From Startup Hustle to CAT 2024 Topper: Sujay Srivastava’s 99.94 Percentile Journey

Creating a Personalised Plan for the CAT Preparation

While preparing for CAT , first figure out which is your dream college, let's say its IIM Ahmedabad. Now given your profile( academic and work experience), please check the estimated CAT cutoff for your scenario. For me being a General Engineering Male with no work experience, I needed atleast an estimate of 99.90%ile. That would mean 101 marks in 2023 paper, and add a buffer of 2 questions( 8 marks) That made the estimate 110 marks as goal (2024 paper ended up being easier and the 99.9%ile cutoff happened to be ~120 marks). But you need to have a goal in mind before starting the CAT preparation.

The second thing to do is take a previous year CAT question paper and put 2 dedicated hours of attempting the exam with a timer, and get an understanding of how much you know currently, how many marks you got, what topics you can easily improve upon, what you have got no clue on, and then you know what you will need to do to be able to end up in your dream college.

Section-wise time allocation logic

An interesting part of this exam is you can't allot time from one section to another, you need to give 40 mins to each CAT section, and for most of good colleges, you need to clear a CAT sectional cut-off, this means you can't neglect a section and focus purely on your strengths.

Building around work schedule

My studies mostly happened sometimes in the mornings and mostly during the evenings

My aim in the CAT preparation was to maintain strengths in the Quant section, transforming weaknesses in VARC section into a real opportunity and ensure i do well in DILR being an okayish section

IV. CAT Study Resources: My Arsenal

When it came to preparation, the single most powerful CAT resource I relied on was previous year CAT question papers. They became my bible, not only did they show me the exact pattern and difficulty of questions, and the weightage of different topics. This gave me the best estimate of how much am I on track on my CAT preparation journey and where I currently stand.

It helps you understand examiners’ mindsets about why they are setting a question a certain way and the ideas behind the kind of options with it, and it helps you avoid making common mistakes that examiners expect you to make. ( everyone refers to them as silly mistakes).

Beyond that, especially for the VARC section, since my foundation was weak, I referred to Arun Sharma's CAT book to strengthen my theory on approaching Reading Comprehension and the VARC section. VARC1000 By Gejo Sreenivasan is also a great resource, its very helpful to get you in the right mindset to attempt the questions in a right way.

For Quant Resource as well as Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, I did refer the Arun Sharma books and online resources but I didn’t try to “finish” these books; instead, I used them as targeted drills whenever PYQs exposed a gap. This way, I kept my preparation efficient rather than overwhelming myself with endless material.

Free resources also played a surprisingly important role. YouTube explanations for tough topics, free sectional tests, and even PDFs of solved questions often clarified concepts faster than books. The trick was not to hoard resources, but to carefully curate a few that I could consistently revisit.

CAT Resource Optimisation Strategy

My guiding principle was one book per section. This avoided duplication and confusion. Get once source of truth and follow it well, you might look I prioritized the quality of analysis over the sheer number of problems, spending time on why I made mistakes mattered more than rushing to complete new sets. Over time, I built personal notes, logging recurring errors and common patterns, which became invaluable in the final month of prep.

What I Deliberately Avoided

I stayed away from the trap of information overload, downloading multiple materials or subscribing to every test series. I stuck with mostly the Previous CAT papers to practice m. I also ignored random online content that did not mirror the CAT pattern. This disciplined curation kept my prep focused and prevented burnout.

V. The CAT Preparation Timeline That Worked

Phase 1: Foundation Repair (Months 1-2) The first two months were all about getting the basics in order. In weeks 1–4, my singular focus was on VARC. I built a reading discipline by dedicating one hour every morning to opinion pieces, editorials, and RC passages. To make the habit sustainable, I chose material I actually enjoyed. Finshots for concise business updates, The Ken for deeper stories, and sometimes books. The point is simple: you can read a lot when you genuinely enjoy the content and find it interesting. That’s why I recommend starting with topics that interest you and then gradually moving to denser material. For aspirants, Aeon (https://aeon.co/essays) is an excellent resource because its essays mirror the style of CAT RC passages; begin with topics that spark your curiosity and slowly train yourself to follow an author’s reasoning even when the subject feels unfamiliar.

