For Economics & Business Environment, I read The Economic Times daily and followed important updates through YouTube channels and online articles. Consistent practice across all sections helped me achieve a good percentile in the exam.

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Q7: Which section did you find the most challenging, and how did you improve in it?

Ans: Initially, I found the Economics & Business Environment section the most challenging, especially during mock tests where my scores were low. I realized that even with strong scores in the other sections, ignoring this section could significantly affect my overall percentile. So, I focused heavily on daily revision, newspapers, and important updates. With consistent preparation, it eventually became my strongest section in the actual exam.

Q8: How did you identify and improve your weak areas?

Ans: Initially, I gave almost equal time to every section. Through mock tests and regular practice, I identified the sections where I was losing easy marks or scoring lower. After that, I gradually shifted more time and effort toward those weaker areas, which helped me improve and overcome my pain points effectively.

Q9: How many mock tests did you take, and how did they help you?

Ans: I took around 4 to 5 mock tests, usually on weekends, and spent time analyzing them afterward. During the weekdays, I worked on the mistakes I made in the previous mock to avoid repeating them. Since MAT has 150 questions in 120 minutes, mocks helped me improve my speed, accuracy, and time management. They also helped me understand which sections needed more time and plan my exam strategy accordingly.

Q10: How did you analyze your MAT mock tests?

Ans: I analyzed my MAT mock tests thoroughly by revisiting the questions I answered incorrectly and also the ones I solved correctly but took too much time on. I also solved the questions I had skipped to understand better approaches. For Economics & Business Environment especially, I revised all the mock questions again to strengthen my retention and improve accuracy for the actual exam.

Download: MAT question paper PDFs

Q11: What was your time management strategy in the MAT exam?

Ans: I started with the Economics & Business Environment section since it usually took only 5–10 minutes to solve 30 questions. This gave me extra time and confidence for the remaining sections. After that, I moved to my stronger area, Quants, followed by Data Analysis & Sufficiency, Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, and Language Comprehension.

Whenever I encountered lengthy calculations or difficult puzzles, I skipped them initially and returned later. My strategy was to solve easier and more familiar questions first to build momentum and maintain confidence throughout the exam.

Since MAT has negative marking of 0.25 marks, I avoided random guessing and attempted questions only when I was reasonably confident, sometimes using option elimination when necessary.

Ans: Q12: What advice would you give to future MAT aspirants?

Ans: I would suggest preparing for MAT just like any other management entrance exam, but with extra focus on Economics & Business Environment, as it is one of the key differentiators in MAT. Understand your weaker areas, dedicate more time to improving them, and practice consistently. Most importantly, stay confident on the exam day and trust your preparation.