i am deletinmg this post..sorrry
For one week after the results were announced I did nothing but party and relax - GD/PI prep will come but for the time being I had to live the moment. I was at my hometown, relaxing with my cousins and family members - that provided me the fuel to take a leap into the GD/PI prep. The next week, I came to know about the CL bootcamp and braced myself for that. Now, the bootcamp is something I would recommend to any puy thinking of converting his/her IIM calls. It was one helluva experience - it went for two days and I would say I almost matched a strict Bschool regimen. We did nothing but GDs, Funda gaining session, Mock PIs, GK overhaul etc. I also met some great people out there - bootcamp is something I am not going to forget for quite some time to come. I came to know about my weaknesses (soft voice, need to have enough knowledge of my hobbies etc.) and worked towards filling the gaps. I took the TIME material and went through the various PI experiences. This helped me a lot in knowing the kind of questions that are normally asked. Apart from that, used to attend weekend GD drills at TIME. I knew I am not a great performer in GD - all I needed to make sure was to make 2-3 valid points. Ah, the next thing was acads - I made a word doc about my syllabus from my insti site and started mugging up that I started to learn some 7 years earlier. It was nothing short of a rediscovery. By the time my first interview (IIMB) came, I was mostly ready.
Each IIM interview was unique in its own way. However, I liked the IIMA and IIMC interviews a lot. The former was more of a kind of discussion and we even discussed Hindi Grammar for some time. The latter was a stress interview, but I somehow enjoyed being massacred there.
And again came the wait for results. As the days were nearing I was getting more and more anxious. On 9th afternoon, IIML put up a test link and it said I was through. 😃 But then I wanted an official confirmation, and more importantly about the BIG 3 - A,B,C. At night, I came to know that I am not in the list released by B. My anxiety acquired a new dimension - couldn't sleep the whole night. At around 6, woke up from bed knowing there is no use of trying to sleep. Came to know that L had put its official link - my convert was retained there. A sigh of relief - I am heading to an IIM atleast. But needed to know what happened with A,C desperately. Then came the C result - I gathered myself, entered my TR No. and DOB and then came the message - "Congratulations...." - it felt like I had attained nirvana. Waited for A result and I had converted that as well.
Now I was in a dilemma between A and C. I had to make that choice - called up my friends and after a lot of thought, I have almost decided to head for WIMWI. :)
Now I have entered the world of MBA and my next concern is interns. As you see, problems in life never end, and that's what makes it so exciting. :)
Tips to CAT Aspirants:
i) Always keep up your confidence levels, and that doesn't mean assuring yourself that you can do it. It should come from within, it should based on some things which you have achieved through your hard work. Fake confidence doesn't help anytime. Neither does over-confidence.
ii) Get over the "Ego" factor. If you are not able to solve a DI Puzzle Set or a QA problem amidst a test, leave it at that. You probably have the clout to solve the others. And let me assure you - there is never a dearth of questions.
iii) Practice. Practice. Practice. And practice doesn't mean doing some from the basic study material. Practice means solving quality questions from previous (and recent) CAT papers, Mock CATs etc. I would advise you to get the last two years' TIME Mock papers and try to solve each QA and DI question from them. And resort to aid, only if you are convinced that the question is beyond you. Never try to get over the "Ego" factor while practicing. But make sure that you are able to solve questions of similar pattern fast if they reappear.
iv) Read. Read. Read. Read anything you can lay your hands on. It may be the newspaper (esp. the editorials. Would strongly recommend The Hindu), Magazines (would strongly recommend Businessworld), Fiction (would strongly recommend books by Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Ayn Rand & Jhumpa Lahiri) and Non-Fiction (there are a hell lot of topics you can pick from, including Philosophy). Apart from that, somewhat lesser fun to do is to solving the RCs from previous CATs/Mock CATs.
v) Follow PG regularly. But not to the extent that it turns out to be an addiction. Subscribe to mailing lists like QQAD (Quant Question A Day) and DI question a day. Keep updating your mock scores in the thread meant for it and keep assuring yourself. If possible, do track what actually went wrong with a specific mock, so that you can fill in the gaps.
v) CAT is not the end of the world. Allocate a good quantity of your time to your regular activities (acads if you are studying & work if your working). Note that a good percentage in graduation is the requirement of any good college - don't spoil your chances by spoiling your grades. CAT will come many times, but a bad GPA/percentage in your college is going to haunt your profile forever.
Well ,Every Dog has its Day , and today people its mine 😁 .
CAT well this three letter word has become more of an over hyped phenomenon ( truly just in my honest opinion ) . My tryst with destiny began ages ago in 2005 the first year i gave CAT. Yes i did the usual things , i went to IMS , I gave the mocks , I was never bad , but I dare say I was also never great ,if there was one thing that got me 99+ percentiles it was verbal . Well as I said I did the usual things , with the exception that things with the sort of unusual person I am , dont always stay very usual. I lost my mind in between and started believing DI would be my nemesis , I was horribily bad at calculation based DI though logic was my strength. On CAT day the IIMs seemed to have guessed my aptitude and 2005 was the year when the pattern for DI changed completely and CAT DI became less calculation based and more logic based , I got a 97+ in DI and a 92 overall.
I had a job from campus ( A Chinese product based company ) , with a Chinese way of life. I did my internship and started working with them , my days and nights comprised of one thing code , code and more code ( for the uninitiated , code , is an abstruce language developed by human beings to keep themselves busy and occupied on lifeless but more intelligent forms of machinery(popularly known as computers) ) . Anyway , never gave CAT 2006 , while two of my best friends got kickass percentiles and went to MDI and IIM C , one went on to win the Aditya birla scholarship . Well what is its relation to me , well you can imagine rock bottom that my self esteem hit at that point , in case you cant , well I really cant help you can I 😃 .
That was that , I prepared (yes again for CAT 2007 ) , again the same story , I would sometimes wake up at 3:00 in the morning and wonder what the hell am I going to do . That was that , CAT 2007 was another disastor. I realised one thing PREPARATION IS NOT FOR ME. I realised (or rather was made to realise by some friends whom I am now indebted to) that on any given day , given paper I can solve the number of questions i need to clear the cutoffs in each section all I need is the right ATTITUDE. I got depressed and managed to move around like a zombie. To beat it I got one call and one reject from SP Jain , I had no idea what was wrong.
Hence come 2008 I gave the GRE applied for MS and decided to end this obsession with an arbitrary exam which lakhs of people give each year,I wanted to do a Post grad, have a university life, live in a different country, experience, make my life interesting. The dollar surged against the rupee , the world economy was tumultuous , and the rest as they say is history. But sometime in between Yours Truly decided to fill the CAT form ( by this time I was programmed to do so : ) ).
I attended horse riding classes at palace grounds , went to one of my friends places to vegetate, went to an NGO to work on weekends , filled MS apps when thousands of people were taking and analyzing the mocks, I was living my life .
On Sat November 16th I was thinking hard if i should bunk a horse riding class and waste 5 hours of my time to give an exam I have given twice. Finally I decided to go , my room mate was at the same center as mine and didn't know the location well , I said what the hell , I will go with her. Again ,The rest as they say is history. This year of all , I got calls from IIM B,L,K,S with a 98.73 (OA) and 94+ sectional in all. Yes the one year I did nothing except relax and not take it to heart.
I got a MS accept, I got a promotion at work, I converted my B and K calls ,though L was a straight reject and one of my funniest interviews, I resigned from work ,all in chronological order.
And guess what I got to know about both my calls and my convert at IIM B through PG.
People can make all the difference ...
I owe a pair of JOSE headphones (originally it was BOSE that i had promised but then what the heck 350 $ no chance), a pair of chaddis ( not the pink ones ) to my friends that I had promised if I get through B.
For me this line sums it up ...
"A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. "
One friend told me that we can never know the bigger scheme of things , and maybe even if we did we would never change it, though we think we would. Chew on it. Read about chaos theory, read albert camus, read marcel proust, Maybe the universe is meant to be in a state of chaos and any attempt to bring it to order is futile.
Cheers and God bless !
Hi
CAT is most an adventurous thing that happens suddenly in the middle of a boring life for most of the people. Like for many my story is also a similar one. Having decently scored in both 10th n 12th and then securing admission in a Decent Engineering college, I thought now after so many years, life would ease out. My parents always told me that it is the last hurdle clear it. I tried and cleared that realizing that as per their expectation one more needs to be fulfilled and this time people said it was really the last one (God Knows)
. After completing my engineering got a job in a Decent MNC. I had a profile of Sales and Marketing, company given Ford Ikon, I thought that MBA is not required for me. Many of my friends in the company were preparing but i never thought i will ever prepare for CAT. Many oldies in the company also told me that. In the first year I thought the same way.After around a lil over 2 years I was really sucked up with my job. Really wanted to run away. Then I thought of giving CAT. If I would clear CAT I would be the amongst the last ones from batch to go into MBA. This was infact my last chance coz if I did not, i would ve been a married man 
.
As per my conversation, I bought the material from CL and joined the test series. But my job kept on haunting me. Regularly I had to travel to other places, and could manage to give one one third of the tests. Self study was not happening. I had almost given up. Then my promotion was delayed by 3 months. Really bugged I thought I had enuf. Had to get some self discipline. But with just 1 month to go, odds were not in my favour. Bringing in some discliline I started giving roughy 1.5 hrs av daily. I tried to brush up formulas for Quant, increase my stamina so that I can sit for three hours and concentrate. I also ensured that I fill all the forms even ICFAI :grin:. Before the CAT took one week off.
My focus was on two things- 1. SHould know all formulas and fundas 2. Tried to get my speed right and that I can hold it for 2.5 hrs. Finally the D day came CAT 2008. Not very hopeful went for the test. Had always practice on a strategy. I started with Quant. Did well in attemping arnd 20 questions. People found it difficult but I found it pretty chill. Then DI. handled it well too. same arnd 20 questions. It was easy for all but DI has always been my strength. Finally came the most Dicy section VA. It was the section that could swing the things. ANd it really did. I saw the watch. I clearly rem that moment 12.58. Just 32 min and a bloody whole section left. My plans were hay wire. My real life quant was shattered. Such a big mistake. In the hurry started answering but could not focus. So it was guess work all the way. I knew I was screwing it up, but the urge in me forced to keep guessing
. CAT was gone, then started giving other exams. But again job kept coming in. With great lies, setting, jugad was able to give the other tests. Mostly it was like Sat night I come back and Sunday I gave the tests.
After all the tests then was the time for results. CAT was the first to come. I din ve the time and guts to calculate my score. On the DAY was not able to check the result online. SOmeone told me to send an sms. With that you can check your percentile but cannot check your calls. I asked my frnd to do that. I was told my percentile 80 in VA :oops:, 99.77 in QA & 99.81 in DI, Overall 99.77. I was shattered. I knew that I would have no IIM calls. That was confiormed next day. So waited for other resutls. Similar near misses. 97.9 in FMS (98 was the cut off), 84 in NMIMS (85 Cut off), arnd 30 in IIFT ( Cut off 32). Managed to score decently in SNAP. Screwed in XAT & JMET. After a long wait finally managed to get calls from some CAT colleges also. My total calls were NITIE, MDI, IMT, SIBM, SCMHRD, Great Lakes and yea ICFAI too.