One of the CAT preparation tip was not to chase speed but to build comprehension and consistency. In weeks 5–8, I shifted focus to DILR, where I worked on building a systematic approach to sets instead of attempting them randomly. This meant learning how to identify set structures quickly, noting what information was useful, and training myself to abandon unsolvable sets without guilt. On weekends, I created 4-hour deep work blocks for Quant, revising the basics and solving sectional problems. This combination of daily discipline and weekend intensives laid the foundation for everything that followed and helped me prove to myself that consistent preparation was possible even alongside full-time startup responsibilities.

Phase 2: Skill Building (Months 3-4) With the basics refreshed, I moved into skill-building. This was where I introduced timed practice, starting with shorter sectional tests to simulate the 40-minute CAT sections. This was followed by a strong analysis of the section and making a plan on how do I improve my weakness, how do i solve the questions faster, how do I do the questions correctly the one I got wrong. Basically, if you have encountered a question you couldn't solve before, you have to ensure now you can do that.

Phase 3: Speed Development (Months 5-6) By now, through the rigorous CAT preparation, accuracy had improved but I needed to increase speed. I began taking daily sectional tests, focusing on reducing time per question while maintaining accuracy. I experimented with different strategies, skimming VARCs before answering, identifying the easiest DILR sets first, and skipping time-consuming Quant questions. Pattern recognition became a skill I consciously practiced, so I could spot solvable questions quickly and avoid traps. This phase was where I started seeing my scores jump significantly.

Phase 4: Peak Performance (Final month)The last month of the CAT preparation was all about exam simulation. I took full-length mocks every three days, and the analysis of those mocks often took longer than the tests themselves. I fine-tuned strategies like deciding which section to mentally reset between and how to handle tough starts. By the final two weeks, I wasn’t learning new concepts but refining my rhythm and exam temperament. This ensured I walked into the exam hall confident, with a clear strategy and tested habits.

VI. Balancing Act: Managing All Sections

The Unequal Distribution Strategy

Rather than splitting my time evenly across the three sections, I adopted an unequal distribution that reflected both my strengths and weaknesses. Around half of my preparation time went into VARC because it was clearly my weakest area and required consistent, deliberate practice. About thirty per cent of my study hours while I was preparing for the CAT were devoted to DILR, which I considered an opportunity section where effort could translate into rapid score improvement. The remaining twenty percent went to Quant, which was already my strongest area and only needed maintenance through regular practice. This uneven allocation ensured I was addressing weaknesses while keeping strengths sharp.

The Rotation Method

To complement this strategy in CAT preparation , I used a daily rotation approach. Instead of working on the same section for days at a stretch, I switched sections each day or within a study block. This rotation helped prevent mental fatigue and made my preparation more dynamic. It also mirrored the actual CAT exam experience, where one must transition between sections under time pressure. By rotating sections regularly, I kept my interest levels high, avoided burnout, and trained myself to reset quickly between different types of problem-solving.

VII. What Clicked: Success Factors

Game-Changing Realizations

VARC is about elimination, not selection. Many of the options are deliberately misleading, and learning to spot and eliminate the wrong ones quickly often matters more than trying to find the single right answer immediately. This CAT preparation in the VARC shift in perspective improved both accuracy and confidence in VARC section.

The DILR sets felt very much like solving a jigsaw puzzle, where each piece fits into place step by step. Once you identify the entry point into a set, the rest often falls into order logically. Training myself to recognise those entry points and to abandon sets that had no clear starting place became crucial.

The Quant, on the other hand, is less about discovering new concepts and more about repeated practice. The fundamentals rarely change, so the edge comes from developing speed and accuracy through consistent problem-solving rather than hunting for advanced or obscure tricks.

