It seems a little bit pessimistic to say a score of 89.98 %ile is dissatisfied. But it was really meant considering the effort and practise I put into the preparation. Let me introduce myself; I am Abu Sabah. I was born and brought up in a rural area of Calicut in Kerala. I was a typical mediocre student during 10th and 12th. Then came my hilarious part engineering. Due to over non-academic activities hope you guys would know where I would have ended up. It was between 60-70, which was a barrier for me for some good roles. But then also I acquired a good job.
When Did I Decide To Go For An MBA
I realize the importance of Management during my job as Purchasing Manager and finally decide to take Cat in my 2nd year of job in 2019. Hopefully, I ended with a score of 87.5 with a low score in VARC. Even then, I got some calls and converted baby iims. Then came the worst part what to chose repeat or join. Already have a 2-year workex. Over workex plus low grade are some barriers in Bschool as what I collected from my friend's circle.
Taking all these in the decision, I decided to go with what my heart says. Once in a life, you are doing MA, so it should be the best one. I started the preparation more dedicatedly, and This time, I go through tips and mentorships of all resources that I can collect.INSIDEIIM, you guys really helped me to maintain my enthusiasm and confidence. I took mocks of different coaching centres like Time, CL and IMS. It was well working for me. I was able to score above 98 plus consistently, which definitely add up my confidence. But then came the notification of reduction in exam time without mention a new pattern that collapsed my preparation strategy, which was more of selection instead of speed attempt. Then came the D day. LRDI really took my time and confidence, and I thought its the end. But when the result came, I managed 89.98%ile and Lrdi with 87.5%ile as my guesstimates worked well, which I won't prefer anyone to do if you are sure about it. I felt sad as my dream of ABC went to hell now. Then I started reading each and every post about other Bschool in INSIDEIIM then it showed me the right path. Based on that, I applied IMT G NITIE MUMBAI, IIMK FINANCE, IIFT &XAT.
How I Prepared For The Second CAT Attempt
1)Only if needed the base for the materials Go for coaching and Online mode are the most preferable so that you can save time and learn at your convenient time.
2)Prepare a study plan and target. Go through sections in a way that should not be relooked later.
3)Try different strategies and get to the conclusion of taking the best strategy. For 3 hours exam, I did a selection strategy where I chose the doable question and attempt only that. For 2 hours, Speed with selection is preferred. So speed up the calculation and other activities.
4)Try at least a minimum of two coaching centre mock tests. Don't stick to a single coaching centre mock test because CAT is always unpredictable.TIME, IMS, etc., to be preferred.
5)Try to solve puzzles, chess, sudoku to increase the thinking and quantifying skills.
6)For improvement in VARC, read Aeon and bigthink and other journals daily with setting a time limit and without so as to increase the reading speed and comprehensive skill.
How I Managed Other Bschool Exams and GDPIs
Thankfully I managed to score 90 %ile for IIFT and 94.5%ile in XAT. I started preparing gdpi from experience sharing articles, and it helped me formulate myself with what the Bschool need in me. What I did for PI and GD are here.
- Don't ever feel guilty or regret ever from day 1 of preparation. it's like cancer. It will carve into your confidence, and the whole process will be devastated.
- Believe in you .it not about the score. If you get a call, it means you have some Qualities they value for. Stay hard on these lines.No matter someone score greater than you, or you are a non-NIT/IIT etc.
- Well aware of the college for which you are sitting for PI. You can use Know your campus session of Insideiim and other youtube channels etc.
- Know the domains they are famous for. Have a care for that apart from other general preparation. It is also good if gone through interview experience videos or articles.
- Read newspaper daily and update about current affair and also formulate your opinion on any issue you can refer Editorials of The Hindu, Indian Express etc. Watching current affairs channels also helps to stay updated.
- Form a small group of people with a common interest and prepare within yourself to know the maximum out of you.
Then the result started rolling. I got My first relief with IMT G convert, Then Baby IIMs, IIM U.But I really got stuck when IIM K FINANCE, IIFT K and NITIE came simultaneously. Really don't know what to chose. All are on my wishlist. Then after analyzing my area of interest plus going through the Know your Campus videos of InsideIIM, I decided Yes Nite is for me. Everything happens for Good. It is for us to determine what is good for us and stay with the decision. I would not be here if I didn't read your article about this GODS OWN CAMPUS. Thank you a lot for staying with me on this long journey.