Unlike many students in college, I was clear with my goals and what I wanted to do with my career. But even then, how to achieve that particular dream was kind of ambiguous since there were
multiple options in front of me - either going abroad or staying in India. The only thing that I had figured out towards the end of my four-year bachelor’s degree was to pursue my career in the
management sector rather than in the engineering sector. When I gave my first CAT exam, I hardly knew anything about it, ranging from the duration of the exam to the actual pattern of the exam. I never intended to pursue my post-graduation immediately. I was held up with a lot of work at my college, both academics, and extra-curricular. So, it was like a mock test for me, and once the results got out, there was no element of surprise. I scored significantly less in the range of 70% tile, but the overall exam pattern, especially DILR and Quants, was very much comfortable for me, and I was confident that I could do better if I try again.
Later I was into my final semester and Covid happened; hence our graduation got delayed by around 2 to 3 months, and my final exams got over by around September. By that time, I had made up my mind that I won’t be going abroad to pursue a Master's in Management because of several reasons, and I decided that I would go for MBA in India. But in terms of preparation for the CAT exam, it was not an ideal time, as I had around two months with me, and I wanted to start from scratch. Eventually, I gave it a try after preparing well for that two months but was only able to score 82.82 percentile in the CAT exam and a 91.xx% tile in XAT, which is also not that much of a great score, especially for a GEM profile. I had applied to three colleges - Tapmi, IMT, and MICA for the scores that I had and cleared IMT and Tapmi for their PGDM program. After getting the offer, I decided that I would pursue my MBA this year itself because I don’t want to prepare once again for this particular exam. To get a tier 1 college with a GEM profile, you need a higher percentile- at least 95+. If not, I will be returning to these tier-II colleges, and these three colleges were decent B schools that are coming under the top 30 list in India. So, I planned to go for an MBA right away this year.
But the whole story turned upside down when I completed my MICA interviews. Of the three institutes, MICA was my most desirable one because I was inclined toward marketing, and MICA was one of the pioneer institutes in marketing. MICA interview struck me hard. I was overconfident as I converted IMT and Tapmi without any interview preparation. Still, of all the questions that the MICA panelists asked me, I could only answer a couple or so, and I went into panic mode, and they started grilling me. Right after the interview, I was in self-doubt again about how I would perform inside the b-school if I struggled even in a B-school selection interview. I wanted to prove that I was worthy and decided that I would challenge myself once again, preparing from the start. This perseverance made me start my CAT preparation even though I knew that I wanted to aim for higher percentiles, and with a GEM profile, it would be hard to get into a tier 1 B-school. I tried to fight, and the sense of determination inside me to do something on my own to portray myself that I am a good fit for such a reputed institution kept me going—the preparation journey comprised various ups & downs. At the end of CAT 2021, I scored 95.36, which was also an average performance in my preparation level because I was continuously scoring over 98% in mocks.
I got 95.36 in cat and 95.28 in XAT, thereby getting decent calls. I have always feared about my profile since I belonged to a general engineering male profile, which is not that appealing for an MBA
admission in India. But eventually, what secured my entry to a tier-one college in India was, in fact, my profile. All the extra-curricular activities and the events that I have been participating in over the years, the decent marks that I have scored over the time, were constructive for me to get an SPJMR profile-based call. So, the thing that I was worried about the most got me the chance to gain admission to my dream college.
As an icing on the cake, I converted MICA also this time around, along with other B-schools like IMT and XIMB. It is time that decides where you belong and when to take you there. I firmly believe that if you work hard for something and want something badly, even though you would see a lot of blockages in front, you will eventually get to where you intend to be. To conclude, a heads up for all the people who’re preparing for CAT, do everything you can do during your school, during your under graduation, and you don’t eventually know what will help you achieve your dreams later on in your life. While I was participating in all those competitions at the state level and national level, I was not expecting that this would eventually help me in my future.
When a sense of failure struck me, I found out myself, and in my third CAT attempt, I got a decent score, prepared well for my interviews, and got admission to one of the best B schools in India. If I can do it, you can too.