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From Oracle Employee to 99.97 Percentile in CAT 2025
Cracking CAT with a 99+ percentile is difficult for any aspirant. Doing it while managing a demanding corporate job makes the challenge even tougher. Long office hours, stress, burnout, and lack of preparation time often become major obstacles for working professionals preparing for CAT.
However, Manhar Joshi proved that with the right strategy and disciplined preparation, even working professionals can achieve exceptional CAT scores. An IIT BHU graduate working at Oracle, Manhar scored an outstanding 99.97 percentile in CAT 2025, including a perfect 100 percentile in VARC. He also converted top institutes like IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and FMS Delhi.
What makes his story truly inspiring is not just the final result, but the process behind it handling work pressure, overcoming mistakes from previous attempts, managing burnout, and building a smart preparation strategy despite difficult circumstances.
Manhar Joshi’s Academic Background and Work Experience
Before understanding his CAT preparation strategy, here is a quick overview of his academic and professional profile.
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| College | IIT BHU |
| Branch | Electrical Engineering |
| CGPA | 8.59 |
| Class 10 CGPA | 9.8 |
| Class 12 Score | 86% |
| Work Experience | Oracle |
| Candidate Category | GEM |
Being a GEM (General Engineer Male) candidate meant competing in one of the toughest categories in the CAT ecosystem. High competition and stricter cutoffs make the journey even more challenging for GEM aspirants.
CAT 2025 Score Breakdown and Sectional Percentiles
Manhar’s CAT 2025 score reflected strong sectional balance and excellent exam temperament.
CAT 2025 Sectional Scores
| Section | Raw Score | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| VARC | 60 | 100 |
| DILR | 42 | 99.84 |
| QA | 24 | 97.22 |
| Overall | 126 | 99.97 |
His perfect VARC percentile became one of the biggest highlights of his CAT journey.
From 95 Percentile to 99.97 Percentile: Manhar’s CAT Journey
Manhar’s success did not come overnight. He attempted CAT twice, and the difference between both attempts shows how strategic preparation can completely transform results.
| Attempt | Percentile | Key Learning |
|---|---|---|
| CAT 2024 | 95 | Poor DILR decision-making affected score |
| CAT 2025 | 99.97 | Better strategy and exam management |
The jump from 95 percentile to 99.97 percentile was not due to massive conceptual improvement alone. It happened because he corrected his exam strategy and improved decision-making during the paper.
What Went Wrong in CAT 2024 and the Lessons He Learned
In CAT 2024, Manhar made one critical mistake during DILR. He got stuck on a difficult set and continued spending time on it instead of moving ahead to easier questions.
This decision severely affected his DILR score and overall percentile.
Biggest Lessons from CAT 2024:-
This realization became the foundation of his CAT 2025 preparation strategy.
How Manhar Improved His VARC Strategy for 100 Percentile
VARC eventually became Manhar’s strongest section because of aggressive practice and smart elimination techniques.
Instead of overthinking questions, he focused on:
- Attempting all CAT questions
- Trusting logical elimination
- Avoiding repeated reading
- Reducing self-doubt during the exam
VARC Preparation Strategy:
| Strategy | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Attempt all 24 questions | Maximized score potential |
| Smart option elimination | Improved accuracy |
| Reduced overthinking | Saved time |
| Consistent reading practice | Better comprehension |
This approach helped him achieve a perfect 100 percentile in VARC.
DILR Strategy That Helped Him Score 99.84 Percentile
After his CAT 2024 mistake, Manhar completely changed the way he approached DILR.
Instead of trying to solve every set, he focused heavily on identifying:
- Easy sets
- Familiar patterns
- Time-consuming traps
His DILR Preparation Included:
- Practicing multiple set types regularly
- Improving set selection ability
- Leaving difficult sets quickly
- Maintaining calmness during the section
This strategic shift significantly improved his DILR performance.
Quant Preparation Strategy: Avoiding the Biggest CAT Mistake
One of the most relatable lessons from Manhar’s journey came from Quant preparation.
He realized that many CAT aspirants waste too much time on half-solved questions simply because they feel emotionally attached to solving them.
His Revised Quant Strategy:
| Old Approach | New Approach |
|---|---|
| Keep solving difficult questions | Move quickly if stuck |
| Solve everything | Maximize score |
| Emotional solving | Strategic solving |
| Overinvest time | Smart question selection |
This mindset shift improved his efficiency and helped him avoid unnecessary time loss during the exam.
How to Prepare for CAT While Working Full-Time
Preparing for CAT while working full-time is extremely difficult because consistency becomes harder with office responsibilities.
However, Manhar built a realistic preparation strategy instead of following unrealistic 10-hour study schedules.
