If you learn from defeat, you really haven't lost - Zig Ziglar
This line summarises my journey as a B-school aspirant, the journey which started with a first attempt in the year 2018.
I am Hameer Nagda, a Chartered Accountant. Having cleared my CA in the first attempt I was flying high. Was working at BSR & Co. LLP (KPMG India), good pay and recognition. But there was this feeling that I needed to move on from level I was at to the next one. Going for an MBA was always in the plans, but I had never really settled down on a WHEN.
In December 2017, I met a good friend of mine who was a CA like me and was doing her first year at IIM A. Taking some guidance from her and a pep talk from my parents I geared up for CAT, XAT and the other entrance exams in 2018. I was still working at the time at KPMG and gave my first attempt at the exams. Unfortunately, I could not manage both and had to give more importance to work which ultimately led to poor scores in the entrances. I was disheartened but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was aware that I can do it again and all I needed was better time management.
With that vigour, I was ready to take on the entrance exams again in 2019. I decided to take a calculated risk and quit my job in August 2019 garnering an experience of nearly 47 months. I put down a schedule, started working on identifying my strengths and weaknesses. Contrary to 2018, I did not join a coaching institute but only the Mock-test series. With each Mock-test I realised that I was good at DI-LR, VARC was a bit poor but I was showing improvement with each test, but in quants I was not able to break the barrier with Algebra and Geometry based topics. Unfortunately, I was never able to break that barrier but on the contrary my VARC and DI-LR had got quite strong as I reached the D-day of 24th November. Just 13 days prior I had given a crack at GMAT and the score was disheartening. But this time, I was hard set on giving my best at CAT. Shaking off the bad result I entered the examination hall for the afternoon slot. I was happy with my attempt and confident to carry the same on to IIFT and XAT exams.
The result was quite positive this time around with a 97.38 in CAT, 96.05 in IIFT and 96.9 in XAT. Got called to most of the top 20 B schools barring the Big Three. Had good interview rounds at IIFT, IIM S, XLRI (for only BM), MDI, IIM K - PGPF and IIM L-SM.
Of all the interviews I faced, the best ones were with IIM S and XLRI. The interviews roughly went for around 25 minutes and 30 minutes respectively. While IIM-S panel questioned me more on current affairs and my choice of a B-school (was sweating a bit then :P), the XLRI-BM panel decided to put me through a mini-stress interview where I was questioned about my experience and all that is prevailing in the auditing malpractices that was in the news and my point of view on the same. Though it tough at the get going, the panel were quite calm but stern in asking which did help me relax down a bit and answer confidently.
Four "scores" and 12 years later (it was 92 days since the day of the interview :P) it was THE DAY. I happened to check the XLRI page at 11 in the morning. And there was this message beckoning to me, putting a smile on my face with its invisible hands -
“Congratulations!!! You are selected for Jamshedpur BM Program”
This entire journey reminded me of a line by
Babe Ruth, the legendary baseball player -
Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.
So, guys keep digging and you will find those diamonds!
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Recommended Reading For You:
Hope Is A Good Thing | Anushka Dhawan's Tryst With XAT And More
A BCom Fresher's Journey To XLRI Jamshedpur | Anjali Singh
"Had No Expectations From XAT After My Failure In CAT" | Rounakshi's Journey To XLRI HRM