AP ICET 2023 Topper Interview: Thapala Jagadish Kumar Reddy (Rank 1) shares strategies for success

AP ICET 2023 Topper Interview: Thapala Jagadish Kumar Reddy (Rank 1) shares strategies for success

Himanshu ShekharUpdated on 20 Jun 2023, 10:01 AM IST

Andhra Pradesh Integrated Common Entrance Test (AP ICET) is a state-level MBA and MCA entrance test conducted every year for admission to colleges in Andhra Pradesh. A big congratulations to Jagadish who has performed exceptionally well in this entrance test and wants to bag a seat at Andhra University for his further higher studies.

AP ICET 2023 Topper Interview: Thapala Jagadish Kumar Reddy (Rank 1) shares strategies for success
AP ICET 2023 Topper Interview: Thapala Jagadish Kumar Reddy (Rank 1) shares strategies for success

Jagadish has done electrical and electronic engineering with an 80 percent score whereafter, he developed an interest in banking and finance and now wants to pursue MBA in Banking and finance only. Apart from AP ICET, Jagadish also appeared for CAT 2022 and secured 90 percentile. By joining the MBA course, Jagadish wants to inculcate the qualities of a chairman or CEO of PSUs Or SCB bank. In this interview with Careers360, Jagadish shares his journey, right from preparation to securing Rank 1 in the AP ICET entrance test.

Careers360: Congratulations on achieving such an outstanding score and rank in AP ICET! Could you please share your preparation strategy and techniques that helped you secure this remarkable result?

Jagadish: My strategy: I first familiarise myself with the AP ICET syllabus after that I have gone through the previous year's AP ICET question papers. Doing all the syllabus-related problems and memorizing English vocabulary such as antonyms, idioms and phrases etc, helped me to score good marks.

Careers360: Tell us about your academic background. What were your grades? What motivated you to pursue MBA?

Jagadish: I did Electrical and Electronic engineering.I have scored > 95 percent in school and intermediate. I have scored > 80 percent in my engineering. While preparing for IBPS PO I gained interest in Banking and finance. To achieve more knowledge in it I decided to pursue MBA in banking and finance.

Careers360: What other MBA entrance exams did you take? Your percentile or score in these exams?

Jagadish: Last year I secured 90 percentile in CAT. This year I am going to reappear it.

Careers360: How and when did you start, and for how much time you used to study in a day? Can you share your preparation timetable, study plan, and strategies

Jagadish: I start my day at 6 and end at 9 pm. 8 hours time I have given for my preparation. In the morning I read formulas and practice shortcuts. In the evening before ending the reading I read the vocabulary of English.

Careers360: What do you say are the important topics and books for AP ICET preparation? (If possible list the topics from every section that cannot be skipped)

Jagadish: Important topics for scoring in Icet are doing good in Maths and English. In reasoning, decision-making questions cannot be skipped.

Careers360: Did you join any coaching classes? What other resources did you find most helpful during your preparation? (e.g., books, online platforms, mock tests)

Jagadish: For APICET I haven’t joined any coaching center. Previous years' papers and maths formula books are a must for preparation.

Careers360: What's your take on mock tests? What kind of mock tests did you take, and how helpful were they? When did you start taking mock tests?

Jagadish: I haven’t taken any mocks.

Careers360: What challenges did you face during your preparation for AP ICET, and how did you overcome them?

Jagadish: Since the paper of Icet becomes easier year by year, I haven’t encountered any hurdles in preparation.

Careers360: Are there any specific subjects or sections of the MBA entrance exam that you found particularly challenging? How did you approach them during your preparation, and what advice would you give to other students struggling with those areas?

Jagadish: Reasoning of the CAT exam is particularly difficult one should practice more thoroughly to get logic correct. More practice and mocks are necessary to overcome it.

Careers360: What was your exam-taking strategy? How much time did you take to complete a section? Were there any specific topics or sections that you found challenging during the exam? Any tips for managing time in the exam, like how much time to be given to which section?

Jagadish: My first go-to section in AP ICET was maths then reasoning after that English. I have given less time to English as it is easy to give answers to those questions. At least you need to give 1 minute to reasoning and maths, and complete English in the remaining time.

Careers360: The AP ICET exam is known for its speed and time management requirements. How did you develop your speed and accuracy in answering questions within the given time limit?

