Hi guys. I never thought i would post on this thread so soon. I think this post would help people who are not so big achievers, have some dreams and eventually land up in a better than average bschool.
Intro- I am defence kid. Father being in Airforce we travelled across the Nation. From places like Bhuj and far off places which even Google can't locate sometimesJ. Schooling was mainly in KVs and Airfoce schools. A normal middle class family in all sense.
Life after 10th-
When I was in class 9th, dad took a choice posting to Delhi. This was because we wanted to be in a good city because it might be good for my education and my engineering dreams. I had to shuffle between ICSE and CBSE every 3-4 years because of dad's posting. I came back from ICSE to CBSE in class 10th. This was a total culture shock for me. The methodology of exams and learning was totally different in both the boards. And more over it was 10th so i had to pay extra efforts. It literally took me 7-8 months to get the feel of CBSE. I was scoring 90% odd till my class 9th( in ICSE) and suddenly it dropped to 80% in class 10th. I and my parents knew this was because of a sudden change in board. Everyone asked me what was the reason and i as too tired in giving this long explanation to everyone and resorted to ignoring these questions.
I took up science as i wanted to be an engineer. Started preparing for IIT JEE. The coaching class took most of my time. School till 2.30 and then coaching from 4.30 to 8.30 totally exhausted me. I somehow managed my class 11th and 12th with it. Didn't pay any attention to my class 12th boards. Scored a meagre 84%. I somehow managed to get a seat in Computer Sci engineering in BVP Delhi. I left Civil in DCE because i just wanted Computer Science.
Year 2008: As i came in my 3rd year i planned to MBA. It was not because i was not interested in Btech. Till my 3rd year i didn't even think about "interest". It was just about doing it and getting a job. I joined CL for my CAT coaching in early 3rd year. Attended classes, practiced the funda books(religiously). But after 3-4 months i lost interest in them. The level 1,2,3 etc etc didn't make any sense to me. In classes the English fac told us to cram the grammar rules and i told her in her face that one doesn't learn grammar by mugging rules. That was the last VA class i did in CL(later got 99.81 in VA section in CAT !!) !. I just used to do Maths class and come back home .
It was late may(or starting june) when the test series started. In the first mock i got some 85%ile. I thought this is just the starting and i can improve if i work hard. I joined AIMCATs also. One by one mocks started coming along. I scored in the range of 65%ile to 99%(just once). Mostly it was around 75ish mark. I tried to analyze the mocks and found that i knew the questions but just got afraid of them(if they took more time) in mock and so left it. One good thing for me was i was getting consistent 98s 99s in VA(both in AIMCATs and CL). I never crammed a word ever and i am not good at vocab also. In my college people used to cram the entire barrons list but i never did.
I again thought that if it was mugging up words then it would not be called Verbal Ability. I might be wrong but then that was what i thought and said no to all these cramming and never did things which i never believed in.
Sept 2009: The mock saga continued till now and i was averaging 80s in my mocks. Filled various forms like IIFT,CAT,JMET,SNAP,FMS,XAT. I was never sure if i would get in top 20 colleges(because of my mock scores) and so filled a more about of forms. It was a time of recession and thus we all were very in secure of jobs. And more over i was less confident of bagging a job because of my less technical knowledge(all engineers say that 😛 ).
CAT went online. But it didn't make much of a difference for me. It hardly mattered. I thought the basics of the game are still the same and if i gave my best shot, i would get a good %ile.
The real exams started: The MBA exam season started with IIFT I was under so much pressure on the exam day that i forgot the sin 60 and cos 60 values. Came back home and i already knew i had messed it up. Tried to match the ans i marked with the ans key available online. I was getting around 28. I knew it was over for me.
Learning : I then realized that pressure kills. I made sure not to take any pressure in any of the next exams( and i made sure of this). Even if i am under prepared then also i had to be cool.
Next was CAT. I was uber cool now.Took the test on 6th dec. Amidst all the havoc created by prometric, my test was smooth. Did around 40 odd questions. Seeing people doing 57-60 questions, i thought that CAT is also over for me. 5th Dec was the last day i ever touched my CAT prep notes. I was so fedup of the same old things.. doing the same things again and again bored me.
Next was JMET( The IITs! ). Somehow IITs always fascinate engineers. It was on 13th Dec. I was having my semester exam on 12th Dec and next on 14th Dec. I had left preparing for entrance exams way way back !! I was concentrating on my sem exams because this was one of the toughest semester till now. On 14th I had DSP( also called as Degree Stopping paper).
On the JMET exam day, till 8.30 am i was mugging up DSP formulas. My dad had came till the center to drop me. He even suggested me to leave the JMET exam if my sem paper would suffer. Thank God i dint listen to him!
I had an idea about the last year cutoffs for IITs. It was somewhere around 75. I decided to give a full attempt at JMET. I had nothing at stake. I made up a plan to do more than 90 questions. Unless i do 90, i would never get 75( considering the accuracy i had in mocks). Deciding this i want into the exam hall.
Gave my best at JMET. Came home and started mugging up DSP again. After 2 days when i got over with my sem, i tried to match my ans with the key available. I did 94 questions and was getting 72 marks according to CL's key. I was happy .... i thought that i would now atleast get one IIT call.
Next was SNAP- Was least interested in writing this paper. Gave a half hearted attempt. Scored 95 marks in it. Didnt get a SIBM or SCMHRD call. So SNAP also over.
JMET result: I got a 735 AIR with 75 score. Applied to IIT D,K,R,Kgp,M. Got calls from K,R,M. Started preparing for GD PIs( at CL). Again got some absurd tips for GD PIs from CL. Never believed them and did what i felt was right. ( Ex- If asked which IIT will you join, IIT Kanpur or IIT delhi , say IIT Kanpur. I always thought one should be truthful ).
This year saw sky rocketing cutoffs in all the exams. I am sill not clear why this is so.. but i guess some strong reason has to be behind it.
Jan 2010: TCS came to campus and i made it . Was very happy that if not a b school this year then i would work and write CAT and likes next year. Atleast i have a job now !
Next week Aricent came on campus and magically i made into that company also. It was offering 4.2LPA and i was now surely going to join this firm.
Then came the CAT results. Scored a 97% with 99.81 and 99.89 in QA and VA and an awesome 32% in DI !. This was amazing.. just 32 in DI. I never believed i could get this low in DI. All MDI,NITIE,IIM dreams were broken. I got calls from IMT and TAPMI and K J Somaiya.
Meanwhile i gave my GD PIs for IIT R,Kanpur and Madras. Didnt get a IIT Kgp call. And i was asked this question in IIT Kanpur that if given a change IIT K or IIT delhi what will i join. I said IIT delhi and gave reason for that. When the seniors at IIT K gave us a presentation we were told that in the entire batch of 45 there were just 17% freshers... This was a rude shock for me. Just 17 % !! Are they kidding me.. this means less than 10 seats.. Some hopes died ..
After coming back, i thought what if i made this mistake, what if the CL faculty who told me stuff was right !! I couldn't sleep that night. With just 10 seats for freshers ... this might have costed me my seat !
I also gave IMT, KJ somaiya and TAMPI GD PIs. Met amazing people there and made some awesome friends. Slowly results started coming. I made it to K J(PGDM).
Then the IIT result day came. IIT R was the 1st one to come with the result. My friend called and informed that i am in the waitlist(112). According to last year's data, i would get a seat by all means but in 2nd or 3rd list.
Then was IIT Kanpur. I keyed in my roll number and saw a "congratulations" message !!! I checked my result more than 100 times to ensure if it was me or the right page i am seeing !! I was really very happy... finally my IIT dream would come true, even if its via a MBa and not Btech. Later that evening IIT madras came out with its list. I was again waitlisted(50). I had till then made up my mind to join IIT K.
I didn't bother to check my IMT and TAPMI result after this. !!!
Next few days were partying and giving some treats to friends... everyone was amazed to see results( even if they don't say .. i know !). Not may expected me to crack IIT !
Anways.. here are some of the learning which i would like the future CAT takers to keep in mind-
1. Mock scores are not the real indication of your caliber and talent. Even if you get less scores, don't worry... just don't give up and keep on practicing.
2. One mistake i did when i get low marks in mocks is that i stopped studying. I was very sad. Then of my seniors at college gave me a tip... she said... JUST DONT GIVE UP..!! After a bad mock.. Have a choc, take a shower and study again !! ... I cant say how thankful i am to her for this...
3. Just don't be under any pressure in the exam time. Pressure can make even the best fail.
4. Always have a backup plan.. In my case it was TCS/Aricent. This gives immense confidence for GD PIs !. One is more confident if one has a fall back option . And this confidence can take you through in any GD PI.
5. Make friends ... !! They are the people you would need when you are down. They can be a real source of motivation.
6. Dont give up your family LIFE because of CAT. It's just not worth it( I did and now regret it)
7. Just Don't give up !!
I would now be joining IIT Kanpur's MBA program. It might not be an awesome B school... not in top 10s but i think its a big achievement for me.
Wanted to write this so that atleast people can get some motivation and learn something from my mistakes
All the best to all of you !
It all started when TIME conducted its scholarship test back in 2006 and I was able to get 75% discount on the course fee.Attended all the classes religiously,even those that ppl generally call ''must not attend'' classes.and by the time the first aim cat arrived I was ready enough to get a city 3rd rank and a 99%ile in my first ever mock cat..
It was deja vu again!!it seemed exactly the same way when i started out with my IIT preparations(I was amongst the toppers in my class in my first ever Math IIT test.A small recap of the events that succeeded that.)
Rewind to 2002:
A sense of confidence which bordered on the 'higher' side crept in and the downfall started.I failed to clear the JEE.Got a good enough state rank in AIEEE, however my lack of information created a rather peculiar situation for me whereby i ended up in one of the lower NITs when people wth lesser ranks ended up in the higher ones.That i came out of it and went to a state government college is a different matter altogether.
Back to 2007:
I decided not to let the JEE fiasco happen to me again!!ever again.
3 things I would like to advise:
1) Never forget your past. The moment you do that you will end up doing the same mistakes again and again and again.
2) Never allow over confidence to creep in at any part of teh journey.. Over confidence is a disease and will destroy your journey completely
3) Be information-hungry. Try to know the inside out of whatever you are going to do. I was not and I did not end up studying from the top NITs atleast if not from the IITs
Moving on...
My 2007 mock cats with all its ups and downs ended on a rather high note and come Feb 2008 all my tests were over.My scores were:
CAT 2007 - 98.79
Xat 2008 - 98.24
I did not get any calls and I had not applied to any other college(Only time will tell if that was a mistake)
I spoke to a passout from IIMB and this was what he told me verbatim..''If you are able to get a 98% in both CAT and XAT it means you have some stuff.let me know how much you get in CAT 2008''
And i hit the road again.Only this time I started with negative thoughts. I had seen seemingly well off people with much much lower scores going thru and I started cribbing about the system.Never did i realise that there was still scope for me to improve.The fact that I was employed in a good company meant that CAT 08 came and went like a ''phooph''..
A few things I would like to advise:
1) To all the general category students.. pl go thru this..
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/3321-profile-people-who-have-converted-66.html#post2108349
May 2009 and I was in familiar territory again. For a change I had a nice set of dedicated friends in Bangalore. A few coaching sessions and I was ready and raring to go.Mock cats started and I as usual started with a bang. However this time I was able to sustain it. 3-4 consecutively high scores and I was as match ready as i ever was..
But life had other plans. I was shifted out of Bangalore and my initial few months in Mumbai was hectic to say the least. Throw in a few personal issues and I suddenly felt as if i was in some 'cast away' types island.
sample this
AIMCAT 1009 - 68%ile
AIMCAT 1004 - 60 odd %ile
Not very high in spirits I took my first ever IIFT test..And my score was 49.5 out of 100..
A few things to remember
1) Try to keep CAT completely insulated from your personal life
2) The season opener - IIFT exam is one of the most important exams. it sets the tone if it goes well..
Amidst all the drama I gave CAT on Dec 1. The paper turned out to be much worse than an AIMTEST paper and I simply couldnt believe that it was a CAT paper. and I was able to attend almost all of the questions.Contrary to CAT, XAT was a wonderful paper, one that tested a person's ability more than any other paper.
