CAT 2015 topper Nishchay Budhiraja wants to chase happiness, not money

In our quest to find 100 percentilers, we next came across Nishchay Budhiraja.  This Delhi-based lad is a final year student of Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

His CAT 2015 scorecard reads:

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension: 85.96 (99.79 percentile)

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning: 73.56 (99.91 percentile)

Quantitative Ability: 87.28 (99.97 percentile)

Overall: 246.8 (100 percentile)

“I started serious preparation for CAT 2015 in the months of June-July. However, I had joined the CL coaching centre at Roorkee in January 2015. I attended their classes regularly but did not focus on self study. About six months before the exam, I started preparing on my own,” says Budhiraja.

He admits that though coaching is not necessary, it certainly helps in preparing for MBA exams. “Coaching gives a certain sense of direction. It also gives you notes to prepare for the exam

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His weak spot was Verbal Ability. “My focus was more on VA and English during preparation. I devoted more time and practiced this section thoroughly,” he says.

Fifteen days before CAT 2015 exam, Budhiraja had to appear for internal exams at his institute. “So basically, I had just 15 days to prepare and revise for CAT exam. I took just two Mock tests in the second last week and analysed them properly. Last week to CAT 2015, I did not attempt any mock test,” he says.

A student of Bal Bharati Public School, Dwarka, Budhiraja’s father is an entrepreneur who recently started his own start-up while his mother is a school principal. Raised in an academic environment, he always performed well in school.

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So does he want to follow his father’s footstep and start his own venture?

“I am not too sure right now. I’ll first focus on my MBA, and then work for a few years. In the longer run, I may begin my own start-up or simply keep working,” he admits.

With eyes set on IIM Ahmedabad, Budhiraja intends to specialize in finance. He also has placement offer from Ola Cabs. “If things don’t go as planned, I will work with Ola for a while,” he admits.

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Like a typical college student, Buddiraja loves hanging out with friends, travelling and playing video games. His ultimate goal is to be happy and satisfied.

“I don’t want to run after money or chase high paying packages. I want to be satisfied with the things I have in life,” he says.

Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

“Analyse your mock tests well. After every test, go back and check every answer thoroughly. Look for alternate ways to solve the paper. And do not get disheartened to see low scores in mocks,” he says.