CAT 2021 Topper Interview: Know How Mohit Babu Scored 99.85 Percentile
Common Admission Test 2024 ( CAT )
Mohit Babu, a BTech student, shares his CAT 2021 success mantra with Shiksha. Read the article below to know more.
A BTech student from Ranchi, Mohit Babu, scored 99.85 percentile in CAT 2021 exam. Mohit is pursuing BTech from the National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Ranchi. He is a fitness enthusiast and loves to travel to sparsely explored places. He also keeps a keen interest in Finance and loves reading informative novels related to finance and economics. Mohit shared his CAT success journey with Shiksha. Read the article below to know more.
CAT 2021 score:
Overall: 99.85 percentile
Sectional:
VARC: 99.94 percentile
DILR: 96.90 percentile
QA: 98.64 percentile
Q: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.A: Thanks. Ever since I started preparing I had the score of 99.7+ percentile in my mind as it would ensure a call from all major B-Schools. So I would say that I am pretty satisfied with this score.
Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?
Q: How much percentile is a good score in CAT exam?
Q: How much percentile is a good score in the CAT exam?
Q: How is the CAT score and percentile calculated?
A: Yes this was my first CAT attempt. However, I had been following CAT since last year so it wasn't a new experience altogether for me.
Q: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
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A: I started my preparations in April 2021. My strategy mostly involved solving the previous years' mock papers from different coaching institutes. After that, I analysed my weak areas and then focused on improving them.
Q: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
A: For VARC I started reading articles from Finshots and Aeon and then transcribing them in my own words. This improved my comprehension skills and helped me with parajumbles too.
Q: What is sectional cutoff in CAT exam?
Sectional cut off in CAT exam refers to the section wise percentiles required by the candidate for making it to the Personal Interview round of the IIMs or other top MBA colleges. The sectional cut offs are lower than overall cut offs of any institute. To understand better, check the table below for sectional CAT cut offs for IIM Ahmedabad:
Category | VARC percentile | DILR percentile | QA percentile | Overall percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
General | 70 | 70 | 70 | 80 |
NC-OBC-Transgender | 65 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
SC | 60 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
ST | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
PwD (General, NC-OBC-cum-transgender, SC) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
PwD (ST) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
For sectional cut offs of all IIMs, check this article – IIM shortlist and selection criteria
Q: How many questions should I solve to score 99 percentile in CAT exam?
Q: What is the CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow?
Q: What are the qualifying CAT cutoffs for all the IIMs?
Q: Are CAT cut offs announced along with the CAT result?
You can't prepare specifically for DILR. However, there are some topics such as Venn Diagrams and Arrangements that are in almost every set. So I focused on them and started solving as many DILR sets as I could.
In Quant, I attempted past mock series and marked the areas I lacked in. Then I referred to Sarvesh Verma's Quantitative Aptitude book and cleared my basics from there.
Q: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
A: I referred to Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT and Verbal Aptitude by Sarvesh Verma and also the ETS GRE Big Book.
Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does the coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
A: If you are dedicated, self-motivated and can stick to sincere practice then you don't need any coaching. But coachings will definitely give you a competitive edge because they will be sharing their years of experience which you can't have on your own. Also, they will keep you regular in your studies and you'll get to know the competition pool you'll be facing.
I too joined a coaching institute in my hometown solely for mentorship and competitive purposes.
Q: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
A: I attempted all 16 SimCAT mocks and more than 30 Take Home Mocks. Mock test series are definitely important as they help you face the time constraints beforehand and plan a strategy for the actual exam.
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Q: What was your exam day strategy?
A: On exam day I made sure to not let any question get to my ego. I planned to spend only two minutes on any question and then come back to it later only if I believed I knew how to solve it. I also tried to avoid any questions that involved time taking calculations.
Q: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
A: My only tip would be to start giving mocks as early as possible and analyse them in detail. It is okay if you feel that you don't know anything in the beginning, you'll improve with time. But analysing your mocks will train you in taking the CAT exam.
With over 7 years of editorial experience, Saumya has been a writer at Shiksha for over four years. With a bachelor's degree in English literature from Delhi University, she loves to write. A true Delhiite and her l... Read Full Bio
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The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a highly competitive entrance exam for admission to various management programs offered by top business schools in India. The percentile score in CAT exam is based on the relative performance of the test taker compared to all the other test takers.
The cutoff percentile for admission to top business schools varies from year to year and also depends on factors such as the number of candidates, difficulty level of the exam, and the number of available seats. In general, a percentile score of 90 or above is considered a good score and can help you secure admission to some of the top business schools in India. However, to increase your chances of admission to the top-tier business schools, a percentile score of 95 or above is preferred.