How Five CAT 2025 Toppers Aced the Exam with Different Strategies, and Why All Chose SPJIMR Despite Top IIM and IIT Calls

CAT Preparation Strategy: Differences & Similarities
Strip away the details, and four of the five toppers followed the same CAT preparation strategy: learn the basic concepts well, practise topic by topic, then hand the final months focus on mocks. What set them apart was not the method but the timing of the switch.

Rajee Dhruva used IMS coaching classes as a structured starting point, moved on to class exercises and self-made cheat sheets, and only then to mocks and previous years’ papers. “This gradual transition from conceptual clarity to practice and test-taking helped me become exam-ready,” Rajee Dhruva explains. Ahan Sarkar put numbers to the same plan: finish about 70% of the syllabus with topic tests, switch to sectionals while completing the rest, and spend the last two months on mocks and marathon revision. Pacing mattered as much as planning. “The maximum effort needs to be applied at the tail end of the journey,” he warns.

Others moved faster. Dhruv Aggarwal began mocks before finishing the syllabus and studied around six hours on most days, choosing consistency over occasional marathon sessions. Bhavya Hoda, who started with Cracku’s online course, alternated between the three sections every day and began mocks around June.

The exception was the group’s top CAT scorer. Anmol Gupta built his preparation almost entirely around mocks and practice, giving equal weight to all three sections and covering every topic rather than only the important ones.

For CAT 2026 aspirants, the message is about timing. By October, the concept phase should be largely behind you, and CAT mock tests should be doing most of the teaching. More on this in the next section. 

CAT Mock Tests: Analysis Matters More than Numbers
A mock is only as useful as the time spent analysing it. That is the clearest pattern across the five toppers. Their mock counts varied widely, but every one of them treated analysis as the real preparation.

The range was striking. Dhruv Aggarwal sat for more than 70 full-length mocks and over 400 sectional tests across five test series by TIME, IMS, and others. Ahan Sarkar took about 20, mostly IMS SimCATs. Anmol Gupta, who attempted 60–70 full-length mocks and 25–30 sectionals, logged his scores, mistakes and weak areas in a tracker sheet. Rajee Dhruva began at one mock a week halfway through the syllabus and moved to two or three a week in the final two months.

What they did after each mock mattered more than how many they took. “I looked at questions I got wrong, questions I left despite being able to solve them, and questions where I spent too much time,” says Dhruv Aggarwal. For Ahan Sarkar, most of the new learning in the last two months came from mock questions he could not solve. Mocks also sharpened his set selection in DILR and took the sting out of the timer.

Not everyone got the number right. Both Ahan Sarkar and Bhavya Hoda, who took 30–40 mocks including previous years’ papers, say they would take more if they could do it again. The lesson is not that fewer mocks are enough, but that every extra mock is worth taking only if it is analysed.

CAT Coaching or Self-Study? 
Four of the five toppers took CAT coaching, two in classrooms and two online, while one prepared on his own. The choice followed learning style and life stage, not reputation. Both freshers chose classroom coaching. All three working professionals chose an online course or self-study.

Rajee Dhruva picked IMS classroom coaching for discipline, knowing that a self-paced course might not keep the routine regular. “I learn better with a teacher physically present,” Rajee Dhruva admits. Dhruv Aggarwal joined TIME but treated coaching as scaffolding. “Coaching gave me the structure, but most of the improvement came from my own practice and analysis,” he points out.

For the working professionals, flexibility won. Bhavya Hoda chose Cracku’s self-paced course for its recorded lectures and live leaderboards, which gave the feel of being part of a larger cohort. Ahan Sarkar joined Elites Grid online on his elder brother’s recommendation, to avoid the confusion of deciding what to study and from where. Anmol Gupta skipped coaching altogether on the advice of top B-school alumni, relying on two mock series and previous years’ papers. Even so, he does not recommend that route for everyone: “If someone is a complete beginner, I will recommend them to take CAT coaching.”

