In an exclusive CAT topper interview with Careers360, Pushti Shah who is currently studying MBA from IIFT Delhi shared her strategy to crack CAT and about her life at IIFT. She scored 98.38%ile in CAT 22 and 99.87%ile in MAH MBA CET. She talked about her CAT preparation journey, CAT mock test strategy, IIM CAP interview experience, and profile building. This article offers excerpts from the interview. Watch the complete conversation by clicking the YouTube link given below.
Careers360 - Tell us a little bit about yourself and your profile?
Pushti - I am a BSc Biotechnology graduate from Mithibai College in Mumbai,presently I am pursuing MBA from IIFT Delhi. I was a science student in 10th and 12th standard.
Check out | All About IIFT
Careers360 - Why you decided to pursue MBA?
Pushti - During the second year of my college, the lockdown set in and we were confined to our homes.I had always been a stationary and an art nerd. So I got out all my sketchbooks.I decided to stitch a journal on my own.Eventually I started selling journaling stationery.The word spread in our closer circles and orders started pouring in. I thought that this was a good business opportunity and eventually I decided to scale up by importing journaling supplies from the Philippines and Malaysia.I started conducting workshops online. And during the course of that, I realised that business is something that I was really interested in.So I decided to pursue MBA.
Also Read | MBA after BSc
Careers360 - Apart from CAT, what other MBA entrance exams did you give?
Pushti - So the first exam that I decided to take was NMAT. I took it two weeks prior to CAT. CAT for me was one of my most important exams.So on the 13th of November, I took my NMAT. My score in NMAT was 237, and I did convert the call for NMIMS Mumbai. But eventually, when I got calls from other colleges, I decided to switch over.Apart from these I also gave IIFT, XAT and MAH MBA CET.
Check out | Crack CAT in 6 months
Careers360 - When did you start your CAT preparation?
Pushti - I had roughly four to five months of preparation before I sat for my first entrance test.My goal was to finish the CAT Syllabus as soon as possible. In the first two to three months of my preparation journey, I solely focused on ensuring that my basics were strong. There was no particular strategy that I had in mind, except for one thing that is start taking walks from day one. So I had enrolled for offline coaching at IMS since a couple of subjects were new to me and I would require help, especially since time was not really on my side.
Careers360 - When did you start giving CAT Mocks?
Pushti - I started taking the CAT mocks from day one. I remember the first mock that I took, I had around 30 to 40 percentile overall, because I hardly knew that was the first time I was seeing a DILR question. But the key was to not get demotivated, just keep at it. One mock a week since the start of my preparation journey, I think that made a world of difference.
Check out | Practice CAT Mocks for free
Careers360 - Would you recommend any books for CAT Preparation?
Pushti - More than the books I think CAT past year's question papers.I must have taken 21 to 22 mocks and past year question papers up till 2016 or 2017.Past year's question papers are a great resource to tell you the level of difficulty of the questions that you can expect in actual CAT Exam.
Check out preparation resources for NMAT and CAT 2024
Careers360 - Why IIFT over other B-schools?
Pushti - Trade always fascinated me. Now that you think about a globalised world, there is no such thing as a domestic business. Every startup is looking to be a unicorn, be transnational, and be global. So it really blurs those lines. IIFT offers a pedagogy which is more focused on trade and international business.So, I preferred IIFT over any other college.
Check out | Top MBA Colleges in India
Careers360 - What are some of the mistakes that one should avoid during CAT 24 preparation?
Pushti - One mistake I think all aspirants are prone to is that the closer the exam gets, the more frantic you get. You have to keep faith in yourself and strengthen all the concepts that you have already done.
Full version of CAT Topper’s Interview: Pushti from IIFT Delhi shares her tips and tricks to crack CAT 24
Check out this video to watch the complete conversation.
Also, Check out -
On Question asked by student community
Hi there,
The minimum eligibility criteria for a general candidate to receive a call from IIM Sambalpur are as follows:
VARC: 65%ile
QUANTS: 65%ile
LRDI: 65%ile
Overall: 90%tile
Keep practising and aim to improve your score. You can also focus on other management exams where you may secure a strong
Hi there,
With a B.tech in industrial engineering from IIT Roorkee and a CAT 2025 score of 98.89 percentile and strong sectionals your profile is solid for top B-schools. For the top IIMs like Ahmedabad and Bangalore, calls for engineers usually go to candidates with near perfect percentiles. Your score
Hello,
The IIT Guwahati cutoff for SC and EWS categories depends on the branch, year, and JoSAA counselling round, but you can get a general idea from recent trends.
For the SC category, closing ranks usually range from 4,000 to 9,000 for popular branches like CSE, ECE, and Mechanical, while
with this percentile, you can get into tier 2 or tier 3 college, the list of the few notable college is given below-
1) FLAME university, Pune
2) AIMS institute, Bangalore
3) Doon business school, Dehradun
4) Christ university, Bangalore
5) NIT Trichy
6) KIIT school of management, Bhuvneshwar
A CAT percentile of 99.64 is an excellent score and definitely places you in a strong position for top IIM calls, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta. However, admission to these institutes is not based on CAT score alone. Each of these IIMs follows a holistic selection process
Ranked among top 10 B-Schools in India by multiple publications | Top Recruiters-Google, MicKinsey, Amazon, BCG & many more.
Last Date to Apply: 10th Jan | Globally Recognized by AACSB (US) & AMBA (UK) | 17.8 LPA Avg. CTC for PGPM 2025
Highest Package 27.25 LPA | Top 100 Average package 16.65 LPA | AACSB Accredited | Ranked 52 by QS International
NAAC A++ Grade | MBA program graded A** (National) by CRISIL | AACSB, ACBSP and BGA Member
Assured Placements and Career Support
Phase 02 Applications Window Closing on 23rd January 2026 | 100% Placement Record | Average CTC 12.75 LPA | Highest CTC 40.31 LPA | Median CTC 12.49 LPA