CAT 2021 Topper Interview: Know How Rounak Das Made it to the 99 Percentilers Club
Common Admission Test 2024 ( CAT )
Read about CAT 2021 topper Rounak Das in his latest interview with Shiksha. Know all about his preparation and exam day strategy.
Rounak Das, a software engineer of Kalyani Government Engineering Colleges, scored 99.56 percentile in CAT 2021 exam. He hails from Kolkata and likes playing football. He is a travel buff and also likes watching movies and going on treks. He believes that consistency is important for CAT preparation. Shiksha got to talking to Rounak and he shared his CAT 2021 success mantra. Read the article below to know more.
CAT 2021 overall percentile: 99.56
VARC percentile: 96.53
DILR percentile: 98.99
QA percentile: 99.31
Q: Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your CAT result? How much score were you expecting?
A: Thank you, I am quite satisfied apart from a few d-day blunders I made. In this paper, I was expecting a score of about 120.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.Q: Was this your first CAT attempt?
A: Yes, this was my first CAT attempt.
Q: When did you start preparing for the CAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy?
A: I started my preparations in February 2021. I didn't follow any strict schedule but I used to do daily classes according to my time and practice in whatever time remained after my job. Since it's almost a one-year process, I used to take breaks from studying when I didn't feel like it.
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?
Q: Please share with us your section-wise strategy.
A: For VARC, I started with the RCs, and then slowly built up expertise in Verbal Ability.
For DILR, I practiced different varieties of sets as you will rarely get anything common in the exam. The main aim should be to get an idea of how to attack different problems with the clues provided.
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For Quant, I cleared the basics first and tried not to leave out entire chapters. I gave extra time to chapters that took time to master. Focus on the quality of questions during preparations rather than quantity.
Q: Which books did you refer to for CAT preparation?
A: None. I bought Sarvesh Verma's Quantitative Aptitude book initially but hardly used it. I practiced from the materials provided by iQuanta and tried to do all the practice questions shared by them. I felt books have too many questions and being a working professional, this wouldn't have worked out for me. Instead, I practiced a variety of quality questions from the sectional mocks and other practice sessions set up by iQuanta
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?
Q: Did you join any coaching institute? How does coaching institute help in CAT preparation?
A: I joined iQuanta. For me, it helped me to maintain discipline throughout the year and provided a well-defined structure to the preparation apart from clearing doubts.
Q: How many mock tests did you attempt and how important is a mock test series?
A: I attempted approximately 25-30 mock tests. Taking and analysing mock tests is very important as it helps to identify the areas where one requires to work upon more.
Also Read:
- 13 things to do to crack GDPI
- PI Preparation
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- How to Crack GD-PI/WAT Rounds of Top B-schools
Q: What was your exam day strategy?
A: The only exam day strategy was that I tried to be as calm as possible on D-day and perform to the best of my ability.
Q: Any tips for future CAT aspirants?
A: Try to be consistent throughout the year and don't get burnt out during prep. It is better to study two to three hours every day rather than studying 9-10 hours a day on an irregular basis. Take breaks when you are not up to it.
Q: Which IIMs /Institutes are you targeting?
A: I am targeting IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow and IIM Indore along with FMS, MDI, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur.
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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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