This strategy helped Amlan Paul score 99.78 percentile in CAT 2017

Amlan Paul

CAT exam aspirants had been eagerly waiting for the exam result, and the wait was finally over on January 8, 2018 when the CAT conducting body, IIM Lucknow announced the same. Lakhs of test-takers had appeared for the exam, and on announcement of results, there were some who jumped with joy, while some were not satisfied with their scores. 

Amlan Paul appeared for CAT 2017, and with rigorous practice and hard work, scored 99.78 percentile. His sectional cut-offs are as follows: 

Sectional Cut-offs:

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension:

Scaled Score-72.18, Percentile- 98.43 

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning:

Scaled Score- 39.42, Percentile- 97.83 

Quantitative Ability:

Scaled Score- 84.90, Percentile- 97.83, Percentile- 99.77 

Total:

Overall Scaled Score: 196.50, Overall Percentile: 99.78 

A 4^th year BTech (Production & Industrial Engg.) student of DTU, Amlan is an avid sportsman and has keen interest in football, cricket and badminton. 

Shiksha spoke to Amlan about his exam preparation strategy, and this is what he shared with us:

I am extremely happy with my result. No, I wasn’t expecting to score this much. Since I am an Engineer, I thought I would be scoring somewhere around 99.4- 99.5 percentile, but scoring 99.78 was definitely a surprise for me.

Yes, this was my first attempt at CAT, and I am extremely satisfied with my performance.

I want to opt for Finance. Firstly, I love Math, and secondly, I want to choose a specialisation where there is less of speaking and more of calculation – this is the reason I opted for Engineering in my graduation.

I had joined T.I.M.E. in August, 2016 and since then I have been preparing for CAT exam. I gave an entire year to my CAT preparation, and during this time, I practiced a lot of modules. Next, I attempted the test series of Career Launcher. In total, I attempted around 45 CAT mock test, which I think is enough for exam preparation. 

Attempting mocks is the best way to prepare for any exam. Generally, coaching institutes start mocks around April-May, and CAT is generally conducted in the month of November- December – this gives you enough time to know your strengths and weaknesses, and you can judge your overall preparation. Also, you get to compare your performance with your peers, and get to gauge where you actually stand.

I am from an Engineering background, thus I was good in LR-DI. My weak area was VA-RC, and since RC carries the most number of questions, it was important for me to improve in that section. I stuck to my strategy of practicing as many modules as I could within time limit, and this helped me improve drastically. 

Yes, I feel joining a coaching institute is extremely important. When there is competition around, you gear up to give your best because you would want to stay one step ahead of others.

If I talk about Quant, it is not that the questions are tough, in fact, the questions are based on your class 9^th- 10^th syllabus, but in 5 years of time, you lose touch with the basics. Coaching institutes brush up your basics and teach you shortcuts that helps improve speed, and CAT is all about speed and accuracy.  

My first preference would be IIM Calcutta as I have heard from a lot of people that it is good for Finance. Other than this, I will be happy to get a call from IIM Lucknow or IIM Kozhikode.

I would like to tell all CAT aspirants to stay positive throughout your exam preparation journey. There may be times when you do not score well in mocks, but this should not discourage you. Take it up as a challenge and work hard and you will certainly achieve success. 

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