Started the interview season with SCMHRD. Was confidant on my GD skills. Did not do any preparation. Got kicked out in the GD itself. It was a real shock for me. Then again did all my consulting, a lil self practice. Finally in the end convertered all the calls except SCMHRD. Fianlly I decided jo join the best of the these institutes NITIE.
Now life has started out here but the hurdles are still not over. First came summers. Doing that in P&G.; now the next big hurdle would be a job and then after that the hurdles will keep coming. Guess will have to make these hurdles a habbit
Regards
Jashan
MY CAT Story- Sorry for this long post:lookround:. I thank GOD with all my heart to give me the chance to post in this sacred thread.
My first acquaintance with CAT
I came to hear about this CAT way back in 1997-98(I was in class 9 , I think:
) when my brother came home one day with a brochure and paper in his hand- it was a test being conducted by IMS for scholarships for the CAT prep course. I was good in maths. So just went through that paper of IMS but, oh! ,I was unable to solve more than six-seven out of I think 30 questions. Then my brother told me the shortcut to a few difficult ones- and lo , they appeared to be cakewalk after the explanation. I became interested. :
BACKGROUND
Like many making it to top B-schools I am also from an engineering background, but there is a twist
. After my class 10, I wanted to study commerce(as my whole family was into that line) but was forced to take science(the typical Indian mentality-science->eng->job) 
.However, after my 12 board exams I could not give the eng entrance exams(call it my callousness or lack of preparation). I took admission in B.Sc (physics). But people in my locality(including friends) used to taunt me for not making it to engineering(as if it was the end of the world for me). After B.SC I took admission in B.Tech in Jadavpur University(the course was only for B.Sc. degree holders). My acads were pretty good.
The Motivation for taking CAT
During engineering , I became bored with the useless subjects taught and then I decided I want to do something else. I was also seeing my friends(who had taunted me, going for CAT'06) thus giving me the feeling that the job was not satisfactory. It was during this period that the CAT frenzy was catching everyone. I was also one of them . But I did not start studying for it in the final year. I skipped a few offers from PSU's like EIL,ONGC just to sit for CAT(these companies make you stay at sites in remote villages
). In 2007 I took up a job in a software company (just to stay in a city as I wanted to prepare fort CAT). However , at that time I was not confident. In the office (though enjoyable in the beginning as you earn ur first salary) , I was just slogging. I was a good programmer(as per college standards) but over here I was just slogging , trying only to save my job. The colleagues were not very helpful ( thinking themselves to be the bonds)and I could not understand the system(nobody helped me ,they were very busy every time ) . It was then that I decided to take CAT seriously, as I found that it was the only way out from this f**king place! 
Also, the desire to move away from the technical field resurfaced and the old love-commerce- came back to me. I would specialise in Finance: if I make it to a good B-school( away from this coding shit)
The Preparation
I joined Career Launcher in Gurgaon in Dec'07. I utilised each and every moment I got. In my office i used to carry my study materials and I used to study whenever I got time
. I started hating my job as the opprtunities were limited. I used to get up at 7 in the morning and studied for 2 hours. I office I tried completing my work asap and sat down to solve a few QA/LR questions. In the evening, after I reached home, I sat down for 1-2 hours before dinner and then at 11 p.m to solve CAT papers
. In my office my peers and colleagues came to know about my prep and soon my position in office deteriorated. It became a hell for me. But still i had just one goal in mind - CAT'08.
In June'08 the mock cat series started. In my first mock I scored 90 %tile. Good enough start for a first timer like me. But soon the situation changed . Instead of improving the scores declined hovering between 85-90 % tile in the subsequent tests. I started feeling less confident and the fear of failure crept in. Added to that the situation in office was killing me. I did not know what to do if I failed in CAT. In August I bought the last years test papers of IMS and TIME. In the night from 11p.m-1.30a.m. I usd to solve the papers . But the performance was not satisfactory:banghead:. QA was my strongest followed by DI/LR and then VA/RC. However, i was constantly scoring poor marks in QA. I still remember that the 3rd mock was my best when I scored a good 120 out of 300. But still the percentiles never improved. I was frustated. I started talking to people who had CAT experience
- they told me that you need atleast 95 %tile in your mocks. I was nowhere near. But then , my brother helped me(though he never appeared for CAT:cheerio:). He told me to ignore the performance in MOCKS and just concentrate on the various kind of problems - the variety- as the real CAT is totally different from the MOCKS. This piece of advice worked. I was no longer worried about the 80 odd percentiles that I was scoring - though I was always trying to improve.
During my classes in Career Launcher I met a guy called Pankaj:cheers:. We started discussing about CAT as he too was in the same boat like me - not scoring well in mocks. He joined the TIME test series and gave me the TIME MOCK papers. That was of great help as I found that I was doing well in the TIME papers - which were closer to the actual CAT. It gave me some confidence. I took a break - I did not appear for 2 mocks in September. I worked on a strategy. Initially I was devoting time in the order 40/40/40 for the three sections and then 30 minutes for the section which could maximise my marks. This was not working for me. So simply I put 50 mins for each section. This worked well for me in a few mocks. So I decide that I am going to stick with this strategy in the D-day also. Even after the breaks and strategising I failed in the subsequent mocks to score well . I decide that I am not going to appear for any more mocks. I was still not sure which section was my strongest- as the marks were always varying.I started solving whatever Mock papers I had with me for the next few weeks. I slowly came to realise that accuracy is THE most important in CAT. In the next few tests that I took I attempted a very few questions and aimed for accuracy. This worked.;)
Meanwhile, in office , I was not performing to my potential and my situation was real bad. I did whatever was assigned to me but that vigour was lacking. My one time favourite-coding was like a tasteless thing for me. I just slogged .:sneaky:
The Final Preparations
In October I realised that if I stay in my office I would never be able to give CAT well. So I decided that I would go home -to kolkata. I left for home just before Diwali in October'08 stating jaundice in my office. Once in home I started dedicatedly preparing for CAT. In the morning I used to go through the materials and then from 11 a.m to 1.30p.m I used to solve one paper. In the evening I followed a similar routine. I decided that accuracy is the one that I am going to aim for in QA and DI. In English it was just the opposite- i would aim for speed.:grin:
CAT'99-04- These papers were different. The questions were relatively easy but the no. of questions were 50 in each section. I could solve these papers and scored consistently around 120 out of 300. This gave me some confidence.
But CAT -05 onwards the pattern changed . CAT had become difficult and I also had difficulty scoring well in these papers. But then my strategy was - accuracy in QA and DI and speed in English. I was doing comparitively well. Remeber , at this time I had no way to know my relative standing as i had stopped taking mocks from mid October.:oops:
Just a few days before CAT I stopped all paper solving and just concentrated on brushing up the basics- according to my brother's advice(his advice always helps me:cheerio:). I was prepared for the D-day - I knew that I had to perform otherwise there was no way out for me( I would be ridiculed in office as everyone knew I was preparing for CAT).
I had to do it on 16th Nov 2008.
The D-day-16th Nov'08
I went to the examination hall . Settled down . I brushed up in my mind - accuracy in QA/DI and speed in English. The paper started.
I began with my strongest section Quant. It began well .I progressed well and I knew that I was doing them right. I skipped a few. After 45 minutes I found that I have done only 10. I scanned the Quant section again- Ha there it was -on the lines of a sum in the TIME test series a geometry problem and then another. 50 minutes up I had done 12(got all of them correct. Whew!
)
DI/LR- Got the simplest set right at the beginning(lucky !).5 minutes and three done , but then DI was not so easy. 50 minutes gone and I had done 11.
English- Oh! 40 questions. I adjusted . I fixed my target . 2 RC passages and rest EU/VA. 50 minutes gone and i had done 22.
Came out quite contended. Felling good about QA and LR/DI but skeptical about English section.:oops:
The results
Came back to office . Had a brawl with my manager
- I just hate this job. Attended the other exams -SNAP,IIFT,NMIMS and XAT. Then came the results season. IIFT (missed by 1 mark). Tension was creeping in for 9th Jan(the CAT results day). Then it came . Wow! I had three calls B,I and L( I thanked GOD heartily). Great! Now I can go the office with pride.On 10th came the Snap results. Managed calls from SIBM(pune & bangalore).,SCMHRD and SIIB. NMIMS(I missed by 8 marks). XAT-disaster. But these did not matter any more.I started my GD/PI prep and ultimately conquerd IIM-Indore.
The hard work payed off. I resigned from office on 10th April itself- the day the IIM results came out. But surprisingly, the peers who had doubted my abilities now congratulate me and look to me with respect
. Even my manager! Wow! I love it . Just waiting for my notice period to end and say bye-bye to this office and job.
My tips to CAT aspirants
1)Make a strategy- it is very important. What works for others may not work for you.
2)Identify ur weak areas and strong areas. Work for ur weaknesses but don't ignore ur strong ones- remember ur strong areas will give u the edge.
3)Make a routine and stick to it. Never ever deviate from it - however tired you maybe.
4)Don't let the Mocks rule you- remember doing well in mocks doesn't guarantee you anything. Moreover,mock CAT and CAT are totally different.Performance on your D-day matters.
5) Finally believe in yourself and GOD. You are the best Judge of your abilities and GOD is the best judge of your efforts.
My CAT story
Finally I am writing my story on the thread where I always wanted to write. Its been a year into my B School life at IIM C and its been an amazing experience for me
Well, here's my story.
When I was in my 2nd year I had two choices whether to go for GATE or CAT..Although I was a decent student as far as acads were concerned I decided to go for management since I wanted to prove a point to others that I have it in me to clear the best of the exams. I had this feeling since the time I missed out on IIT JEE and joined Electronics engineering in Government Engineering College Bhopal. In the 3rd year of college I started my preps for CAT 2005 It helped that I had a group of friends and we joined a coaching institute together ..From the beginning I had a belief that I have it in me to clear this exam though I knew nothing about the GD/PI part. In the initial few days in my coaching institute we were given a previous CAT paper to solve. Though we were expecting nothing from that paper but when our tutor gave us the actual cutoffs for the paper I was taken in for a surprise.I had performed fairly well and that paper really boosted my confidence levels and our group really started preparing with full josh for the exam. I would like to point out that I was never an extra-ordinary student but a student who can put in as much hard work as possible.
I was a consistent performer in the test series and everyone including my parents, mentors and friends were expecting a lot from me. I was also confident that I will do well in the exam. However I would like to draw an analogy between performances in mock CATs as analogous to a Cricket player's performance. A player's FORM is temporary but CLASS is permanent .So if ur performance goes up, it goes up rapidly and if it goes down it goes down in a consistent manner too... . Also as one need to conserve his energies to hit in SLOG overs, similarly one has to keep his energies for the D day. So I really consider this a beauty of the exam. It really tests ur patience and perseverance levels
At last the D Day arrived, with the weight of expectations on my back I reached the exam center and after seeing the paper the CAT ghost got on to me..The format was changed and I was taken unawares..I really got nervous and I knew I have performed really poorly..My one yr of hard work has really gone waste..Looking backwards I see that I didn't save my energies till the last leg and was too nervous to give the exam. This performance really upset me and I was really not able to perform to my abilities in any other exam be it IIFT, XAT, or SNAP. The CAT results were as expected. I scored in the 70s which was really shock for everyone as I have not even scored below 90s in any of the mocks. My friends and family really supported me at that moment and I decided to give it my all in the last FMS examand I cleared it!!!!
