Being a working professional, preparing for CAT can seem
to be a tedious task and difficult to achieve success. But if you find
out the right strategy for yourself, nothing can bog you down. Take the
instance of Tanishq Goyal, who scored 99.97 percentile in CAT 2011 and
secured a seat in top IIMs like, IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and
some of the new IIMs. In today’s Topper Mantras, we will share the
success mantras of Tanishq.
Tanishq has done B.E (Hons.) in
Computer Science from BITS Pilani. He has 17 months of work experience.
He has worked in the Bing Team of Microsoft India for 10 months and
Amazon for seven months before joining IIM Ahmedabad.
Q: Why and when did you decide to do MBA? What is your plan after you complete your MBA?
A: During my engineering days, I realized that working on projects where I got good insight into the project or in which I could see the impact of the project motivated me. Getting such a deep insight required moving up the corporate ladder which is very slow without an MBA. Also, I wanted to do an MBA to attain the requisite skill set which will enable me to make business decisions at the executive level of an organization.
I want to go into Investment Banking after I finish my MBA.
Q: What is your CAT 2011 percentile? Which other MBA entrance exams did you take?
A: My CAT 2011 percentile is 99.97. CAT was the only MBA entrance exam that I took.
Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail.
A: I got calls from all 13 IIMs, but I gave interviews for the top four only. In IIM Ahmedabad, the WAT topic was In today’s world, business and ethics don’t go hand in hand. The questions ranged from my work experience, solving math problem, my hobby tennis to politics. The entire interview was like a candid conversation with learned men on some random topics. There was no stress at all.
Q: Which institutes offered you final admission? Why did you choose IIM Ahmedabad?
A: I had final offer from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and three of the new IIMs.
There are many things about IIM Ahmedabad which make it the most sought after MBA institute in India. Naturally, it attracts the best talent in the country. Also, IIM Ahmedabad follows case based pedagogy where we learn from our peers too. The main reason why I chose IIM Ahmedabad was to learn from and grow with the best of the best in the country.
Q: How did you start the CAT preparation and what was your overall strategy?
A: I started my preparation in late July. My overall strategy was to get a balanced score in both the sections so that I do not miss out on any IIM calls because of sectional cut-offs. VA was my weakness and thus I devoted considerably more time to it. Under each section, I made a chart of all the topics which helped me primarily in two ways. Firstly, I knew what all broad topics I needed to study to cover my entire syllabus. Secondly, given the usual number of questions asked in CAT and my comfort level with each of them, I could come up with a priority order which decided how much time I had to devote to each topic.
I used to have cycles of doing only theory for some days and doing only practice for the next few days. This helped me in keeping a balance between basics and practice. Also, I used to give mock CATs regularly during my preparation. After the results of a mock CAT were out, I used to spend good amount of time in analyzing my performance in the test. This helped in learning new fundas with which I could solve questions faster and developing an insight to avoid lengthy questions and to prevent calculation errors.
Being consistent and working hard on my schedule, I did three revisions of the entire theory and solved a lot of practice questions which eventually helped me crack the real CAT.
Q: Do you think it is possible to crack CAT without taking formal coaching? What would you suggest the CAT 2012 aspirants who would like to prepare by themselves?
A: Yes, I think that it is very much possible to crack CAT without any formal coaching. A formal coaching can only act as a facilitator towards one’s preparation, but, at the end of the day, one’s hard work and diligence is what matters the most.
I would suggest such aspirants to join a mock CAT series so that they can judge themselves against the rest of the aspirants throughout the country. This helps one in gauging his/her preparation and make timely changes in preparation strategy if needed.
Q: CAT saw a major change in the format & pattern in 2011. How did you prepare for it? Did this new pattern cause any hindrance in your preparation or exam taking strategy?
A: Though the change in the format was major, it did not impact my preparation much. Since, there was no change in sectional areas; I did not make any changes in my preparation strategy. But since the format of the exam changed significantly, I devoted sufficient time to make myself comfortable with the new format. Giving mock CATs with the new format helped a lot in this part.
Q: What was your preparation strategy for the Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning?
A: As I said before, VA was my weakest section, so it had the majority of my attention. I studied cue cards, practiced a lot of RCs and did a lot of grammar practice for VA. I did speed mathematics exercises to increase my speed in solving DI questions. Being an engineer, QA was a strong area for me, and I just used to practice sufficient questions on this to ensure a decent score.
Reiterating my other point, maintaining a decent balance between theory and problem solving is important for all the three sections. Keeping a formula copy having all the formulas and techniques in a crisp manner for easy lookup also helps.
Q: What was your strategy for time management?
A: At times it was difficult to maintain a regular pace towards CAT preparation along with the hassles of a working life. Office used to be tiring and I did not feel like studying after going back home. This is a common problem with many people and I tackled it by experimenting with my sleep and study schedules and then arrived at the one that suited me the most. This is the best CAT preparation tip for the working candidates. Though the experimenting took some time, it was worth the effort because once having decided the best schedule, I was able to dedicate study hours to my preparation regularly.
Q: What is your message for the MBA aspirants who will take CAT 2012 and other exams of the season?
A: Punctuality is important while preparing for your exams. Make sure that you put in some effort towards your preparation daily and increase the study hours gradually. Join a mock CAT series if you haven’t already done so and NEVER miss a mock. Analyze your performance in the tests thoroughly and learn from both your failures and successes.
