MAT 2019 Topper: How did Alok Walke Secure 99.94 Percentile in MAT 2019 May Session Exam

MAT is a relatively easily MBA entrance test. Is scoring a high percentile easy in MAT? Read how Aloke Walke managed to secure 99.94 percentile in MAT 2019

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a gateway entrance test to seek admission in over 800 B-schools in India. Each year, the All India Management Association (AIMA) the conducting body of MAT exam receive a lot of application for the test. However, few test takers like Alok manage to secure as high as 99.94 percentile in MAT.

Alok is a Mechanical Engineer by profession, who is passionate in the field of Automobiles. He worked with Mahindra and Mahindra for three years. After scoring high in MAT, Alok left his job to expand his knowledge pursuing MBA degree from his dream college the SIMSREE, Mumbai.

Alok was preparing for MAH-CET along with MAT exam and this gave a boost to his preparation level. However, what worked in Alok’s favour was the application of smart strategies in the test. Attempting mocks and writing down the errors and weaknesses gave him an edge over accuracy. He says, “I made notes and took topic wise tests and mock tests. My notes were updated from time to time to accommodate my mistakes from previous mocks or any short cut to solve a problem in a shorter time.”

Read on the full interview to learn what other MAT preparation strategies Alok adopted in order to secure 99.94 percentile.

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

 A: Honestly, I was not satisfied with my score. In quite a few mock tests, I had scored better and hence I was expecting a higher score.

Q: Was this your first MAT attempt?

A: No, this was my second MAT attempt. I had previously attempted MAT in February 2019.

Q: When did you start preparing for MAT exam? What was your overall preparation strategy?

A: I did not prepare separately for MAT. My primary focus was on CET preparation. I just tweaked my CET exam strategy to match it with MAT paper pattern. For CET, I started my preparation around December- January period. I had noted down all the topics from each section and watched videos online to understand the underlying concept. Later, I made notes and took topic wise tests and mock tests. My notes were updated from time to time to rectify my mistakes from previous mocks or any short cut to solve a problem in a shorter time.

Also read: MAT Syllabus

Q: Can you share with us your section-wise strategy?

Language Comprehension: I enjoy reading newspapers. I have inculcated a habit since a while now. For my preparation, I took up reading even more vigorously. This helped me improve my comprehension skills and kept me updated about the latest global happenings.

Mathematical Skills: I solved as many problems as possible. I attempted questions from various topic wise tests available online. Personally arriving at the correct answer was not an issue so I focussed on reducing the time behind every question. This eventually became my strongest section.

Data Analysis and Sufficiency: For this section, I focussed on data simplification. By this, I mean I worked on how to interpret and extract only the important data from the given information. Solving every set with that mindset helped me massively to cut down my time taken to solve questions from this section.

Intelligence and Critical Reasoning: As evident from my result, this section was not my strong point. I worked on maximising my score from the selective topics I was good at and spent minimum time on the rest.

Indian & Global Environment: Although I was well aware of the content from this subject, I barely attempted any question from this section on the D-Day. Since most good colleges do not consider this section, I allotted all the available time only to the previous four sections.

Also read: MAT Preparation Strategy

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

A: I relied on going through videos online for understanding concepts whereas the mock exams/ sectional tests served as my source of practise questions.

Also read: MAT Best Books

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

A: Since I was working throughout my preparation phase and even until I joined my B-school, I did not join any coaching institute. I relied on mock tests provided by some of the institutes and watched videos online to get a better understanding of the concepts.

Q: How important is practicing MAT Mock Test series?

A: I think the key to ace the MAT exam is to ensure your familiarity with MAT pattern. This will happen once a candidate takes several mock tests. Hence, mock test series are very crucial for a candidate to get a great score.

Also read: MAT Mock Test

Q: What was your exam day strategy?

A: Since my weakest section was Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, I attempted it first with a fresh mindset. I later jumped to Language comprehension as it brought about a fresh change and did not involve heavy analysis for every question. Mathematics being my strong point, I attempted both Data Analysis and Mathematical Skills towards the end since I could manage those topics even with a limited time frame and a fatigued mind.

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

A: MAT was the last exam I took. Apart from that, I attempted CET 2019 where I secured 99.75 and CAT 2018 where I, secured 93.55.

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

A: As obvious as it may sound, I ensured that in the topics I was good at, getting the correct answer was no-more the milestone for success. Arriving at the correct answer in the minimum possible time was the aim. For the weak topics, I tried solving as many questions as possible, minimum time not being the primary motto.

Q: What are your tips for future MAT aspirants?

A: As I previously mentioned, identify your strengths and weaknesses. Ensure you get better in these topics with almost every mock you take. Lastly, take as many mocks as possible.

Q: Which Institutes did you join/aim to join?

A: I joined Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE), the batch of 2019-21.

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