Twenty of the 1.9 lakh candidates who took CAT 2017—for entry into premier IIMs—have made it to the elite club of 100 percentilers this year. Unlike last year, when male engineers dominated the list, this year two girls and three non-engineers bagged the perfect score. It is probably the first time that non-engineers have cracked the exam with a 100 percentile.
Patrick D’Souza (41), a tutor from Mumbai, got a100 percentile for the fourth time this year. D’Souza, who first gave CAT in 1996, failed to get an IIM call then. After pursuing his MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, he joined a corporate firm. Four years later, he quit his job to get into teaching. “Since then, I have been training a small group of students for CAT. Some of my candidates managed over 99 percentile every year. It is very important to stay abreast of current trends in paper patterns and questions. It is a different experience for me every year,” said D’Souza, a Thane resident.
Chhavi Gupta, an IIT-Delhi graduate, is one of the two women who made it to the small but elite club of girls who aced CAT. Neha Manglik, from BITS Pilani, had scored a 100 percentile in 2014 and before that another female candidate had topped the exam in 2009.
Among the country’s toppers are Meet Agarwal from Ahmedabad, Vishal Vora from Kolkata, Sai Praneeth Reddy from IIT-Madras and Madhur Gupta, a student of Delhi Technical University. Chennai’s coaching class faculty Rajesh Balasubramanium, also a serial topper like D’Souza, also made it to the elite club. Avdipto Chakraborthy, who works with a consultancy firm in Kolkata, also cracked the test, second year in a row.
Ever since additional marks were introduced for women and non-engineers in 2010 by the IIMs, the profile of the class has changed dramatically, increasing the diversity and making teaching-learning a lot richer. Former CAT chair and HRM professor Himanshu Rai said, “Before 2010, 90% male engineers would crack the CAT. Now there are close to 35% women and 25%-30% non-engineers.” After CAT, various IIMs will release their short-list for subsequent process considering CAT score and other criteria.
More than 100 other non-IIM institutions also use CAT score for admission to their management programmes.