Beyond The CAT: Unpacking Three Invaluable Lessons From The Road To IIM Nagpur

Lesson one: To start is to risk failure but guarantee experiences !
In the tumultuous symphony of 2020, when COVID was giving everyone a dramatic shock, I found myself facing the climax of my college life. Picture this: a final-year engineering student, armed with nothing but determination and a complete lack of technical prowess(coz I am a Polymer Engineer), standing at the crossroads of destiny. The spotlight was on me, and I had to figure out what to do with my life. Cue the existential crisis!
In a world dominated by bytes and algorithms, I dared to step into the uncharted territory of Management, driven by a passion for Engineering Management from my undergrad days. MBA became my golden ticket, and the CAT exam, my enchanted portal. As the world transformed into a pixelated version of itself, with everything going online! my college, my lifeline, became a virtual one. I don't know why, but I boldly declared, 'I'll prepare on my own!' Little did I know, this decision unfolded like the plot twist in an Abbas Mustan thriller. Despite having an abundance of time, my preparation lacked the necessary effort. Fast forward to November, one minute after the CAT, and I could feel it – I blew it! Yet, at that moment, I was oddly glad. I may have failed my first attempt, but oh, what an experience it was learning how not to prepare for CAT! This was the story of my first attempt, a failure, but definitely a great experience!

Lesson Two: The Perseverance uncertainty: A hard pill.
It was August 2021, and there I was, working my socks off in a full-time job, blissfully unaware that the last time I had a rendezvous with my textbooks was basically back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, or at least that's what it felt like. My dear mother asked,"So, any plans for that MBA, darling?"
Now, cue the internal panic. I hesitated, contemplating my relationship with CAT forms like a person on a diet eyeing a donut. But mothers, bless their hearts, are relentless negotiators. Before I knew it, I was filling out that CAT form faster than you can say "academic resurrection." Fast forward to my life as a nocturnal creature working the ANZ shift. My mission: tackle a full-time job while attempting to stuff my brain with more knowledge than it's signed up for. Sounds easy, right?

As the days flew by, I did manage to conjure up some level of preparation. However, the ghost of
my past CAT performance lingered, whispering sweet insecurities in my ear. With only a few
weeks left, I found myself caught in a web of doubt, wondering if I was about to face the CAT or
if the CAT was about to face me. So there I was, ready to "bell the cat" – a phrase that suddenly sounded more like a dare than a metaphor. Armed with caffeine-induced confidence and a questionable grasp on the syllabus, I ventured into the world of MBA preparation, hoping to emerge victorious, or at the very least, with a good story to tell at family gatherings. Well, November arrived, and my CAT performance was better! (Improvement, yay!) But (told you, it was no less of an Abbas Mustan movie) , being a GEM turned into a gem of irony as sectional cutoffs played hard to get. And the dream to be called an IIM Student, procrastinated!

Lesson Three: The Universe's Time Warp: Success Unfurls at Its Own Pace
Well, well, well, CAT exams turned into my yearly routine by 2022! Just when I was confident about clearing the CAT this time, life decided to throw a plot twist. A month and 5 days before CAT 2023, my father, after a three-year wrestling match with health issues, decided to call it quits and off he went to the clouds in heaven! Naturally, I was as numb as a snowman in summer, and CAT was the least of my concerns at that point. But credit to my mom, the unsung hero in this saga—she played the role of my personal cheerleader as I dragged my feet, armed with nothing more than a half-hearted plan, to the CAT Center.
Fast forward to December 21, results were out, and I had officially "belled the CAT." Now, interviews were on the horizon, and IIMN's interview was my grand finale. Spoiler alert: my interview was a home run, and I clinched a spot in an IIM. Today, as I ponder my journey, I'm thankful it unfolded the way it did. It gave me work experience, quality time with Dad (may he rest in peace), and a chance to study in IIM Nagpur's sparkling new campus. Success, my friends, is like a slow-motion magic trick In this saga of CAT attempts, amidst grief and uncertainty, I learnt that each stumble painted a unique stroke in the final painting of my journey, proving that success is an unfolding narrative, often at its own pace.

Arun Anand is a first-year student at IIM Nagpur who is an ardent debater, enthusiastic writer and also serves as a Class Representative. He has previously worked as a senior operations associate and a tech support engineer for about 20 months and aims to have a career in the same domain post his MBA. Apart from this, he is a huge fan of lyrical hip-hop and is also a Movie aficionada.