"That year (2007) I started with the VA section and then moved to QA and then to DI, which were my areas of strength. This did me in as I was not sure if I would clear the VA cut off even after spending some good 70 minutes in the section," he explains why he did not scale the CAT ladder in 2007.

He successfully corrected that anomaly while appearing for CAT 2008. "This year, I started with QA and then DI, hence maximising my score by capitalising on my strengths."

Herein lies Varun's simple advice to crack those aspirants who would want to ace CAT: "Concentrate on your core strengths first. This will not only help you solve the sections quickly but help you gain some extra time to solve the section which you are weak in."

"Interestingly, for CAT 2008, I just wrote a single test series and that was all of my preparation," he says.

Teaching other students improve their skills helped him overcome his weaknesses, Varun adds.

"I have written the GMAT exam with a score of 760 (out of 800) and 6/6 in essays. I was also busy teaching some students for the GRE, GMAT and SAT exams. I guess that helped a bit to keep in touch with my calculations," says the genial Agra native.

When the results for CAT 2008 were announced, he calmly checked his score late in the evening though the results were out early on January 9.

Once he informed his family in Agra, the scene was similar to the one in 2002 when he got an all India rank of 48 at the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Exam. This helped him enroll in the bachelor's programme at the department of computer science and engineering at IIT-Kanpur.

Photograph courtesy: Varun Garg

Also see: 11 tips to win your GDs & PIs

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