I knew I cud have cleared CAT so never really was motivated from inside to prepare for GD/PI for FMS and didn't gave it a serious try.
Then started my preps for CAT 2006I knew I had to clear CAT so started preparing again while working in an IT company simultaneously.. This time I knew I had to save my energies till the end and I was ready for the CAT bouncer this time..After the exam I knew it had gone well but had some doubts in the verbal section as did everyone elseEvery coaching institute was giving different answer keys for verbal and I was really confused I considered VA as my forte as I cleared VA cutoffs in almost each of the mocks.But fate has something else for me in store. When the results came I was again on the different side of table having scored 98.7 overall with no IIM calls. Having scored more than 99 percentiles in both QA and DI, luck was really not on my side and the keys came out to be different from the IIMs as compared to coaching institutes. This again dented my hopes and I was really disappointed. I had worked for the last two years and still I have not been able to make it. That year I got a call from XLRI and SP Jain but was not motivated enough for the interviews.
This really was the toughest time for me as I was on ground zero again .With the help of my family and friends I put my failures behind and started again. Though this year I was not really putting in a lot of time and was just giving mocks and analyzing them. In spite of not preparing much I was getting excellent scores in the mocks. In the mean time I got an offer to go to US on a long term from my organization and that too just a day before the CAT exam. My family was really excited with it and I stopped preparing 15 days before the exam. Since CAT was my ultimate dream so I tried my best to postpone my travel dates by one day.Now I was leaving on the day of CAT in the evening.
I got up early that day , packed my stuff since I was to leave in the evening and I just took the CAT exam casually. I even completed my paper 5 mins b4 the scheduled time as I urgently needed to go to the washroom!!! I then left for US..I knew I had done well and when the results came I was one of the happiest man on earth. I secured 99.58 % and got calls from A, C, L, I, K, S. I still don't know what B wanted!!!
But now I had to take the toughest decision of my life: Whether to leave a high paying job in US in one of the best organizations in the world or to go back and pursue my dream. My family supported me but they had an inclination that I stay back. There was a risk associated since I was still to convert my calls. I decided to come back for GD/PI 's and gave my all for the preparations.I converted all my calls being waitlisted at 45 in IIM A. At last I joined IIM C.. J
Now I look back and see that it was possible only because of my belief in me and my perseverance. I believe more than anything else CAT is an exam of one's patience and how much willing a person is to sacrifice. Though I prepared the hardest for CAT 2005 i performed the worst in that and vice versa for CAT 2007.I have noe become an ardent believer of this quote
"It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."
Looking backwards I think that one can really connect the dots looking backwards. If I wud have been selected in CAT 2006 I would have been passing out this year in the current economic scenario.And I thank God that I am not J
My advice to all of you guys is :
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR CAPABILITIES
Always prepare a schedule and work according to it
Analyze your mocks this was the only prep that I did religiously
Believe in almighty
J
In GD/PI don't pretend to be someone else ..I must say honesty really pays. infact I even talked about 'orkutting' being a favourite pastime in one of my interviews' SO always be honest in the interviews.
Cheers
Abhishek
IIM Calcutta
Finally I am writing my story on the thread where I always wanted to write. Its been a year into my B School life at IIM C and its been an amazing experience for me
Well, here's my story.
When I was in my 2nd year I had two choices whether to go for GATE or CAT..Although I was a decent student as far as acads were concerned I decided to go for management since I wanted to prove a point to others that I have it in me to clear the best of the exams. I had this feeling since the time I missed out on IIT JEE and joined Electronics engineering in Government Engineering College Bhopal. In the 3rd year of college I started my preps for CAT 2005 It helped that I had a group of friends and we joined a coaching institute together ..From the beginning I had a belief that I have it in me to clear this exam though I knew nothing about the GD/PI part. In the initial few days in my coaching institute we were given a previous CAT paper to solve. Though we were expecting nothing from that paper but when our tutor gave us the actual cutoffs for the paper I was taken in for a surprise.I had performed fairly well and that paper really boosted my confidence levels and our group really started preparing with full josh for the exam. I would like to point out that I was never an extra-ordinary student but a student who can put in as much hard work as possible.
I was a consistent performer in the test series and everyone including my parents, mentors and friends were expecting a lot from me. I was also confident that I will do well in the exam. However I would like to draw an analogy between performances in mock CATs as analogous to a Cricket player's performance. A player's FORM is temporary but CLASS is permanent .So if ur performance goes up, it goes up rapidly and if it goes down it goes down in a consistent manner too... . Also as one need to conserve his energies to hit in SLOG overs, similarly one has to keep his energies for the D day. So I really consider this a beauty of the exam. It really tests ur patience and perseverance levels
At last the D Day arrived, with the weight of expectations on my back I reached the exam center and after seeing the paper the CAT ghost got on to me..The format was changed and I was taken unawares..I really got nervous and I knew I have performed really poorly..My one yr of hard work has really gone waste..Looking backwards I see that I didn't save my energies till the last leg and was too nervous to give the exam. This performance really upset me and I was really not able to perform to my abilities in any other exam be it IIFT, XAT, or SNAP. The CAT results were as expected. I scored in the 70s which was really shock for everyone as I have not even scored below 90s in any of the mocks. My friends and family really supported me at that moment and I decided to give it my all in the last FMS examand I cleared it!!!!
I knew I cud have cleared CAT so never really was motivated from inside to prepare for GD/PI for FMS and didn't gave it a serious try.
Then started my preps for CAT 2006I knew I had to clear CAT so started preparing again while working in an IT company simultaneously.. This time I knew I had to save my energies till the end and I was ready for the CAT bouncer this time..After the exam I knew it had gone well but had some doubts in the verbal section as did everyone elseEvery coaching institute was giving different answer keys for verbal and I was really confused I considered VA as my forte as I cleared VA cutoffs in almost each of the mocks.But fate has something else for me in store. When the results came I was again on the different side of table having scored 98.7 overall with no IIM calls. Having scored more than 99 percentiles in both QA and DI, luck was really not on my side and the keys came out to be different from the IIMs as compared to coaching institutes. This again dented my hopes and I was really disappointed. I had worked for the last two years and still I have not been able to make it. That year I got a call from XLRI and SP Jain but was not motivated enough for the interviews.
This really was the toughest time for me as I was on ground zero again .With the help of my family and friends I put my failures behind and started again. Though this year I was not really putting in a lot of time and was just giving mocks and analyzing them. In spite of not preparing much I was getting excellent scores in the mocks. In the mean time I got an offer to go to US on a long term from my organization and that too just a day before the CAT exam. My family was really excited with it and I stopped preparing 15 days before the exam. Since CAT was my ultimate dream so I tried my best to postpone my travel dates by one day.Now I was leaving on the day of CAT in the evening.
I got up early that day , packed my stuff since I was to leave in the evening and I just took the CAT exam casually. I even completed my paper 5 mins b4 the scheduled time as I urgently needed to go to the washroom!!! I then left for US..I knew I had done well and when the results came I was one of the happiest man on earth. I secured 99.58 % and got calls from A, C, L, I, K, S. I still don't know what B wanted!!!
But now I had to take the toughest decision of my life: Whether to leave a high paying job in US in one of the best organizations in the world or to go back and pursue my dream. My family supported me but they had an inclination that I stay back. There was a risk associated since I was still to convert my calls. I decided to come back for GD/PI 's and gave my all for the preparations.I converted all my calls being waitlisted at 45 in IIM A. At last I joined IIM C.. J
Now I look back and see that it was possible only because of my belief in me and my perseverance. I believe more than anything else CAT is an exam of one's patience and how much willing a person is to sacrifice. Though I prepared the hardest for CAT 2005 i performed the worst in that and vice versa for CAT 2007.I have noe become an ardent believer of this quote
"It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."
Looking backwards I think that one can really connect the dots looking backwards. If I wud have been selected in CAT 2006 I would have been passing out this year in the current economic scenario.And I thank God that I am not J
My advice to all of you guys is :
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR CAPABILITIES
Always prepare a schedule and work according to it
Analyze your mocks this was the only prep that I did religiously
Believe in almighty
J
In GD/PI don't pretend to be someone else ..I must say honesty really pays. infact I even talked about 'orkutting' being a favourite pastime in one of my interviews' SO always be honest in the interviews.
Cheers
Abhishek
IIM Calcutta
Hi All,
First of all a thanks to PG and all of us pagals for making my journey to IIM Lucknow a memorable one!
My story is as follows:
CAT 2006 --> If I have to describe it, I would call it a suicide mission. It wasn`t easy for me, as I had lost my dad and my family and I were still coping with it. I knew I was ok in QA and DI, English was something which would let me down and that is exactly wat happened on 19 November 2006. What a paper! English really kicked my a** with me managing 44%ile. Even DI was screwed up, with my saving grace was Quant. Week after week, I came face to face with a disaster until January 21 2007 - FMS gave me the sole call of the season. However, it seems i was not ready and didn't convert the call. End of season 1.
CAT 2007 --> Now yours truly has been working with Evalueserve. Gr8 start, acing everything, including English. Mocks were going well, except for DI. I didnt give too much heed to it as I wanted to crack English. Come 18 November 2007 and wholla - QA - 98.04%, EU - 97.97%ile but DI - 56%ile. And this marked my season, my luck was not on my side. No calls and end of season 2.
CAT 2008 --> This was the season, yaa toh is paar ya uss paar. Job was becoming mundane and I started to sulk. So the pressure was dugnaa and I had to make it this time. The mocks were going good but in the last month i was screwing up and did not want to complete the trilogy by messing up QA this time. So I asked for advice from experienced PG ites and practised like anything in last two weeks. The end result - 4 calls CLIK, MDI and IMI. Also, I tasted success in other exams as well - IIFT, FMS (again ), JMET - 1294 (did not apply) and NMIMS (gave exam for FMS practise).
Now joined Malay sir's classes. After going to his classes, I came to know that a person like me (INTROVERT, SHY) can dominate a group, influence an outcome and demand respect. Interviews went well with success in IIM L, K (W/L 9), MDI and IMI. In IIM C, I committed the blunder of becoming adamant about a question which I had done wrong.
So I am going to join IIM L.
My advice:
1. Believe in yourself, if you believe you can and you should get it, dont waste time and go for it. It is for you to decide when to say you had enough.
2. Practise un-attempted mocks two weeks prior to the D-day.
3. In case CAT goes online, start reading articles on net.
4. Never become adamant, be patient in an interview and always take hints from the interviewer (trust me, I learnt this point the hardest way)
In the end, just out of the context, I would like to say this to future aspirants, batchmates and seniors - Our country expects something from all of us and she deserves it. She is in need and we must deliver. No matter what we do in the future, we must keep her in our priority list.
This is something I have understood from Malay sir's classes and I hope many of us develop such feeling towards our country.
All the best puys, go get your dreams.
Here is my story....
CAT 2007 : After completing my engineering in May with pathetic grades i really had few options...the Infosys placement seemed fine....so decided to enjoy my vacation....but Infosys had other plans..after 3 months of drinking and merrymaking it was August and still no call from Infy
My father was getting annoyed at my prolonged enjoyment filled routine...."kuch karega life mein..3 mahine ho gaye...infy nahi bula raha hai toh kuch padh...dusra job dhund...kuch toh kar"
OK i said..CAT padhta hun...started studying TIME mocks..home mocks.. everthing.....filled all forms....
