Interviewer: Dr Rav Singh
Topper: Anjali
Dr Rav Singh: Hi guys, today we have with us Anjali. Anjali, we want to know about your story from CAT 82 percentile to 99.23 percentile in the SNAP exam. How is it possible for the same person to score so differently across two exams?
Anjali: Yes. To answer that, I made sure I gave equal focus to all exams. I had a bad day in CAT, but all the concepts for SNAP were already clear from CAT preparation. After CAT was done, I created an Excel sheet of all the unique topics that don’t come up in CAT. I learned those topics from YouTube videos and immediately started giving mocks.
Dr Rav Singh: You quit your job at a startup to prepare. How did you handle that stress?
Anjali: Yes. It was very stressful, especially since I was used to earning every month and then stopping everything to invest time and money into exams. Initially, I was not getting good scores and was demotivated. But SNAP was a savior because if I had only relied on one exam (CAT), I would have had to apply next year.
Dr Rav Singh: How many mocks did you give in total?
Anjali: Approximately, I gave 35 to 40 mocks. I felt the one-hour duration was easy to manage, so I used to give mocks at different time intervals throughout the day and analyze them in between.
Dr Rav Singh: What was the lowest score you hit during your mocks?
Anjali: Yes Sir. Starting out, there were times when I scored as low as 19 or 20 marks. Slowly, there was an increase, and I used to get above 30 most of the time.
Dr Rav Singh: That shows incredible growth—from 19 to a final score that translates to 99%ile (around 45 marks). Should students give mocks now or wait until CAT is over?
Anjali: They should give mocks before CAT also, maybe at a lower frequency. SNAP is a T20 match; it’s very fast. You need a lot of practice to get into that mindset of solving questions as quickly as possible.
Dr Rav Singh: What was your final strategy right before the exam?
Anjali: The week right before the exam, I did a mock blitz. I was giving three mocks a day (morning, afternoon, evening) for about 7 to 8 days non-stop. This was a very good strategy because whatever mistakes I made in the first mock, I could immediately improve in the second.
Dr Rav Singh: Moving to the GDPI stage: What was the main difference in the SCMHRD process, and how did you approach it?
Anjali: The whole GEPI process is very different. It is a Group Exercise instead of a Group Discussion. My intention was to work together and collaborate to reach a solution-oriented approach, not to fight with people. That gave me an upper hand.
Dr Rav Singh: What was your GE topic?
Anjali: We were given a case study about whether some kind of high court should be allowed in the country. We were given five to six types of filters (political, economic, etc.) and had to come up with a solution that passed all the filters.
Dr Rav Singh: And the Personal Interaction (PI)?
Anjali: I approached the Personal Interaction by putting my normal self forward and being very honest. I showed them where I see myself three years and five years down the line. At the end of the day, you must have a clear plan for why you want to do an MBA.
Dr Rav Singh: Great. Thank you, Anjali.
Anjali: Thank you.
