Many MBA aspirants have started their preparations for the CAT 2011. This is the right time to start preparing for the big exam, which is usually held in the end months every year.

To help all the CAT 2011 aspirants prepare in the right direction is bringing to you interviews with CAT 2010 100 percentilers. In these interviews the toppers share their preparation and exam taking strategy.

There were total of eight 100 percentilers in CAT 2010. We have already brought to you the interviews with Gaurav Malpani and Deepak Mehta. Today we bring to you the interview with Vidit Agarwal, another proud CAT 2010 100 percentiler. Read further to know about Vidit’s preparation plan and exam taking strategy:

Vidit did his graduation in Civil Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra in 2009. He worked for Gammon India Ltd and at present is working for Sargam Group of Industries.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: You have scored a whopping 100 percentile in CAT 2010. Did you expect to top the exam during your preparation or while taking the test? How does it feel?
A: Actually, CAT is such an enigmatic exam that there is always an uncertainty about your performance, no matter how good your exam went. So, in a way though I was expecting some very good percentile, but getting a 100 was something totally unexpected, yet delightful. No doubt, after the long hard work, such a wonderful result does bring tremendous joy to me, but the task at hand is yet to be completed and I have saved my celebrations for the final selections.     

Q: Which are the institutes you have received GD & PI calls from? Which is your dream B-School that you would like to join?
A: Up to this point I have got calls from IIMs at Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Lucknow, Ranchi and also from other renowned B-schools in India like MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai and SIBM Pune. Right now my immediate aim is to convert as many calls as possible into final selection. After that I would decide which B-School to join depending upon my preferences and requirements.

Q: How did you prepare for CAT 2010 exam? Share your strategy in detail.
A: I started my preparations in May 2010. I was comfortable with Quant and DI section, hence I was able to quickly cover the basics of these subjects initially and then I selectively focused on verbal section, which was my weaker area.

I made the most of my weekend and tried to extract at least 4-5 hrs during rest of the week. Apart from all this I took the test series very seriously and made sure that I kept checking the weaker areas in mocks and then worked on them subsequently.

This way I was able to eradicate my weak points systematically one by one. I had booked a morning slot for taking CAT 2010 and tried to give the final mocks as far as possible in the morning session only.

Q: How was your experience while taking the CAT 2010 exam?
A: Of course, there was a certain level of anxiety as the exam date approached nearer. To counter it I decided to relax on the day before exam. I did it for the first time in life and it really helped.

On the day of exam all the process of registering and identification went very smooth. During the exam I was fortunate enough to get some easy questions in the beginning itself and that eased me a lot. As a result I approached the following questions in a much more confident manner.

Q: What strategy have you planned for cracking the GD & PI rounds? How are you preparing for it?
A: For GD rounds, right now I am focusing on further improving my knowledge base and doing more and more practice to fine tune my preparation. For the PI round, I would try to be more myself while staying away from clichés'.

Q: What would you like to suggest the candidates who are going to take CAT 2011?
A: Though gaining concepts and practicing them well is prerequisite to crack any exam, but still some unidentified weak areas remain. It is here that a test series comes into play.

An honest evaluation of mistakes done in mocks and working upon these loopholes can make a serious difference in your final score in CAT exam.

Don't be bothered much with initial mock percentiles. Keep working and one will surely improve to his delight. Read whatever interests you and read a lot. It will not only come in handy during CAT but also while you would be preparing for subsequent rounds. But ultimately one has to figure out his own way of preparing so do listen to all advice around but follow what suits you best and stick to it.

Q: Any other information you would like to share with the CAT 2011 aspirants?
A: CAT syllabus is such that one gets familiar with all concepts very quickly. It is here that one should avoid getting complacent and keep the momentum going.

Even if one has to grasp over most of the material, keeping in regular touch through practice and mocks would be a great time saver in final days of preparation.

If not taken care of, with time one begins to lose grasp over subject and frantic last minute relearning only worsens the case. This very same thing happened to me last year and hence I made it a point not to repeat the same mistake again.