CATKing correspondent met with Kislay Bhardwaj, who achieved the 99.42 percentile in CAT.
An intelligent and aspiring student of CATKing, Kislay is pursuing his final year in journalism & mass communication.
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Following are the excerpts from the interview :
CATKing: Congratulations! It is a pleasure to hear about your journey. What were your thoughts after you saw the result?
I had been refreshing the IIMCAT website at 5 pm every day since the revised answer key came out, so I was one of the first people in the country to look at my scorecard. I had seen some percentile predictors, and all of them said I would score above 98.5% but seeing the scorecard for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised and happy. I put the phone down and remembered the entire journey for a few minutes.
CATKing: Please, tell us something about your educational background, your family, personal interests, hobbies and passion.
I am a final-year journalism and mass communication Student at IPU in Delhi. My academics are not out of this world, and I need to improve for IIM Indore(haha). I have 85% in both classes, 10th and 12th. My father is a government employee, and my mother is a homemaker. I have no siblings. I have lived in 3 different cities because of my father's transfers. I am an enthusiastic football and cricket fan. My hobbies are reading and reciting poetry, reading books, public speaking, singing and quizzing.
CATKing: Was this your first CAT attempt?
Yes, this was my first attempt, as this is the first time I am eligible for the exam.
CATKing: Tell us the impact that caking had on this journey.
My journey was significantly influenced by CATKing, where I realized that even as an art student, I could take the CAT exam. This realization sparked the beginning of my preparation for the exam.
CATKing: What was your CAT preparation strategy?
My strategy was simple; mocks, mocks, mocks… I had four months to prepare, and I just could not beat the people preparing for a year by studying the concepts, so my strategy was to maximize my examination composure and make sure that the pressure did not get to me.
CATKing: What were your strongest and weakest sections? Tell us your department-wise strategy.
VARC was my most robust section, and quants were my weakest section. My section-wise strategy was to attack VARC and score the bulk of my marks there, consolidate in DILR and add more score to the total and go into a defensive mode while attempting Quants so that it does not take away from the hard work done in the other sections. Preparation-wise for VARC, I gave a sectional test every other day and read an aeon essay every day. I solved three sets of DI and LR each (2 avg and one complex). While for quants, I focused only on arithmetic and modern maths.
CATKing: Was joining the CATKing coaching institute beneficial for your overall CAT preparation?
As I said earlier, I started preparing for cat because a video on CATKing made me believe it was possible. Joining the institute hence was a no-brainer, and it's a decision I don't regret. The bibles for arithmetic helped me prepare for quants peacefully, while the mocks of varied difficulty helped me test myself at a different level. Hence the institute aided my cat preparation very positively.
CATKing: How important were mock test series for you? How many mock tests did you attempt?
Mocks are the most important thing for a CAT aspirant. I can easily say that at least 50% of my score is owed to mock tests. I gave about 50 mocks in my journey.
CATKing: Please tell us about your exam day strategy!
I had my exam in the morning shift, and the centre was 20 Km from my home, so the most effective strategy was getting up at the right time. I didn't study anything the night before I watched Ted Lasso( an American TV Show) and slept early. Before entering the exam centre, I read my favourite poem and had a can of Red Bull. That's about it.
CATKing: Any further guidance or tips for CAT aspirants?
Nothing much; enjoy the journey and have fun with it. Cat is not a difficult exam to prepare for, as the syllabus is unlike UPSC's. It is just a test of your nerves on the D day, so give your mocks at uncomfortable times and places.
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