The results came. XAT was out and I dint make it because my LR score was low. XAT 2010-98.88
And when feb 28 happened, I was out of this world..A few calls trickled in.. I was still not sure IF i did deserve this score.. I thought if i could convert atleast one call then maybe I was good enough.. And I converted 4 out of the 5 calls I had got..
And there ends my story!!!
Post scripts:
1) This post is not intended to make any hero out of me..I am not..And I can provide no instance that will make you all go ''wooow''.. This is just a small recount of the journey of a 'boy next door' and a few suggestions to the future CAT takers based on it
2) If this post is able to help atleast one person then it has solved its purpose.
3) If you think that the IIMs are the be all and end all of your life then I would seriously advise you to read 'The Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell - the part on IQ and Nobel Prize winners.. IIMs , XLRI, SP, FMS etc are all special. One doesnt become great simply because he is from an IIM.
4) HArd work still pays and pl read Outliers to see this as a fact..
and as the saying goes and I quote again..
The race is long and in the end it is all with yourself!!
Cheers and all the best
Varun
I write here at the risk of seeming out of place among a whole lot of IIM converts, but I'll go ahead, nonetheless I have already made a post here, just over a year back (Read it only if you are very bored 😉 ) The long and short of it is that I was terribly disappointed not to have got any IIM calls with what I thought was a very good score with a very decent split. Anyway, I'll start my story afresh here.
I was a very good student right through my schooling. I topped my school in Tenth Standard, and was among the top in Twelfth Standard too, with scores of well over 90% in both. I got admission in Anna University, one of the premier institutes in TamilNadu. Following this, I had four forgettable years at college. I don't mean that I didn't enjoy college life. I made great friends, hung around with them, had absolute fun, fell in love, and all that. I had a very pleasant time in general. But I faltered on the academic front. I was not competent in my field at all. After getting through a good college, I somehow got into myself a (false) feeling of accomplishment, and became very complacent.
Come final year, and the placement season started. I got placed very easily, in one of the big(?) IT firms. However, the firm recruited around thousand people from Anna University, and I was only one in that thousand. Somehow, I could not really celebrate having got placed. I could not look at it as an achievement in any way. I knew that I was capable of more, and at that point, I wished (too late) I had made better use of my 3 years of college. Nonetheless, I thought it was not too late yet (In retrospect, I realize I was deluding myself. You cannot make up in a few months for your mistakes spread over three years.). I knew that several top firms were yet to visit, and I could still get placed in one of them. I started preparing religiously, desperate to make the most of the opportunities on campus. Opportunities were all around. Several top firms(the likes of Microsoft,Symantec, Cisco,Oracle etc) visited our campus. I remember having sat for around twenty companies, and I didn't even clear the written test(all technical) of even a single company. It was a morale-shattering, devastating and forgettable phase in my life.
The only thing that kept me going in spite of my failures at college was CAT. Who cares for campus placements, I used to say to myself, when there is a much bigger opportunity through CAT. I started rather badly in AIMCATs. I used to get 80-85%le. I remember celebrating when I breached the 90%le mark for the first time. I celebrated even more when I first breached the 95%le mark(This was about half way through the test series). I was happy that I was able to improve with every AIMCAT, by putting in the requisite effort. Towards the fag end, I finally crossed the 99%le mark, and it did my confidence a whole world of good. I finally started believing that I had it in me to make it to an IIM. I took CAT coolly, and did well enough to expect calls. But then, I didn't get any. I was happy with my 99.36 percentile, but of what use is it without any calls? I was broken beyond words. I had messed up opportunities in college, and now I had messed up my other big opportunity too. I could not help but feel that my incompetence at college had cost me IIM calls as well. But then, I could do nothing about it. I had an XIMB call through XAT, but was not too keen on it. I had decided that it was CAT 2009 for me.
College got over in May 2009, and my employer dropped a bombshell by communicating that we would be required to join only in 2010. I was shattered. Things were going from bad to worse. My friends and family cheered me up by saying that it gave me time for CAT preparation, but I could never think of CAT preparation as a full time occupation. I enrolled in TIME and CL test series, and was doing much better this time, crossing 95%le in most of the mocks. But I somehow could not stand staying idle at home. I got desperate and tried for a lot of off-campus jobs, all in vain. Fortuitously, in August, I got an offer to teach part-time at TIME institute. I was very happy, as I could prepare for CAT and still earn some money. Things are looking up, I said to myself.
The test series continued, with the fluctuations which I was used to by then. Because of the uncertainty over my joining date, I filled many application forms, and decided to appear for 5 exams- IIFT, CAT, XAT, JMET and FMS.
The month of November brought some good news to me. I got my joining date in that month, much earlier than expected, thanks to the recovering economy all around. It was in a very happy frame of mind that I appeared for IIFT, and on checking the keys after the exam, I knew I would get a call. I was happy to have started well, and hoped to keep the momentum going. CAT was next. I attempted 45 questions, which was nothing compared to a what lot of people posted in these forums. I was hoping for a good split to save me, but quants appeared dicey all along. I did all the other exams well, and had hopes on them, with the exception of FMS.
The results started pouring in. Call from IIFT as expected. JMET- a good enough rank for the only 2 IIT's I was interested in. XAT- PMIR call, missed BM by an absolute whisker. FMS- ding as expected. The last and the most awaited one was CAT. I was in a movie at the time the results came, and my mind was hardly on the movie. I asked a friend to check results. I was told that the server was down, but my number wasn't there in the IIMA shortlist. That was enough for me though. It meant that I couldn't have made it to C shortlist either, and I knew I stood very little chance at the other IIM's. I was very disappointed. Later, I learnt that my percentile was 98.38, with quants letting me down as I feared. Again, good but not good enough. It was frustrating.
Meanwhile, I had my other calls to work on. CAT gave me NITIE and SPJIMR calls. So I had a total of six calls. IIFT and IIT-B went well. XLRI was bad. Before my other processes were due, IIFT results came out and I was dinged. It was quite shocking. I thought it had been my best GDPI.
Next was my IIT-D process. I went to it with a low morale, thanks to the IIFT result. The GDPI at IIT-D is best described when I say I nearly broke down after my interview. Here goes another reject, I said to myself. To make things worse, I got a reject from XLRI on the same day. I felt extremely low.
Things kept going badly. First round reject at SP Jain. Reject from IIT-B. Average interview at NITIE. It was a huge relief to me after my NITIE interview, not because it went very well, but because a long, gruelling and forgettable GDPI season had come to an end.
I was readying myself for another year at my not-very-enjoyable job, when the results of NITIE came out. Normally, a waitlist-153 is hardly a result to celebrate, but I did. Such was my desperation, such was my despondency. I was relieved to a great extent to have made it to atleast the waitlist. Atleast one institute has not rejected me outright, I said to myself. And then came the shocker of a result through IIT-D. I couldn't believe I had converted it after an interview which I thought could have had only one possible result. I kept checking the website for days, just to ensure it wasn't a database error or something like that. After finally assuring myself that I had indeed converted it, I now had to take a call on joining it, or going for one more CAT.
I got different pieces of advice from different people. My parents, teachers at TIME, and some friends wanted me to join, while some others told me I was capable of more, and should try atleast once more.
Finally, after considering carefully the merits of the institute, the potentially big risks involved in the written tests, and even more in the GDPI stages, and the fact that I simply did not belong in my organization and my job, I decided to play safe and join IIT-D, which I feel is rather underrated and is a very good institute in its own right.(Unless I convert NITIE, which looks difficult as of now.) Besides, from my experiences in college, I have learnt that it is far more important to make the best use of opportunities provided, than to just study at a reputed institute.
I have not written down my story here to be an inspiration. I have just written down my experiences, in the hope that someone might have something to take from them.
I am thankful to PG, in which I have been active since the last one year. It's a wonderful source for preparation, competition and inspiration as regards CAT and MBA preparation. I am thankful to many users here, particulary naga25french for all the company and support, rsriram84 for always giving the right advice, the_hate and vision-IIMACL for all the help, and the entire Chennai Dream Team for their support.
Thanks to everyone who has read through this post patiently.
I read this thread once during my 1st year of attempt of the CAT. At that time somewhere deep down, I knew I will also post my experience, when, where, how..was the part that needed to be decided.
Well, at the outset , I will warn that this is not the story which ends in those hallowed portals of BLACKI. Although everyone aspires to be there, but the reality is that aspirations can help you only that much. What really matters is individual capability. I was never one of those ppl who used to come 1st in class or top subjects in college I was just a smartass who knew his numbers and pretty much sucked elsewhere. What I didn't lack was confidence and common sense which has always helped me in life.
CAT 2006:
I started my prep by joining IMS Noida in March. Like every other aspirant, I had starry eyed view of MBA. Big money and super campuses and lotsa fun and u get to smell the real business and what not. And CAT, they used to say was a simple exam of maths, English and calculations. All 3 in which I was confident. During the classes, I was doing well and gave answers quickly. My center head was pretty confident of me doing weel and I had already started dreaming of GD/PI. Even in mocks, I scored >95%ile which I was sure will improve to greater than 98/99 till the C-day. There were topics like geometry and PnC which were a pain in the neck but I decided not to pay much attention as I am not attempt them anyways. A line by my center head stuck in my mind - 'Jis galli me jaana nahi uska pata pooch ke kya fayda'. English was fine and DI was okayish, but inconsistent.
In Quant I had predecided that since cutoffs anyways are low, I will do only those questions from topics that are comfortable to me and leave the rest. It was working well in mocks as IMS mocks used to be tuf in quant and DI and I cud clear the cutoffs and maximize in English.
So the day arrived and I gave the CAT. I was under pressure as I had expectations, I knew this was one thing I could do well. For the first time in my life I had the opportunity to prove that I was good in smthng. This was certainly an ego trip for me. But after the exam I was shattered. I just knew I hadn't done well. To start off, there was a question in Quant that was incorrect and I wasted 10 mins on that. Plus smhw I lost track of time at the start. VA was super tuf and with that went out my hopes of maximizing. Till the time I came to DI I had lost all orientation of common sense. I came back, slept and then checked my attempts.
It was game over. PPL had banged quant and I had selectively done it! My frnds told me it ain't over till the results come but deep down I knew it was. Results came and it was a hopeless 80 %ile. 95%ile in VA being my only solace. in My frnd checked that for me and he didn't tell me til I started calling him incessantly coz he knew I wud be disappointed. That day I was with family in Ahemdabad. My dad used to work there. We went out for a nice dinner and he took me to an ice cream parlor near IIM-A. That day I realized what CAT personally meant to me. That's a disturbing pain I cannot forget. You know u can do well but somehow u cannot.
After that I forgot about CAT, literally. I was so shocked I used to avoid discussions on it. My future was some how secured as I was placed in Infy and TCS. I didn't give CAT next time and started working. But deep down, I knew I had to conquer it.
In 2008 again I started prep. One thing good that happened was that I never took my work lightly. I worked hard and took full interest and was doing well in my appraisals. This changed my outlook a bit and I became much more mature. But I wasn't serious on CAT. Only gave mocks in which again I was scoring well. But I was not studying and this thing again hurt me. Only 85%ile. But that was okay. I had already decided I have to work for 2-3 years and then leave for MBA as that was my so called ideal plan. This means that 2009 attempt was going to be crucial.
cont from top........
CAT 09:
This year CAT turned online and a surprise was in store. The format was new and needed a different prep. Again I joined a test series, CL this time as I was fed up vid IMS. This time my initial mocks weren't so great, so I was forced to study sporadically. Some consistency started creeping in but again nothing concrete. One thing gud bout CL mocks was the analysis they provided online. I used to sit up late at nights in front of my PC and keep on analyzing my mocks. By the end of October I was pretty much sure how m gonna attempt. Quant DI VA and the idea was as simple as Kapil Dev's about batting, 'There is a ball and its meant be hit'. Mine was that there is a question and its meant to be done. So I focused a lot on speed.
The D-Day came and I attempted 45-46 questions with no clue bout accuracy or anything. But as it turned out, everyone worth his/her salt attempted >50. Again I thought another year gone down the drain. But this time I had filled a lot of forms like SNAP, IIFT, NMAT etc. IIFT I missed by 2 marks and for SIBM I missed VA by a cruel 0.25. I was disappointed to say the least. I thought it was all over. Got a call from SCMHRD and off I was to my 1st eva GD/PI. I thought I did well there, but I really cudnt convert that subsequently. Gave NMAT as the last hope but wasn't really sure bout it as it was online too.