Infosys called me on Oct 29th....few days before CAT....
scrwed up VA on D-Day...however got thru SIBM and NM....
NM join kar liya...ghar ke pass tha....
CAT 2008 :
NM was going well....decided to give CFA level 1 in december...was studying hard for it....but dunno why I filled the CAT form...on the last day at 3 o clock just before the bank closes.....
Did not give any mock.....na time tha na ichha thi....FMS in Jan 08 was my last mock..
D-Day
i was in 2 minds whether to go for the exam or not....1 of my friends called and said "exam dede apun dono ka centre pass mein hai uske baad peene chalenge"...so chala gaya
had a no pressure situation...bahar 3 sutta mara and then....
paper dekha....1st page...some problem about road intersection...solved in flat 2 mins solved....after 45 mins i has solved 15 problems in QA....was satisfied....
moved on to DI...saw the problem on houses...damn easy...flat 3 mins 4 questions....sab bahut simple lag raha tha...50 mins 20 questions attempted
then VA...seemed easier than last year...did 31 questions in 45 mins...maza aa raha tha....jo marzi mark kar raha tha....
10 mins remaining....suddenly i start thinking i have an awesome chance this time...if i just do few more QA problems...got under pressure.fought with many problems....in the end i counldnt solve even 1.....
out of the 2.5 hrs i was under pressure for just 10 mins...and in that i couldnt solve any problem....
anyway did not give much thought to CAT afterwards....gave my CFA at kathmandu in december
fir result aaye....
DI-99.9
QA-97.XX
VA-98.XX
OA- 99.83...CIK calls
after that my luck dried away....i only coverted I...dont know if i will continue at NM or join I....
but all said and done...."Waqt se pehle aur kismet se jyada(kam) kuch nahi milta"
Finally I get to post on this sacred thread, a thread which was the source of inspiration when I felt low, when the marks in mocks did not reflect the effort I was putting in.
Disclaimer: This post is written when I had nothing else to do,
hence may seem loong and boring.
Bit of background
(Pre High-school)
Initial 16 years, till class X, I was in a small town. I had no idea what engineering was all about, forget about CAT. Due to very less competition there, I was the district topper. And poor me, I thought I was doin quite well.
The Preparations for IIT-JEE
All these notions were shattered when my family moved to a tier-2 city, only because coaching facilities for IIT-JEE were present there. There I found out that I had a lot of catching-up to do. Worked really hard, could not get into IIT, however got a good NIT, with branch of my choice.
The College
Did nothing worth mentioning in the initial years. When I realized that itsdifficult to be amongst the toppers, started participating in different sports and won few awards as well , this however led to more decline in academic performance
Things started heating up in final year,it being the yr of placement. Appeared in the first company which visited our campus as I thought I had a decent chance to get selected as most of my batch-mates were skipping it. Expectedly, I got through. Also MegaHard came to our college that year, and when I made it to final round of Interview, I could see disbelief in the eyes of some of my batch-mates. This unexpected performance really gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to get into one of the dream companies. Also I started preparations for CAT 06, joined two test series. But my percentiles were way low, in 70s and seeing that I did not stand a chance, I gradually started losing focus. Finally there was a bit of improvement, and I managed to touch 90s in a couple of them, however it was too late to consolidate.
CAT -06
Went to give CAT with zero expectations.Started with DI, DI being my consistent nemesis, thought to conquer it first. Could not crack first set, attempted 3 sets more, a few questions here and there and moved on to Quants. Found Quants somewhat easy, attempted it with good speed and accuracy. Then came English, I found it a bit dicey, attempted a few questions more to overcome the trickier ones.
When the result came, I managed to get 97.6% OA, with 99% in VA, 97% in Quants. DI turned out the way I was dreading Now I was pulling my hairs coz I had not filled any forms other than CAT. At least this would have given me some exposure to the GD-PI process, which I knew would be more difficult. For now this result helped me in at least becoming more recognized face in college. End College-days and was eager to join the company.
CAT -07
Joined the organization in Pune, and was enjoying time there. The CAT preparation took a back-seat.I did join the test series but the enthu was lacking. By the time I realized, it was the month of October. Gave the exam and as soon as I was out of hall, I knew that I had screwed the paper big time. The result was a meager 90%.I knew I had taken it casually but was not expecting to be massacred like this.:banghead: Also I was able to get calls from some IITs and my performance there was pathetic, to say the least. By now I had realized that GD-PI also will be a tough nut to crack.
Disclaimer: This post is written when I had nothing else to do,
hence may seem loong and boring.
Bit of background
(Pre High-school)
Initial 16 years, till class X, I was in a small town. I had no idea what engineering was all about, forget about CAT. Due to very less competition there, I was the district topper. And poor me, I thought I was doin quite well.
The Preparations for IIT-JEE
All these notions were shattered when my family moved to a tier-2 city, only because coaching facilities for IIT-JEE were present there. There I found out that I had a lot of catching-up to do. Worked really hard, could not get into IIT, however got a good NIT, with branch of my choice.
The College
Did nothing worth mentioning in the initial years. When I realized that itsdifficult to be amongst the toppers, started participating in different sports and won few awards as well , this however led to more decline in academic performance
Things started heating up in final year,it being the yr of placement. Appeared in the first company which visited our campus as I thought I had a decent chance to get selected as most of my batch-mates were skipping it. Expectedly, I got through. Also MegaHard
came to our college that year, and when I made it to final round of Interview, I could see disbelief in the eyes of some of my batch-mates. This unexpected performance really gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to get into one of the dream companies. Also I started preparations for CAT 06, joined two test series. But my percentiles were way low, in 70s and seeing that I did not stand a chance, I gradually started losing focus. Finally there was a bit of improvement, and I managed to touch 90s in a couple of them, however it was too late to consolidate.CAT -06
Went to give CAT with zero expectations.Started with DI, DI being my consistent nemesis, thought to conquer it first. Could not crack first set, attempted 3 sets more, a few questions here and there and moved on to Quants. Found Quants somewhat easy, attempted it with good speed and accuracy. Then came English, I found it a bit dicey, attempted a few questions more to overcome the trickier ones.
When the result came, I managed to get 97.6% OA, with 99% in VA, 97% in Quants. DI turned out the way I was dreading Now I was pulling my hairs coz I had not filled any forms other than CAT. At least this would have given me some exposure to the GD-PI process, which I knew would be more difficult. For now this result helped me in at least becoming more recognized face in college. End College-days and was eager to join the company.
CAT -07
Joined the organization in Pune, and was enjoying time there. The CAT preparation took a back-seat.I did join the test series but the enthu was lacking. By the time I realized, it was the month of October. Gave the exam and as soon as I was out of hall, I knew that I had screwed the paper big time. The result was a meager 90%.I knew I had taken it casually but was not expecting to be massacred like this.:banghead: Also I was able to get calls from some IITs and my performance there was pathetic, to say the least. By now I had realized that GD-PI also will be a tough nut to crack.
CAT -08
I started early this time, realizing that I should not expect anything until I have given my best. Joined the test series of TIME and CL both being conducted on Sundays. In the professional front the job had also started to become hectic. Saturdays, at times, were spent in offices and there was no scope of preparation in weekdays. My marks in mocks also were stuck in 90-95 % range with skewed sectionals. From my past experiences, I had learnt that I need to remain motivated till the very end and tried to keep composure.
Finally,I was able to score 99% in the final TIME test and that too with balanced sectionals.
On the D-day, was at the center half an hour before the scheduled time and tried to remain calm. This time I started with Quants and managed to do it decently. Then came DI, quickly cracked a small set.However I got stuck in few sets. At the end of 50 minutes spent in DI, I realized that I might have missed the bus this time as well. Tried to solve Eng quickly and did return to DI but it did no good to my chance. Came out of the hall feeling that all the efforts put in have gone down the drain.I had not attempted good number of questions in Eng and DI also was doubtful.
When the results came, It was an absolute shocker, one which I could not have imagined in my wildest of wildest of dreams.I got calls from ABCLIK!!!:w00t:
GD-PI
After the initial euphoria died, I was worried about the interviews.And after attending the mock GD-PI sessions, my self-assessment was also confirmed by the faculties of coaching Institutes. At this level u will be kicked out by all, You have got such a golden opportunity and u are wasting it were their comments. Luckily I had filled all the forms, and had got calls from IIFT, NM, SIBM, SJMSOM etc also. I ended up attending 15 interview in a span of 2 months. Managed to screw most of them.In some GDs. I spoke very less, in some whatever I spoke was not heard. If GD was decent then was tortured in PI. All in all an experience which will remain with me forever.
The Results
Slowly the results started coming in. They were on the expected lines.Did not got selected in IIFT. The same was the case with IMT,NITIE and NM. To add to my woes,Job front was equally disastrous.In the last 2 months, I had earned the reputation of a careless person, of no good. I was reprimanded by manager for neglecting professional responsibilities and was kicked out of the Team. I wonder what prevented them from giving me pink-slip.:lookround: These all description given only to give an idea about the state I was in. The night of 9th was spent in preparing myself for the worst. Came to know about the IIMB reject through PDF which was circulating. I had some
that night in order to divert my mind. Came back to home by 3 and tried unsuccessfully to sleep.At 6, I started checking the results. IIML came first and I scraped through. For the first time in my life, I really felt elated. I jumped in joy and there were tears in my eyes. I thanked GOD profusely and had a sense of relief that I was finally going somewhere.I also got selected in IIMC, with waiting in IIMK and I.
Learnings
1) Remain focussed even if situation seems bleak.
2) Have confidence in your abilities and give your maximum effort.
3) GD-PI requires thorugh preparation, keep yourself updated about what
is happening across the world and you should have an opinion about everything under the sun.
4) CAT is just not the end of road; you should always have Plan B in place.
1994 ......September IIM Calcutta.
A little boy 11 years old with parents goes to visit his cousin 5 kms from home
He does'nt understand what his cousin is doing in a small room
cramped with lots of books. But he enjoys thoroughly the atmosphere .
As he grows up and sees his cousin he understands the significance of the room he saw .
1998 ..... Calcutta
He comes to know about the exam which allowed his cousin to enter into that room
Yes that's how I got to know about CAT,at a very early age .
But being an easygoing guy and very very ordinary student I knew it will be difficult for me to crack it.
But still the urge to follow my cousin's footsteps was terrible.
2005 .... january Calcutta
My cousin has already reached dizzying heights in his career .
He became the GM of pepsi India at age of 34 earning a cool 36 lakhs yearly.
Also my longtime friend (girl who still has a special place in my heart.She ) started preparing for cat.She was much better student than me
I decided I will go for it.
In the meantime I got a job after failing in the first 6 on-campus interviews.
Motivation level once again came down but seeing my friend working so hard had to slog through.
Verbal had always bugged me because simple reason I am bad at language.
Never scored not more than 60% in any of vernacular paper all through my life:banghead:
Gave most of the mocks. In all the mocks except one I failed to clear the cutoffs for verbal.
In the meantime my friend was getting 96-98% regularly.
2005........Nov 23,Calcutta
Was so tensed that could not sleep the previous night.
It kept bugging me that my friend will score more than me and I will
once again lose to her.
Gave it as best as I could.
