MAT 2019 Topper Interview: Abhishek Jha shares tips to ace MAT exam

MAT aspirants should focus on quality practise rather than quantity practise. It is more about how much they learn per study session. Abhishek Jha scored 99.9 percentile with four months preparation. Read more!

Abhishek Jha scored 99.9 percentile in MAT September 2019. A 2014-entry batch topper from Marine Engineering And Research Institue, Kolkata, Abhishek was deputed as a marine engineer at NYK lines, a shipping company based in Japan. Abhishek left his job to focus on competitive exams. Currently, he teaches quantitative aptitude at privately-run coaching institutes in Kolkata. He wants to get into a top PSU bank and pursue executive MBA from a top B school. Shiksha spoke with Abhishek about his MAT experience. Read on to know his success mantra.

Q1: Are you satisfied with your MAT result? How much score were you expecting?

A: I am pretty much satisfied with the score I got. I had targetted 99 percentile and I got 99.9 percentile, which was really a confidence booster and now I have my eyes set on CAT 2019.

Q2: Was this your first MAT exam?

A: Yes, This was my first attempt. I am also appearing for MAT December and CMAT January to step up my score to 99.99.

Q3: When did you start preparing for MAT exam? What was your overall prep strategy? 

A: I was not only preparing for MBA exams, I was also targetting government exams as well. When you go through the topics of different competitive exams, most of their syllabus is same. I started around in April with both IBPS and MBA exams in my mind. Cracking competitive exams is no rocket science. In most of the exams questions are asked from Maths, English syllabus of class 10, 11 and 12. You need to have good foundation followed by constant practice.

Q4 Please share with us your section-wise strategy?

A: First and foremost, I started with the Quantitative Aptitude section because that is my strongest part. Also, I am a faculty for quant some of the coaching institutes here. There were 40 questions in QA section and I attempted 38 of them. Being from a technical background my strategy has been to strengthen the part which I am good at. After that, I moved to Data Analysis and interpretation which took a little longer and in the end, I attempted English and GK section.

Also Read: MAT 2019 Pattern

Q5: Which books did you refer to for your MAT preparation?

A: I referred to some apps and also took mock test series similar to MAT. I also referred to the Complete study guide by Arihant publication. This book covers almost every topic asked in MAT exam. It also has some previous year questions of MAT exam. For DI & LR, you can refer to DI & LR by Arun Sharma. There is another book students can follow, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency. This book has all the types of questions being asked in MBA exams. For Quantitative Aptitude, you can follow Quantitative Aptitude by Sarvesh Verma and fast track arithmetic by Rajesh Verma. For English, aspirants can follow Objective English by SP Bakshi and Print to Paramount by Neetu Singh which will help them develop their vocabulary.

Also Read: MAT 2018 Cutoffs

Q6 Did you join any coaching institute?

A: It's all self-study here. I did not join any coaching, rather I teach at coaching institutes.

Q7 How important is practicing MAT Mock test series?

A: My strategy has been to focus on sectional mock tests before going for a full paper. Mock is important but my advise is to go for it only after you have covered at least 60-70% of syllabus. You should definitely take the sectional mock test to evaluate your true standing in the exam.

Also Read: MAT 2018 Question Paper

Q8 What was your exam day strategy?

A: You cannot score big by preparing for just a day. I have always believed that quality practice will yield rich dividends, so on exam day, students need not be frantic. They should calmly revise important topics especially the ones they are good at and sit in the examination hall with a positive attitude.

Q9 Which other MBA entrance exams did you take or are planning to take?

A: I will be appearing for CAT 2019 which is on November 24. I will also be appearing for MAT December and CMAT in January. Along with management exams, I am equally focusing on banking exams. I will also be taking IBPS PO and SBI PO exams.

Q10 How did you deal with your strengths and weaknesses while preparing for the exam?

A: When I was in class 8, I failed in mathematics. My father did not scold me, he just told me an old Hindi quote,' Karat Karat Abhyaas, Jarmati Hot Sujaan'. Even a rope can cut a rock but that can only happen with constant practice and perseverance. I scored a perfect 100 in Maths in class 10th and then in class 12th, I scored 98 and in even in graduation, I have scored above 90 in Mathematics stream. It all depends on your dedication and consistency.

Q11: Any tips for MAT aspirants?

A: I would advise fellow aspirants to focus on quality practice rather than quantity practice. More than the no. of hours, they should evaluate their learnings from each study session.

 Q12: Which Institutes are you planning to join?

A: If I get selected in a PSU bank, I will join it first and then take study leave for executive MBA from a top management college. It will be very cost-effective and open a whole lot of avenues for me. In case, I don't get selected in a PSU bank, I have targetted Jamnalal Bajaj, Mumbai followed by IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow and Indore.

Q13: Suppose, You get selected in a PSU bank and get an equally good score in CAT that makes you eligible for Jamnalal Bajaj college. What would you opt for?

A: I will opt for the bank because I already have an education loan, I could not afford another loan for a management course. A PSU bank will ensure good pay along with a secure job and then I will go for an executive MBA course.

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