Again I was resigned to another year of job. But surprisingly CAT results came and I scored 98.14%ile with minimum in DI at 87.xx. I was over the moon as finally I did what I felt I shud have a long tym ago. Finally I had done something in life which I had really wanted to do..you know..dil seThough as the initial euphoria subsided, I knew I had calls from MDI, IMT and IMI which I knew I had to convert. NMAT results came and I had again scored 98%ile. I was happy as I knew at last I will do an MBA this year surely. Moreover the happiness was that I able to prove to myself that I cud do vel in these 'simple exams of maths and english'. GD/PI phase was again where I prepared well and it went well too primarily as I had good quality of work ex to cover for average acads. Final result came and I got thru MDI - PGPIM and NM-Core along with IMI in 1st lists itself. Till now IMT IB is converted though I am not really interested nemore. NM was particularly sweet as I secured an overall 83 rank from my initial 700 rank after written. MDI, was a dream come true. I work in gurgaon and many times I have passed from there with a distant desire that one day I will come here.
I think I did well because I knew deep down that I had to do it. Also, I had a very good support system. My family never pressurized me for anything, so that was good in a way. Passion is undoubtedly the ultimate key to success, is what my father once casually told me during my prep and these lines somehow stuck. Whether you aim for any B-School, if you believe you can do it, there is no stopping you. Many a times during the last 4 years, I have been told to quit. But for me there was no other way. I had to simply do an MBA from a top 20 B School no matter what happened. I never thought about GMAT because I wanted to conquer my fear of CAT and not die in the hope that I cud do vel in it.
But one thing I have realized is that one should not make only one thing the whole and soul of their existence. I learnt it during my work which I enjoyed probably because it was different from what everyone else around me was doing. That made me relax during my prep time to an extent that I didn't take single day's leave for either CAT or GD/PI from office and still find a way for preparing for both. Having a passion is a good thing but enjoying you work, life and having an occasional good time friends and loved ones is equally important, because that gives us happiness which no amount of money can buy. And isn't happiness the butterfly which we are all trying to catch?
Lastly, no words can truly describe what PG means to true believers of CAT and MBA in general. Thanks pagalguy.
Probably, at first glance, my journey of CAT might seem to be a lucky one - having converted an IIM call the very first time of serious preparation ! But, by the time readers finish reading my experience, quite a number of opinions would change. Read on..........
Final Year of Graduation-2008 :
The first time I ever gave CAT was in 2007 during the final year of my engineering at KIIT, Bhubaneswar on my parents' behest. I never prepared for the same and just wanted to see where I stood amongst the thousands of bright minds of India. In fact, I was one of those technical and adventurous guys who used to do a lot of projects in robotics, roam around with friends, participate in technical (and cultural) fests at IITs around the country and win quite a few of them. Google and Microsoft were my dream companies. Alas, none of them came for recruitment to our college that year. Yes, Indian Air Force did come and I cleared all its psychological and medical fitness rounds. I also had an offer from TCS.
The Way Destined:
As expected, CAT 2008 was a disaster - to the extent that I managed a meagre 70%tile overall. I wasn't perturbed for I had made up my mind to join IAF. But, destiny had other plans. TCS' joining came within days of me finishing my graduation. There was no surety of the final call from IAF (I was yet to receive the final joining letter). Consequently, I became a part of the workforce that India has no dearth at all - software professionals ! (IAF did call after a few weeks, but by then I was already into a bond with TCS).
I joined TCS R&D; thereafter and began my technical career. I was being paid reasonably well, had a bike and roamed around the lively streets of Delhi. But at the end of the day, I always felt about doing something bigger and better ! Being into R&D;, I was often inspired by my colleagues preparing for GRE and planning for MS abroad. I reckoned that it was high time I thought seriously about what my aspirations were. It was then (around May 2009) that I zeroed upon CAT again. This time, seriously !
The CAT Chase:
I joined CL classroom coaching in July 2009. Classes were interesting and devoting around an hour or two everyday at home wasn't a tough call at all. I hardly missed classes @ CL (was always very concerned about the Return On my Investment) and ensured that I grasped the concepts well. Mock Tests started soon. Contrary to my expectations, in my first mock test, I could only fetch 75%tile ! Anyways, I reckoned that I still had sufficient amount of time and went ahead. I gave a number of mock tests with different strategies. With more focus on selective topics (like Number System, Algebra and Geometry in QA), I tried to maximize my score. On a number of occasions, I missed out on lollypop questions towards the end of the paper as I would have no time left. Somewhere, I read that going through the questions initially and selecting the ones to attempt is actually an investment of time, not a waste. This struck me well and I followed the same judiciously. Finally, I had a complete strategy.
Even with all this, the highest I could ever fetch in a CL mock exam was 91%tile. Some tutors even advised me to maximize my score in one subject rather than trying to balance the three (it was hardly a month left for CAT 09). Based on my past %tiles, CL B-School predictor had started showing B-grade colleges to me ! I used to get disappointed at times, but with the past experiences of test takers in mind, I knew that I could make it ! It was only a matter of correctly attempting a few more questions and my %tile would shoot ! My parents and a few friends played a pivotal role with the motivation and confidence that they instilled in me. Also, an experience that always helped me was that of Gaurav Jaiswal (IIMC, Class of 2011) on rediff:
CAT 2009: How I made it to IIM-C: Rediff.com Get Ahead
The last one month, I attempted mock tests very sincerely. Analyzing every question after the test, grasping concepts, rectifying silly mistakes and refining my strategy! Finally on the D-day (December 1, 2009), everything went perfect ! Selecting questions, finishing them off within the stipulated time and attempting more than the number I had planned - all went well. In short, I was confident that this was the best I could give....
Results:
Results came and I managed 98.14 %tile with 97.32, 96.22 and 89.7 in QA, DI and VA respectively ! I was shattered. If only I had managed two more questions in VA ! No call from IIM A or S the first day. Neither from C or L the subsequent days. With 90% + in 10th and 12th, I had a distant hope only on B (K & I gave more weight-age to CAT till last year). After a few days, IIM K announced its shortlist at around 10 pm. Uninterested, I checked the same around 1 am. And Wonder of Wonders ! I had a call !! -:D....I thanked God and was so excited that I called up my home that very moment ! Finally, I had one IIM call! In fact, the only one (IIMB ditched me too).
Another Round Of Preparation:
I realized that I had to convert the one call I had, or else, the trauma of preparation for one more year ! I judiciously started attending CL PDP classes. I felt that I was the only regular student who was continuing at CL since months ! No other face seemed familiar - all new ones ! Nevertheless, I attended the CL bootcamp. The mock interview and GD were disasters ! In no way, I could afford this. I went home, deeply analyzed my faults and refined the way I had to present myself (read my achievements, strengths, weaknesses, focus on job and Tata Group, etc). I made a checklist and studied extensively on IIMK, the Tata Group, economic affairs, current affairs...and so on. Though we were allowed to participate in only one bootcamp, I deliberately managed to participate again ! This time, I got great comments (with minor suggestions). My subsequent mock interviews went great - to such an extent that in my last interview the panelist said "we would be surprised if you are not selected". This was a great booster for me !
The D- Day:
I went for IIMK's GD, PI and essay writing. Here goes the experience :
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/51842-2010-2012-iimk-gd-pi-5.html#post2021862
Results Reloaded:
Final shortlist of IIMK was announced on May 6, 2010. I was one amongst the 155 general candidates to have been offered a seat. This was one of the happiest moments of my life, having washed away my parents' and my past regrets (not qualifying for IIT, not joining IAF, etc). I could now be at par with my school mates who had cracked IIT big time. I thanked God and my parents for the kind of support they gave me. Thereafter began celebrations galore ! :-)
In a nutshell, I would like future CAT aspirants to always keep in mind the following :
- Never ever get demotivated by low %tiles or by anyone's comments ! Believe in yourself that you can do it. In fact, numerous people HAVE DONE IT !
- Mock Tests are immensely important for CAT. Practise them wholeheartedly with deep analysis of each of them. They would help you build the perfect strategy for CAT.
- There's a famous song in Bengali which goes like "walk alone if no one comes on hearing your call ". There would be many obstructions on your CAT journey, never succumb to them ! Only your dreams and determination can take you through ! Dream big and stay motivated...!
- Nothing that you did ever in your life goes waste. They would turn to help you sometime in your future (read 10th marks, 12th marks, playing Tabla six years back, not missing my school for six consecutive years, robotics in college, etc..in my case ).
ALL THE BEST TO FUTURE ASPIRANTS ........! Hope this post helped..
Hi Guys.I almost lost touch with PG after IIMI results.But i feel i owe this to my PG friends and future aspirants to share what i learnt.Even if a single person finds it useful,i will feel that the purpose is solved.
A little about my background.I am a marine engineer by profession,done BE (marine) from MERI,kolkata. Have been working with shipping companies for last 3.5 years. I always had my seniors and colleagues try to switch career because of n number of reasons.But what i always felt that, a lot of them lacked in understanding the principle of diversity. This i want to convey,specifically, to people with not so called orthodox background(read software engieers).Please dont consider yourself to be out of main stream and feel down.DO feel that you are different and show it.Please note this is in noway offensive to people withs/w degrees. i have high regard for you people.
As for my CAT journey, i never managed more than 90 percentile in any of mock CAT.but that never disheartened me.Coz one of my friend was in IIMI and he was in the same boat.So in future also you people can feel the same way.This was my first serious take at CAT.When the season of results started with set back of IIFT and followed JMET, i kind of lost hope and had applied for all the schools.Then came the XAT and XIMB as a respite.
And when CAT came out with results after age long wait, i was in Delhi,appearing for my Great LAkes interview.A friend of mine called up to tell me that he had call from IIMA. And just like the lines in 3 idiot goes,it felt really bad.;){jab dost top karta hai to jyada bura lagta hai}
BUt to my pleasant surprise i had good percentile and managed a few calls.All set for the next phase.Mock interviews did help.a lot.And then it was my network with a few good men that made my sailing smooth.Fr future aspirants,Please feel free to contact people u feel will be helpful to u.BUt when its ur time to do the same,dont pull hands.Because someone else is in ur shoes now.
A lot of people will tell u this and u might again think its crap.but trust me,the people who interview u,are too experienced and knowledgeable to be fooled by your gimmicks.So be true to urself,be true to them and Rest will be taken care of.
Siging off
Vivek sharma
CAT 99.68
Calls_IIMB L I NITIE SPJ(ops) MDI IMT MIB XIMB GIM GREAT LAKES
CONVERTS : ALL
I wasn't sure, if I should post it here. After all, my percentile wasn't the best. Neither did I have ABCL call. But then I reflected back and I asked myself, Dude you have been through one helluva journey last year. You have changed. CAT has changed you. Though you haven't been that perfect CAT Aspirant, but you have learned in the process. Plus you have managed to convert a very good college and have been waitlisted in the other. It surely deserves to go in here. So here goes my story. Bear with me because this is going to be a long one. The length is not predefined but as I proceed to write I will recall and the more I recall the longer this write up would be.
Three years and ten months of "sometimes glorious otherwise mostly dull" routine in a Top Indian IT firm (TITF) had turned me into a laggard. It all started in the winter of 2005 when my alma mater was expecting a few companies to pay their regular yearly visit and handpick prospective employees. TITF supposedly being a day zero company was the most sought after. This belief coupled with lack of confidence in civil engineering placements kicked me to sit for the recruitment exam. I was the last to be selected amongst the qualified candidates. Don't recall how I felt then, I must have been happy. After all it did take away the pressure of CAT and looked like an easy escape route. Expectedly, I fared bad in CAT that year. My mind wasn't where it should have been. My close friend made it to IIM C and that pricked too.
Charged with emotions and a promise to crack CAT next year I boarded the train for the TITF Initial Learning Program at Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The best two months of my life. However, no sign of CAT anywhere. I didn't even care to fill up the form. The escape route being - "I want to gather some work-ex before I proceed for a management degree."
Come December and life in Mumbai was fun. New city, easily available booze, good friends and the motto to enjoy along with a few other extravagances found me disoriented. However, CAT and MBA were running at the back of my mind like dormant computer processes occupying the least memory. Frustration at work was denting my progress as well. Management education it seemed was the only way to get me out of this phase. Did all the regular razzmatazz that CAT aspirants do each year. Unplanned and unorganized, I approached CAT. Lack of planning got the better of me and for the second time I found myself tearing away the scorecard. Again consoled myself and moved on.
