How Did IIT Bombay Student Yash Mandhana Get 99.99 Percentile in CAT in First Attempt

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CAT 2021 topper credits success to mock tests and said, analyzing the paper and categorising mistakes and working on them helped him crack the exam in the first attempt

Yash Mandhna, a Pune native cracked CAT 2021 in first attempt
Yash Mandhna, a Pune native cracked CAT 2021 in first attempt

Yash Mandhana, a final year engineering student at IIT Bombay, has scored 99.99 percentile in CAT 2021. For the 22-year-old who has cleared the exam in his first attempt CAT was not a tough nut to crack.

Yash dedicated around two hours a day towards CAT preparations. Mandhana said that having cleared JEE Mains, Advanced, and other competitive exams came in handy for CAT. “I have given several olympiads, and other engineering competitive exams in the past and because of which the CAT preparation did not look very difficult to me."

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    The native from Pune, Maharashtra, who took test series from T.I.M.E and Career Launch said his CAT preparation was different than other entrances. Talking about his everyday preparation schedule, he said that during his preparation he gave his most time to mock tests.

    “Some days I completely gave my two hours to solve the mock test, other days I divided the time. For one hour I would solve the paper and for the rest, I would analyse my mock tests," said the topper.

    He added, “After solving any mock test I would not just leave it and go to another one. I use to make sure to analyze my paper to see where I have made mistakes. I would categories those mistakes like if they are silly mistakes, or calculation error or bound to happen then I would work on them."

    Talking about his daily schedule he said, “I did not have a fixed timetable as I had other engagements including my classes and finishing other assignments, but every day I set up a target for myself which I had to compete by the day and it worked."

    His methodology was to develop a knack to approach a problem. “Before starting a question one has to first analyse the question and think how to go for it. A candidate also needs to analyze their strong sections and go for the first," he said.

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    Yash who loves exercising and watching the formula 1 race says, during your preparation time do not miss out on your hobbies. “First you should not leave your hobbies or not give yourself time, as that is the only way to refresh your mind. Otherwise at some point that mental fatigue will creep in and your performance across all quarters will drop."

    He added that those who are going to give the CAT should just be consistent, and perseverant. “And even if you score badly in some of your mock tests take it with a pinch of salt and never leave the practice," he said.

    Calling his family his backbone and strong support for the last six months during his preparation, Yash said that his family is elated after the results. “The result came out at the start of the new year so it’s a nice feeling that the start of the year has been good for my family and me."

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      Yash’s father is a chemical engineer while his mother is a homemaker. Yash who is aiming for IIM Ahmadabad, or Bangalore, or Calcutta, is now preparing for his GD. He says he is still figuring out a way to preparer for the next rounds.

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