On study material, all five kept it simple and lean. Rajee Dhruva relied on IMS books plus some vocabulary books, Dhruv Aggarwal on TIME material and several test series, and Bhavya Hoda on Cracku’s content alone. Ahan Sarkar found the Elites Grid material so comprehensive that only 70–80% of it could be completed, and used its priority labels when short of time. 

CAT Exam Day Strategy: Plan Ahead, Don’t Improvise
On CAT exam day, all five CAT toppers carried a section-wise plan that they had already tested in mocks, a realistic target and a well-planned routine. They avoided any last minute improvisation in the exam hall. 

In VARC, the lesson is attempts over accuracy. Ahan Sarkar scored 99.96 percentile in VARC in CAT 2023 with around 57 marks, yet only 95.66 in CAT 2025 despite practising more. “You can never completely rely on accuracy in VARC,” he cautions, which is why he recommends at least 18–20 attempts. Dhruv Aggarwal aimed to attempt every VARC question, finishing all four RC passages in about 30–32 minutes before turning to VA.

In DILR and QA, selection and speed decided the score. Both Ahan Sarkar and Dhruv Aggarwal looked through all the sets before committing to one. In CAT 2023, Ahan Sarkar spent 20 minutes without solving a single set, then solved almost two in the next 15. He believes seven or eight correct DILR answers can put an aspirant in a good position for the 95th percentile, depending on the paper. In QA, he moved on from any question that showed no clear direction within a minute, while Dhruv Aggarwal tackled Arithmetic and Algebra first.

Targets and mindset completed toppers exam day plan. Rajee Dhruva worked out from previous-year patterns roughly how many accurate attempts were needed, a reminder that the entire paper did not have to be attempted. Bhavya Hoda, writing in Slot 2 at a distant centre, booked a hotel nearby the day before and avoided all chatter about the first slot. “I wanted to go to the exam with a neutral mindset and that is what I did,” Bhavya Hoda recalls. Anmol Gupta kept it simplest of all: follow the strategy built while taking mocks and do not make unnecessary changes on the exam day.

Lessons and Regrets: Consistency Wins, Earlier Is Better
Asked about their biggest learning, most of the toppers arrived at the same word: consistency in preparation. Asked about their regrets, most arrived at the same theme: starting late and not having enough time.

“Consistency beats everything,” says Bhavya Hoda. Dhruv Aggarwal found consistency far more important than long hours once in a while, and learnt that every aspirant needs a strategy of their own. Rajee Dhruva adds a refinement: consistent effort matters, but so does knowing where to invest it. For Anmol Gupta, the lesson was self-belief, because there were days, he recalls, when “I was completely lost and felt that things weren’t working out for me.”

Ahan Sarkar learnt a harder lesson about luck. Across 18 of his roughly 20 mocks, he averaged around 105 and expected 104–105 in CAT. He scored 92, on what he calls “one of my worst days”. Even that was enough for 99.4 percentile, proof of the cushion that months of consistent work can build.

A lot can be learned from the regrets expressed by CAT Toppers. Rajee Dhruva would have finished the syllabus earlier, Dhruv Aggarwal would have taken VARC seriously from the start, and Bhavya Hoda would have taken more mocks and previous years’ papers from day one. Ahan Sarkar believes 30 mocks, rather than 20, was a very achievable target, while Anmol Gupta would simply have taken less stress. 

Managing Stress: Motivation from Within
Every topper had bad days. Two habits helped them through: keeping a life outside CAT, and finding a reason to continue that came from within.

“I tried not to make CAT preparation the only thing in my life,” says Dhruv Aggarwal, who kept up reading, gaming and chess, and tried not to let individual mock scores affect him. Anmol Gupta took breaks on stressful days, met friends and wrote poetry. Bhavya Hoda turned to the gym and long drives. Rajee Dhruva talked to others on the same journey while consciously avoiding constant comparisons, and leaned on mentors, parents and friends.

External support from friends and family helped, but the drive to crack CAT exam had to be internal. Bhavya Hoda credits a strong inner desire for the long-term goal. Ahan Sarkar, backed by his coaching mentors and an elder brother who had done an MBA, puts it plainly: “You have to be your own biggest motivator.”

