We usually get comments from users who ask us why we only get over achievers on our platform. While many aspire to get into the top b schools, the truth is that most don't score the required percentiles. So today, we bring you a unique story that stands out even a decade after it happened. This is the story of one Alpesh Patel, who was a topper in his coaching classes, but ended up scoring only 67%ile in his final CAT exam. Wondering how that happened? Want to know how that affected Alpesh's life and career? Watch the video and find out!
Also read - The Number One Mistake CAT Aspirants Make That You Must Avoid For CAT 2020
Alpesh tells us that he was never a topper. Throughout his schooling and junior college, he was an average student. Instead of engineering, he pursued B.Com from NM College, Mumbai, during which time he thought that he should give MBA a shot. He joined his coaching classes, where he discovered that his love for numbers paid off in him scoring really well in quant. While he could compete against (and beat) the IITians and toppers of his class in Quants and DI-LR, he found Verbal to be very difficult. His verbal scores weren't up to the mark, to the point where his teacher told him to not take CAT that year.
With rigorous preparation, he managed to improve his verbal abilities as well. He soon started gaining the top All India Ranks in the mocks. His teachers even told him that he was one of the few people they expected to top CAT in 2007. The following year, he finally gave CAT. Note, this was in 2007, where CAT wasn't a computer-delivered exam. After the exam, when he showed his question paper to his teachers, they calculated the markings, and it turned out that Alpesh had marked all the right answers. He was expecting a 99+%ile. However, on the day of the result, he found out that he had scored only 67%ile.
Soon, he realised that this low score was owing to a very silly mistake that he made. This really demotivated him, and he decided not to take CAT again. Instead, he cleared his CFA Level 1, and moved to London for further studies. Despite the fall in confidence, he quickly picked himself up and focused on his career. While in London, he got a job with Sports Direct, which kickstarted his career in Sports Retail. After coming back from London, he went on to start his own travel venture. Alpesh's story is truly inspiring, and a must watch for all aspirants. Things don't always go the way you've planned, but that shouldn't stop you or demotivate you.
This is Part 1 of Alpesh's full interview. Stay tuned for Part 2.
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