CAT 2018 topper Rounak MajumdarRounak Majumdar, a 22-year-old from Thane, has topped the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2018 with a 100 percentile score. A voracious reader with a love for science fiction, Majumdar is currently working in the Delhi NCR office of an America-based international financial firm. He balanced work and academics by dedicating 2 to 3 hours a day to CAT.
“My entire preparation was based on taking mock tests. I attempted two mock tests every week and around 40 mock tests in a year. I used to do practice tests on the weekends and analyse my results during the week. Analysing mock tests are more important than actually appearing for them; it helped me understand my shortfalls and device a test strategy,” Majumdar told indianexpress.com.
“The aim was to practice as many tests that can get me familiarised with the pattern but not as many that I feel burned out,” he added.
Majumdar believes that CAT is a test of aptitude, intelligence and application of knowledge and not memorising content. “Time management is the key. One should approach the easy questions first and maintain accuracy while gaining speed,” he said, adding that this is what worked for him.
CAT Result 2018 LIVE | 11 candidates score 100 percentile
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Majumdar said that his basics were clear and thus he did not need any coaching. “I was in the second year of my mechanical engineering at IIT-Kanpur when I started developing a liking towards strategy and consulting courses. I used to participate in courses run by the management department. I realised that I could provide more value in this field than mechanical engineering,” he said.
Moving back to academia after working for nearly a year was one of his toughest choices, but Majumdar says his family was extremely supportive. He has applied for IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow and Kozhikode and is aiming for IIM-A, B and C. “While the IIMs provide basic courses, I also want to specialise in finance. I like to keep track of news and am good at mathematics too. Finance is an amalgamation of the two. Finance is a reflection of everything that is happening in and around the world, thus it interests me the most,” he said.
Over 2.4 lakh candidates had registered for the entrance exam to premier B-schools and 11 students including Rounak have scored 100 percentile.