Jagadish: Due to the short tricks I learned for maths and reasoning, memorizing the vocabulary of English made me feel less pressurized in exams. Due to this, I am able to utilize my time limit effectively.

Careers360: With such an impressive score, you must have various options available for pursuing an MBA. Which colleges or institutes are you considering for your MBA, and what factors are you considering while making your decision?

Jagadish: My dream is to achieve MBA in banking and finance from an IIM. If I need to join AP ICET I would prefer Andhra University.

Careers360: How are you preparing for AP ICET counselling? Are there any specific traits or skills one should focus on showcasing during the selection rounds?

Jagadish: There are no other selection rounds in ICET. Only examination scores and ranks are used to allocate seats.

Careers360: With such an impressive score, you must have various options available for pursuing an MBA. Which colleges or institutes are you considering for your MBA, and what factors are you taking into account while making your decision?

Jagadish: My dream is to achieve MBA in banking and finance from an IIM. If I need to join in ICET I would prefer Andhra University.

Careers360: Many MBA aspirants dream of cracking exams like AP ICET, CAT, XAT, etc., and getting into top b-schools. What advice would you give to them?

Jagadish: Preparation is the first step to all those exams. Next is proper guidance and logical tricks used to solve questions. If these two are followed properly then you will succeed in any exam.

Careers360: Which MBA specialization are you planning to take up and why?

Jagadish: Banking and Finance.

Careers360: What are your expectations from the MBA course and the college you are planning to join?

Jagadish: My expectation is I should get the qualities and concepts that can make a chairman/CEO of any PSU or SCB bank.

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Questions related to APICET

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to APICET ?

Hi,

With a general rank of 13,964 and a local rank of 1,529 in bc-d category in au region, your chances of getting a seat in main campus universities like krishna university, acharya nagarjuna university, or adikavi nannaya university depend on the course demand. in 2nd counseling, seats sometimes open up in less-demanded specializations (like certain mba/mca branches), but popular courses may close earlier. i’d recommend filling as many preferred options as possible and also considering affiliated colleges to maximize your chance.

counseling info: https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/ap-icet-2025

Thanks for asking and good luck in the next round.


Hello,

If your degree college Transfer Certificate (TC) has a clerical mistake in the caste category that the principal manually corrected, with the correction properly signed and stamped, it is usually deemed acceptable for the APICET counselling process, as long as there is no discrepancy between the caste listed on your official caste certificate and what appears on the TC.

Nonetheless, as counseling authorities frequently favor documents that are pristine and devoid of errors, it is highly advised that you have an affidavit detailing the clerical mistake and the rectification done, in addition to your original caste certificate provided by a qualified authority.

Moreover, if feasible, ask your degree college to provide a new corrected TC to prevent any avoidable issues during document verification. Acting in this manner will guarantee a seamless counselling process and reduce the likelihood of document denial.

Hope this helps. All the best!

Dear candidate ,
The AP ICET 2025 counselling is scheduled to begin in the first week of July 2025 .

With your AP ICET rank of 5861, you fall within the 3001 to 10000 rank range, which generally aligns with Tier D level colleges for free seat admissions in Andhra Pradesh. Based on previous cutoffs and trends, here are ten MBA colleges where you have a good chance of getting a free seat during the July counselling:

Andhra University College of Arts and Commerce Visakhapatnam
Sri Krishnadevaraya University Anantapur
JNTU School of Management Studies Self Finance Kakinada
Nimra College of Engineering and Technology Jupudi
SVU College of Commerce Sri Venkateswara University
JNTU College of Engineering Self Finance Vizianagaram
SD College of Information Technology Tanuku
Aditya Degree College for Women Rajahmundry
RVR and JC College of Engineering Guntur
Rajiv Gandhi Degree and PG College Rajahmundry

Hello aspirant,

Here is the list of some colleges to expect with your rank,

  1. Dr. Lankapalli Bullaya College
  2. Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali
  3. Shri Venkateshwara College of Engineering
  4. Andhra Loyola College
  5. St. Ann's College of Engineering and Technology, Prakasham
  6. SVR Engineering College
  7. Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology

For better prediction, use careers360 college predictor,

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/ap-icet-rank-wise-college-list

I hope this helps you.

Regards