2008. This would be the year when I will crack it. Started preparation again, didn't score great in mocks. Mid August, I was offered Onsite at US. Let me tell you something very candid at this point of the post. Since the day I started working, my only resolve was to get into a good business school. This did impact my work as well and it showed in the lack of interest towards it. However this was US. I had never been out of this country. I could suddenly visualize my great American dream. I took the offer and escaped from CAT again that year. As one of my friends had put it, "An onsite trip does save you from the agony of writing CAT". At this point in time I wasn't doing well in mocks either. That further strengthened my decision.
With more than 3 years in my kitty, I was back to my country and could now see GMAT as a possible choice. But this year what I was running out of was time. I had to make something of myself this year. Not only had I failed to secure a release from my current project, but was almost left without work. Day after day staring at the screen and doing the usual rote excel analysis, I had by now figured that my career graph was headed south. I decided to give CAT a serious shot yet again.
Months passed. Sometimes I lacked discipline, sometimes I worked to my best. The scores in the mocks were in correlation to the work pattern. I did analyze mocks, but not very thoroughly. I started getting demotivated with mediocre scores in mocks. I decided to bank on GMAT. Started preparing for that religiously and religiously I did prepare. Scored well in all the mocks but something went bad on the final day. Result: A miserable score.
Took me a month to get over that. Got back to CAT. Analyzed all the previous mocks thoroughly this time. Did my CAT papers too. Finally went in for CAT on December 5 2010. All the controversy shrouding CAT thankfully didn't bother me. Then came SNAP followed by XAT and FMS. Finally done with all the exams, I waited for the results. I had hopes from SNAP and FMS. XAT was an epic failure. Results started coming out in mid January. Scored well in SNAP, but missed the QA cutoff by 0.5 marks for SIBM-P. Then came FMS in February, and again I wasn't amoong the shortlisted candidates. FMS had sadly decided to cut the call ratio from 1:7 to 1:5. XAT was as expected a result I didn't even bother to look at.
As each result turned into a ding, so did my chances of not quitting my job and the horror of not doing anything at work. This grabbed me like a nightmare. My career was at stake. I wasn't getting a release from my project since the past 8-9 months despite 10,000 promises. Moreover, I didn't have a very high hope from CAT considering my previous record, though I knew I had done decent in the exam. But then came the CAT result day, and I ended up scoring okayish. Though it wasn't good enough, but I felt kind of satisfied. However, this was not going to last long. The nightmares of going through the same old unproductive life came back like a boomerang. At one point I just gave up. Music became my friend for a couple of weeks. My social life went into red. But this was to change soon because destiny had a twist in the tale for me.
I used to check the GD/PI shortlists of all the IIMs for my roll number. This was more out of desperation than hope. A-Ding, B-Ding, C-Ding, L-Ding, K-Ding, S-Ding expectedly. Indore wasn't really worried about declaring the list soon. They were taking their own sweet time. However, the day that list came out, that would be the when my lifestyle and my psyche would change for the better. Honestly, after ABC ding I had even stopped looking up for my number. I instead used to track a number below mine and that dude had calls from ABC. I was on my way to check his BLACKI but what I saw there instead was my roll number. I checked and re-checked multiple times. My brain took longer than usual to process the visual that my eyes were looking at. I had a freaking IIM I call. An IIM I call. If I could describe that feeling in this post, I would have chosen to be a writer. I felt weird. I danced in my office. Suddenly the laggard me was enthused with energy. Lots of it. It gave me wings :P. Then came SP Jain followed by IMT-G. Believe me I was on the verge of losing it. I had given it all up. And suddenly from nowhere the game changed. My dad once told me "Life is like a game of Poker. You have a spate of bad games, but one good game and the winning streak suddenly starts."
Let me now straightaway shift to May 17th 2010. I call it the Independence Day. I finally got that coveted mail from SPJIMR, Mumbai. My fate was finally shining and the fat lady was singing. I immediately sent in my resignation. I could suddenly taste it. It felt good. I felt liberated. A long, challenging and a struggling journey had finally come to an end. I am waitlisted at IIM I, but after the kind of interview I had, I feel good about the waitlist too. I do hope I convert it.
Nelson Mandela said, "There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires." I am valuing this freedom each moment I realize its attainment. This is a freedom from frustration, mediocrity and routine. I yet again question myself. Am I taking the right path? Is this my true calling? But these are questions I would never be able to find answers to.
My Learning:
1. It ain't over till the Fat Lady Sings:I had almost lost all hopes. Esp. after FMS and SNAP. But the magic just happened. So whatever happens, please do not give up.
2. Never get demotivated: Cause the moment you do, it all starts falling down like a pack of dominoes. Bhai, PG ki yeh thread hi pad lo. Nothing can be more comforting than reading success stories. I even used to read last year final results threads. Used to make me feel good about it.
3. Be Disciplined: I needn't explain this and sound preachy.
4. Be active on a forum (Read PG): Believe me this is a good medicine for anything and everything during the CAT journey.
5. Never Ever Give Up: I gave up and I faced the ramifications. Why take the path to hell when heaven is up ready for you?
Well, in case you're wondering how/why you haven't seen me before and why in the Devil's name am I posting here, i'll tell you a small story:
I joined PG back in my final year of engineering, sometime around the July of 2008. Clueless as I was, I hobbled around PG, and one of the first threads i came across was AIWTSAC. I read the entire thread over the next couple of days, and needless to say, I was a little inspired ;). It was then that the conceited little fool in me took over. I made a small resolution to myself: that my first post on PG would be on this very thread, no matter when that happens. Childish, I know, but a man should sometimes be allowed a little vanity ;). The fact that its the summer of '10 now should give you an idea of how pent-up the words you are reading have been. And boy, its been one heck of journey!
Like almost everybody else, I took to CAT (and by extension, management entrance exams) in the third year of my engineering at NIT Kurukshetra. A shot at CAT had been at the back of my mind for a few years by then, and since everybody around me had been taking it up, I thought I might as well too. I got myself enrolled at the weekend batch at IMS Chandigarh, and I woke up early on Saturdays and Sundays, just so that I could attend those darned classes. I kept up the pretense for sometime, until, lo and behold, i reached final year! Soon after, I (and everyone around me) got placed, I started losing interest in the whole idea of CAT. I immersed myself in the far more pleasurable environs of booze parties and the works, and general joblessness. In between, I had joined TIME AIMCATS, and that was the only thing I did regularly. Got a couple of high 98s, but my mock performances were mostly mid-nineties, and I didn't really try to make them any better. Soon, it was time for CAT. Wrote my paper without a care in the world. The most fatal mistake I did was dividing time equally among all three sections (this was the CAT with 40 questions in VA). I ended up with a 93 percentile in CAT. I took about six or seven exams that season, but all to no avail, and honestly, I wasn't sad because I knew what I deserved with the amount I put in.
Life moved on, I graduated, and came back home amidst cries of recession and delayed joining dates. After two weeks of whiling away time at home and no offer letters in sight, i thought I might just use the time a little more constructively, and I started working with my father (he is into Exports). That was July 2010. I kept going to office, I liked it on some days, on other days I hated it. I needed something else to keep me occupied. That was when the germ of taking CAT again grew in me. I enrolled myself at CL Calcutta and started attending the "re-takers" batch.
In hindsight, I think it was joining CL that was the turning point. It was a highly competitive batch, and to see everybody excelling kept me on my toes. In particular, our Quants teacher, (lets call him DC, since thats what he is called!) was inspirational, sans any of the gyaan and fundae. He was inspirational by way of his concepts and approach to problem-solving. I started taking mocks a little more seriously, started practicing QA and RC a couple of days of the week. In my first Proc-Mock, i cleared all the sectionals, and missed the overall (and therefore, my name on the Toppers' List) by 2 marks. This motivated me further. However, there never came a point where CAT was all I thought about. I'd still go partying every Saturday night and go see Hip Pocket play at Someplace Else every Wednesday and/or Friday (ask anybody from Calcutta about Someplace Else, you'll know what I'm talking about). TIME Mocks were also happening decently, scored a couple of 99s and many 98s, and I became a regular on the CL Toppers' Lists, and I thought maybe, just maybe, 2010 might be my year. (Meanwhile, my joining dates from Accenture and Verizon came, and I dropped them! I was enjoying working at my dad's and preparing for CAT- the dream of being the corporate could wait! It was something that required a lot of ba**s, and I'm happy I did.)
I took CAT 2009 on the third day (30th November). As my luck would have it, the exam was cancelled at my centre on the two previous days. And I was booked to fly to Bombay for a wedding on that very evening, some two hours after CAT. So, it was no surprise that I entered the centre with a lot of trepidation. Thankfully, the exam went pretty well enough, started with DI, moved on to VA and ended with QA. In the middle of the exam, while i was on the QA section, I felt excruciating pain in the bladders. I had to go, or all hell would break loose (pun intended). Somehow I convinced the center-in-charge of my situation and was allowed to use the washroom. On my return, my fingerprints were taken again- can you beat that? And all the while, the clock was ticking down!
IIFT results came out in the 2nd week of December, and I was through- my first call!! I was ecstatic! However, this proved to my undoing again. The sense of complacency again crept into me, because of the lone IIFT call. Missed XAT by a whisker (98.XX), applied only to SIBM-P and again missed the cut-off by one mark! By the time it was time for NMAT i was so indifferent that I debated whether to give the exam a miss. Finally, I woke up on the morning of the exam and just wrote it somehow. Started slogging like a dog for the IIFT interview. GDP, PPP, interest rate, Barack Obama's waist size- you name it, I knew it! I tried to leave no stone unturned. The interview went off pretty well, and I was fairly confident (or cocksure). NMAT results came in, I was through (and pleasantly surprised too!). But the big daddy of them all was still left! CAT results came, and my dreams went (out of the window). OA-98.26, DI-97.2X, VA-99.36, QA-80.70. I couldn't believe it, 80 percentile in Quant? Inspite of attempting 18 questions from 20? And I'm supposed to be an engineer, good with numbers etc etc. I got very disillusioned with CAT and its scheme of things. Was there no justice in this world? Spent many a night hurling the choicest abuses to the CAT authorities (and their kith and kin, mostly female!).
Meanwhile, IIFT results were out, I was not selected, not even for Kolkata!! All that effort for zilch? Further despair! Those were indeed one of the lowest points in my life. Thankfully, I had made it to the MDI and IMT lists. I again started preparing for GD/PI, though with half the intensity of IIFT. To add to that, my CAT scores weren't particularly exceptional, and I was positive that, come what may, there's no way in hell i'm converting MDI (what with 70% weightage to CAT score and all).
Then, one fine day in April, as I was helping the Census-taker with all the information she needed (which, by the way, is a lot!!), i got a call from a friend: "Bi***! Congratulations! You are through- MDI! PGPM!". I was frozen! Seriously? PGPM at MDI? (I had no hopes for PGPIM or PGPHR with my score, forget PGPM). Wow!! There is indeed justice in the world!
And thats been my story! I've been on cloud nine ever since! But before I sign off this mammoth post, since everybody is so adept at giving gyaan I'll add mine too. Truth be told, there isn't any gyaan. To each his own. Just because your friend's friend is putting in 6 hours to CAT prep and ending up with a 99, doesn't mean that you will too, if you were to put in 6 hours yourself. For me, CAT prep was addictive, I enjoyed doing it (to the extent that I felt sheer boredom and ennui, or a vacuum of sorts, after December, simply because there were no mocks to take, no prep to do). But, at best, I studied four days a week. Thats what suited me (however, I'm no child genius or prodigy or anything). Find what suits you! The only bit of gyaan that indeed holds true is that its all a mind-game. If you're in the correct frame of mind, all preparation that you may not have becomes immaterial!
Anyway, I'm preparing for another 2 year stint in Haryana (after my four years of engineering there). Its going to be a rollercoaster ride, and I'm going to meet a lot of you there. Till the time we do, cheers!!
Lest I forget, I want to add in here my indebtedness to PG. I cannot express in mere words what PG has been to me. I can count on my fingers the days over the past one year, when I have not visited PG. Infact, there were times when I would visit the PG forums more than I visited my FB page! (okay, that last bit might be a little exaggerated, but you get the drift). PG, what would I have done without you? ;)
P.S: If you've actually read the whole of this post, give yourself a pat on the back, and you're getting a "all hail" from me! 😁
CAT was a very alien thing to me. I have never expected to be a part of this league. Never ever expected to be in an IIM as well.
