Here’s the interview of CAT Topper Kislay Jha who scored 99.95%ile in the CAT exam and converted IIM Ahmedabad.
Q: Today we have with us an Aspirant who cleared the CAT exam with a huge score of 99.96%ile. Kislay, please tell us a bit about yourself
KISLAY: Hello, thanks for having me here. My name is Kislay Jha, I am currently working in TATA Steel and I am living in Jamshedpur. I basically belong to Ranchi, Jharkhand and I did Chemical Engineering from BITS, Mesra. This was actually my third CAT attempt where my first attempt was in the last year of my graduation and it was not good at all as I was not serious that much and then appeared again last year and scored 98.47 but that was also not up to the mark and I felt that I could have done better. So, I appeared for the exam again for the third time and fortunately this time the scores came very well and I am happy with the results. Now, I am looking forward to the interviews and getting into a top B-School for my MBA.
Q: Can you please tell us about your Sectional Scores in the CAT exam?
KISLAY: My overall percentile is 99.96. In the VARC Section I scored 99.39, In LRDI it was 99.90%ile and 99.81%ile in the QA section.
Q: We know that CAT is an unpredictable exam and is quite risky sometimes. So, what was your mindset while preparing for the exam along with your job?
KISLAY: For me, CAT was just a medium to get into a top College and do MBA. My aim from the beginning was to do an MBA from a well reputed college to get a solid place in the corporate world where I could put all of my skills into practice, learn as much as possible and get to a next level of growth and opportunities. Even though I had a job, it was not that difficult for me to take out some time for my preparation and that’s how I managed to clear the exam this time with a desired score.
Watch Kislay’s full interview here:
Q: What was your strategy for each of the sections? Please tell us in detail.
KISLAY: My preparation started off on a serious note in my second CAT attempt. First, I brushed up my basics and read a lot as I was fond of reading since childhood and that’s how it helped me in the VARC section. VARC was not that much problematic for me but the VA part is something that required some practice. The topics like parajumbles, odd one out and the summary questions are a few things in which you require some practice. Initially I used to make so many mistakes in these topics but with practice it became quite easy.
In LRDI, I was quite overconfident from the start itself that okay it is not that difficult for me and I will crack it easily but that did not turn out well and my mock scores started going down in LRDI. Then, with time I realized that it was nothing but my mindset that I had to change and then I focused on the approach of solving the sets and that’s how the scores got improved and finally on the exam day the section went really well for me.
Talking about the QA section, being an engineer it was supposed to be my strongest section but I was not that good in quants. So, that’s where I started finding some online courses and enrolled into iQuanta so that I could get proper guidance and practice. I focused a lot on the sectional mocks and did a lot of practice and with time I was able to solve the questions with accuracy and that too within the given time.
Q: What was your mock strategy and how many mocks did you give in total during your preparation journey?
KISLAY: For mocks I would say that it is a very important part of your preparation. I gave around 50 mocks in total where I started off with 1 mock per week and used to analyze it and then gradually with time I increased the frequency of the mocks. In the starting my scores were good but later it started coming down but then at last it again increased and that’s where I realized that no matter what the scores are coming, you have to keep giving it because sometimes the mocks are designed in different ways and fluctuation in scores can happen but by giving mocks and analyzing it in a right approach, you will get you familiar with the type of questions that come in the exam and it also increases your accuracy of solving the questions. So, in the month of November when CAT was approaching I gave around 15 mocks and luckily the scores were really good which eventually helped me to score 99.96% in the CAT exam.
Q: We know that analyzing the mocks are also important. So, when you would analyze the mocks, what was your main focus?
KISLAY: I believe that if you are giving mocks but not analyzing it the right way, then it is of no use. It does not matter whether your answers are correct, you still have to look at the answer that is mentioned in the mock so that you can see the difference between your approach and the approach that is applied in the mocks. Sometimes you can get lucky with the answers but that is where you still have to look into the mocks to see whether your reason or approach to that answer matches to what is mentioned in the mocks so that you can get the answer correct each and every time.
In LRDI and QA, I used to make so many silly mistakes which I would notice when I would analyze the mocks. Sometimes, the mocks are designed in such a way that you are bound to make mistakes and that’s where the analysis part helps. So, for me the analysis of the mocks was very important and as well as very helpful in the whole preparation journey of CAT.
People usually think that when they will end their preparation, then only they will start giving the mocks. But, that is not the right thing to do. You have to attempt the mocks along with your preparation because then only you will get to know what exactly you have to work on the most. According to me, giving mocks is the best way to track your overall preparation.
Q: As we know that this was your 3rd CAT attempt. So, what was the thing that you did differently this time that made you achieve your goal this time?
KISLAY: Frankly speaking, I was not that serious in my first attempt. In the second attempt, everything was good but it was not up to the mark and that’s where this time I decided to enroll myself into a coaching and see how it can help me.
I would say that iQuanta really helped me a lot in getting motivated as the community of iQuanta always remains active and ready to help and the dedication that you see here in all other aspirants is of some other level.
Apart from that, there was one major difference in my preparation and it was that I gave a lot of mocks this time which helped me the most in finding out and working on my mistakes.
Q: One last thing, please give some words of wisdom to all the other aspirants of CAT.
KISLAY: I would like to say that prepare well and be honest towards your goal and please do not get demotivated. There will be some days when your preparation and mocks will not be up to the mark but it’s all part of the process and you just have to keep going.
And on the other hand, give weightage to all the 3 sections and all the types of questions and sets because the CAT exam is unpredictable and you do not know what might come in the exam.
