Soumyajit Sanyal, a software engineer working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Kolkata, is one of the proud nine 100 percentilers cracking the Common Admission Test (CAT) this year. A graduate from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Soumyajit goes on a free-wheeling chat with PaGaLGuY about getting closer to realising his dream of soon becoming an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta alumnus.

Congratulations! How does it feel to achieve a perfect 100 percentile?

Awesome! It is a dream come true.

You are already working at TCS. How would it be like to go back to college again?

I never left books anyway, even while working with TCS. College life is way more exciting than the monotonous office life, so I am definitely looking forward to it.

Have you taken CAT before? If yes, why didn’t you join any of the b-schools earlier?

I have taken CAT before and scored 99.7 and 99.94 percentiles, respectively. But having aimed only for the IIMs, I did not apply for other b-schools.

Do you think, admission tests like CAT, Common Management Admission Test (CMAT), Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT), etc are the true barometers of a candidate’s aptitude to pursue an MBA programme?

Yes they are, because basic aptitude is necessary for flourishing in a career related to business.

How did you squeeze time out to prepare for the exam? How many hours did you study in a day?

For the last two months, I used to make extra efforts to take out time to study for CAT.

Which coaching institute did you go to? How did you fare in the mock tests?

I enrolled for the mock tests with IMS and T.I.M.E. and I used to get pretty good percentiles in them.

Tell us something about your family…

My father is a General Manager with West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and my mother is a housewife. My sister is pursuing her PhD from the New York University. They have always been very supportive in whatever I have done till now, and are very happy with my results.

Are you planning to sit back and relax for a while, or have the preparations for GD-PI already begun?

I shall start preparing for the GD-PI very soon, and keep myself updated with the current affairs.

How has the response been from friends and family?

Everybody around me seems really ecstatic! People have been congratulating me all day.

What are your future plans?

I am aiming for IIM-Calcutta, because they are the best in Finance. And eventually, I want to be an investment banker.

Any message to the PaGaLGuY readers and future MBA aspirants?

Be regular with the mock tests, they are one of the most important part of one’s preparation.