I feel life has been more or less very kind to me. And I would like to thank the God Almighty for helping me and being with me wherever I am today.
My Formative Years:
Born in a rural village in Kerala, I was a very motivated student right from my kinder-garden days.
My mom always used to say, I was very keen to go the school without even anybody forcing me to.
I was the school topper in 10th standard. I had a very good social as well as extracurricular life in school.
But the studious /smart & talented part in me almost ended there.
I never heard about IIT till my 12th standard beginning. Nobody in my family or school knew such a college exists.
And by the time I knew it, I was late. Even though I tried during the last year, I understood IIT is not my piece of CakeJ
After scoring decently good enough in my plus-2 & decent entrance rank in Kerala CET, I managed to get admission in the 2nd best college in Kerala.
(Later I realized that I could have managed to get an admission to NIT Calicut (best in my state) also with my AIEEE mark. I dint attend the counseling because we had to keep 5000/- buffer for the same.
I was very sad that I couldnt get in to an NIT. But now, I feel God has helped me in taking up CET, the 2nd best college. I dont have any regrets now.
I completed my graduation with lesser investment, managed to get in to the same company as any NIT ian would have got into.
Moreover, I enjoyed the liberal life style of a government engineering college with active politics life/love life & friendships!
And now, with this very modest profile, I have somehow managed to get admission to an IIM as well )
The reason why I am saying this. everyone has a chance to prove yourself. Never get demoralized. You might be late somewhere. Better late than never.
My Learnings:
If you find something drifting away from your hand for no fault of yours, dont yield.
Buckle up and enjoy what has been given to you. Just remember that something better is coming to you. Sooner or Later..!
As one of my Sir would say it. If somebody is raping you and there is nothing much you can do about it, the lie down and enjoy..!
My CAT Journey:
To be very honest, I never had a very serious tryst with CAT throughout my preparation days. Gave the first one on 2006.
But then I already had 3 job offers in my kitty and I never trusted myself in cracking the CAT. The result was a dismal 70%.
For the next 2 years I never even wrote CAT. All my school mates/coll mates/batch mates kept attempting and many succeeded as well.
The fair well messages in my official id from the BLACKI & top 20 college guys was a real pain in the ass.
It was deemed that you are a loser provided you did not quit the company in the first 3 years.
I was literally anxious about the same. And this in general motivated me in attempting CAT 09 (when I would complete 3 years in my company and the bond period gets over)
Unlike the software guys who are here in majority, I had a very diverse job profile. I had a decent package with ample scope for travelling and learning.
I never hated my job. I never wanted to badly get away from my job. The only thing I missed in my job was lack of female colleagues & other associated benefits with it. ;)
Mine was purely technical management. Had a fancy designation of Deputy Manager , thanks to HR dept of my company. All these factors above have helped me in my final IIM admit.
Hence, I would always recommend prior work experience before you plan to do an MBA.
I never prepared that seriously for the CAT 09. I had 6 days work a week. And the lone Sunday was more or less the Laundry Sunday.
But even then, I religiously took most of the Mocks at TIME. Had very fluctuating scored though. Most of the times, I had to share my friends lappy for writing the test.
Beg, Borrow & Steal. This wouldnt be a exaggeration to describe the way I prepared for my CAT. I never had any material to study.
But I had a very supportive boss during my 3rd year (2nd year boss was a Bas**rd, I felt like quitting and dying under him, but I survived) and this has helped a lot too.
I am posted in Chennai and my gf is in Bangalore. So even I had to miss a few AIMCATs to meet her at Bangalore.
Even she was preparing for CAT. It was fun to attempt online practice tests at her home. Little did we learn though.
I was scared that she might go to the IIMs as she performed better than me most of the times. And trust me having a companion is a great relief.
We had more or less similar scores once the results came. However, she did not get any calls. (She was IT).
She has inspired me a lot during my GD/PI stage even after her having no calls. I always wonder what I would have done if it was the other way around. L
I know that there is nothing in my story which will be inspiring to you. Rather you might find it off-topic or misleading as well.
Hence I would like to list down a few things which I have found useful in my journey. Hope it helps you as well.
1. I feel everyone should have work experience before going for MBA. Trust me that helps a lot. Even for the CAT as well as GD/PI.
2. Enjoy life with friends at times. I would never recommend a total reclusive life during CAT preparation.
3. Develop an all round personality. Hobbies/extracurricular/ some NGO also if you are interested etc just to add that extra sheen to your profile.
4. Have good friends/ a companion to confide and console. It helps big time. Peer learning is the best learning.
5. Get insulted at times. That will help you rebound and will give you the vigor to prove that you have it in you. Similar way of saying that you must taste defeat to emerge as a winner. J
6. Always believe in yourself. Hope for good things. One thing goes, get over it and move on (Wouldnt advice the same for relationships though)
7. Be extremely religious. It helps big time. After all, everything is a part of the Big Plan!! J
8. Do your bit in your work life also. That can teach you a lot. You will at least help you in building your self-confidence (A Back Up Plan)
9. Be enthusiastic & cheerful (Remember the Rape example) It helps during the interview.
10. Watch a lot of movies. Get updated about your friends status messages in FB. It was really inspiring for me. (Talking abt the IIM waalas and other top 20 ones)
To each his own. So as the one above me has said, this is not advice. Do your bit. Leave the rest to god almighty. And dont forget to enjoy life. God bless each one of you!!
P.S. Final Admit Status: IIM- I (Only reason I feel cause I am from a diverse cultural/work ex back ground and have decent acads & co-curriculars)
Final CAT percentil 96.34 (GEN Category)
This is the post I thought that i will write with a smile on my face but now. By every mean I am an ordinary guy from AP you will find.Scred 500 out of 600 in X (alot of people do in AP),took MPC
(bcoz getting into medical college is tough), got 91% in XII(you can say above average in AP), in 2002 i took ECE(they said IT is in slump ,with ECE go for IT too, besides it is ever green).
Engeineering was fine I used to score 65%. I wanted to go for MTECH but left it after seeing seniors landing up at same software jobs after Mtech.
CAT
*****
I didn't know something called CAT exists (and IIMs too) upto my third year in engineering(2005). Our lecturer maruthi reddy sir (i am indebted to him ) told u
abt it while he was leaving college for software job, our management lecturer Ramesh sir even inspired us with other facts abt it. I thought that let us get a job
and then try for CAT.
2006
******
got into company. completed training was into a project not much work there. year was complete
2007(worst year of my life todate)
******
I was into a project not with much work. This is worst period of my life . I didn't try for CAT.I didnot go for coaching . I did nothing literally.
I disn't have a GF and i was not boozing and roaming around hyd (which is my ome from 2006). Year wasted was going to hurt me badly later .
2008
******
I was into much better project . I got enrolled into TIME regular batch. I used to go for coaching on weekends and prepare whenever possible. project was good and again I had good time
to prepare.manager was very helpful. AIMCAT started my scores ranged from 85 to 96 . I was happy with that. I used to study regularly.but somewhere down the line i felt that i was not
that serious . still continued that. gave only CAT. paper was vvery tough for me
result 85%
2009
******
god thought that i was enjoyying too much to put an end to leisure life my company went to deep waters with a scandal(every one knows it ). Every one was
panicked for their job.fortunately my project was extended just 10 days before to another 6 months. I was fine as far as job is concerned. Then again i started
preparin gfor CAT this time with a lot of seriousness. I was studying for 2hours daily. AIMCATs started . in the first AIMCAT i got 95%. I was consistantly doing well wit
touching 98% twice.94 % was my average overall.i thought that i should give other test as well . so gave IIFT , JMET also. I didn't apply for FMS, XAT i thought they are
too tough to crack. applied for NITIE but didnot select PGDIM
as it was showing NA later i came to know that it was to changed to yes. wrote IIFT well. shifted to
another company. took 20 days leave studied for CAT well .I was disturbed by the problems with CAT. i attempted 44 questions. meanwhile got call from IIFT
I was at home when CAT results declared
my score was
98.01 overall
97.62 QA
99.85DI
57.34VA(u must be kidding)
I could not believe it . I was in depression for one week.
converted IIFT Delhi joining it.
:banghead:Mistaeks i Did
**************
1. Taking things for garnated (my one year wasted will always hurt me ). You can never know when fate can change it's course. Use all the resources well. study when
ever u can , not when u want to
2. Apply for all exams (FMS, IIFT, XAT) . you can have an off day and it should not cost u an year
3. Small negligances can cost u alot (my NITIE)
4.Donot overlook ur weakness. It can hurt u where it matters(in my case VA was not my strength)
Over all i want to tell you all great things i found preapring CAT which i can cherish no matter what may be the result
1. Engrossing feeling after completing an AIMCAT
2. To see the number of correct answers and wrong answers after an AIMCAT
3. posting scores on PG, and guessing % with the score
4. Irresepective of result CAT gave me confidence that i can compete with guys from IIT, NIT etc( i wanted to go for IIT in XII but could not and was told that it is impossible to get with my level of knowledge)
Thank you for reading the post i hope it helps in not making the mistakes i did
Regards
Semco
There are numerous useful threads in PagalGuy forum but this thread in my opinion is the most revered of them all. I was inspired not only by the success stories but also the conviction and focus that were shown by all those who have shared their experiences here.
History:
To be honest MBA for me began as an escape route. An ill-timed transfer during peak recession season (start of 2009 ) to Kolkata took the wind out of my sails as a techie. By April, I was without a project and my ratings had taken a nosedive. My efforts to change to another org. also failed. I was absolutely dejected at that time.
While in college I saw a few of my friends prepare for CAT/XAT and other such exams. I used to in awe of the speed with which they solved the seemingly complicated questions. When my friends got admission in the top b-schools of the country, I was inspired by the focus and dedication with which they went about during their preparations. But I never thought of trying it myself out of the lethargy of a comfortable job.
Start:
Now after being pushed to the brink of depression, I decided to put in everything I had behind CAT. To test the waters I got hold of the 2008 paper, and attempted it (without any time limits). I was pleasantly surprised by the results as they were enough for IIM calls (though it took me close to 5 hours, excluding the numerous breaks in between ). Soon I enrolled myself in the classroom course at TIME, jodhpur park, Kolkata.
Preparation for 2009 season:
It was difficult to balance office and the studies in the beginning as I was habituated to working late. I knew I had to pick priorities or else the effort would go to waste. To avoid the extra hours at work, I maintained a low profile ( cant hurt saying now, yesterday was my last day at office ). The most difficult part was to keep up the motivation to attend the weekend classes, that too on hot and humid summer afternoons.
It was here that Pagalguy became a part of my preparations. I came across fellow puys who were also preparing in addition to keeping full time jobs, sometimes more demanding than mine. This thread and its true stories egged me on. I began to follow the regular Quant, DI and English related threads and made a few contributions myself too. I might sound a bit naive, but the few "thanks" I received inspired me too contribute even more. The desire soon became an obsession as I Pagalguy became my home page in my office PC.
The mocks:
My mocks started with a bang, with a 98 %ile and AIR of 197 in the first AIMCAT. ( My 2009 mocks ). This gave me the much needed confidence and the desire to concentrate even harder. My mock scores were pretty decent. I struggled to clear the cutoffs in DI, so in the last 2 months I kept myself busy with DI. I was confident about Eng as my voracious-book-reading-habit-since-childhood finally gave dividends. I was quite comfortable with Quants as I was able to do well in my strong areas. On the whole I was optimistic about performing on the D-days. I took out forms for CAT and XAT. In hindsight I feel I should have tried FMS as well, but at that point in time, it looked very much like a lottery.
The Exam days:
My CAT day was on the 5th of Dec, 2009. The news of the inconsistent testing conditions did make me nervous, but as my test center faced no such situations in the first few days I regained the composure. The test went off without any untoward incidents. 20 attempts in ENG, 16 in DI and 17 in QA was my effort and I was quite confident about them. Even went out for dinner with my best friends to celebrate.
The celebrations went on for a few days before I realized that I was doing XAT an injustice by taking it easy. So back it was to the books for another month. But it was close to new year and the parties were too good to miss. So I spent new years eve ( and the whole night too) partying with friends. 
