Saraswati Group of Colleges MBA Admissions 2025
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CAT topper's journey to FMS Delhi: Careers360 conducted an exclusive CAT Topper Interview with Soham and Garima. Sohum scored 99.6 %ile in CAT 22 and Garima scored 99.64%ile in CAT 22. They are both pursuing an MBA from FMS, Delhi University. They talked about how they made it to one of the top MBA colleges in India. These CAT toppers shared their CAT preparation journey, CAT mock test strategy and gave tips and tricks for CAT24 aspirants. This article offers excerpts from the interview. Watch the complete conversation by clicking the YouTube link given below.
The CAT 2026 will consist of three sections:
Careers360 - Tell us about yourself and your profile and why you chose to pursue an MBA?
Garima - I come from a business family, then I studied commerce in 12th, and then again B.Com for my graduation. It was obvious that I wanted to make my career in management. So MBA was an obvious choice for me. During my graduation days, I observed how much impact I can create by getting into corporate and an MBA is the first step that will help me to create that impact.
Sohum - As far as my profile goes, I also joined FMS straight out of college. I got a 10 CGPA in 10th standard, 93.2 % in 12th, and 89.4 in my B-TECH. I interned at Optum, where I got a PPO during my graduation.
Careers360 -Soham, you already had a PPO, as you mentioned. So why did you switch paths and decide on doing an MBA?
Sohum - During my internship at Optum, I realized that the best thing for me probably would be to complete my education in one go and then move on to the corporate world once together. And I realized that without an MBA, your career would not reach great heights. you need to know how the business works. So I decided to pursue an MBA.
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Careers360 - Garima, you are from a non-engineering background and usually non-engineers find the CAT’s quant section challenging. Was it the same for you or was it any different?
Garima - Yes, it was the same for me. My arithmetic was strong somehow so I knew that it was my strength. I focused more on that. I made sure that if I have to get a 99+ %ile then I need to attempt more than 15 questions in quant. I made myself stronger at arithmetic and good enough at algebra. so that I'm able to attempt 15 questions and then skip geometry entirely. I focused more on my strengths, not my weaknesses.
Careers360 -What about you Soham, which section did you find challenging?
Sohum - Most engineers find the CAT VARC section most difficult and so did I. I started reading the newspaper and went through CAT previous year papers. I timed myself while reading the newspaper and then challenged myself every day. VARC in CAT is all about how quickly you can grasp and how quickly you can go through the reading paragraphs. Quants and DILR were my favourite topics. I did my coaching from Karnal itself. My sir used to say that even if you don't know anything else, just do past years, then also you'll be able to score a decent enough percentile.
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Check out preparation resources for CAT 2024
Careers360 - How much time did you spend on CAT preparation daily?
Garima - I had targeted November 2022 attempt for the CAT exam. So I started preparing in October 2021. My goal was to finish the CAT Syllabus as soon as possible. From October to February 2022, I was just taking coaching and from February onwards I started doing self-study as well. So, it was 13 months of preparation. From February onwards, it was four hours per day and from September onwards, it was even six hours per day.
Sohum - I started my CAT preparation in June, it was about five months of preparation. I tried to give like two hours to the CAT preparation. And during the later stages, I think the last two months would probably be three to four hours. Inclusive of the CAT past year's paper and newspaper, it might be even five to six hours.
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Careers360 - When did you start appearing for CAT mocks and what was the mock analysis process for you?
Garima - I started appearing for mocks right from January. For the first three months, January to March, I used to take two mocks every month. Then I used to take one mock every week for the next three months. And then I used to take two mocks every week. So in total, I took almost 60 to 80 mocks. I don't remember the exact figure, but mocks played a huge role in my entire preparation. I also used to take a lot of sectional tests because as my coaching teacher and as my seniors always mentioned that CAT is all about accuracy and speed.
Sohum - In August, I started giving mocks. And the mocks were usually two to three a week. Then after October, I only attempted the previous year's papers, but given in the form of a mock, in the same environment and like without getting up. So I guess for me that worked.
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Careers360 - How was your experience in the summer placement at FMS?
Sohum - By the grace of God, FMS has done well considering that these were difficult times, the market was bad, even the US was heading into a recession and the companies were not hiring. There was a hiring freeze. So keeping all that in mind, we had a great pool of companies on the campus. And yeah, I would have to say that it just kind of reinstates your faith in the legacy of FMS.
