CAT 2018 Topper Interview: 99.28%iler Siddhant Dhawan shares his prep strategy

Chandigarh’s Siddhant Dhawan, who scored 99.28 percentile in CAT shared his prep strategy with Shiksha.

CAT 2018 overall percentile: 99.28

VARC percentile: 96.93

DILR percentile: 99.45

QA percentile: 97.57

Chandigarh’s Siddhant Dhawan scored an impressive 99.28 percentile in CAT in his first attempt only. Although, he was expecting to score even better, he is satisfied nonetheless. Siddhant is currently pursuing Engineering from Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology in Computer Science. Talking to Shiksha, he shared his CAT prep strategy.

Q: Congratulations Siddhant! Are you satisfied with your CAT 2018 result? How much CAT percentile were you expecting?

A: Yes. More or less satisfied. I was expecting a 99.5+ but still it’s a good score which I got.

Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?

A: Yes this was my first attempt.

Q: When did you start preparing for CAT exam? What was your overall CAT prep strategy?

A: I started my preparations from January. During the weekdays I just completed my homework which was given at the tuition. Then at the weekends we had doubt classes at EduCorp which helped a lot.

Coming to the overall CAT prep strategy it’s just important to stay focused and remember your goal you want to achieve. You don’t need long hours to ace in CAT exam. 1-2 hours of regular study in starting phase is more than sufficient when you are building your concepts. It is very important to clear your basics and not just directly jump on to the mocks. I completed all the basic questions for LRDI and QA till the month of June. From July onwards I started focusing on mocks and their analysis. It is very important that you analyze your mistakes made in the mocks and don’t repeat them. I even made a notebook for all the different type of questions I came across any mock and also for some mistakes which I was making frequently so that I don’t repeat them again.

IIM Shortlisting & Selection criteria

IIM and Non-IIM Call Predictor

IIM CAT Cut Offs

Q: Please, share with us your section-wise strategy?

A: For Verbal section the main thing you have to do is READ! There is no alternative to it. And not just for marks, you actually have to build interest in reading. It can be anything from novels to articles to comics. Anything but READ! After that slowly move towards the editorials. And start reading newspapers because they will also help you in building your GK which is important for other exams too.

For LRDI it is very important you start with basic things like line charts, bar charts, siting arrangements etc. which helps in making your base strong. After that start solving sets from previous year cat exams or mocks. Gradually start doing those sets in time bounded conditions. This is where the game begins. It is very important that you do these sets in the specific time limit.

For Quant also it is necessary to complete the basic questions from any online site or from the material provided by your institute. Then start giving sectional tests or chapter wise tests once the syllabus is done because doing the questions in time limit is very important and picking up the right ( and obviously the easy ones first) question plays a key role on the final day.

Q: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?

A: I did not refer to any specific book other than my coaching material. I just completed the coaching material and then focused on the mocks and previous year exams.

Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does coaching institute help in CAT preparation?

A: Yes I joined EduCorp (in Chandigarh) for coaching. I think the coaching institute plays a very important role in CAT preparation. As it helps in keeping a check on ourselves and gives us a sense of regularity which we have to maintain. Plus the competitive environment there helps us to push ourselves even more to score better. And the main advantage is that you can clear your doubts from there anytime.

Q: How important is CAT mock test series?

A: I would say that mock test series plays the most important role in our CAT preparation. It helps in finalizing our strategy and also makes us familiar to various exams situations which we can face during the D-Day. I remember that during the last month of my preparation I gave at least 25 mocks. I went to my coaching institute every morning just to give a mock and then I would analyze it by the evening. After that I gave time for reading during the night.

Q: What was your CAT exam day strategy?

A: It is VERY IMPORTANT that you sleep properly before the exam day. Stop preparing 2-3 days before CAT and start watching TV or anything that makes you feel relaxed. It is very important that you are relaxed and go to the exam center with free mind. Sleep as much as you can during those 2-3 days because it is very difficult to sleep the day before exam. Moreover on the exam day just remember the strategy you have been using till date in the mocks and just apply that in the final exam.

CAT Exam Pattern	CAT Syllabus	CAT Exam Analysis
CAT Answer key	CAT Question Paper	CAT 2018 Toppers

Q: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?

A: My tip would be that you all should first clear all your basics till June and then after that start giving mocks. As there is no alternative to mocks or rather no shortcut to gain all the knowledge which you gain by giving and then analyzing mocks. Have friends with whom you can discuss various questions and can also motivate you to do more.

Q: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?

A: I’m targeting FMS-Delhi, IIM-Lucknow, IIM-Indore and IIM-Kozhikode with this score.

Q: Tell us more about yourself.

A: I love dancing and photography. I’ve done internship in marketing and event management. Currently I’m placed at Click Labs and doing my training there. My mother is a government employee and father is Chief Sub Editor at The Tribune. I have a younger brother too who is also pursuing engineering. My parents have been a great source of motivation and inspiration for me and have also supported in all the aspects of my life.

I wish all the best to the future aspirants. I hope all of you bell the CAT!!

Also read:

CAT 2018 Topper Profile: Rounak Majumdar

CAT 2018 Topper Interview: Swapnil Suman

CAT 2018 Topper Interview: Tushar Singhal

CAT 2018 Topper Interview: Amar Agrhari

CAT 2018 Topper Interview: Vineet Bajaj