. The hangover lasted a full day 
. I even thought of not being able to attend the exams. Thinking of it now makes me realize how ironical life can be. Because that was the best exam I had given, counting the mocks too. The changes in the -ve marking suited me just fine. I attempted a total of 63 questions with 16 in DI, 18 in QA and 29 in ENG. I tried to maximize the scores by attempting more than usual.
Back at home in the evening, when I mapped my answers to the available keys, I realized that I had a good chance for a call from XLRI. That provided excuses for another round of celebrations . The countdown began for the results.
Results, Interview, Waiting and finally Conversion at XLRI:
The results came out while I was on a family vacation in Puri. My prayers at the temple were more sincere because of that . The interview was on the last month of February, which gave me not more that 2 weeks for prepare. But as luck would have it, work became tough during then. I was able to attend just one mock interview and that too 3 days before the real one. But the interview was an amazing experience. Being put at ease by the panelists, I did better than I expected.
A month later the results were out, and I was waitlisted for BM at 23. I spoke to my engg. college mates in XLRI and they assured me that I would convert comfortably going by previous year trends. And as they had predicted, I did convert the call in the first waitlist movement itself.
The time after that was spent in procuring the loan, finishing up work at office and of course partying :cheers:. A week is all I have after finishing office before I join XLRI Jamshedpur on 13th Jun, 2010.
As far as CAT was concerned, I got interview calls from IIM Indore, NITIE, MDI and IMT. As my XLRI results were already out lethargy took me and I skipped all but IIM Indore. An IIM interview is a rare thing and I wasn't going to miss it. The interview was ok until we came to academics. Data structure screwed me again 
. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, because I was placed on the waitlist at 120.
My learnings:
The past year has been a great experience as I have come to know myself better. It takes a lot of effort to get a top %ile but it takes even more to keep motivating yourself if you already have a comfortable job. I'll try to jot down a few points that I found useful in my preparations.
- Always leave room for time with the family
- Always leave room for parties with friends
- Leave room for those days or even weeks where you might lose the motivation to carry on. But make sure you have the hunger to get back on it again.
- The mocks are a great way of evaluating yourself against others. But only the scores on the last day is what matters. Be it 98 %ile or 68, it should not go to the head.
- Pick your priorities carefully. If CAT/XAT happens to be on the top, make sure it stays there throughout the preparations.
- Share your approaches and strategies with others, you might come across something better than your's.
- USE PAGALGUY
, half my preparations were online, and it helped.
Hope my fellow puys have the immense patience to go through this lengthy post
Hi everyone.
Many inspiring stories here. However my story is not at all inspiring. I did all that should not be done by a CAT aspirant during the last two years. But I am posting my story here because it is unique given that most of the people who have posted here put in at least some amount of hard work to get into a good B-school, whereas it was much easier for me. Now that I have definitely got into IMT Ghaziabad, I would like to share my 2-year experience.
I still remember the day I joined IMS as a student - Jan 6, 2008. I took the material, arrogantly took a cab home and showed off the material to my parents. Then I was supposed to take a preliminary test (I took it on Jan 
, scoring a mammoth 180 marks in a paper based on CAT 2007. I did not take the test entirely honestly - given that there was no one to monitor me when I took it. I took 30 minutes more than the allotted time and checked out answers to 3 Quant questions.
However, the next day, while the CAT results were still coming in, I found out to my pleasure that everyone at the IMS centre was greatly pleased by my performance in the PT and praised me a lot. This made me very happy and maybe slightly complacent.
Classes started in March-April (during and after my B.Com final year exams) and initially I attended sincerely. However with classes only on weekends and no job at hand, I became a big lazy bone. I did nothing for days on end, apart from attending IMS lectures. I made several study timetables - I only started following them twice and did not start at all many times. I kept postponing studies, simply because, 1) I did not need to do VA for the most part, being highly proficient at it already 2) My DI was just OK but somewhere I knew I could turn it around within a month's time if I wished, and 3) It bored me to death to do QA - my weakest subject where I could not even solve basic problems half the time.
In time I even stopped attending all lectures. Like I had done for several years, I began to rely on natural ability. The SimCATs started and in Sim 1 I scored 92.59%, with 98+ in VA, 84 in QA and 65 in DI. Sim 2: 88.04, Sim 3: 90.15. Just before Sim 4, I had to undergo a laser eye surgery. A peon from my dad's office brought the CAT form for me, but she entered my dad's name in the pay-in-slip and we didn't notice it till the dates were over!!:-(
I was saddened, but since I had other exams to take as well, I wasn't completely disheartened. Meanwhile, IIM A rejected my request for a new form and I ended up with a shocking 24%ile in SIm 4, with 77 in VA 
.
I was scoring in the mid 80s till Sim 7, and was terribly frustrated. However, then I stayed up all night before Sim 8, and at the SimCAT centre, the gal behind me was a superhot chick who too incidentally had not slept the night before (having spent her night at Hard Rock Cafe and then on the beach). Dunno if it was a lucky charm or what, but from Sim 8 onwards, my scores read 91.xx, 94.17, 95.09, 98.40. Around Sim 11 I became very active on the IMS forums and engaged in wild competition. It spurred me to constantly keep my VA percentile over 99.3 - though my QA percentile since Sim 3 had been hovering in the 30-50 range (ya, seriously). However, I had worked on my DI and brought my percentiles close to 90.
Ultimately, I couldn't take CAT 2008 but missed the NMIMS cut off by 2 marks, the XLRI PM IR cutoff by 0.5 marks and couldn't take CET due to high fever. I knew I had wasted a year, and got scolded a lot for it from my parents. Moreover, I could easily have got calls from XIMB/GIM but had applied only to XLRI.
By this time, thanks to my activeness on the IMS Forums and one long post in which I had provided comprehensive tips to other aspirants regarding VA/RC preparation, I got a job as a content developer at IMS. It was so quick - the Product Head just called me at night one day, asked me if I wanted a job at IMS; I went for the interview the next day and started working the next day.
I worked to the best of my ability during my first year at IMS and earned accolades from everyone. But once again, what with job constraints, booze parties with colleagues and my own bewildering lack of motivation, my studies never took off. This was surprising given that I wanted to do MBA since Std. 9. I knew I had to pull it off this year but I couldn't bring myself to be serious. In fact I missed the IMI and TAPMI form dates. However, my wholesome attention was focussed on my job, and on helping students out day and night. They said I ran a nightshift at IMS.
CAT forms were out: I bought one, and after some "intuitive" calculations, decided I would take CAT on December 4. Till the D-Day I could not prepare well, but I was quietly confident.
Come CAT day, and I was remarkably relaxed and calm compared to other candidates at my centre in Bandra. People were damn tense, and adding fuel to the fire was the fiasco over the previous few days.
However, my exam passed very smoothly. I can say with confidence that I managed the time masterfully - I knew exactly what I was doing; I was calm, cool and relaxed; I knew what part of QA I could do, and I never ever panicked. Perhaps this was the upside of having been so complacent over two years.
Personally, I expected around 95-99 in CAT 2009. Meanwhile, NMAT was a big disaster, while through XAT I got a call from GIM and through SNAP, from SIBM - B. CAT results were extraordinarily delayed and yet I was less tense than most people. I became a Puy in February 2010 and started contributing.
The D-Day came and I managed to log in to my result before the server jam. I had got 97.09 - within my expectations - more importantly, 83.52 in QA - which meant MDI and IMT calls were on. I knew I could have done better, but I was relieved.
Meanwhile, my GIM GD and SIBM B PI were a disaster. I applied to BIM and Welingkar as last resorts, but never went for either interview. KJ Somaiya GD PI was very good and yet I was not even in the W/L. I was starting to feel scared for the first time. Add to that the fact that I was lazy to prepare for my GD/PIs too - and duly, my MDI PI was a disaster. It opened my eyes to the reality facing me and I prepared a bit for my IMT PI 3 days later. The Situational Analysis was good - I wrote well, and during the PI, though I initially fumbled, I answered all Economics questions well and generally pleased the female panelist due to absence of any nerves. After the PI I felt the best I could achieve was a W/L, but lo and behold! When the results came I had converted IMT Ghaziabad in the first list and was ecstatic.
I continued interacting a lot with seniors and contributing heavily on the IMT thread, happy that I had got into a top-15 college at last. I leave for Ghaziabad on the 17th of this month and now the nostalgia is starting to creep in.
To conclude this over, over, overlong post, the few tips I can give are:
1) CAT is more about skill than memory testing. Therefore, do work hard on your weak areas, but it is ultimately your innate intelligence that will see you through.
2) Add to this time management in the actual CAT - I never felt any pressure while taking CAT because I took it like just any other Mock test. I was not at all stressed because I did not try to absorb the gravity of that exam - I just let go.
3) As far as possible, DO NOT STUDY ON THE LAST DAY. It only increases tension and pressure. Instead, have fun on the last day.
4) Be extremely cool and calm while in the exam hall. Don't think of what's gonna happen when the exam starts. Cut out all such thoughts and think of nice things. Once the exam starts though, you should see just the screen and be blind to everything else.
5) Strategize. Know your strengths well.
6) Even if you don't prepare well for CAT, prepare well for GD/PI. Speak at least nominally in your GD otherwise, however well you do in your PI, you will be rejected.
7) Confidence is a HUGE factor determining your PI performance, even more than your knowledge. Not being stressed at all, looking happy and ready helps a lot in final conversion. Thanks for reading this MASSIVE post. Cheers!!!
After many days of contemplation , amidst the post by various legends , here comes a post by someone who is just like a Boy Next Door .
Why calling himself a Boy Next Door !
-> Average student throughout academic journey till date
-> No IIT/NIT tag
-> Average marks in class 10th, 12th and B.Tech
-> Still, dreams high !
Flashback ... !
September 2006
Was sitting in a senior's room in hostel, discussing on various career prospects. He being a good scholar throughout gave me a good insight on varied career options. He had done some statistical comparison of MBA and non-MBA grads career graphs/growth based on few parameters and explained it to me as well.
I went back to my room and started googling about various things ... ranging from what is MBA , why people do MBA , various specializations in which one can pursue and the top b-schools of the country... this continued for good number of days.
October 2006
Was in home for some holidays , got call from one of the college mates who did not go to home during vacations that Career Forum People are interested in running classes in college campus for CAT 2007. I asked him to enroll me as well.
November 2006
Went to few classes but soon realized that the classes are of no benefit as faculty was not good . Lost my interest and stopped going to classes. Solved few booklets of the course material but later stopped it as well.
December 2006 to May 2007
Got involved in lot of extracurricular activities ... no time for CAT or B.Tech studies .. did not solve even a single question related in any respect to CAT .
June 2007
Was getting bore at home during sem break .. went and purchase QA and DI books of Arun Sharma and solved them completely during vacations and was feeling bit comfortable with a thought that finally I studied something
July 2007 - November 2007
Toughest period of my life ever ... final year of college began , was at either of the top 2 positions of all 4 most active socities/IEEE/clubs of college and conflicts with almost everyone of my branch .
Joined CL Test series and saw great scores varying from 24 percentile to 78 percentile except a single mock where i got some 97 percentile. I was not disheartened by the scores as much bigger things were going on all this time to make me feel down at every possible front.
Took CAT , matched with answer keys and had not performed well in any section except QA . There was no time to think about the performance as even worse things were in store and i kept facing a lose , bigger and bigger day by day.
December 2007 - May 2008
It seemed as if worse and worse things happening with me are now the part of my life . Amidst this , came 2007 CAT Results and i scored 90.xx percentile with QA score of 98.xx , VA of 64.xx and DI of 69.xx.
I lost all friends including the person who was most special for me. Seeing everyone going to those who were doing good from career point of view, I got a point to prove to myself and learnt the biggest lesson of life till that day ' Everyone salutes the rising sun '.
June 2008 - November 2008
Joined CL regular classroom programme in Lucknow. Had good classroom sessions , lot of interaction with faculty and seperate sittings with faculty discussing on various approaches to a question. Soon , everyone in CL was expecting good results from me and so were my expectations from myself.All this time , i kept researching on every possible top B-School of the country through every possible resource ( except PG
)Took doubt clearing sessions of peers in CL when no faculty was free
Mock scores improved in meantime ... this time ranged from 90 percentile to 98.xx percentile with median score around 97.xx . Analysed the mocks, identified my weaknesses and tried to wotk on them.Wrote CAT , matched the keys and found that VA has again ditched me and i was going to land no where.