Results were not surprising at all .
99.04 percentile in maths .92 is DI and 51 in english.
overall 82 .
Guess what my friend scored98.9 .got calls from IIMB and IIML .
Could not convert and went to NITIE.
2006 ...April Calcutta
When she told me that she had converted NITIE.
It was one of the worst days of my life .
Once again I had lost to her as I have all through my school and college days.
One thing I can say looking back at that time.
I was immature .I did not look at myself ,I tried to compare without having
any purpose for my MBA
To be continued.....
A little boy 11 years old with parents goes to visit his cousin 5 kms from home
He does'nt understand what his cousin is doing in a small room
cramped with lots of books. But he enjoys thoroughly the atmosphere .
As he grows up and sees his cousin he understands the significance of the room he saw .
1998 ..... Calcutta
He comes to know about the exam which allowed his cousin to enter into that room
Yes that's how I got to know about CAT,at a very early age .
But being an easygoing guy and very very ordinary student I knew it will be difficult for me to crack it.
But still the urge to follow my cousin's footsteps was terrible.
2005 .... january Calcutta
My cousin has already reached dizzying heights in his career .
He became the GM of pepsi India at age of 34 earning a cool 36 lakhs yearly.
Also my longtime friend (girl who still has a special place in my heart.She ) started preparing for cat.She was much better student than me
I decided I will go for it.
In the meantime I got a job after failing in the first 6 on-campus interviews.
Motivation level once again came down but seeing my friend working so hard
had to slog through.Verbal had always bugged me because simple reason I am bad at language.
Never scored not more than 60% in any of vernacular paper all through my life:banghead:
Gave most of the mocks. In all the mocks except one I failed to clear the cutoffs for verbal.
In the meantime my friend was getting 96-98% regularly.
2005........Nov 23,Calcutta
Was so tensed that could not sleep the previous night.
It kept bugging me that my friend will score more than me and I will
once again lose to her.
Gave it as best as I could.
Results were not surprising at all .
99.04 percentile in maths .92 is DI and 51 in english.
overall 82 .
Guess what my friend scored
98.9 .got calls from IIMB and IIML .Could not convert and went to NITIE.
2006 ...April Calcutta
When she told me that she had converted NITIE.
It was one of the worst days of my life .
Once again I had lost to her as I have all through my school and college days.
One thing I can say looking back at that time.
I was immature .I did not look at myself ,I tried to compare without having
any purpose for my MBA
To be continued.....
The Story Takes a drastic turn now
2006 ...... Bengali New Year's Day ,Calcutta
around 9 o clock in the morning my father received a call from my uncle that
my cousin has suffered a heart attack and has died in a five-star hotel in
Bhubaneswar,orrissa .Doctor's diagnosis --stress took his life.He was very fit
and agile.
Could not believe it.
A guy at 34 with a child 3 years old died because of stress.
Immediately decided I will not go for mba and do a cool IT job and later
try to move to public sector.
2006......June Bangalore
Came for my job immediately after my graduation.
In the meantime my friend had started her classes at NITIE .
But the urge to go for Cat was too much.
Main reason was to prove something to myself that I am capable of doing
much better
Just filled up the form in 2006 .
In the meantime my friend has already started avoiding me
2006......Nov Bangalore
Just chilled out exam with zero preparation
Once again scored around 84% with 42 % in verbal.
Pathetic display puys:banghead:
In the meantime our 6 months training at job was over and we
thrown into projects
2007.....Jan 23 Calcutta
I came back to calcutta with 2 weeks leave.
Went to a professional counselor with telling anybody.
I was not sure of myself and was so confused.
That was an eye-opening day for me.
My simplest question to him was How would I judge myself whether I am fit
for mba or not
Gave me lots of gyaan but he told me one thing which I still practice
BE POSITIVE and NEVER COMPROMISE HAPPINESS:)
To be continued ........
2006 ...... Bengali New Year's Day ,Calcutta
around 9 o clock in the morning my father received a call from my uncle that
my cousin has suffered a heart attack and has died in a five-star hotel in
Bhubaneswar,orrissa .Doctor's diagnosis --stress took his life.He was very fit
and agile.
Could not believe it.
A guy at 34 with a child 3 years old died because of stress.
Immediately decided I will not go for mba and do a cool IT job and later
try to move to public sector.
2006......June Bangalore
Came for my job immediately after my graduation.
In the meantime my friend had started her classes at NITIE .
But the urge to go for Cat was too much.
Main reason was to prove something to myself that I am capable of doing
much better
Just filled up the form in 2006 .
In the meantime my friend has already started avoiding me
2006......Nov Bangalore
Just chilled out exam with zero preparation
Once again scored around 84% with 42 % in verbal.
Pathetic display puys:banghead:
In the meantime our 6 months training at job was over and we
thrown into projects
2007.....Jan 23 Calcutta
I came back to calcutta with 2 weeks leave.
Went to a professional counselor with telling anybody.
I was not sure of myself and was so confused.
That was an eye-opening day for me.
My simplest question to him was How would I judge myself whether I am fit
for mba or not
Gave me lots of gyaan but he told me one thing which I still practice
BE POSITIVE and NEVER COMPROMISE HAPPINESS:)
To be continued ........
My journey with CAT is not about any magical turnaround or any fairy tale interspersed with tragedy and ecstasy. It is just about how an average person dared to dream big and went about achieving it. This one is straight from the heart, for all those out here who carry on fighting with hardships and struggles, to achieve what they aspire for.
PROLOGUE05
I was in the final year of my engineering when few of my friends started to whip up the hysteria about this thing CAT. I had read about the attractive salaries notched up by IIM Grads but was not overtly concerned about management education at that time. I was an out-n-out techie whose worries at the time were improving the grades, watching movies and whiling away time. My roomie came back after giving CAT05 and just out of curiosity I picked up the paper but did not find it amusing enough to sustain my interest. The episode was promptly forgotten and I was back to enjoying my last semester in the college.
SEASON06
I landed up a decent job in campus and joined Company A. Meanwhile parents at home started pressurizing about some higher education as they thought a mere B.Tech wont suffice in these times. I thought of gaining some experience first and then go for higher studies (no MBA). I liked the training period a lot in my company and was very enthusiastic about the domain I was allocated. Topped in my batch there and was raring to go for some good project. But the nave me, I did not realize that it is not your interest or performance but requirement. that decides your quality of work. Got a project in a completely different technology which I used to detest even in college. To cap it all, the work was maintenance activity with little scope of applying your brains. A little disillusionment crept in and out of sheer boredom and frustration I sat for CAT. I had not solved even a single mock before that and just had some basic info about CAT. Started the paper with VA (being my favorite). CAT06 VA is by far the toughest one till date. But yours truly did not go there to crack the exam. So I lazed around in the section for an hour, enjoyed the beauty of the questions and members of the fairer sex, did some DI and QA and came back home thinking smugly that the paper aint that tough. I summarily forgot everything about the key, answers et all. When the results came out I had scored a lowly 49.xx percentile failing to clear even a single sectional. The self-confidence took a hit and the feeling of worthlessness started to grow in me. On the job front, despite my acute lack of interest I was clocking long hours to meet deadlines. Along side I was undergoing a quiet period of self-introspection regarding my abilities, my skill sets and my suitability for the IT job. I was beginning to realize that I would use them better in some other avenue and MBA started looking as an interesting proposition.
SEASON07
My performance appraisal for the year was rated M.E. (Meets Expectations) even after my committed efforts and initiatives and no satisfactory reasons were cited for it. This incident introduced me to the arena of petty one-upmanship in the company and spurred me on to go for CAT07 with proper preparation. I joined TIME classes and attended sessions religiously. I even shifted to live with friends who were also preparing for CAT. The mock season started and I debuted with 98.xx which boosted my morale and self-belief. But the flip side was that it gave rise to a little complacency. The subsequent mocks followed a sine curve, with one going good and the next deplorable. After 3 months I started losing interest in the classes and just attended mocks. My biggest mistake in this phase was that I did not analyze them properly. On the job front, things started getting complicated. I was offered an onsite opportunity but I turned it down. Told my manager about my study plans hoping that hell co-operate but things turned otherwise.
Went for CAT07 feeling a tinge of nervousness, as this time it involved a years investment of efforts and some big, some small personal and professional sacrifices. Started the paper with VA to get into the flow. The section was tough but not more than the previous years paper. Moved to DI after 50 minutes and realized that it was the easiest of the three. To increase my number of attempts I spent 10 more minutes than estimated for it. This turned out to be a cardinal sin as QA- my nemesis was the toughest of the three. I had always relied upon geometry to bail me out in mocks but could see very few questions from that. Still, started the section but 10 minutes into it I had not solved even one question. I lost my nerves at that point of time and in panic, made some horrible addition mistakes and missed out on some sitters. The moment I came out I knew that QA had messed up my chances. The misfortune continued in all other exams. Results came out and unsurprisingly I scored 96.45% with 47.xx in QA. After the season was over I sought to pay attention to my so-far neglected job. Through CAT I had an IMT call and another one from SCMHRD but was not too keen to prepare for them. Then suddenly one fine February morning I just decided to scroll through FMS results and couldnt believe my eyes when I saw my name in the list. But the GD-PI was just 10 days away and I couldnt prepare sufficiently for it. Still gave all the 3 interviews. SCMHRD was an unexpected reject, converted IMT but did not take it up. I started treating the FMS interview as a matter of life and death thus putting undue pressure on myself. As a result I was a bundle of nerves and messed it up big time. But one good thing this interview did was to make me realize the importance of knowing myself, my aspirations, my inadequacies and last-but-not-the-least gave me the ability to handle success/failure with equanimity.
CONTD.
PROLOGUE05
I was in the final year of my engineering when few of my friends started to whip up the hysteria about this thing CAT. I had read about the attractive salaries notched up by IIM Grads but was not overtly concerned about management education at that time. I was an out-n-out techie whose worries at the time were improving the grades, watching movies and whiling away time. My roomie came back after giving CAT05 and just out of curiosity I picked up the paper but did not find it amusing enough to sustain my interest. The episode was promptly forgotten and I was back to enjoying my last semester in the college.
SEASON06
I landed up a decent job in campus and joined Company A. Meanwhile parents at home started pressurizing about some higher education as they thought a mere B.Tech wont suffice in these times. I thought of gaining some experience first and then go for higher studies (no MBA). I liked the training period a lot in my company and was very enthusiastic about the domain I was allocated. Topped in my batch there and was raring to go for some good project. But the nave me, I did not realize that it is not your interest or performance but requirement. that decides your quality of work. Got a project in a completely different technology which I used to detest even in college. To cap it all, the work was maintenance activity with little scope of applying your brains. A little disillusionment crept in and out of sheer boredom and frustration I sat for CAT. I had not solved even a single mock before that and just had some basic info about CAT. Started the paper with VA (being my favorite). CAT06 VA is by far the toughest one till date. But yours truly did not go there to crack the exam. So I lazed around in the section for an hour, enjoyed the beauty of the questions and members of the fairer sex, did some DI and QA and came back home thinking smugly that the paper aint that tough. I summarily forgot everything about the key, answers et all. When the results came out I had scored a lowly 49.xx percentile failing to clear even a single sectional. The self-confidence took a hit and the feeling of worthlessness started to grow in me. On the job front, despite my acute lack of interest I was clocking long hours to meet deadlines. Along side I was undergoing a quiet period of self-introspection regarding my abilities, my skill sets and my suitability for the IT job. I was beginning to realize that I would use them better in some other avenue and MBA started looking as an interesting proposition.
