CAT 2017 results are out and today we have with us Anshul Aggarwal who is one of the toppers of the CAT 2017, MBA entrance exam. Having scored a 99.36 percentile in the CAT 2017, he belongs to the top 1 percent of test takers this year. He is currently pursuing Economics Hons. at the Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.
And today, in this interview session he is going to share with us some of the stories of his motivation and success mantras that helped him nail the CAT exam this year. If you are planning to appear for the CAT 2018 exam then watch this video to know more about the exam and gain some helpful tips to improve your preparation strategy for the exam.
Why don't you share something about your family and yourself, Anshul?
I hail from Ambala, Punjab where I did my schooling and then moved to Delhi to pursue my undergraduate degree. Currently, I am studying Economic Hons. at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi and I wish to do MBA after that. I also like to play cricket and chess and have an interest in politics. As for my family, I have two elder sisters, my father is a businessman and my mother is the principal of a Senior Secondary School.
When did you start preparing for CAT 2017 and was it the only management entrance exam that you appeared for?
I prepared for the CAT entrance exam for about a year. I started my preparation in September 2016 and appeared for the exam in November 2017. Also, apart from the CAT exam, I appeared for the NMAT and IIFT entrance exams.
Do you think your Economics background will help you in MBA or your career post MBA?
Studying Economics has been very helpful for me. It taught me the analytical and quantitative skills important for giving CAT. I do believe that these skills combined with the skills that I learn in MBA will help me a lot in my professional career later on.
Do you believe that the engineering students have an advantage when it comes to MBA entrance exams?
Engineers are good in quant so I believe that they may have an advantage in the quant section. But over the years CAT has changed its exam patterns. The quant section has become relatively easier whereas the verbal ability section has become tougher. So, I think that non-engineers are in the same space as that of the engineers. Even in this year's exam as we know there have been 3 non-engineers who have scored a 100 percentile.
Did you take any kind of coaching to prepare for CAT 2017 and how instrumental was it in your success?
Yes, I joined the TIME coaching centre to prepare for the MBA entrance exams. I believe that I owe my success to the faculty at TIME. Also, the AIMCAT's and other mock tests that they provide us helped me a lot in improving my CAT percentile.
CAT 2017 Topper Interview - Anshul Aggarwal Part - 2
Transcript of Interview Part - 2
CAT consists of 3 sections, which of these did you find the most challenging and what strategies did you adopt to master that section?
The 3 sections of CAT are Quantitative Ability, Logical reasoning/Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability. I was quite good at quant which also helped me perform in the LR/DI section. However, I faced some difficulty solving the reading comprehension (RC) questions in the Verbal Ability section. I was unable to score marks in the Reading Comprehension questions in the AIMCATs and other mock tests so to improve on that section I started reading newspapers, magazines and other online reading material available on various websites. I also gave a lot of sectional test for that section and gradually my score started improving. So, it was the mocks that helped a lot in my preparation for the CAT exam.
What are those key things that a candidate must keep in mind when preparing for the CAT exam?
I believe that the key to success in CAT exam is practice and there is no substitute for it. The more you practice the more comfortable you are while attempting questions during the exam. It is important for students to take mocks and regularly practice and also to analyze their performance in mocks. Analyzing your performance is more important and just simply taking mocks is not enough. Also with practice, students develop accuracy which also helps them a lot during exams.
Can you list those key factors that were pivotal in your success in the CAT 2017 exam?
It was mainly the strategy that I adopted which was the key factor of preparation for the exam. As I mentioned before I started my preparation in September 2016. And from Sept to March I focused mainly on the basic concepts of all the 3 sections. After March I started with the advanced level questions and side by side I also started appearing for mocks. From June till Nov I appeared for a mock every week. So by November, I had appeared for 30 full-length mock tests and 100 sectional tests. I think they helped me a lot during my preparation. I would advise every student preparing for CAT to give as many mocks as possible and analyze their performance in them.
Thank you, Anshul, for sharing your success story with us, we wish you the very best for your future.
So folks, here are the first and the second part of the story of Anshul's success in the CAT 2017. And for more such videos on MBA insights please visit, www.jagranjosh.com.
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