Talk with the Topper[/b]
By Pratik Nayak (Prtk)[/b]
Name: Prateek Saxena[/b]
Percentile: 99.12 (XAT)[/b]
Prtk: Tell us something about yourself ?[/b]
Prateek: “ Hi..i am basically from Udaipur, Rajasthan. I have done my BE in Electronics and Communication. I have also worked for a year in a marketing firm called Live Media. Currently i am pursuing my PGDM in Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship with Marketing as my major. My hobbies include Reading Novels, Writing Poetry, Listening to trans music and i love hanging out with my friends.”
Prtk: How is your life at XIME ?[/b]
Prateek: “Pretty Hectic..till now it has been a god learning experience in terms of the knowledge and skills that i have acquired here but the most important thing has been the interaction with other students outside the classrooms..that kind of learning can’t happen through text books.”
Prtk: How did you prepare for XAT ?[/b]
Prateek: “I was an average student with average ambitions. When i started preparing , i was in a state of doubt whether i will make it or not. As i went ahead with my preparations i used to find quant to be very difficult but i continued with my preparations and got very involved in it. I figured out that unless you take a stand your fears will keep haunting you. I started devoting more time to areas i was weak at and at the same time kept practising the part i was good at..it had to be well balanced.”
Prtk: What is the difficulty level of XAT as compared to CAT or NMAT ?[/b]
Prateek : “XAT and CAT are almost of the same level though i feel that the quant of XAT is a bit tougher as compared to CAT. Besides, it also depends on your luck when it comes to the question paper..
”Prtk: What was your strategy to crack XAT ?[/b]
Prateek: “ I didn’t have any strategy as such. Taking into consideration the continuous change and evolution that these exams undergo..i feel holistic preparation is the only way to tackle these exams. I gave more stress on quant as i was a bit weak in that and when the exam started i kept aside the 5 minutes to make a strategy as to how to go about the paper after glancing through the questions. And yes..have faith in GOD..
”Prtk: What sections of XAT were you uncomfortable with ?[/b]
Prateek: English and LR were my forte..though quant gave me a hard time.”
Prtk: What section needs your utmost preparation ?[/b]
Prateek: ” It depends from person to person. As far as i was concerned i stressed a lot on quants.”
Prtk: How did you practise time management during the exam?[/b]
Prateek: “ As i have already mentioned..i set aside 5 minutes to make a strategy as to how to go about the paper after glancing through the questions. I attempted the questions first that i was fully confident about, didn’t waste too much time on a single question and came back to the unsolved ones once i was done answering the questions i was sure of.”
Prtk: How was your GDPI experience ?[/b]
Prateek: “ To be very true and honest, my GDPI experience was terrible in colleges like XLRI and XIMB because i think your past academic records, if not good, will haunt you ( I didn’t have one), but i was lucky that my interview at XIME went very well. I feel if you can impress the panel both in GD and PI you have a pretty good chance to make it even if your past academic records are not that good. You should also have a valid reason for your past records to say to the interview panel.”
Prtk: Do you have any advice for your juniors?[/b]
Prateek: “Never benchmark yourself, keep raising your standard every single day. If a person like me can do..then anyone can do it. Be consistent in your preparation, stress on your weak areas. Whenever you feel frustrated, do something that really gives you peace of mind for sometime and have faith in the almighty.”