SEASON07
My performance appraisal for the year was rated M.E. (Meets Expectations) even after my committed efforts and initiatives and no satisfactory reasons were cited for it. This incident introduced me to the arena of petty one-upmanship in the company and spurred me on to go for CAT07 with proper preparation. I joined TIME classes and attended sessions religiously. I even shifted to live with friends who were also preparing for CAT. The mock season started and I debuted with 98.xx which boosted my morale and self-belief. But the flip side was that it gave rise to a little complacency. The subsequent mocks followed a sine curve, with one going good and the next deplorable. After 3 months I started losing interest in the classes and just attended mocks. My biggest mistake in this phase was that I did not analyze them properly. On the job front, things started getting complicated. I was offered an onsite opportunity but I turned it down. Told my manager about my study plans hoping that hell co-operate but things turned otherwise.
Went for CAT07 feeling a tinge of nervousness, as this time it involved a years investment of efforts and some big, some small personal and professional sacrifices. Started the paper with VA to get into the flow. The section was tough but not more than the previous years paper. Moved to DI after 50 minutes and realized that it was the easiest of the three. To increase my number of attempts I spent 10 more minutes than estimated for it. This turned out to be a cardinal sin as QA- my nemesis was the toughest of the three. I had always relied upon geometry to bail me out in mocks but could see very few questions from that. Still, started the section but 10 minutes into it I had not solved even one question. I lost my nerves at that point of time and in panic, made some horrible addition mistakes and missed out on some sitters. The moment I came out I knew that QA had messed up my chances. The misfortune continued in all other exams. Results came out and unsurprisingly I scored 96.45% with 47.xx in QA. After the season was over I sought to pay attention to my so-far neglected job. Through CAT I had an IMT call and another one from SCMHRD but was not too keen to prepare for them. Then suddenly one fine February morning I just decided to scroll through FMS results and couldnt believe my eyes when I saw my name in the list. But the GD-PI was just 10 days away and I couldnt prepare sufficiently for it. Still gave all the 3 interviews. SCMHRD was an unexpected reject, converted IMT but did not take it up. I started treating the FMS interview as a matter of life and death thus putting undue pressure on myself. As a result I was a bundle of nerves and messed it up big time. But one good thing this interview did was to make me realize the importance of knowing myself, my aspirations, my inadequacies and last-but-not-the-least gave me the ability to handle success/failure with equanimity.
CONTD.
SEASON'08
Unable to sustain the constant onsite assignment threats, I shifted to 'Company B' and this time kept a low profile in my company, finishing off the work quickly and preparing. Motivation from parents, roommates and seniors kept me sane whenever the chips were down. I also became a regular at PG esp. in DI and QQAD threads. This time I had a clearer picture of my strengths and weaknesses and the need to strategize my approach to tests. I was also a regular reader of the UDT'07 thread and had somehow formed a strong conviction that if I join UDT this year I will be able to crack CAT. Again the same sequence of mocks started. This time also the performance varied but the fluctuation was very less compared to last year's scores. Most importantly I spent a good time solving and analyzing each mock. The new job also helped quite a lot as the workload was pretty manageable. The first major breakthrough was making it to THE UDT. This gave me a belief that I can also perform well given my day. Interacting with my fellow UDTians, their constant guidance made the desire to succeed all the more strong. Each and every one of them is an inspiration. But then in my last few mocks, the performance suddenly went downhill steeply. Despite my best efforts I screwed one section or the other. But amidst all this chaos, somewhere deep inside, I knew that I have it in me to crack it.
In the hindsight, pathetic performance in the last 2 mocks had a strange detaching effect on me. I went into the exam hall but this time I was not nervous; I was not worried about the result and the future. The moment I saw the paper where one section had 40 questions (I guessed it was VA - my loyal friend), my confidence levels soared. I started with QA and attempted 12. I knew the accuracy was good and attempts sufficient. Then came DI - my bugbear - solved the easier caselets in a jiffy but lost my concentration mid-way. Read a question wrongly and made a mistake in another one. But still nothing was lost. I was on time for VA. Started with RCs and finding them easy solved all. Moved to the verbal part aiming for full monty but ran out of time and missed the FIB sitters. People say that you know if you have cracked it or not immediately after the test. But frankly speaking, I had no idea how I had fared vis--vis others. I just knew that I had performed close to my best. Only in the evening when keys came out and scores started trickling in that I knew I had a decent chance of securing multiple calls.
The toughest part was to leave the baggage behind and give other exams seriously. I fared reasonably well in others except XAT (somehow I haven't got the hang of it.). This time I had promised myself that I will garner as many calls as possible so that no call becomes a matter of life and death for me. I started the GD/PI preps early this time by joining coaching classes and honing my speaking skills and widening the knowledge base. Decent mock GDs and PIs raised my confidence. On 9th Jan, my friend called me in the morning and told that I had scored 99.78% with calls from IIMs I, K and L. But this time my hands didn't shake with pleasure, I was not overwhelmed with joy. Instead I had a calm sense of purpose. I chalked out different areas of preparation like GK, acads, hobbies etc. and started to work on them. These two months were remarkable in terms of the value-addition I did to myself as a person.
One thing about confidence is that it comes from knowledge. I brushed up everything I could cover and made sure that I can answer whatever questions are thrown at me from these areas, strengthening my self-belief to face the interviews. Another valuable learning was that GD performance matters a lot if the panel is same for PI. I tried to make sure that I sealed the deal in the GDs. My personal experience says that if you do well in GD the PI will be relatively cool. The night before results was one of the longest. I was jittery despite having a feeling that I did well in the interviews. I could not sit still, tried to watch movies, listen songs but to no avail. Finally slept in front of my laptop and when woke up in the morning saw in PG that L results are out. With trembling hands I entered the roll no. and DOB. When the screen flashed "Congratulations" in the pink background I went momentarily numb, then all the pains, efforts, sacrifices for the last 2 years came rushing in. This time I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by them. It felt good. The proud voice of my parents on the phone that morning has got to be one of the best moments of my life.
EPILOGUE'09
As I prepare to join the hallowed portals, I would just like to give my 0.02$ of advice. I feel that the key to crack CAT is by taking it one question at a time without being awed by it. You don't need to co-relate your future with your performance in CAT and you don't need to make it a matter of life and death. (I know I'm being clichd but it is the truth.) Don't get bogged down by failures because eventually something good will come out of it. And MBA is just a means to an end, not an end in itself. In the end of this marathon post, I would like to reiterate that if an average person like me can crack it then anyone of you can.
Cheers.
Unable to sustain the constant onsite assignment threats, I shifted to 'Company B' and this time kept a low profile in my company, finishing off the work quickly and preparing. Motivation from parents, roommates and seniors kept me sane whenever the chips were down. I also became a regular at PG esp. in DI and QQAD threads. This time I had a clearer picture of my strengths and weaknesses and the need to strategize my approach to tests. I was also a regular reader of the UDT'07 thread and had somehow formed a strong conviction that if I join UDT this year I will be able to crack CAT. Again the same sequence of mocks started. This time also the performance varied but the fluctuation was very less compared to last year's scores. Most importantly I spent a good time solving and analyzing each mock. The new job also helped quite a lot as the workload was pretty manageable. The first major breakthrough was making it to THE UDT. This gave me a belief that I can also perform well given my day. Interacting with my fellow UDTians, their constant guidance made the desire to succeed all the more strong. Each and every one of them is an inspiration. But then in my last few mocks, the performance suddenly went downhill steeply. Despite my best efforts I screwed one section or the other. But amidst all this chaos, somewhere deep inside, I knew that I have it in me to crack it.
In the hindsight, pathetic performance in the last 2 mocks had a strange detaching effect on me. I went into the exam hall but this time I was not nervous; I was not worried about the result and the future. The moment I saw the paper where one section had 40 questions (I guessed it was VA - my loyal friend), my confidence levels soared. I started with QA and attempted 12. I knew the accuracy was good and attempts sufficient. Then came DI - my bugbear - solved the easier caselets in a jiffy but lost my concentration mid-way. Read a question wrongly and made a mistake in another one. But still nothing was lost. I was on time for VA. Started with RCs and finding them easy solved all. Moved to the verbal part aiming for full monty but ran out of time and missed the FIB sitters. People say that you know if you have cracked it or not immediately after the test. But frankly speaking, I had no idea how I had fared vis--vis others. I just knew that I had performed close to my best. Only in the evening when keys came out and scores started trickling in that I knew I had a decent chance of securing multiple calls.
The toughest part was to leave the baggage behind and give other exams seriously. I fared reasonably well in others except XAT (somehow I haven't got the hang of it.). This time I had promised myself that I will garner as many calls as possible so that no call becomes a matter of life and death for me. I started the GD/PI preps early this time by joining coaching classes and honing my speaking skills and widening the knowledge base. Decent mock GDs and PIs raised my confidence. On 9th Jan, my friend called me in the morning and told that I had scored 99.78% with calls from IIMs I, K and L. But this time my hands didn't shake with pleasure, I was not overwhelmed with joy. Instead I had a calm sense of purpose. I chalked out different areas of preparation like GK, acads, hobbies etc. and started to work on them. These two months were remarkable in terms of the value-addition I did to myself as a person.
One thing about confidence is that it comes from knowledge. I brushed up everything I could cover and made sure that I can answer whatever questions are thrown at me from these areas, strengthening my self-belief to face the interviews. Another valuable learning was that GD performance matters a lot if the panel is same for PI. I tried to make sure that I sealed the deal in the GDs. My personal experience says that if you do well in GD the PI will be relatively cool. The night before results was one of the longest. I was jittery despite having a feeling that I did well in the interviews. I could not sit still, tried to watch movies, listen songs but to no avail. Finally slept in front of my laptop and when woke up in the morning saw in PG that L results are out. With trembling hands I entered the roll no. and DOB. When the screen flashed "Congratulations" in the pink background I went momentarily numb, then all the pains, efforts, sacrifices for the last 2 years came rushing in. This time I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by them. It felt good. The proud voice of my parents on the phone that morning has got to be one of the best moments of my life.
EPILOGUE'09
As I prepare to join the hallowed portals, I would just like to give my 0.02$ of advice. I feel that the key to crack CAT is by taking it one question at a time without being awed by it. You don't need to co-relate your future with your performance in CAT and you don't need to make it a matter of life and death. (I know I'm being clichd but it is the truth.) Don't get bogged down by failures because eventually something good will come out of it. And MBA is just a means to an end, not an end in itself. In the end of this marathon post, I would like to reiterate that if an average person like me can crack it then anyone of you can.
Cheers.
2007.....Bangalore
Started preparation early.Enrolled for Time .
Started reading English books and newspaper .
I started with sidney sheldon and arthur conan doyle.
Was pretty easy and I realized I was enjoying reading also.
Job was pretty challenging .Japanese clients are pretty tough .
Had to sometimes slog for more than 20 hours a day.
From cat point of view I did not go through quants and di at all.
My only preparation at home was english. Very soon I start reading ayan rand ,robert ludlum,avitava ghosh and also biographies.
Was enjoying every bit of it.
