How Madhu Kumari Got 99 Percentile In CAT & Converted 20 IIMs, FMS Delhi!

Taking CAT and getting into top IIMs always feels like a struggle for commerce graduates, and more so if you are a fresher. There seems to be a fear, all the time, of competing with so many engineer test takers. And if you also think so, think again. This is the preparation journey of a commerce fresher, Madhu Kumari, to IIM Ahmedabad, who scored 99.16 percentile in CAT 2020.

My inclination for QA

For me, CAT = Concepts + Testing, where Concepts = Syllabus, and Testing = Strategy + Selection + Shortcuts

Although I did not have Mathematics in Class 12th, I liked QA. I scored 98.15 percentile in this section. I attended all the classes religiously and solved the exercises related to the concepts so that I could understand them properly. But the problem arrived during the mocks when I was not able to solve a sufficient number of questions because of time constraints. So, I started practicing questions without pen and paper to develop mind calculations. I started spending more time on questions to find out other ways of doing them, to find out how to plug options, and to solve without actually solving the question. 

Expert Tips:

Put aside your ego, do not stick to a question during mock tests, and move to the next question.

You should not only attempt a question because you know how to do it, but also estimate how much time it will take, and then take the final decision.

My struggle with VARC

The verbal ability section was a great struggle for me, not being a fond reader and with poor vocabulary. I had not read a single novel before my CAT preparation, and my vocabulary was extremely poor. Thus, I was not able to comprehend RCs. So, I decided to become comfortable with English first and hence started reading easy language novels like ‘Who moved my cheese’, short stories, etc. After reading over 10 novels, I was able to solve RCs better than before.

Also Read: An Engineer’s guide to prepare for VARC -By Rohit Singh, 99.56 percentile, MDI Gurgaon

Improving Vocabulary

Further, vocabulary posed a hurdle. So, I downloaded a list of high-frequency words and started writing words-meaning sentences in a notebook. I used to frame sentences by taking help from google. In a month, I learned around 300 words. Now, I was able to solve RCs.

Increasing Reading Speed

Even still, I was not able to solve more than 2 RCs, in mock tests, when I started reading Aeon articles (idea section) on a laptop with a timer to increase my reading speed. I also started forming background knowledge by reading about RC topics that I had solved (because if you don’t know who Socrates is and the whole passage is about Socrates, you might not understand it properly). At this point, I was able to solve sufficient questions. 

Eliminating Answer Options

But again, as there always is scope for improvement, I realized that I was facing a problem in option elimination. So I started with Critical Reasoning exercises and tried to use them for option elimination, which did help me a great deal. In CAT, I could score 96.08 percentile in VARC (my weakest section). I had attempted 13 questions out of which 12 were correct (for me, the highest accuracy in VARC ).

My love-fear relationship with DILR

I used to give a genuine attempt at a set before looking at the answer as solving a DILR set was always fun. But this section was so lopsided that I either scored very high or very low. So, I developed a fear of scoring very low due to DILR. But what helped me was the selection. I got to know that there will always be easy and medium questions, and my job is to find them. Solving different types of sets and finding the best approach for each type of set also helped. In this section, the more variety of sets one solves, the more will be the probability of encountering the same type of set. I scored 98.41 percentile in this section.

Mocks are essential

Mock is a tool to improve yourself and I believe it to be the most important part of preparation. Before every mock, I used to prepare one topic and wrote my strategy for each section. I used to sit peacefully, besides repeating my strategy in mind, for 5 minutes before the test so that I remained calm. 

Analyze Well

After every mock, while analyzing, I used to write my mistakes. I always analyzed my mocks within 2 days of taking the test. My rationale was that the more mistakes I make, the more aware I will be of that mistake and the more will be probability of not repeating it.

Experimenting at Mocks

I have always tried to experiment with my mocks and have made a lot of mistakes. I used to get very low marks in my mocks due to experimenting with different strategies but it is crucial as selection and strategy can take you up or take you down. 

Getting through the interview

I had divided my interview preparation into certain areas- HR questions, everything related to me and my background, current affairs and GK, and Academics.

HR & Personal Questions

I started with writing all the relevant stories of my life and all the things that I had done till then. I wrote answers to all basic HR questions and stories related to them. To prepare myself, I started with the meaning of my name, the story behind my name, the place where I live, my extracurricular activities, and anything one can think of.

Academic Questions

For academics-related questions, brushing up on basic concepts will work. Learning about some hot topics or current affairs related to your academics is important, like as I was a commerce student, knowing disinvestment, PLI, etc. was a must, as these were in the news.

Current Affairs & GK

For current affairs, reading major news and forming an opinion about the same is important. I used to pick a hot topic and write its pros and cons and after analyzing both, I used to form my opinion. Understanding the positive and negative aspects of the budget is also important. For General Knowledge, I prepared basic things like things related to my state, my place, my father's job, my extracurricular activities, India, etc.

Keeping calm is the key

Just before CAT, I scored low in a mock test but I still kept calm. I suggest you also remain calm because it will bear results, later or sooner.  A month before D-Day, I used to relax a lot. I used to meditate for 15 minutes. On D-Day, I meditated and ate chocolates (my love) in order to feel good. I had also finalized the strategy for each section but also that I will be flexible. And indeed, the paper was tougher than expected and my strategy failed, but my flexibility and calmness helped me.

Consistency is important

In this whole journey, consistency was the most important thing. You will struggle in some sections or topics but you have to conquer them. You will struggle to finalize your strategy but you have to finalize it. You will detest giving a mock at a certain point in time, but you have to take it. You will feel demotivated with low marks but you have to improve it. After the CAT, you have to write an SOP, you have to prepare for interviews. So, take a break whenever you feel like it, but never stop.

For more interesting stories, read:

1. “My 3 years journey of 3 attempts, and from getting 0 IIM Calls to converting 10 colleges” - Ashwini Rahangdale from IIM Calcutta
2. Did not make it to IIMs? Don’t worry, it is not the end!
3. 12 management exams, a gap year, and KJ Somaiya - MBA journey of Yuvraj Joshi
4. From acing CAT with 99.48 percentile to securing admission into 6 renowned MBA colleges
5. From being clueless about MBA to getting 99% in CAT, XAT and IIFT- By Shivansh Mishra From XLRI, Jamshedpur