My exam preparation strategy helped me identify my weaknesses: Arpit Bapna

Well, the journey to the college, Nirma University, was a roller-coaster ride in itself. I tried out many colleges and their entrance examinations to test my luck and strategy to get the best. I will try to write the story from the beginning.

In class X, I got a good CGPA of 10 which was obviously overwhelming for me. Like many students, I was also suggested to go to Kota, the hub of IIT entrance exams, but I genuinely denied it. My parents were very helpful in those conditions and I was able to decide that commerce would be the best for me. This started my search for a good career in the future. Commerce was always going to be my option no matter what. I came from a small city of Bhilwara, Rajasthan. So, Arts was not prevalent in many schools, and Science was not so comfortable for me, as the formulae, experiments and diagrams had got the better of me.

Then, in XII, I was desperate to not pursue Chartered Accountancy. Yes, in Bhilwara, you either do a CA or do business, the ‘do’ part should be noticed well. I had made up my mind that I would not join the flock of sheep going to pursue CA, so I chose to get a good percentage and hopefully, join DU. But, destiny had something different for me. I could only get an aggregate of 95.20 and 95.25 in the best of four. There was not even a slim chance of getting into a good college in DU North Campus. But, it is said that what happens is good enough and because I had got into Nirma with 100% scholarship, I was determined to get a good CAT score and hopefully, secure admission in one of the top B-schools of the country.

Now, as far as entrance exams of undergraduate courses are concerned, I tried 4 different colleges in 4 different cities of the country. They were Symbiosis (Pune), Narsee Monjee (Mumbai), Nirma (Ahmedabad) and Shaheed Sukhdev (Delhi), and I converted 3 of them. My scores and ranks were–

Symbiosis- SET 120/150, Converted in second merit list

Narsee Monjee- AIR 53 in NPAT, Converted

Nirma – AIR 1, UGAT 99.44 percentile, Converted

SSCBS- AIR 372

So, the exam-taking strategy for me was simple and uncomplicated. Attempt as many questions as you can and the result will take care of itself. I joined a coaching institute at my home city, prepared for about a month and gave a lot of mocks there which helped me in identifying where I lacked the most. Also, frequent and continuous practice at home helped in honing my calculation skills. I faced a problem in GK, so I got the least sectional percentile of 97 in UGAT. For DU-JAT, I would suggest that it requires an advanced level of preparation considering the fact that 40,000 students appear in it and only top 180 can make it to good colleges in DU. I couldn’t make into Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, DU, so I opted for BBA in Nirma where I had been offered 100% scholarship across the three-year programme.

UGAT is not a very tough exam. It tests only the core capabilities of students entering into graduation, and what they should possess. Giving a mock test weekly and practicing daily could help in cracking UGAT, and that’s what helped me.

About the Author:

I am Arpit Bapna pursuing Bachelors of Business Administration from Institute of Management, Nirma University. My hobbies include playing and watching cricket, chess and movies. My interest also lies in technology and puzzles.