2007 April.........Bangalore
My friend from NITIE came to Bangalore for summer training at intel.
she was so proud of herself and her career.She told me to go for it
seriously as she felt I was capable of far better
2007 June.....Bangalore
Gave the first mock of time
scored 94.2 percentile and getting a pathetic 50 % in quant .
I remember it.I realized I had look at holistic picture.
My job was eating me though.every week there were deliveries
and normally I would return around 2 to 3 o clock from office.
My hard work paid..........Surprise surprise
2007....... July 28 Bangalore
It was around 1.30 p.m.We were in a weekly status meeting .
Our team size was 60.
Suddenly the manager called me to meet him personally
client has selected 2 people to work in japan and I was one of the chosen.
I was elated at first.It was a great opportunity.
But then I thought about cat and I became a bit skeptical.
But then I could not throw away that opportunity
I accepted it and abandoned my hope of cat.
Went to japan on august .
Came back on february.
2008 .......April Bangalore
After enjoying for 2 months at bangalore once again my thought went back to cat.I realized this was my last chance to go for it.Also I had already
started missing college days.
Once again enrolled for full course at TIME.Got some reduction.
Attended every classes at weekend and tried to prepare ate least for
1 hour a day.
Met two good friends.
Amod who got at IIML ,Nigam who converted MDI and probably has now conveted FMS
And two good teacher...Our mod Prem.ravi and chandradeep
they were good and outspoken at times but the discussion we used to have was good.
My main objective in the initial days of preparation was only brushing up the
fundamentals.
I did not go through any practise papers of time.
I did the same problems again and again if possible in different ways
It helped me to grasp the fundamentals of all the subjects.
I also tried to go through hindu editorials and economic times
To be continued...
Started preparation early.Enrolled for Time .
Started reading English books and newspaper .
I started with sidney sheldon and arthur conan doyle.
Was pretty easy and I realized I was enjoying reading also.
Job was pretty challenging .Japanese clients are pretty tough .
Had to sometimes slog for more than 20 hours a day.
From cat point of view I did not go through quants and di at all.
My only preparation at home was english. Very soon I start reading ayan rand ,robert ludlum,avitava ghosh and also biographies.
Was enjoying every bit of it.
2007 April.........Bangalore
My friend from NITIE came to Bangalore for summer training at intel.
she was so proud of herself and her career.She told me to go for it
seriously as she felt I was capable of far better
2007 June.....Bangalore
Gave the first mock of time
scored 94.2 percentile and getting a pathetic 50 % in quant .
I remember it.I realized I had look at holistic picture.
My job was eating me though.every week there were deliveries
and normally I would return around 2 to 3 o clock from office.
My hard work paid..........Surprise surprise
2007....... July 28 Bangalore
It was around 1.30 p.m.We were in a weekly status meeting .
Our team size was 60.
Suddenly the manager called me to meet him personally
client has selected 2 people to work in japan and I was one of the chosen.
I was elated at first.It was a great opportunity.
But then I thought about cat and I became a bit skeptical.
But then I could not throw away that opportunity
I accepted it and abandoned my hope of cat.
Went to japan on august .
Came back on february.
2008 .......April Bangalore
After enjoying for 2 months at bangalore once again my thought went back to cat.I realized this was my last chance to go for it.Also I had already
started missing college days.
Once again enrolled for full course at TIME.Got some reduction.
Attended every classes at weekend and tried to prepare ate least for
1 hour a day.
Met two good friends.
Amod who got at IIML ,Nigam who converted MDI and probably has now conveted FMS
And two good teacher...Our mod Prem.ravi and chandradeep
they were good and outspoken at times but the discussion we used to have was good.
My main objective in the initial days of preparation was only brushing up the
fundamentals.
I did not go through any practise papers of time.
I did the same problems again and again if possible in different ways
It helped me to grasp the fundamentals of all the subjects.
I also tried to go through hindu editorials and economic times
To be continued...
2008...June
THE MOCKS
Let me tell you puys I never have looked back(analyzed) any mock other than the 3rd last and 2nd last mock.
Once the mocks started I realised certain topics be it in Quant ,DI or English were not in my comfort zone.
For eg.In quant -- Coordinate geometry,Probability,Modern maths
Di --- Calculation centric DI
English---Grammar part
I started avoiding these topics altogether .
But equally I started working on other topics harder.
It may look silly,but I was happy and was able to get more motivated.
Intially I was getting 80 percentiles in mock with no cut-offs cleared.
I started to work smarter. After coming back from office I would take
one practise exercise from time .Select the exercise which was in my comfort zone and would take a 20 min exercise on that.After that another 10 min break and 20 min exercise. This way it was easy and I could maintain the level of concentration.
More mocks passed and after 10 mocks I have not scored over 95% .
with very very poor accuracy in all sections.
THE BARRIERS AND MOTIVATORS
In the meantime work pressure was getting higher and higher and I
was given more and more responsibility.My boss also came to know
about my work and started discouraging me and told that I am not fit for management.
It only motivated me further.
At all the time at the back of my mind was the girl from NITIE who
has got a job in P&G; and earning a cool 13 lakhs yearly.
I had to beat her and show her my capability.
My room-mates who are and will be very close to me always lead an
easygoing life and I had to devote time to them with one drink-party
in week .They teased me with the girl and the isolated life I have to lead after my mba .But no I was not to be broken down
2008......September
THE REALITY
at this point of time I realized that I was never going to score an envying
percentile in cat.I simply do not have that intelligence or whatever it is.
But I have to come near to that so that I can get call form other good
institutes .I may not be able to beat her but still I would make a good career.
In the 12th mock I scored 96% with 2 cutoffs cleared.
I was happy and practiced the exercises harder.Chatted with my TIME friends a lot more and with the teachers also.
I never missed any time mock.
Even from Calcutta I gave time mock during puja.
My last 3 mocks
Though I was not getting over 97 but I was always getting over 90 percntile.
But the third last mock shattered it.I got 52 % in it.
I thought it was a bad day and I need look what wrong I have done.
for the first time I started analyzing the paper.
I realized that my attempts were low though my accuracy was quite high
and the reason was I was spending too much time to find questions which were in my comfort zone.
I though I will be less choosier next time.I gave the 2nd last attempted many and scored a pathetic 61 percentile.
I was shocked .how could this happen but it happened and after analysis
I told myself that I will practice my old philosophy
Gave the last mock.Surprise 98.9 percentile with all cutoffs cleared.
Performance was at peak and I was happy
To be continued.....
THE MOCKS
Let me tell you puys I never have looked back(analyzed) any mock other than the 3rd last and 2nd last mock.
Once the mocks started I realised certain topics be it in Quant ,DI or English were not in my comfort zone.
For eg.In quant -- Coordinate geometry,Probability,Modern maths
Di --- Calculation centric DI
English---Grammar part
I started avoiding these topics altogether .
But equally I started working on other topics harder.
It may look silly,but I was happy and was able to get more motivated.
Intially I was getting 80 percentiles in mock with no cut-offs cleared.
I started to work smarter. After coming back from office I would take
one practise exercise from time .Select the exercise which was in my comfort zone and would take a 20 min exercise on that.After that another 10 min break and 20 min exercise. This way it was easy and I could maintain the level of concentration.
More mocks passed and after 10 mocks I have not scored over 95% .
with very very poor accuracy in all sections.
THE BARRIERS AND MOTIVATORS
In the meantime work pressure was getting higher and higher and I
was given more and more responsibility.My boss also came to know
about my work and started discouraging me and told that I am not fit for management.
It only motivated me further.
At all the time at the back of my mind was the girl from NITIE who
has got a job in P&G; and earning a cool 13 lakhs yearly.
I had to beat her and show her my capability.
My room-mates who are and will be very close to me always lead an
easygoing life and I had to devote time to them with one drink-party
in week .They teased me with the girl and the isolated life I have to lead after my mba .But no I was not to be broken down
2008......September
THE REALITY
at this point of time I realized that I was never going to score an envying
percentile in cat.I simply do not have that intelligence or whatever it is.
But I have to come near to that so that I can get call form other good
institutes .I may not be able to beat her but still I would make a good career.
In the 12th mock I scored 96% with 2 cutoffs cleared.
I was happy and practiced the exercises harder.Chatted with my TIME friends a lot more and with the teachers also.
I never missed any time mock.
Even from Calcutta I gave time mock during puja.
My last 3 mocks
Though I was not getting over 97 but I was always getting over 90 percntile.
But the third last mock shattered it.I got 52 % in it.
I thought it was a bad day and I need look what wrong I have done.
for the first time I started analyzing the paper.
I realized that my attempts were low though my accuracy was quite high
and the reason was I was spending too much time to find questions which were in my comfort zone.
I though I will be less choosier next time.I gave the 2nd last attempted many and scored a pathetic 61 percentile.
I was shocked .how could this happen but it happened and after analysis
I told myself that I will practice my old philosophy
Gave the last mock.Surprise 98.9 percentile with all cutoffs cleared.
Performance was at peak and I was happy
To be continued.....
THE BLACK HOLE D-DAY
I had taken 3 days of leave from work to concentrate on my preparation.
Had a sound sleep on the last night and I was ready to face the reality.
As usual because of more number of questions in english I gave more time to it.
Scored 3 RC and a bit of grammar.
Performed quant smoothly
Messed up in DI with one set.Spent 20 mins in that but could not crack it.
Took my chance in that set .there were 2 questions for which I could eliminate 2 options.
I took my chance..I marked randomly which I felt was the right answer.
both were correct.THAT WAS PURE LUCK
THE AFTERMATH
Results came out .
Percentile was usual in 96 to 97 range 96.89
Verbal:94.90
Quant:93.2
DI:86.65
Score:111
My god if those 2 probs were wrong then my cat story would have ended then & there.
Except for IMT ghazibad I did not get call from any institute
Filled forms for BIM ,SIMSr,GLIM
Also Xat was disastrous .got a call fro SIIB and SCHMRD from snap,
I started preparing hard.Gave TIME mock interviews and gds,Read lots of books and magazines and went through pagalguy extensively.Captured as much as possible from gyan and live experiences of interviews
But anyways I am always positive in life and felt something was better there for me.
mother of all surprises
And then ..Got a call from SPJAIN .
Could not believe at first.I realized I had a
to beat her in life and to prove that I am worth for it.
.
Now I was fully into it .Spent 16 to 17 hrs a day going through pg and different experiences.
Introspected myself length and breadth to fill the SOPs.
I wanted it badly,something more than anything else
Initially I appeared for all other interviews.Got dings from SIIB,SCHMRD,GLIM
but my focus was SPJAIN and I believed in success.
IMT came as first success
and rest all is only success.
I got through it.
I told her and she was happy and was looking forward to coming in mumbai
I have proved that a very ordinary student like me can do it.
And now in a few months I will be going to Mumbai and will ask her for a date.
I do not know the aftermaths but I hope that it is POSITIVE
I had taken 3 days of leave from work to concentrate on my preparation.
Had a sound sleep on the last night and I was ready to face the reality.
As usual because of more number of questions in english I gave more time to it.
Scored 3 RC and a bit of grammar.
Performed quant smoothly
Messed up in DI with one set.Spent 20 mins in that but could not crack it.
Took my chance in that set .there were 2 questions for which I could eliminate 2 options.
