Raghvendra Pratap Singh a student of VNIT Nagpur has secured a 99.65 percentile in his first attempt. Despite of being so busy since he had his college classes and also a summer internship, Raghvendra managed to get a 99.74 percentile in QA and 99.91 percentile in LRDI. He joined the iQuanta batch in February and started his preparation. In total Raghvendra took 37 mocks that helped him boost his confidence. In the campus placement, he also got a job offer as a Structural Engineer but still decided to fully prepare for CAT and do an MBA. VARC section was the most challenging section for him. Read what Raghvendra Pratap Singh has to say about his CAT journey.
Hello everyone,
My name is Raghvendra Pratap Singh, and I am a final-year student at VNIT, Nagpur. I scored 99.65% in CAT 2024 as a fresher, and this is my honest CAT story.
I’m about to vent, and fair warning – it’s going to be a long story. So, buckle up, or if patience isn’t your thing, just scroll down to the last two paragraphs. With that said, chaliye shuru karte hain
I joined the iQuanta Batch 1, which started in the first week of February. Watched the first lecture with great enthusiasm, and then I don’t know why (probably the chaotic whirlwind that is college life, but I just stopped watching.
Fast forward to the end of the semester. Summer vacations began, and I went back home. I also started a summer internship at a firm. Then, around the last week of May, I decided it was time. The backlog was massive, but I channeled my inner motivational speaker, gave myself a pep talk, and got to work
I started with DILR section, completed all the live lectures and some application classes. With good momentum, I then turned my attention to Quants. And I must say, those classes were very good. Initially, I was a bit sceptical of the whole “live + application class” model. But by the end, I was hooked, especially with Quants.
VARC, though?
Let’s just say I neglected it like an unwanted side quest in a video game. I got lazy and didn’t have much interest to watch those lectures. If I could go back in time, I’d slap some sense into myself. But alas, here we are
By the first week of July, I was on fire. And then? Vacation mode hit. College was starting in the last week of July, and I thought, “let me take a short break.” This ‘short’ break lasted months though
Placement season soon followed, and I decided to take part in it. On August 3rd, I had my first interview, and I don’t know how (by god’s grace), I got placed as a structural engineer Naturally, I slipped into a “chill mode,” thinking, “Job’s done, life’s good.” Between classes, club activities, and mid-sessionals, my CAT prep took a backseat
But then came mid-October. I had a classic movie moment, you know, where the main character stands in front of a mirror, dramatic music starts playing, and I said to myself, “This is my time!” I buckled down and got serious about the last leg of preparation
I went in god mode. Attempted the quant sectionals from CAT 2017 to 2021, solved the CAT 2022 and 2023 papers as full length mocks, and in total, I gave 37 mock tests. Slowly but surely, my confidence started growing
VARC, however, was like that one friend who keeps ghosting you. My scores started dropping, and in desperation, I turned to shortcuts and quick fixes. Spoiler alert: shortcuts in VARC don’t work. At all. Who knew, right?
Finally, the D-day arrived, and my worry about VARC turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Verbal Ability? Aced it, got 7 out of 8 correct. Reading Comprehension? Absolute disaster. It was like RCs and I were speaking two completely different languages. But hey, I ended up with a decent overall score, so no regrets (kinda)
A big thank you to iQuanta for supporting me throughout this ride. Special shoutout to Abhishek Leela Pandey Sir, I loved your teaching style, and your passion for math is something I deeply resonate with. I may have missed the live classes, but watching recordings at 2x speed turned out to be a whole vibe. And Jeet sir, hats off to you for creating this amazing platform and Facebook community
To everyone who scored what they aimed for: congratulations! To those preparing for CAT 2025 and beyond, here’s my advice: trust the process, believe in yourself, and for heaven’s sake, don’t neglect VARC!!
