★★★★★

(A very detailed and honest review from someone who improved by 15 percentile points in a few months!).

CAT Percentile, 2019: 92.90.

I am writing this review after having received calls from IMT Ghaziabad, IRMA, and awaiting calls from IIT Roorkee, IIT Madras, GIM, TAPMI and some others. In addition, I am a graduate from a non-engineering stream and this was my second attempt at CAT. UPDATE (2020): Joining IIT Madras.

I first heard about 2IIM through their YouTube videos in the year 2018, just after writing CAT 2018. I knew by then that I wanted to do an MBA and that I was getting serious about CAT prep, having thoroughly messed up CAT 2018 (77.xx%ile). At this point like any other aspirant, I had tried out various other traditional coaching options. Coming from a metro city like Bangalore, I had the opportunity to try out the giants like TIME and IMS. I also gave Handa Ka Funda a fair chance. What resonated with me when I tried these coaching centres was that they did not tackle the basics of each topic sufficiently, and their teaching methodology wasn’t as personal as I would’ve appreciated. After all, everyone’s learning needs are unique and not every coaching centre can accommodate them.

I will get into the technical aspects of my review, but before that, let me also mention that the 2IIM team has a wonderful way of approaching the exam and providing timely advice whenever asked for some. As we know, competitive exams tend to be stress-inducing, and it is always wonderful to be reminded to have fun during the journey! Time and time again I asked for advice from Bharathwaj sir, and I was reassured and encouraged through my CAT prep in its entirety. Rajesh sir also casually reminded us to not give into percentile calculators, PagalGuy, and rumours.

Here’s what I found unique about the 2IIM coaching:

1. The opportunity to try a few videos before actually purchasing the same. Some of the topics I was able to explore included averages and percentages, and for someone weak in arithmetic, it was amazing to be able to check whether the teaching style resonated with my learning style before buying the course. NOTE: They have both the GREEN (without the books) course and the COMPREHENSIVE (with the books) course, and I chose the latter.
2. Rajesh sir’s teaching method was of great help during my preparation for CAT. The focus was not on gimmicks such as Vedic math or quick counting. There were no shortcuts or easy ways out of a problem. His teaching made me face each problem head-on, and actually work through the nuances and understand the basics of the problem before being able to solve it.
3. When it comes to Quantitative Aptitude, the emphasis laid on practice cannot be understated and the 2IIM team does not shy away from mentioning that only practice can get you to where you want to be. This was one point that I should’ve focused more on, and if I do write CAT again, I guess this is where I would expend my energy. However, if you pay attention to the path laid out by the 2IIM course, including all the practice questions in the CAT LEVEL and DRILL LEVEL, and then some, there is no stopping you!
4. The Verbal Ability coaching by Bharathwaj sir. This, perhaps, has to be the best icing on the cake, especially considering the fact that CAT 2019 saw one of the toughest verbal sections out there. I was able to score 61.51 in VA, with a percentile of 98.52, by simply reading the articles posted by him every single day on their Facebook group CAT Prep Online - 2IIM. Towards the final weeks leading up to CAT there were so many interesting articles and long reads that I had powered through, that reading even the British Colonialism passage in CAT 2019 did not faze me! Today, you will also find Bharathwaj’s reading list for CAT and it is definitely worth the read because the lists are well-curated. On the 2IIM website are available PLENTY of practice comprehensions in both the CAT LEVEL and the DRILL LEVEL.
5. The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning aspects of CAT are also well explained. Being privy to the thought process of cracking the data sets and logical reasoning sets can be of great help while you’re attempting questions in the exam. This section too requires ample practice and exposure to different kinds of questions.
6. MOCKS. 2IIM has excellent mocks and they encourage that you attempt mocks from other institutes as well in order to get more practice and exposure to diverse question types. IMS has a good number of mocks that I enjoyed taking!
7. From my list above, you can easily comprehend the number of resources that 2IIM has amassed for CAT prep, a lot of which are free and available for anyone preparing for CAT. Their CAT blog is also a wealth of information for before and after writing CAT.

GDPI: This is another very important step in the MBA preparation process. In the GDPI STAGE as well, the 2IIM team did not disappoint. I was able to access the course content which has more than 51 videos on group discussions, personal interview tips and examples, and general knowledge cases at the moment, some of which are also available on YouTube for you to see. I was also given the opportunity to attend mock interviews with experienced faculty which definitely helped me cross the final leg of the CAT journey. I continue to use the course and benefit from it. I hope you do too!

Good luck on your MBA journey. Remember to have fun with it :)