Here’s the interview of Abhinay Shrivastava who cleared the CAT exam with 99.11 percentile.
Q : Today, we have a special guest to have a conversation with, Abhinay who score 99.11 percentile under the guidance of iQuanta through his hardwork and dedication and he will be sharing his journey.
Abhinay : Currently, I am a student of FMS Delhi, 1st year but it was a tough journey as it was my second attempt. In my first attempt I scored 97.86. I was an IIT graduate in information technology branch.
Q : When did you decide that you will go for MBA?
Abhinay: During my B.Tech, I was more inclined towards management and had lots of responsibilities fulfil and then I figured out that I am good in managing people and also I had cousins who were in prestigious management college through CAT. In my first attempt I scored 97.86 but couldn’t make it so one of my friend from IIM Indore suggested iQuanta and I got in touch with iQuanta and made it to the batch.
Q : What was the feeling when you saw 99.11 percentile in your CAT scorecard?
Abhinay: Honestly, it was unexpected as according to my performance in CAT i was expecting 98 percentile. I told my parents, friends and immediately informed Indrajeet sir about my results and asked about further procedure.
Q : I believe when we prepare, others only want to see the tip of the iceberg but what was your strategy and how many mocks did you take?
Abhinay : In my first attempt I practised through multiple books and solved many booklets but in my second attempt I went through all the videos, lectures, tricks and took many mocks. There was a scheme in iQuanta that anyone who scores good in mocks will get prize money which motivated me for more mocks, later I got the prize money.
Q : How was your experience in iQuanta, how iQuanta helped you in your journey?
Abhinay : iQuanta follows a very rigorous process, it has multiple video lectures, doubt clearing classes, and a sense of competition among all the children from the country. The teaching process of faculty is way easier than anywhere, they clear your doubts immediately, also teach easy possible ways to clear tricky questions and the courses are very affordable.
Q : As having 99.11 percentile must lead you to many interviews. How was your interview experience and what was your strategy? How did you plan things?
Abhinay: I had given two interviews, one is IIM Lucknow and other is FMS. Talking about my first interview experience, it didn’t go well as I was nervous and questions were out of my interest. Hailing from an IT background it was not easy for me to answer the question about thermodynamics. But I took lessons from this interview and worked on myself because the FMS interview was ahead, it went well. I was well prepared to face the situation. The interview for FMS was for 6-7 minutes. My extempore topic was “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”. Though it was completely different from my personality, I tackled the situation and everything went well. I learnt that only confidence and motivation can help anyone in cracking any interview.
Q: What are the challenges that you faced during preparation and how did you overcome them? What are the areas that tricked you?
Abhinay: I had given two attempts. In my first attempt I was not clear with concepts in depth and was stuck between questions but when I joined iQuanta I got familiar with different concepts, ideas, shortcuts, formulas to solve any question directly without wasting much time on any question. I had taken many mocks even after scoring 46 percentile in my mock I didn’t stop there. I gave a mock everyday to maintain my pace and familiarity with every question. Even the day when I sat for the exam I didn’t feel that I was giving any exam. It was like another mock I was giving. iQuanta helped me in my way of tackling questions, I took almost 50-55 mocks. Whenever I felt demotivated I watched the success story of iQuanta and other youtube videos which helped me overcome stress.
Q: What was your experience after joining iQuanta, as ahead what you liked in iQuanta
Abhinay: Being a student of iQuanta, I cannot only talk about one or two reasons. There are multiple things I like in iQuanta. The faculty here helps you in clearing your concepts deeply which will not only help in CAT but MBA also, you will get a good competitive exposure here, students from all over country are participating in mocks where you can actually figure about where you stand in this competition and what are your sections which need more time and help. Faculty solves your problems immediately, they provide long explanatory videos and students who are studying in IIM helps you in clearing your doubts on this platform. So this was a plus point that IIM students are helping you .
Q: What were the things that helped you in motivation and mind relaxation?
Abhinay: After every mock I used to watch web series, movies, listened to songs and sometimes I scroll youtube to watch conceptual videos. Verbal was my weak part so I focused more on that. I made the notebook separately for verbal and mentioned those things which triggered me in mocks, solved them separately, worked on their answer and find out where actually I was doing wrong. I self motivated myself by watching success talks .
Q: What are the tips and suggestion that you would like to suggest others to score good percentile?
Abhinay: I would like to say not only for CAT but for any exam you should listen to your teacher; whatever they say, listen to that, follow that and choose a good mentor because they know best for us. Always stay positive and motivated. With a positive attitude and confidence you can crack any exam with a good score.