Habit Changes That Mattered

One of the most important shifts in my CAT preparation came from small but consistent habit changes. I began with a disciplined morning routine, setting aside a fixed slot before the workday began to focus only on preparation. Knowing that these were my most productive hours, I made sure to protect them and plan exactly what could be achieved in that time.

Another major change was cutting down on social media. I realized that not only did it consume valuable hours, it also created constant context switching that made even the time I did study less effective. Establishing focused, distraction-free study periods with a strict do not disturb policy improved my efficiency significantly.

Finally, I found that physical exercise had a direct connection with exam performance. Regular workouts and playing sports trained me to stay composed when my heartbeat was elevated, which mirrored the pressure of the CAT exam. Being used to high-stress situations through exercise meant I could remain calm and perform better when the exam intensity peaked. If you are accustomed to such situations through sports or regular exercise, you are far more likely to perform effectively in a high‑stress scenario like CAT.

VIII. Learning From Failures

Wrong Strategies I Abandoned

One of the earliest mistakes I made was attempting all questions without discrimination. This approach wasted time and drained energy, because in CAT not every question is meant to be solved. Learning to leave questions strategically became one of the most important skills.

Another mistake was always starting with my favorite section. In the actual exam you have no choice, as the order is fixed with VARC first, then DILR, and finally Quant. To build the right rhythm, it is essential to attempt full length mocks in the same sequence so that you are better prepared on the day of the exam.

A third misstep was ignoring the importance of question selection within sections. Many aspirants, including me in the beginning, skip chapters entirely if they are not strengths. However, this can backfire because even from a weak area, an easy question might appear that requires minimal effort if you have at least a basic understanding. Developing breadth along with depth ensures you can capitalize on such opportunities without heavy preparation.

One Week Before

The final week before the exam was about steadying myself rather than pushing for new learning. I spent this time revising key concepts and formulas, especially the frameworks and methods that I tended to forget under stress. I also introduced light mental preparation routines such as visualization and meditation to keep my focus sharp.

D-Day Preparation

The night before the exam, I quickly reviewed my personal notes and important formulas but made sure not to overload myself. I tried to relax and ensure I got enough rest. For those with a morning slot, I strongly recommend practicing at the same time of day in the preceding week so that your body is accustomed to peak performance in that window. I also double-checked my admit card, identification, and transport arrangements. Small things like knowing the traffic situation, reaching the center comfortably, and being familiar with the logistics removed unnecessary stress on CAT exam day.

During the Exam

The first five minutes are crucial. CAT is designed in a way that you will almost never see every single question, so speed and question selection matter more than anything else. I often found myself starting slowly and only realizing ten minutes in that I needed to catch up. To overcome this, I practiced a few warm-up questions while traveling to the center or waiting outside the hall before the exam so that I entered the exam already in a problem-solving rhythm. Section transitions can also be disorienting because the shift is instant once the timer runs out. It is important to mentally prepare to switch contexts without hesitation. Finally, I managed time pressure by periodically checking whether the number of questions I had attempted matched the progress needed for my target score. This simple ratio check kept me on track and prevented panic.

IX. Conclusion: Your 99 Percentile Awaits

The biggest lesson from my CAT journey is that success is driven more by strategy than by sheer study hours. Working professionals often imagine they are at a disadvantage because of time limitations, but with the right approach, consistency and smart prioritization can bridge that gap. In my case, carefully choosing resources, sticking to a realistic schedule, and constantly learning from mistakes made all the difference.

Preparing for CAT is not just about mastering Quant, VARC, or DILR. It is also about building habits of focus, resilience, and time management that will serve you in business school and beyond. Each mock test, each late-night analysis session, and each small adjustment added up to create not just an exam strategy but a way of thinking that prepared me for the intensity of an MBA program.

If you are reading this as an aspirant, remember that you do not need endless hours of preparation or dozens of books. What you need is clarity on your target, a structured plan, and the discipline to execute it daily. With consistency and the right mindset, the 99 percentile is within reach. Your own journey may look different, but the path of smart preparation is open to you starting today.