Lastly, as with life, there will be ups and downs during your preparation. So it is important that you do not lose your confidence and stick to your ultimate goal. Hoping to see you on the other side soon!
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more Topper Mantras.
Tanishq has done B.E (Hons.) in
Computer Science from BITS Pilani. He has 17 months of work experience.
He has worked in the Bing Team of Microsoft India for 10 months and
Amazon for seven months before joining IIM Ahmedabad. Q: Why and when did you decide to do MBA? What is your plan after you complete your MBA?
A: During my engineering days, I realized that working on projects where I got good insight into the project or in which I could see the impact of the project motivated me. Getting such a deep insight required moving up the corporate ladder which is very slow without an MBA. Also, I wanted to do an MBA to attain the requisite skill set which will enable me to make business decisions at the executive level of an organization.
I want to go into Investment Banking after I finish my MBA.
Q: What is your CAT 2011 percentile? Which other MBA entrance exams did you take?
A: My CAT 2011 percentile is 99.97. CAT was the only MBA entrance exam that I took.
Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail.
A: I got calls from all 13 IIMs, but I gave interviews for the top four only. In IIM Ahmedabad, the WAT topic was In today’s world, business and ethics don’t go hand in hand. The questions ranged from my work experience, solving math problem, my hobby tennis to politics. The entire interview was like a candid conversation with learned men on some random topics. There was no stress at all.
Q: Which institutes offered you final admission? Why did you choose IIM Ahmedabad?
A: I had final offer from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and three of the new IIMs.
There are many things about IIM Ahmedabad which make it the most sought after MBA institute in India. Naturally, it attracts the best talent in the country. Also, IIM Ahmedabad follows case based pedagogy where we learn from our peers too. The main reason why I chose IIM Ahmedabad was to learn from and grow with the best of the best in the country.
Q: How did you start the CAT preparation and what was your overall strategy?
A: I started my preparation in late July. My overall strategy was to get a balanced score in both the sections so that I do not miss out on any IIM calls because of sectional cut-offs. VA was my weakness and thus I devoted considerably more time to it. Under each section, I made a chart of all the topics which helped me primarily in two ways. Firstly, I knew what all broad topics I needed to study to cover my entire syllabus. Secondly, given the usual number of questions asked in CAT and my comfort level with each of them, I could come up with a priority order which decided how much time I had to devote to each topic.
I used to have cycles of doing only theory for some days and doing only practice for the next few days. This helped me in keeping a balance between basics and practice. Also, I used to give mock CATs regularly during my preparation. After the results of a mock CAT were out, I used to spend good amount of time in analyzing my performance in the test. This helped in learning new fundas with which I could solve questions faster and developing an insight to avoid lengthy questions and to prevent calculation errors.
Being consistent and working hard on my schedule, I did three revisions of the entire theory and solved a lot of practice questions which eventually helped me crack the real CAT.
Q: Do you think it is possible to crack CAT without taking formal coaching? What would you suggest the CAT 2012 aspirants who would like to prepare by themselves?
A: Yes, I think that it is very much possible to crack CAT without any formal coaching. A formal coaching can only act as a facilitator towards one’s preparation, but, at the end of the day, one’s hard work and diligence is what matters the most.
I would suggest such aspirants to join a mock CAT series so that they can judge themselves against the rest of the aspirants throughout the country. This helps one in gauging his/her preparation and make timely changes in preparation strategy if needed.
Q: CAT saw a major change in the format & pattern in 2011. How did you prepare for it? Did this new pattern cause any hindrance in your preparation or exam taking strategy?
A: Though the change in the format was major, it did not impact my preparation much. Since, there was no change in sectional areas; I did not make any changes in my preparation strategy. But since the format of the exam changed significantly, I devoted sufficient time to make myself comfortable with the new format. Giving mock CATs with the new format helped a lot in this part.
Q: What was your preparation strategy for the Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning?
A: As I said before, VA was my weakest section, so it had the majority of my attention. I studied cue cards, practiced a lot of RCs and did a lot of grammar practice for VA. I did speed mathematics exercises to increase my speed in solving DI questions. Being an engineer, QA was a strong area for me, and I just used to practice sufficient questions on this to ensure a decent score.
Reiterating my other point, maintaining a decent balance between theory and problem solving is important for all the three sections. Keeping a formula copy having all the formulas and techniques in a crisp manner for easy lookup also helps.
Q: What was your strategy for time management?
A: At times it was difficult to maintain a regular pace towards CAT preparation along with the hassles of a working life. Office used to be tiring and I did not feel like studying after going back home. This is a common problem with many people and I tackled it by experimenting with my sleep and study schedules and then arrived at the one that suited me the most. This is the best CAT preparation tip for the working candidates. Though the experimenting took some time, it was worth the effort because once having decided the best schedule, I was able to dedicate study hours to my preparation regularly.
Q: What is your message for the MBA aspirants who will take CAT 2012 and other exams of the season?
A: Punctuality is important while preparing for your exams. Make sure that you put in some effort towards your preparation daily and increase the study hours gradually. Join a mock CAT series if you haven’t already done so and NEVER miss a mock. Analyze your performance in the tests thoroughly and learn from both your failures and successes.
Lastly, as with life, there will be ups and downs during your preparation. So it is important that you do not lose your confidence and stick to your ultimate goal. Hoping to see you on the other side soon!
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more Topper Mantras.
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