Garima - I think given the market conditions FMS has performed well. The credit goes both to the legacy of FMS as well as the current batch, their profiles, and the placement team.
Careers360 - What were some of the most sought-after roles this season during the summer placements?
Sohum - With the diverse group of people in FMS, a lot of people preferred management consulting roles. But I wouldn't say that everybody was going gaga over it. There were a lot of people who were interested in marketing and that's where they wanted to go. Then some people knew from day zero that they wanted to get into finance. Some wanted to get into product management.
Careers360 - Soham, you are an upcoming intern at Deloitte USI.How was that interview for you?
Sohum - That was a fun interview. So, I went through three rounds and I guess each round lasted about an hour. I was asked to solve a case in the first two rounds and the third round was mainly about my interests, my hobbies and basically to understand if I would be a good fit at Deloitte.
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Careers360 - How would you describe your journey so far in FMS?
Garima - It has been a roller coaster ride. I mean, there were lots of ups, lots of downs. There will be nights when you'll just cry. There will be nights of laughter as well. You get to see everything. you see the most vulnerable side of yourself and you get to see the most happy side of yourself. So it's about enjoying the journey. It's about embracing everything that comes your way.
Sohum - It has been very exhilarating. You're going to do loads of work. You are simultaneously gonna go sleepless for two or three days and then suddenly you're gonna sleep for 18 hours also. Because you feel that you've earned it. But yes, it's a great journey.
Careers360 - People who are appearing for CAT 24 this year, are there any tips or guidance that you would like to share with the students?
Sohum - I would just say keep practicing and just give some direction to your practice. Know what you're doing wrong.
Careers360 - Any don'ts that you want to add?
Sohum - Log out of Quora.
Garima - give direction to your preparation. Do not just keep doing it because there are like n number of resources available for CAT preparation. So you need to identify which resources are best for you. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. See what you need to focus on more. Give as many mocks as you can. Focus on speed, focus on accuracy and you'll ace it.
Check out this video to watch the complete conversation.
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The average CTC offered by FMS Delhi is INR 46.1 LPA.
Yes, for admission to FMS, Delhi candidates must clear the interview round along with the extempore round.
Yes, as per the placement reports of FMS Delhi they offer 100% placement to all the participating students.
Generally, the FMS Delhi cutoff falls between 98 to 99+ percentile for admission to its MBA programme.
FMS Delhi is a part of the Delhi University and is funded by the government making it one of the most prestigious and affordable choices for many MBA aspirants.
CAT ( Common Addmission Test ) is for those students who want to study MBA or other post-graduation program in mangement field. Who have Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% recognised university can apply for CAT .final year graduation students are also eligible to apply for CAT exam .
The CAT exam for mainly those students who want to study MBA or other business related courses.This exam is an entrance exam for getting admission into top mangement colleges.the exam tests skills like English,Maths and logical thinking. CAT exam is important because scoring well in CAT it's helps to students get into best college .
If there's a slight variation in your name between your government ID and school marksheets, it's best to use the name exactly as it appears on your 10th or 12th marksheet while filling out the CAT form, since academic records are the primary documents used for verification during admission. However, ensure that the variation isn’t too major if it is, you might consider getting an affidavit or correction done in the future. For now, stay consistent with your academic records to avoid any mismatch during document verification after the exam.
With a CAT rank of 5419, your percentile is around 95 to 97. This means you may not get into the top IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, or Calcutta, because they usually take students above 98 or 99 percentile. But you still have good chances at newer IIMs and other top MBA colleges.
You can get admission into IIMs like Amritsar, Raipur, Jammu, Udaipur, and Bodh Gaya. These IIMs accept students with lower percentiles, usually between 90 and 94.
Apart from IIMs, you can also get colleges like MDI Gurugram, IMI Delhi, Great Lakes Chennai, and maybe even FMS Delhi or JBIMS Mumbai depending on your category and performance in interview rounds.
You should now start preparing for the interview, group discussions, and written tests that most colleges will conduct after shortlisting you based on your CAT rank.
Here are websites you can check for cut-off and admission details:
https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat-cutoff/
Hello Sahitya
For FMS Delhi, your percentile should be 99%+ and it should be 99.5%+ to be on the safer side.
Now coming to the academics:
1. 10th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
2. 12th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
3. Graduation marks: FMS doesn't considers graduation marks for screening.
So if you have 75%+ in both 10th and 12th, you will get full marks in academic score.
To know more about FMS: FMS
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
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