December 2008 - June 2009
Joined Infosys . Was enjoying the Mysore campus when CAT results came and score card showed 96.xx percentile with break up as QA - 98.xx , DI - 95.xx and VA - 79.xx . For the first time, i was feeling bad about the scores.
Got the calls from IMI and IMT-G ... Did not attend IMI and did not join IMT-G after a convert which was not in marketing ( the area where till now i have decided to specialize in as it suited what I had done in college as well and excited me the most )
Got transferred to Pune , got introduced to PG by one of the friends ( who has always been a silent spectator of forum , even till date
) ... and finally came the time to make PG ID.Thinking what to make ... decided to aim for the highest and then see where i land up ... For a person like me with avg acads , B was never in scene. And hence, came up with id visionIIM-ACL .. its purpose was to aim for highest ... with a back up plan of taking admit in a college which was in top 10. ( No offence to any other college but this was purely based on what i wanted to prove to those who were special to me at one point of time )
contd..
July 2009 - 6 June 2010
Awesome time ... a person who remained devoid of friends for almost 1 year found lot of friends , started enjoying preparation for CAT rather than taking it too seriously . However, being transferred to Mangalore did not provided a chance to have discussion with faculty on questions but realized that it was no more needed as puys were around me all the time. Joined TIME and IMS mocks as CL is not available in Mangalore .
Most of you reading the posts are aware of the crests and troughs in mocks of this season as well 😃 Took December 5, 2009 slot for first ever online CAT :)
Immediately after coming out of examination room , talked to Varun Rajaram as he and Milind were also in same slot. Then , began the long wait for results. During the wait , got calls from IIFT , SIBM , SCMHRD and then came the results of CAT .
Scored overall 98.38 with shocking 91.xx in QA , 92.xx in DI and 99.xx in VA
No IIM calls were guaranteed especially with the revised criteria of many IIMs ... but bagged calls from biggies like MDI , Gurgaon and NITIE, Mumbai along with calls from IMT-G, IMI , FORE and a consolation call from GIM , Goa
( I still don't know why I filled so many forms ... may be due to great IT experience 
)However, did not attend GIM's PI after straight rejects from SIBM , SCMHRD . Another PI reject awaited in the form of IIFT. By this time , I decided to skip FORE and IMI as well. Attended IMT-G , MDI on consecutive days and then NITIE which was more of a reason to meet Varun Rajaram for the first time
than getting a convert .Had lot of fun in Mumbai , went to PGHQ for first time and then again the wait for results started.Was in food court in office, got call from Rajaram about NITIE Results... i was waitlisted at 3 which is considered as a sure shot convert and he had a straight convert
Was happy for both of us but happiness doomed as came to know about the very high waitlist number of 2 of my very good PG friends 😐 After lot of discussions with seniors from various b-schools as well as few people from industry , I decided to go for NITIE no matter what the result of other calls were. Got waitlisted at high number in MDI but was happy as it brought a convert for one of my dear friend Milind .
The season came to an end with official confirmation of NITIE Convert and with it came an end to my CAT journey and though i could not achieve the highest which i aimed for , I am happy that I did not had to compromise with my back up plan because if it was neither NITIE nor MDI , i would have gone for CAT 2010. :)
7 June , 2010
Today , if I look back and analyse my journey , I realize that more we enjoy our preparation , more we succeed . And no journey can have a happy ending without friends :)
Simple things happened in my last 1 year journey... and I don't find anything special to mention especially when I believe that nothing special for someone else can be special for you and help you in achieving what they achieved. Every person has his own special way to tackle exams and his hold on that approach will help him in cracking exam rather than approach of some other person on which he worked for sometime with a hope that he will master it.
Just 2 things i would like to say to aspirants ...
1. Never get tensed by your low scores and high scores of peers. Try to improve yourself all the time rather than thinking about how is your peer scoring. I found good number of people who kept on thinking on latter and did harm to none other than themselves.
2. The key to success in CAT is the fun in the journey of preparation .. and you can have it by only being the part of this great forum .. Be active on PG always , take help and help others 😃
Before I sign off .. would like to thank few people who helped me directly or indirectly in this journey especially during the time when i felt low. Rajaram Varun , Naga and Prem saar , you three will remain special for me for the posts and PM you sent when i was feeling low after one of the mocks. 😃 Also , am thankful to my mentors Raghav bhai , MFI aka Harsh saar and PP to give me suggestions and guidance whenever i was in dilemma . :)
Last but not the least , as i always say in my every thank giving post, am very thankful to Rohit bhai for allowing me to continue as the member of forum and stopping me from the mistakes which I did during my initial days.
:cheers:
Thanks for reading the marathon post
What is ur ambition?? asked some senior of mine in 2004(ist yr engg) n i told him doing MBA 4m IIM (i can swear u I dont know wat MBA is n IIMs r apart from reading in sum newspaper abt MBA in IIM)...seems god mistaken T for M n he gave me IIT ....nyhows no regrets coz i dont think i can ask for anything more wid sum 45days prep widout any coaching)...
sorry if it is boring n forgive me for bringin sum personnel issues also...
some october 2008 i hjave joined SAIL and first 4 months is an awesome journey..just enjoyin no work no tensions only salary...I was loving a girl in my Btech n even she 2 loved me(dats wat she told me)...but due to some unavoidable technical glitches i couldnt talk wid her properly for sum 6months n later she started tellin dat we r gud frnds..asked her wats d problem n started gettin weirdf reples..n 1 among them how can u take care of me wid d sal u r gettin in a PSU(though it is sumthing arnd 38k for a 22yr old)...so for her sake i want to start preparing for CAT (1 more reason i dont want to stay in a PSU for my entire life)...
SO I HAVE STARTED TAKING CAT SERIOUSLY N DECIDED TO LEAVE DAT GIRL(but i cant..stil i luv her)...evrything happens 4 a reason n it seems my love wid dat girl is only to divert my attention to MBA(its 4 yrs since i told dat senior aim is MBA in IIM n i never bothered to give a damn thought to neither CAT nor IIM in these 4 yrs)...
its september 2009 if im not wrong i started preparing CAT..havent attended any clsroom coaching for CAT b4 n i cant afford to take now as im staying in SALEM(no gud coaching insti's)...so its a journey alone dat 2 after feeling ditched by a girl(later i came to know she is in love wid another guy who happened to be my close frnd ..shock after shock...thought LOVE IS CONSTANT but LOVER IS VARIABLE u can change wen u wish hahaha...)...
I have no clue how to prepare 4 CAT but I know one of my frnd givin AIMCATs when i was in verizon...so I 2 want to give AIMCATS n enrolled in time...widout any preparation I gave myy first AIMCAT n got 95%..surprised for a moment n later thought widout any prep i got 95 so wid marginal preparation ill be a 100%er.so to make 100% a reality i have started workin..got TIME materails XEROXED by september month end and my serious journey started....
In the mean time I came to know sum arun is workin in my plant n dat guy got 99+ % n goin to join IIMB...so I got my Dronacharya..I went to him n asked his help for preparatiion..so I got sum books,I got a guru n enough motivation(to show dat girl WAT IAM..hehe little childish rite)...
its a 9 to 5.30 job ..so no prob for me in preparing after ofc ohours...n its a PSU so no prob for preparing in ofc hours even...so i never bothered to give a damn thought to wat my bossess r thinkin of me..I have put my heart into for entire october n november..6-12 in the evngs and 6-8 in the mornings..n some formulae n al in the ofc....its my routine for those 2 months....
AIMCAT 14 is my first aimcat n scored 95 as already told...aimcat 13 around 94..then arun told me 94% are always gud to C but they wont fetch u anything if u didnt make it to 98+...i know im damn gud in quants but DI n verbal are never my cup of tea..but to my surprise i got gud %les in VA in both those AIMCATs..n AIMCAT12 bang on target wid 99.3% with 99.8% in verbal....so on cloud 9 n thought im damn gud at verbal(no clue abt things to come)..DI was the toughest part 4 me in almost all AIMCAts...I managed to get 94+% in almost all AIMCATs wid occasional 80's n 98's...apart from AIMCATs arun advised me to go thru CAreerforum pervious yr papers(quality of questions is damn gud)...
I booked my slot on 6th December(after boookin 1 of my frnd told me its black day n no clue at dat time dat its goin to be a black day for my IIM ambitions..)...applied to IIFT,FMS,XLRI,JMET along wid CAT..n even wid dat 2 months preparation also ..,im confident dat il make it to top 10 n neva applied anything below top15....
22nd november..IIFT..first B school entrance of my life...butterflies in stomaxch as usual n they costed me sum 3 sitters in quants..the moment i came out of hall i know im out of race...
6th dec...CAT...tough verbal 18 attempts..admn easy quants..15 attempts n i know 1 is wrong for sure(worst show as quants is my strength..)..DI 18attempts ..decent enough show...considering my attempts n previous days f/b no hopes...
13th dec..JMET..forgot to carry my watch n d gorgeous on my rite showed me d way n time...sum 100 odd attempts n gud show by any standard...thanku gorgeous...
1 month long gap to the next exam n i can swear u i never touched ny book..
3rd jan XAT n 10th JAN FMS..both the exams i neva thought like sitting there..but 1000 I have paid for fee made me sit there for the exam time...
RESULTS
IIFT 34.5 marks wid crossing all sectionals ..gud but not gud enough..
JMET AIR 89...hurray moment for me..my 2 months efforts paid me..
XAT 97.76%...applied for BM only n missed the cutooff..
CAT 97.87% wid verbal 70%..felt like crying for a moment..but have to accept itt..
FMS 328 while cutoff is 331...
who the hell on earth will be unluckier than me...n dat tooo XAT n FMS missed bcoz of my mistake (neva touched book in dat month)
but some how u got to live wid reality..so started my prep for GD's ..again no clue wat a GD means...
enrolled myself for weekend clses in Time BAngalore..
first mock..barely i opened my mouth...its like a dogs fight for the next 10mins n 1 dog didnt try to bark even n dats me (coming from a village n after getting used to mothertongue educatioon,,its very difficult to speak in GD)..but determined to open my mouth in next mock (coz stilll i remembeer dat girl n want to show wat im)..
after sum 5 or 6 not so gud mocks my IITB inetrview came..didnt manage to speak well in GD but interview is a gud 1..
IITD..avg GD n superb interview
SPJAIN ist round reject
MDI...superb GD n awesome interview..
NITIE didnt attend...(i dint get call for PGDIM but got cvall for software engg)..
IMT didnt attend..
for some reason I want IITB n only IITB...i neva bothered abt IITD or MDI...
d results day..
sorry u didnt get selected is the reply from IITB..not even waitlisted..dont know wat went wrong but once again accept the reality...
slelected in IITD n MDI HR n waitlisted for MDI PGPM..
personally i dont want MDI irrespective of conversion in PGPM n decided to go to IITD...
then sum of my frnds advised me not to join this yr as its my first attemptt n dat too widout coaching...but i feel i dont know whether ill prep next yr or not,,whether this momentum will be alive dat time or not (coz i may find sum odr girl in the mean time then revenge on the previous girl wont be there)...so decided to go to IITD...all the best to me...
im from no IIT...no extra curriculars..decent enough %..these factors also played wen decidind tyo join IITD this yr....
I started preparing for CAT only for dat girl but later i really enjoyed preparing...its really like a race..every mock cat result is like a festival for me irrespective of the % i got...
few lessons i can teach u..
dont put all the eggs in d sme basket..means dont concentrate only on CAT..IIMs cant accomodate all indians rite....dont neglect preparation once CAT is over(it costed me XLRI n FMS)...
dont neglect ur achilles heel..verbal in my case n it costed me my IIM call..
coaching n 1 yr preparation are not must...no coaching n 2months prep can also fetch u a seat in decent enough colege...
Dont know whether sumthing happens if u want it wid all ur heart(alchemist) but definitely it will happen if u put all your efforts...
ALL D VERY BEST DUDEs....
Warning..!! Really Long, boring, emotional and philosophical rambling ahead.....
I hope your hair doesn't turn grey after reading this..!!!
This is no fairy tale and if you people are expecting strategies to crack CAT please excuse me. But if you are looking for something more than that please read on and bear with my writing skills.4 years after coming across Pagalguy and countless no of times reading this thread for inspiration, I finally got to realize my dream. There have been times when I literally cried after reading the posts on this thread. Tales of people who have realized their dreams, overcoming the difficulties thrown at them by life made me realize that if people in those circumstances can do it, why can't I do it inspite of having nothing to worry about and being a pampered child at home. So here goes my journey...and it's a long one.
