What Are the 5 Mantras of CAT Toppers?

Mantra 1: Why Do You Need a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and One Guru?

The first mantra is a goal that is big, hairy and audacious. Once you decide that you will do it, you will not listen to every random voice around you. Find one guru whose words stay with you and go deep. It could be anyone, as long as their teaching connects with you.

Mantra 2: What Does "Take One Section to the Moon" Mean?

Pick any 10 scorecards of 99 percentile candidates. In 6 out of 10, you will find 99.6 percentile in one section. The strategy has no maths behind it, but when you take one section to the moon, your overall score also goes up after scaling and normalisation.

• Which section: it could be Verbal, Quant or DILR. One section has to be there.

• The result: a 99.5 or 99.6 in one section lets you touch the 99 percentile overall.

• Two sections: if you do it in two sections, you can start thinking about IIMs A, B and C. It could be DILR and Quant, or DILR and Verbal.

Mantra 3: Why Should You Not Ignore the Verbal Section?

The Verbal section is the first section on your screen. Many students who prepared well elsewhere lose their CAT here. Ask any of them about their Verbal score.

• What the first 40 minutes ask: 4 Reading Comprehension passages, 2 Para Jumbles and 2 Para Summary questions.

• Why it matters: in the opening minutes of the exam, your hands and legs may be shaking, and Verbal is where that shows up.

• FMS: if you are aiming for FMS, its weightage for Verbal is the highest compared with DILR and Quant.

Mantra 4: What Are the Hacks for VARC and DILR?

How can you improve Verbal in 30 days?

Reading Comprehension comes down to understanding Aeon essays. Wake up every morning and read one Aeon essay for 30 days, whether you think you have the mind for it or have read English before. If you understand the essay and enjoy it when you wake up, you are fit for CAT.

• Where to find help: on YouTube, search for CATKing Aeon. The first link has around 25 to 30 essays that Sumit Singh has put up.

• For CATKing students: every Wednesday and every Friday, Sumit Singh starts the session with an Aeon essay.

How should you prepare DILR?

• Old papers: DILR is all about old question papers.

• A focused block: when you start CAT preparation, take one or two weeks in which you focus fully on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. Quant should not be on your mind.

• The 10 types: you will see only about 10 different types of problems, such as scheduling problems, bar graphs, tables and pie charts.

• An example: if you solve 5 sets a day for about 10 days, you will see that, whatever the question above, the question below often asks for a percentage increase or decrease.

How do you select DILR sets in the paper?

Once you reach that level, pick up the old papers. The skill to practise is selection.

• Do not set a time per set yet: do not tell yourself you will do a set in 10 or 12 minutes.

• Order the sets: if four sets are thrown at you, can you order them as Easy, Easy, Medium and Difficult?

• Mark the two easy sets: a 99 percentile candidate has to do two sets, so mark the two Easy ones as your goal.

• Review after the paper: check whether you were able to find the right selection.

Mantra 5: How Should You Give Mocks and Analyse Them?

The IIM A, B and C toppers had one thing to say: give mocks. This advice from a CAT 100 percentiler of the CATKing family sums it up. If you have 10 hours, spend 5 hours on study. In the other 5 hours, give a 2-hour mock and spend 3 hours on analysis.

What should the analysis cover?

• Easier questions: are you missing out on them?

• Difficult questions: are you spending more time on them?

• Marks: the time you spend on a difficult question will only fetch you 3 marks. Less time spent on an easier question also gives you 3 marks.

5 CAT Topper Mantras: Quick-Reference

What Should CAT 2026 Aspirants Do Now?

• Tomorrow morning: start your Aeon essay.

• This week: practise ordering DILR sets as Easy, Easy, Medium and Difficult.

• Choose your section: decide which section you will take to the moon.

• Every mock: spend 3 hours on analysis for every 2 hours of mock.

• Stay on track: join CATKing's mentor-led preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions About the 5 CAT Topper Mantras

What are the 5 mantras of CAT toppers?

After interviewing many IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta candidates, CATKing found five repeated habits: a Big Hairy Audacious Goal mindset with one guru to follow, taking one section to the moon, not ignoring the Verbal section, the VARC and DILR hacks, and giving mocks with deep analysis.

What does "Take One Section to the Moon" mean in CAT?

It means pushing one section, whether VARC, DILR or Quant, to a score of about 99.6 percentile. Of 10 scorecards of 99 percentilers, 6 show a 99.6 in one section. When you take one section that high, your overall score also gets a boost after scaling and normalisation, and you can touch the 99 percentile overall.

What if I score 99 percentile in two sections?

Then you can start thinking about the IIMs A, B and C. The combination could be DILR and Quant, or DILR and Verbal. CATKing has seen both.

Why should I not ignore the Verbal section in CAT?

It is the first section on your screen, and the first 40 minutes ask you to solve 4 RCs, 2 Para Jumbles and 2 Para Summary questions, when your hands and legs may be shaking. Many students who do well elsewhere lose their CAT here. FMS also gives its highest weightage to Verbal compared to DILR and Quant.

How can I improve Verbal for CAT in 30 days?

Wake up every morning and read one Aeon essay daily for 30 days. Reading Comprehension is about understanding Aeon essays. If you understand them and enjoy them when you wake up, you are fit for CAT.

How should I prepare DILR for CAT?

Take one to two weeks at the start of your preparation in which you focus fully on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, without thinking about Quant. Then work on past CAT papers.

How many types of DILR problems are there?

About 10 different types, such as scheduling problems, bar graphs, tables and pie charts. If you solve 5 sets a day for about 10 days, you will see that the questions underneath often ask for a percentage increase or a percentage decrease.

How should I select DILR sets in the CAT exam?

Do not fix a time per set, such as 10 or 12 minutes, in the early stage. Instead, see if you can order four sets as Easy, Easy, Medium and Difficult. A 99 percentile candidate has to solve at least the two easy sets, so mark those two. After the paper, check whether you picked the right ones.

Why do some students have to repeat CAT?

Many pick the wrong RC or the wrong DILR set in the paper. Selection is what you learn in mocks and old papers.

How should I split my time between study, mocks and analysis?

Of every 10 hours, spend 5 hours on study, 2 hours on a mock and 3 hours on analysing it. This comes from a CAT 100 percentiler of the CATKing family.