Prakrut Chauhan Profile

• Graduation College: Nirma University
• Programme: BTech - Computer Science
• Year of Graduation: 2020
• CAT Percentile: 99.89

When and why did you think of appearing for CAT?

Prakrut Chauhan: Given the uncertainty associated with the UPSC exam, MBA was my Plan B. The reason for this is that just like civil services, a post MBA corporate career also allows you a diverse job profile, opportunity to work at scale and create a direct impact on society.

Given my gap years, it would be difficult to directly get good job opportunities. Hence an MBA from a top institute would significantly enhance my career prospects, and acing the CAT was the first step for it.

Did you join any coaching institute ? If yes, which one and why ? If not - Why did you go for self preparation?

Prakrut Chauhan: No I did not take any coaching in any form.

UPSC consists of a CSAT paper which includes Reading Comprehensions, Quant, and Logical Reasoning. As I was able to do well in CSAT without any extra preparation, it gave me the confidence to write CAT too without any coaching. In fact, I wrote CAT without any exclusive preparation for it. My score is an outcome of my verbal and quant abilities that have been developed over the years.

What was your preparation strategy for Verbal?

Prakrut Chauhan: I did not struggle with Verbal and I believe this is due to my interest in reading. Additionally, as a part of my UPSC preparation, I had a habit of thoroughly reading The Hindu newspaper. It improved both my vocabulary and reading speed. Also, reading wide range of articles from economics to science & technology; helped my ability to comprehend text from different sources. I found the elimination strategy quite useful for this section.

What was your preparation strategy for DI and LR?

Prakrut Chauhan: Selecting the right set of questions is most important in DILR. It is essential to first quickly go through all the sets and identify the ones that are most doable according to you. Once you choose the sets, one must patiently solve the set. Lack of patience and focus will affect both speed and accuracy. I find the on-screen calculator to be useful as it helps with accuracy.

What was your preparation strategy for Quant?

Prakrut Chauhan: I have been decent in quant. I am particularly comfortable with arithmetic word problems. So while solving this section, I first focused on the topics I was comfortable with. Just like DILR, selecting the right set of questions is greatly beneficial. I left out questions that were lengthy or would require elaborate calculations.

How were the last few days before the exam?

Prakrut Chauhan: UPSC preparation kept my busy before CAT so I was not anxious about the exam. My general advice is that irrespective of the level of your preparation, one must always be confident 3-4 days before any competitive exam. Under confidence leads to nervousness which negatively affects you while attempting the exam. Always enter the exam room with a positive mindset.

Which mocks helped you crack CAT?

Prakrut Chauhan: Honestly, I did not write any mocks as I couldn't spare extra time from my UPSC preparation. However, I strongly recommend that writing mocks in exam conditions and same time slot helps greatly on exam day. One must also analyse the mistakes. Every mistake made in mock tests means one less mistake in the actual exam.

One mistake which you think you should not have made (During the exam or during the preparation phase)?

Prakrut Chauhan: Spending disproportionate time on any question should be avoided. I wasted too much time on one quant question that I thought I should be able to solve but couldn't.

Please recreate the moment for us when you first saw your result?

Prakrut Chauhan: I was at my home and I first informed my mother who was overjoyed to see the result. I too was delighted to see that the CAT result was slightly higher than what had been predicted by most percentile predictors.

What next? Which colleges are you targeting based on your profile and percentile ? And how do you plan to clear the GD PI?

Prakrut Chauhan: IIM A/B/C/L/I/K

My main focus would be explaining the switch from UPSC to MBA and justifying the gap years.

What are your long term goals and how do you think getting into your dream college will help you achieve that?

Prakrut Chauhan: My goal is to work in Public and Social Sector Consulting. Getting into the top tier college will enable me to learn and connect with like-minded individuals and improve my knowledge and skills.

What should be an ideal 6 months strategy to prepare for CAT?

Prakrut Chauhan: Consistency is the key. Practice everyday and you will surely improve. For UPSC I have daily, weekly and monthly targets, I would recommend the same for CAT as well.