2005: Final year engineering..was preparing for CAT without knowing why. This is called herd mentality. Placed in Infosys (This is also herd mentality, studying electronics and joining a sw job) and CAT prep was thrown to dogs. Blissfully enjoyed my final year engineering days doing absolutely nothing. Wrote CAT 2005 and was not surprised by the result (84.XX). Forgot about CAT.
2006: Joined Infosys and had a great time at Mysore with friends. I was vacillating between MS and CAT. Was not sure what I wanted to do. Thought I will work for a couple of years and then decide. Did not give CAT.
2007:Wanted to badly go back to my hometown and transfer was not forthcoming. Said goodbye to Infosys and joined a product development company thinking atleast that will improve my coding skills. Was enjoying my work and freedom in the new company. Again did not give CAT, but it was constantly ringing in my mind.
2008: Realized that I want to be in India and a career as a techie in India is not feasible financially or work satisfaction wise unless you have a super brain and have lots of inclination towards technical side of things(this is not to say that B-School grads don't have brains...!!It's just that they use it in a different way) a, both of which I don't have. So CAT was back into the picture and was playing in my mind like background music. But as I said I was lazy and got comfortable with my job. Still, I enrolled for TIME AIMCAT series and was writing them with out any preparation or analysis and my scores varied from 65 to 97 percentile many of them being in 80s, but I was scoring consistently good in VA and it was my strength. I had this strong belief (don't ask me from where I got this funny idea, but it sure helped me...!!!)that I am always a big game player and I would do well when it matters the most and that is what kept me going in spite of my fluctuating mock scores, but also led me to a sense of complacency. Finally on the C-day gave the exam with out an iota of anxiety or stress or any expectations. Results came OA 97.56 (VA 98.XX QA 88.XX DI 88.XX) Felt bad about it thinking had I practiced QA and DI I would have cracked it. Again forgot about CAT and concentrated on my work which was getting boring day by day and not even remotely challenging.
2009: June came and with it the mock CAT season. Started giving mocks seriously this time and analyzed the first few mocks after the exam. Scores still fluctuated wildly 65 to 95 percentile. Somewhere in August lost the motivation, but the thought of CAT engulfed me all the time. All I did was just think about the exam and do nothing about it. The feeling was so intense that I became more frustrated about my inaction and I still did nothing...!!!! This was the time when the holiest of the threads on pagalguy came to my rescue. I don't know how many times and how many hours I spent reading this thread again and again. Finally I pulled myself up and decided that it was now or never. For the whole of october I religiously prepared for the exam. Analyzing mocks, solving QA and DI from previous papers and reading as if my life depended on it..!!! And then it happened again...lost my motivation and this thread came to my rescue yet again. Took 10days leave from office before the exam and revised all my quant basics, read different kinds of stuff and just relaxed. On the C-day went to the center along with my friend and just gave it normally as if it is some mock CAT. Attempted around 53 questions and was satisfied, but did not have high hopes as reports on PG suggested that the paper was easy and people were attempting 50+ questions. Anyway, forgot about it as even the answer key was not there to indulge in speculations.
2010: Concentrated on my job and the period of jan to feb was one of my most productive times at work. And after all the drama results came. I scored 99.15 (QA 99.24, DI = 94.67, VA = 95.43). Expected BLIK calls, but it turned out BC(PGDCM)LI. Till then I never attended a GD in my entire life and had no idea how a B-School interview was going to be. Took help for interview from one of my dad's friend's son who is an IIM C alumni and also from my cousin who is also an IIM C alumni..!!! Did all my GDs and PIs well except for Lucknow in which I was royally screwed in the GD where I hardly spoke..!!Finally converted C and I. The day I converted C was the most happiest day in my life till then and I can't forget that moment. I jumped on my mom and dad like a small child and started kissing them wildly. I could not sleep that night wondering if I really converted it.
Things I want to say to you guys even though you would have probably heard these things a thousand times:
1. Self belief is the most important factor in your success. Period.
2. Never ever give up. I could have easily given up writing CAT after having 4 yrs of work ex, but my dream kept me going and of course this thread. Guys, seriously, after having 4yrs of work ex people loose the motivation to give CAT and explore other options and it has happened to many of my friends. I don't know what I would have done if I did not get through this time, but still I kept my hopes alive for 4 yrs.
3. Don't take it seriously. This may seem contradictory, but it helps to keep your calm in the exam, but also be guarded against complacency during preparation stage.
4. It's not the end of world. Not getting into IIMs or a good B-School is not the end of world. Believe that there are better things coming your way. Believe me when I say I am no longer euphoric over getting into IIM C. That moment of glory is over. It's fleeting. After all the wishes have poured in, it's back to normal for me. People have moved on with their lives and I am again back to thinking what's next...!!!! So please enjoy each and every moment of your life and that's the most important thing.
5. Last but not the least, please read this whole thread atleast thrice before you start CAT prep...!!!!
Congratulations....you are well on the way for your RC prep..!!!
Alrite...now is my turn to write the story.....for all those who think for iitians, getting into an iim is a child's play, then read on...this is gonna be a long story but i will try to narrate in an interesting manner
Year 2005:
i was studying at iit-d and was it was the start of 7th semester. i was rank-2 in my deptt and was preparing for toefl/gre and was scheduled to pursue phd from usa in chemical engineering field.....our placements were to be held at the end of 7th sem, so was concentrating on gre preps...1st august, my close friend who was interested in mba from IIM A/B/C joined rootseducation which was at the backdoor of iit......i also joined it there and then but didnt started preparing untill september 19th when my gre was scheduled and my entire focus was on d exam...if u think, if i wanted to pursue phd, then y did i join mba preps, then read on:
this goes into flashback....i prepared for iit-jee entrance test for full 2years during 11th and 12th class...preps were very gud and i was confident of getting into iit with a very gud rank..cleared the prelims and all..but in mains had a very bad rank......except jee, in all other entrance tests, i had very gud results and took admission in nsit electronics..was happily settled there....but in 2nd semester, started feeling d heat and decided to reappear for jee and got 1109 rank in jee and admission to chem engg at iit-delhi.........the result was highly unsatisfactory to me as i used to rate myself very highly those days and this is how i wanted to prove to d world through cat exam tht my iit-jee results were an anomaly and my rank 2 in my deptt as well as super %ile in cat is a testimony tht i m stud.....so was looking at cat for redemption...
coming back to the story..after sept 19th, i knew i hav crammed d whole vocab og barron and i m on strong foot in va, so started preparing earnestly for cat with only one aim...score 99.5+%ile in cat...barely a month into d preps, that d disaster stuck...had one of d worst disease in dis world..dengue fever!! entire month got washed away laying on hospital bed and there i was barely 10 days left looking into cat 2005 and staring at bad grades in semester exams due to prolong absence.......
wrote some mocks courtesy career forum in those 10 days but barely managed anything due to lack of practice and out of touch.....cat result was however a bit above my expectations...got 97.3%ile overall with 75%ile in di, 97%ile each in qa and va.....didnt mind though and prepared hard to save myself from bad grades in college and retained my rank 2 which was so dear to me and was built on hard work and dedication....but a feeling started sinking in tht i aint tht a bond...i m just above avg....
year 2006:
very bad start to the year...was in for a rude shock....i had applied to phd to top 10 univs and i didnt get a call from a single one....realised tht one of d proffs had played d spoilsport in reco letter and had spoiled all my apps,...i was doomed......i was so confident of pursuing phd tht i didnt develop basic attributes to get a gud job...my resume was pathetic with no formatting and all....
companies came and went...some shortlisting me but then ditching me.....entire 8.5+ pointers in college got placed except me and one other...somehow, luck came my way and i got selected into UOP after 5 rounds selection process ..the company came to campus for d first time and is a dream company for chemical engg students......my gud times started from thereon...forgot abt phd altogether...god had played d trick....with that kind of job, things were on a great platform...i was sent to usa within a month of joing for over an year...had a great tiem there...and yes no worry abt cat 2006 as i was out of d country....year 2006 over
Year 2007
came back from usa in oct, but sent to philippines for 5 months in nov first week...anyways had no chance of writing cat since i didnt fill d application form and neither did i bothered...was happy wid minting money at foreign locations......
Year 2008
came back from philippines to india in march ....had got a rude learnign of life....staying away from home for straight 1.5 years at such an early age made me very home sick and i realized tht at home i hav better things to do than living a nomadic life here andd there...requested d management to post me permanently in delhi office......the things kickstarted from hereon....back to my hometown, got ample time with myself and slowly dream of nailing d cat started haunting me but now i had a valid reason too to do mba...so joined TIME regular mba prep course and started preps in full vigour...things started on a gud note but things are not tht smooth.....my father got seriously ill in b/w for months tht affected my concentration during the entire season....plus, being new to delhi office, work was taking its toll due to new work environment but things were slowly settling down.....i was not doing exceptional in mocks but used to score 99+ every now and then.........in nov start, i realised i had gud preps nd i m in wid a chance....had filled cat form only.....took a 14 days break from work to concentrate on cat....did d worst mistake ever.....as i had nothing to study much in those 14 days, i used to pass my time thinking more and more abt d exam.....the anxiety levels started increasing gradually in sub concious mind and by 14th nov, i had become visibly nervous and anxious.....d day came....but before it could come, my bad luck came to haunt me...on d morning of d-day, i woke up at 3-4 am in utter pain and discomfort......the anxiety levels had did me in....had fallen sick on d exam day......all hopes started fading...father told me to relax and forget abt d exam.....but i told him, watever i say, u just get m,e to d exam center..rest i will manage......somehow reached d exam center...cannt forget tht day....i was very uncomfortable.......was very tired beacuse of sickness and no rest since 4 am...went in with only 20% energy....paper pattern had changed and my mind didnt form an effective strategy to counter increased no of questions in VA........attempted rc's literally half-sleeping mode......but i dont make it an excuse for bad performance......i was afailure and i accept it.......came back home and checked my answers...scored very gud in di and quant but was on borderline in va...experts told me tht i will manage 2-3 calls
Year 2009
9th jan results came: oa 98.3, qa and di - 98%ile+, eu - 88%ile no iim calls
entire season wasted
my father sensing my disappointment bought me a car on very next day....the rest of d year was gud...my father's health improved considerably...my job appraisal was also gud....somehow, i gave up my dream of cat.....also, i realised tht i m only an above-average guy nd only way i can succeed is thru hard-work.....i cannt forget may 28 when TIME had a free mock...on 26th may, told father tht TIME is having a free mock and i dont knw whether to giv or not....after deliberating, thought i wont giv it....on 28th morning, after coming from morning walk,....something happened in my sub conscious mind nd i geared up to take d mock....then there was no looking bk...enrolled in 3 mock test series by september and attended classes in time's bright batch...things were smooth but then in october one of d most significant events happened in my life which ripped thru my preps......i got engaged and was scheduled to get married in january and engagement ceremony in december.......my preps were over for gud.....didnt study even a bit after tht...managed to give 4-5 mocks after tht and tht too with poor scores...scheduled for 30th nov slot for cat and was in usa for 1 week for client presentation till 23rd nov.....u can imagine how out of touch i got........after coming bk, couldnot study anything since work related committments were at peak by then.....went for nov 30 exam with very little confidence but was not anxious a bit this time....
the miracle happened and my exam got postponed to 7th dec........applied sharukh's formula...6 din cat course in......revised everything and appeared for d exam.....attempted 53 questions ......
year 2010
results came albeit a bit late. scored 99.72%ile (see signature for breakup)....got 5 iim calls - B/L/I/Ranchi/Rohtak in addition to mdi-g........it was a dream come true....i was visibly estatic tht day.....i had got wat i had started beleiving i dont deserve.....
next task was to convert them....skipped ranchi nd rohtak........appeared for d rest 4.....gave my best shot but was able to convert indore only.....but anyways my dream was fulfilled to get iit+iim tag and a cat %ile of 99.5%ile+........i think god has been kind to me and i was able to convert 1 of my 3 best calls........
the story of cat ends here but the story of struggle doesnt...it merely gets into a new form.....as i say, struggling is something i cannt live without .......the task at hand will b difficult nd i hope to maintain my fighting spirit alive!!!!
Thanks for having so much patience to read my story!!!
Regards
Anshul