CAT 2021 Topper Prakhar Sinha scored 99.1 percentile. Prakhar had completed his graduation in 2021 from BITS, Pilani in the branch of Mechanical Engineering. He had 8 months of experience working as an Associate Product Manager in Collegedunia when he appeared for CAT. Now, having received admission offers from IIM- Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Lucknow, and Calcutta, he is currently awaiting final shortlist from IIMs and other top Management Colleges like XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon. In an exclusive interview, Prakhar shared his admission journey from CAT 2022 result declaration to appearing for PI Rounds at IIMs.

Interview of Prakhar Sinha: Scored 99.1 Percentile in CAT

Ques. Please tell us something about yourself? Your educational qualification, field, and work experience (if any).

Ans. I am from Ahmedabad. However, I currently reside in Gurgaon. I had completed my B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani in 2021. I have 8 months of work experience as an Associate Product Manager in Collegedunia.

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Ques. What was your CAT Overall score and section-wise score in the exam?

Ans. My CAT 2021 Overall score was 99.1 percentile and the sectional score was:

• VARC- 99.55 percentile
• DILR- 99.86 percentile
• QA- 98.78 percentile

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Ques. Did you appear for any other MBA exams in 2021? If yes, how much did you score in the exams?

Ans. Yes, I had appeared in XAT as well as IIFT. In XAT, I had scored an overall score of 99.87 percentile and in IIFT, I had scored an overall score of 99.86 percentile.

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Ques. How many admission offers have you received till now? Was the admission offers from institutes that you were expecting from?

Ans. Results are expected between 4h week of April to the 3rd week of May, So I have not received any final admissions offers till now. I am expecting admission offers from IIM- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kolkata, Indore, XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, and IIFT Delhi.

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Ques. From which IIMs did you get a call? When was your interview conducted?

Ans. I got calls from IIMs within the 1st week of February. I have received calls from IIM Ahemdabad, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kolkata, and Indore. Interviews were conducted on:

• IIM Ahmedabad- February 20, 2022
• IIM Kozhikode- February 23, 2022
• IIM Lucknow- March 21, 2022
• IIM Calcutta- March 24, 2022
• IIM Indore- March 24, 2022

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Ques. Do you have prior work experience? If yes, what was your field of work experience, and was it beneficial in the admission process ?

Ans. Yes, I have been working as an Associate Product Manager at Collegedunia for the last 8 months. In Personal Interviews, several companies asked me questions pertaining to the company and my role in the organization. I think the panelists considered my work experience important criteria in accepting me in the management program and it definitely helped to tilt the tips in my favor.

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Ques. How did you prepare for the Personal Interview Rounds?

Ans. I kept myself up to date with the latest happenings around the world. I read newspapers daily and ensured that I was aware of the current affairs by referring to online sources as well. For the General Knowledge Section, I prepared questions on my own. Before the Personal Interview, I also revised important topics from subjects in my graduation and ensured that I was well versed in my job role, company, and the industry. I also gathered information about the places where I was brought up and currently reside in Ahmedabad and Gurgaon.

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Ques. How was your Interview experience at IIMs as well as Non-IIMs and what type of questions were asked by the panelists?

Ans. The questions asked by the panelists ranged from anything to everything. I was asked questions about my graduation subjects, work experience, job role and profile, the company I am working for, city and state I grew up in, my hobbies as well as the domain I wish to opt for in B-School. There were also questions related to current affairs, general knowledge and awareness, abstract topics, mathematics, etc.

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Ques. What are some interview tips that you would like to give candidates who are aspiring to appear in CAT?

Ans. I think the most important thing that candidates should remember is to remain calm. I know it is easier said than done however staying calm will certainly help you. There will be difficult questions and some questions will be designed to test your patience. But you should remain calm at all times and answer the questions in a confident and polite manner.

Must Read:

• How to Prepare for WAT in IIMs?
• How to Prepare for PI in IIMs?

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Ques. Did you experience anything unexpected during the admission process in terms of the questions asked?

Ans. A question that I was asked during the MDI Gurgaon was to name the highest peak from the options which included Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Mount Leibnitz. Ideally, any candidate would have answered Mount Everest. However, it was a trick question since they had not asked about the highest peak on Earth. Mount Leibnitz is a mountain on the moon and it is higher than Mount Everest. This question was asked to ascertain If I would make assumptions before answering the question or if I would think in a broader scope.

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Ques. How is it waiting for the final result after the PI Round? Did you connect with any current students at B-School?

Ans. The wait is certainly agonizing. I connected with some friends of mine who were studying at the respective institutes in order to gain insights about the admissions process and other do’s and don'ts I needed to be aware of.

Quick Links:

• CAT Score vs Percentile
• CAT Cut off & Selection Process for IITs
• CAT IIMs Selection Process

Scoring 90+ in CAT is only the first step in getting admission to MBA/ PGDM courses at IIMs. What also matters in securing a seat in IIMs is your performance in the GD-PI/ WAT rounds, past academic performance, and how well you present yourself.