Why SPJIMR before IIMs 
The common thread that runs across all toppers is the final choice of institute. All five toppers had IIM interview calls. Anmol Gupta’s included IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta. Yet when asked why they chose SPJIMR, they spoke not about the IIM Brand but about the right specialisation, the culture, learning beyond the classroom, the placement record and city of Mumbai!

Ahan Sarkar faced the hardest choice. He converted IIM Lucknow and IIM Mumbai in the first list, and almost everyone advised him to take it for its more recognisable brand. Three factors decided his SPJIMR choice. The first was experiential learning through Abhyudaya, where every first-year student mentors a child from Mumbai’s K Ward, and DOCC, a month in rural India with local NGOs. The second was a collaborative culture. The third was the chance to specialise in Information Management and Analytics rather than general management.

The others weighed similar factors. Rajee Dhruva valued the chance to choose a specialisation early, strong marketing recruiters, a smaller batch and SPJIMR’s holistic learning. Dhruv Aggarwal chose the strength of its Finance programme, a diverse peer group and Mumbai, India’s centre for finance and business. Bhavya Hoda cited the culture, courses such as Abhyudaya, Intex opportunities, triple accreditation and consistent placements, while Anmol Gupta relied on his own research, alumni feedback and colleges’ recent performance.

A few months on, the toppers say that SPJIMR was indeed the right choice. Ahan Sarkar secured a summer internship he might not have got elsewhere, and finds little hierarchy, hands-on seniors and accessible faculty. Dhruv Aggarwal is struck by how supportive everyone at SPJIMR is, and has found far more to the experience than placements.

Of course, the first term at SPJIMR was a steep learning curve, and not a cakewalk. “The first semester definitely felt like being thrown into the deep end,” Rajee Dhruva shares, though a supportive peer group made a huge difference. Ahan Sarkar sums it up: “My only concern now is that these two years are going to go by far too fast!”

CAT 2026 Tips: Last Few Weeks Matter Much
With CAT 2026 only weeks away, the toppers’ advice is less about new techniques and more about how to use the time that is left.

Ahan Sarkar believes the final stretch decides the result, calling October and November “the most crucial phase of your preparation”. He advises studying two and a half to three hours every day rather than 10 hours on a single day, using mocks to experiment rather than to chase scores, and analysing every one of them; 20 well-analysed mocks are fine. He sees CAT as roughly 60% effort and 40% luck, so aspirants should focus on the part they control and look after their physical and mental health.

Dhruv Aggarwal stresses analysis over the percentile on the scorecard, and urges aspirants not to worry about one bad mock or one bad week. Rajee Dhruva’s advice is about the final day itself: “Do not put more pressure on yourself than the exam already demands.” Bhavya Hoda and Anmol Gupta end on belief: be consistent, dare to dream, and stay focused on your own journey.

CAT 2026 Final-Weeks Checklist from the Toppers

• Make October and November count (Ahan Sarkar).
• Analyse every mock; 20 well-analysed mocks beat 30 unanalysed ones (Ahan Sarkar, Dhruv Aggarwal).
• Use mocks to test your strategy, not to chase scores (Ahan Sarkar).
• Study daily; two and a half to three hours every day beats 10 hours once in a while (Ahan Sarkar).
• Set a realistic attempt target based on previous-year patterns (Rajee Dhruva).
• Do not let one bad mock or one bad week shake you (Dhruv Aggarwal).
• Protect your physical and mental health (Ahan Sarkar).

Finally SPJIMR CAT Toppers want you to focus on what you can control and not what’s outside your control. Ahan Sarkar puts CAT at roughly 60% effort and 40% luck. The five SPJIMR toppers controlled their 60% in five different ways: classroom coaching and self-study, 20 mocks and more than 70, college timetables and late-night jobs. What they shared was a tested plan, honest analysis of every mistake and the discipline to keep going on bad days. That, more than any single strategy, is what CAT 2026 aspirants can carry into the weeks ahead.

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