I took my chance..I marked randomly which I felt was the right answer.
both were correct.THAT WAS PURE LUCK
THE AFTERMATH
Results came out .
Percentile was usual in 96 to 97 range 96.89
Verbal:94.90
Quant:93.2
DI:86.65
Score:111
My god if those 2 probs were wrong then my cat story would have ended then & there.
Except for IMT ghazibad I did not get call from any institute
Filled forms for BIM ,SIMSr,GLIM
Also Xat was disastrous .got a call fro SIIB and SCHMRD from snap,
I started preparing hard.Gave TIME mock interviews and gds,Read lots of books and magazines and went through pagalguy extensively.Captured as much as possible from gyan and live experiences of interviews
But anyways I am always positive in life and felt something was better there for me.
mother of all surprises
And then ..Got a call from SPJAIN .
Could not believe at first.I realized I had a
to beat her in life and to prove that I am worth for it.
.
Now I was fully into it .Spent 16 to 17 hrs a day going through pg and different experiences.
Introspected myself length and breadth to fill the SOPs.
I wanted it badly,something more than anything else
Initially I appeared for all other interviews.Got dings from SIIB,SCHMRD,GLIM
but my focus was SPJAIN and I believed in success.
IMT came as first success
and rest all is only success.
I got through it.
I told her and she was happy and was looking forward to coming in mumbai
I have proved that a very ordinary student like me can do it.
And now in a few months I will be going to Mumbai and will ask her for a date.
I do not know the aftermaths but I hope that it is POSITIVE
@ Avi@tel
Great story boss!It went for pages. Hope that ur date is a success.
Waise mera bhi kuch kuch aisa hi kahani hai(but the girl is not an MBA!)! But this is not the right place to tell those stories.
Add to it I am also from Kolkata(now @ Gurgaon)
@ Other puys
Please don't groan much. I seriously could not resist from replying.
My Advice To cat Aspirants---
Whether you are ordinary or extra-ordinary it does not matter.
Ultimately the motivation to succeed should drive you.
And do not stick to conventional methods.
Find your own way of approaching the exam.
do not get pessimistic by thinking there are lakhs of candidates or low mock
scores .
Realize your strengths and weaknesses. It will keep your nerves in fray.
Introspection is very necessary for GD and PI.
It may help us a long way in life.
Speak to as many people as possible and get their perspective to issues.
This helps during GD-PI.
Enjoy the challenge thrown to you.
Things will automatically fall in place
AMEN
All I wanted to speak about CAT
---------------------------------------------
RUN UP TO MY FIRST CAT ATTEMPT:
I had hardly heard about CAT till I reached my 2nd yr of Engg(2004). Then I heard about it from few seniors and few batch mates. Tried to get some info about it.
June 2004 :
I feel like I can try it. After all, I have cracked IIT-JEE couple of yrs back, so Quant and DI shouldn't be a problem at all (heard that it's 10th class level ).
I just have to work on my VA and things are going to be alright.
Some of my batch mates have joined a coaching. I don't need to worry, still a long long way to go for CAT 05. No point in studying for CAT 1.5 yrs.
I'll get bored by the time CAT 05 comes. So, Just Chill !!
Also, the most important semester of the B.Tech (5th sem) is coming up. Probably, I should concentrate on that.
December 2004:
The dreaded, toughest 5th Semester's gone. I spent it playing Computer Games and Cricket. I am afraid of getting worst grades till now.
Forget it. Doesn't matter. Anyway I am going for an MBA ;-)
I should join a CAT coaching now.
January 2005:
As expected, got the worst grades of B.Tech till date.
Coaching is going on smoothly except for VA. I do not understand why my answers hardly match with the answer keys for any damn VA exercise.
Nor do I understand the reasoning behind the answers as explained by the teacher. Let's wait and watch what's being taught at the coaching.
April 2005 :
It's end semester time. So coachings have called off all the classes. From July, no classes, only Mock Tests for CAT 05 !!
I am in an awkward position. I am still not comfortable with VA. Haven't got any summer internship ! Need to work hard for End semester exam !!
I still think, there is lot of time on my hand. I can still work hard and bell the CAT.
May 2005 :
End sems gone. Did decently this time 😃 . Also got the internship ( somehow ). But boss, placements start in July.
After the hardwork in office ( I had to work hard during the 6 weeks of the internship ), what should I do ? Prepare for placements or for CAT.
CAT is still far away, if I get a decent job then
I can study for CAT without any pressure 😃 .
Better work on aptitude, C and C++, some digital electronics and Micro Proc's.
July 2005:
Yes! I have cracked big time. Got a job with a reputed company. But probably the package is not enough 😞 .
I should try for a few more days and see if I can bag another offer which is bigger and better.
Mock CATs started. But how would I do well if I am not concentrating on CAT.
August 2005:
Wow ! Now I am happy. I got a bigger, better offer 😃 This is a big success. Let me celebrate.
September 2005:
Oh my god ! I am left with only a couple of months. I am still unable to clear VA cut-offs, but absolutely no issues with QA and DI.
I am looking for help from everyone... seniors, coaching faculty.
November 2005 :
Finally, CAT is staring at me. I am still not confident of VA.
I'll give my best.
January 2006:
QA :98.xx
DI: 98.xx
VA:92.xx
( Attempted too many questions, poor accuracy took its toll )
OA : Don't remember
Verdict : No IIM Calls. No other calls either ( Why ?? Not applied anywhere else. IIM hi jaana hai yaar. Kisi aur college jaane se acha to naukri hi kar leta hoon !! - that's what I felt)
--------------------------------------
Did not take CAT 06. Was disappointed with the result and thought of working on VA in the long term. Some one told that VA can't be improved is short term.
Being low on confidence, I accepted.
--------------------------------------
RUN UP TO MY SECOND CAT ATTEMPT(CAT 07):
August 2007:
I have been too busy with my office work. No time to study for CAT.
No problems, I just need to brush up the basics. Hopefully my VA would have improved :-P
I haven't even joined any test series. What's the point in joining the test series without preparing?
October 2007:
Man, I got the onsite opportunity. I have been waiting for this for more than a year now. I am planning to carry the CAT study material with me. I'll study there.
Any way it's a short assignment, I'll come back before CAT.
November 2007:
I am back for CAT but the workload was too much there. Couldn't study at all.
Ab to bhagwaan bharose hai sab !
January 2008:
I am not in India.
CAT results declared.
I have barely managed to score positive number of marks in Verbal ( some positive fraction). Other sections do not matter.
I am ashamed of myself. My room mates who were taking CAT for the first time, have done much much better than me.
--------------------------------------
RUN UP TO MY THIRD CAT ATTEMPT(CAT 0
:
April 2008:
I am back from the onsite stint. Got a promotion and a nice salary hike. Enjoyed a lot.
Earned good money. Bought a nice digital camera. But still, something hurts really badly; the CAT 07 debacle.
I have decided. This will be the year of a great comeback or retirement.
May 2008:
Incidentally, I came to know, one of my school-mates has joined a class room course for CAT.I think I should also join. At least I'll be studying regularly. Joined.
June 2008:
Started with basic exercises in QA,DI.
Now I am familiar with some of the students in coaching.
July 2008 :
I am learning a lot through discussions with fellow students in the coaching as well as the teachers.Mainly outside the class :-)
We discuss the problems from exercises and Mocks.We also discuss the strategies.
August 2008:
I have been pretty consistent with QA and DI (Never went below 90%ile in the mocks). But hardly cleared VA cut off twice. Need to buck up.
But yes... over the period of last 3 months I have improved on vocab and I am not missing the cutoffs by too big margins :-)
September 2008:
Fellow coaching mates are doing pretty well. Especially one Bong and the other guy from Kanpur. These guys really inspire me and put pressure on me to work harder and think smarter. I have improved my accuracy in QA and DI. Now I am always above 95%ile. VA cut-offs still doubtful.
October 2008:
Few weeks to go.
Although VA is still doubtful, I have managed to clear the cut-offs most of the times. And I am sure if it's my day, I'll ROCK. That's what I told Mr. Saha.
The biggest weakness in VA has been identified. I am going to stay away from the grammar section. I need to revise and practise as much as possible. I should get the mocks from some other coaching as well.
Net practice is not enough. I need good match practice. I have to hit the purple patch now !
November 2008 :
The D-day. I am pretty relaxed. The couple of days leave from office last week, has helped me stay focussed. Got "Best of Luck" calls from number of friends. On the CAT centre, I met Ravish bhaiya. It was highly positive discussion with him. Can't imagine how much a couple of jokes can help to forget all the tensions.Best part being, his offer to take a piece of a huge CRACKLE chocolate, just before the paper and I accepted it happily(waise bhi Chocolate ko koi manaa karta hai kya :-D).
The paper was a surprise as usual. Higher fraction of VA questions. Looks like I am in trouble!! Let me start with strongest section. QA is going pretty well.Although wasted some time in a couple of tough ones, but am satisfied with 10-12 attempts in 50 minutes. VA section looks big, but I just have to clear the cut-off. Looks like I have a lot of choice this time around. Big variety of questions, I can easily leave those from my weaker areas and still manage to attempt a decent number of questions. I have spent around 55 minutes to attempt around 20 Qs.Might be on the lesser side but have the least time left for DI which is unexplored. (HUGE RISK actually, but was very conscious of clearing the VA cut-off). Well, finally I have managed to attempt 11 in DI. Don't know about the accuracy though. Isn't really a very happy feeling coming out of the exam hall. Probably could have managed the time better. Now, I feel not only VA but also DI is doubtful.
After coming out, figured out that most of my friends have attempted more than 30 Qs in VA. What the heck !! I gave almost 1 hr to VA and attempted only 19 Qs !!
Within 2-3 days all the solutions were out. QA is clear pakka. DI: should be clear. VA: Scores fluctuating over a range of 15 marks(35-50).
January 2008 :
Eagerly waiting for the results. Came to know about the results one day before (Courtesy : Vinay Poojary, my friend).
99.43 %ile OA. With least being DI 92.74 %ile (was a close shave: one more wrong Qs could have caused a whole lot of trouble).
And the biggest surprise, a whopping 66 (98.xx %ile) in VA.
Anyways, got calls from L and K. Converted both. Going to L.
Something that I learnt :
1) Being systematic helps
2) Identifying weaknesses as early as possible helps.
3) Being in the proximity of strong competitors helps ( if taken positively).
People I want to thank :
My family,
All the friends including:
Amol Agrawal( For discussing every Mock in detail on phone even if it meant a big hole in the pocket and giving moral support),
Vinay Poojary( Encouraging and helping me throughout, mostly over Gtalk 😃 )
Ankur Rakshit, Himanshu Nigam, Shankar, Koushik Pal ( The coaching was lot more enjoyable because of you guys + all the help and awesome discussions over cutting chaay)
Sukrut Kharia ( Answers to all the questions and doubts + encouragement, especially "Amod bhai, China -wina ghoomna band karo. Is saal to kuch acha kar dikhao", after the CAT 07 debacle ).
Gautam Saha ( Always encouraging and checking status of my preparation just by asking a simple question "Kaisi chal rahi hai padhayi?", huge number number of times :-D )
Nishant Shekhar ( Mocks share karne ke liye)
Finally, all the teachers of my coaching. Especially Prem Sir (More of a friend and a mentor than just a teacher) and Chandraveer Sir.