His Weekly Preparation Schedule:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Weekdays | Sectionals, topic practice, small daily targets |
| Weekends | Full-length mocks and detailed analysis |
Rather than focusing on study hours, he focused on maintaining consistency every week.
Managing Work Pressure and CAT Preparation Together
Things became even more challenging after layoffs increased workload pressure at Oracle.
Despite this, Manhar managed preparation smartly by:
- Building basics early
- Using weekends efficiently
- Staying back in Bangalore for focused preparation
- Taking a week off before CAT mainly for mental recovery
Interestingly, he did not spend the final week over-studying. Instead, he prioritized rest and mental freshness before the exam.
The Biggest Challenges Faced by GEM Candidates in CAT
Many GEM candidates struggle with intense competition and very high CAT cutoff requirements.
Manhar tackled this pressure differently.
Instead of obsessing over percentile numbers like 99.8+, he focused on achieving a target raw score.
His Raw Score-Based Strategy:
| Section | Focus |
|---|---|
| VARC | Strong scoring section |
| DILR | Maximum improvement area |
| QA | Stable performance |
| Overall Goal | 120+ Raw Score |
This made preparation process-driven instead of anxiety-driven.
CAT Mock Test Strategy That Improved His Performance
CAT Mock tests played a huge role in Manhar’s preparation.
But more importantly, he focused heavily on mock analysis rather than simply attempting more mocks.
His Mock Analysis Approach:
- Identifying repeated mistakes
- Improving question selection
- Tracking sectional patterns
- Measuring attempt quality instead of quantity
- Learning from poor mock performances
This consistent analysis helped him refine his exam temperament significantly.
Interview Preparation Strategy for IIMs and FMS Delhi
Manhar’s GDPI preparation strategy was unique because he focused heavily on practical thinking and opinion-building instead of memorizing facts.
He regularly read:
- Editorials
- Opinion pieces
- Economic discussions
- Business-related analysis
According to him, MBA interviews test clarity of thought and balanced perspectives more than factual memorization.
How AI Helped Him Prepare for MBA Interviews
One of the most interesting parts of his interview preparation was his use of AI tools for city-specific and profile-based preparation.
He used prompts such as:
- “What should I know about my city?”
- “Important facts about my hometown”
- “Key economic developments in my region”
He eventually created nearly 50 pages of notes for interview preparation.
IIM Interview Experiences: What Worked and What Failed
Manhar had different interview experiences across top B-schools.
Interview Results:
| Institute | Result |
|---|---|
| IIM Calcutta | Converted |
| IIM Lucknow | Converted |
| FMS Delhi | Converted |
| IIM Bangalore | Did Not Convert |
| IIM Ahmedabad | Did Not Convert |
One of his biggest learnings came from the IIM Bangalore interview, where he later realized that he became too rigid while defending his opinions.
The panel was testing flexibility and practical thinking, but he kept defending one viewpoint strongly.
Burnout During CAT Preparation: Problems and Solutions
Like many serious CAT aspirants, Manhar also faced burnout and health-related issues during preparation.
He admitted that:
- His physical health suffered
- He gained weight
- Mental exhaustion became common
However, he also became self-aware enough to identify burnout symptoms early.
Sleep, Stress Management, and Mental Preparation Before CAT
Mental freshness became one of the most important factors in his preparation journey.
How He Managed Stress:
- Taking bike rides around Bangalore
- Fixing sleep schedule before CAT
- Adjusting body clock according to expected slot timing
- Taking occasional breaks from preparation
This helped him remain calm, alert, and mentally prepared during the actual CAT exam.
Key Lessons Every CAT Aspirant Should Learn from Manhar’s Journey
Smart Preparation Beats Long Study Hours
Quality preparation matters more than random study sessions.
Mock Analysis Is Extremely Important
Most improvement happens during analysis, not during the mock itself.
Working Professionals Can Crack CAT
Consistency and planning matter more than free time.
Mental Health Directly Affects Performance
Burnout management and proper sleep are extremely important.
Focus on Raw Score Instead of Percentile
Raw score targets make preparation more structured and manageable.
What Working Professionals Can Learn from This CAT Success Story
Manhar Joshi’s journey from a full-time Oracle employee to securing 99.97 percentile in CAT 2025 is a powerful example of strategic preparation and disciplined execution.
He faced workload pressure, burnout, and the challenges of being a GEM candidate, yet managed to convert top institutes like IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and FMS Delhi through smart planning and continuous improvement.
His story clearly proves that CAT success is not about ideal conditions. It is about:
- consistency,
- smart strategy,
- mock analysis,
- emotional discipline,
- and learning from mistakes.
For every CAT aspirant and working professional, this journey serves as proof that exceptional results are possible with the right approach.
