This is how a non-engineer scored 97+ percentile in Quant without any coaching -By Ria Chaudhary from GIM Goa

This isn't just a journey of an MBA aspirant to an IIM, as I am not going there. It is about learning, learning that you all can have from my slips during CAT. So here is an anecdote of my CAT preparation journey, how I scored 97+ percentile in Quant being a Sociology student and some of my major learnings that can be helpful to many of you out there.

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Should I tell my parents? or Should I check it myself first?

So many thoughts ran through my mind, causing an uncomfortable feeling. Vanishing all into thin air, I opened the link, typed the ‘keywords’, and kept staring at the screen. While counting the numbers that took for results to appear, my eyes were busy tracing the circular movements. (I reached till a count of 50) 

Not a good number when you are on the verge of a panic attack!

Here it is. ‘91.78 percentile’ Not an extraordinary score, yet good enough. But what leaped me out of my skin was the quant section.

I couldn't believe my Quant percentile. It was 97.32. Yes, 97+ percentile. It was like a dream come true. For the first time in my life, Mathematics didn’t ditch me at the crucial point. I remember screwing up my 10 board and 12 board exams because I got panicked after a few calculation mistakes.

But NOT this time. I prepared, I prepared a lot. Thus minimising the chances of any mistakes. Now, what next?

Having no B-school friends and connections, no coaching classes, I was stuck up with these questions for days:

'Where to apply', 'Which all colleges can accept admission at 91.xx percentile?’

Google and other sources came up with the list of baby IIMS and other tier-2 colleges. I became so excited just looking at the tag of IIM. But I didn’t know the worst nightmare of my CAT journey was waiting for me.

‘SECTIONAL CUTOFF’

I was speechless. I didn’t know how to express that regret or stupidity of not knowing anything about the sectional cutoff. Having failed to clear the LRDI cutoff for prestigious B-schools, I had to make peace with the options left. 

Well, do you know…?

This journey is precious to me as it made me believe that handwork always pays off, and at the same time has taught me lessons of life. How a small stupid mistake can cost you something really important.

What can you all l learn from my journey?

1. For those who think that without coaching you can’t crack CAT, you are undeniably wrong. I didn’t read any books. I just made a list of all formulas and concepts from different sources. And watched the Bharat Sharma’s Unacademy channel and that too free one. I didn't spend a single penny. It doesn’t mean you shouldn't. I was short on time, as I started preparing after my UPSC result. I failed to clear the prelims. It took me a month to analyse my strength and weakness before settling for CAT preparation. If you have time, do refer to different good resources. But a piece of advice. Multiple revisions from a single good source (covering all the topics) is more than sufficient.
2. Be well versed with CAT exam the pattern and different eligibility criteria. I am sure most of you have already selected your dream college. But those who are still struggling to decide one, stop thinking. Just set a benchmark and work towards that. And never fail to get advice from seniors.
3. Never lose hope and get demotivated with little setbacks. I worked hard in the Quant section. There were times when I thought I wouldn't be able to solve 'this or that' type of question. At those times, I just practiced questions, which were giving me a headache, by looking at the answers. Then I did some similar types of questions without looking at answers. And I achieved what I wanted to. You all can too. Consistency will definitely take you to new heights. All you need to do is practice. And that is how I score 97+ percentile in the Quant section. 
4. You all must be thinking about what happened to my Verbal section. I was quite satisfied with the result. I am an avid reader so never struggled with RCs, but I had to pay extra attention to the jumbled paragraph. 

All and all, it was a great journey with its own positives and negatives. I hope these points will serve you a purpose, Good Luck for your CAT examination!