Here’s the interesting journey of CAT Topper Sandeep Kaushik who Converted IIT Bombay with 99.8%ile.
Q: Hello Sandeep, great to have you here and Congratulations for Converting IIT Bombay. Please tell us a bit about your journey.
SANDEEP: Thank you so much. First, I would like to say that I will not tell much about what to do and what not to do for CAT. It’s not that someone who is from LSR will definitely be good in VARC and someone who is from Hindi Medium will not score good. It is all about dedication and hardwork and how much you are motivated towards your goal. I was not a good student during my graduation because of some distractions and unseriousness but slowly with time, I improved my studies by the end of my graduation.
Q: What was your preparation strategy for all the 3 sections?
SANDEEP: Talking about VARC first, I belong from a hindi medium school and was not that good in the english language but as I said it’s all about practice and hard work. No matter which background you come from, engineer or non engineer, if you practice well, you will definitely ace this section.
FOR LRDI, I would say it’s all about choosing the right set both in the mocks as well as in the CAT exam. According to me, 4 sets are enough to attempt with accuracy and right approach so that you can solve the sets within the given time. I attempted 4 sets in the exam and scored 45 marks.
For Quant, I will say that iQuanta helped me a lot. There are so many experienced mentors here at iQuanta, who will prepare you well in the Quant section and I would suggest that someone who is weak in QA, can definitely take help from iQuanta.
Watch Sandeep’s full interview here:
Q: What would you like to say about the mocks and what was your strategy towards the mock tests?
SANDEEP: For mocks, the thing is that people do get demotivated when their mocks don’t go well. But, here I would like to say that it’s a journey where your scores will fluctuate. In the starting it might happen that you score good but later it drops down and that’s where people give up. But, it is something which is a part of the process and with consistency your scores will increase. You just have to analyze your mistakes and have the right approach and strategy for mocks and you will make it. When you will give 5-10 mocks with consistency, then you will yourself get to know what strategy you have to make and how you have to use the mocks.
Q: We heard that there was some personal issue as well that you shared with someone here before. So, how did you tackle it and what advice would you like to give to someone who is going through this same issue?
SANDEEP: Yes, there was a story that I had shared with people here at iQuanta and it was that I had a break up and there was a time where things were not that good. Then after sharing this, I got some messages and calls from other aspirants as well that they have also had a break up and are demotivated and broken and don’t know how to concentrate on the preparation. So, for that I would like to say that these things do happen in life as I had also gone through it, but the thing is that you have to move forward in life and focus on your current goal so that you can achieve something big and when you get recognition and name and get what you work for then there is no going back. Everything feels right and you realize that whatever happened, happened for good. So, just move forward, concentrate on your preparation, clear the CAT exam and get a good college for your MBA so that you can build a good life and a well established career for yourself.
Q: One last question, what advice would you like to give to all other aspirants?
SANDEEP: There is one piece of advice that I would like to give to everyone and that is build your network and seek help and guidance from others as much as possible. Some time ago, I met a guy who was from corporate and he told me that a network is like having a net worth. Building a network helps you a lot in your career, especially in the corporate world.
And about CAT, I would like to say that it is something that is not that hard if you are dedicated and focused. If you study well, you will crack the exam despite all the odds. So, just focus on the task in hand, stay positive and motivated and at last, you will make it to a good B-school.
