Competitions

CAT Prep

Upskill

Placements

MBA Co'26

RTI Response

Rankings

Score Vs. %ile

Salaries

Campus Tour

Yes You Can Do It - Decoding The Conundrum Of Preparing For CAT As A Working Professional

Mar 25, 2019 | 4 minutes |

Join InsideIIM GOLD

Webinars & Workshops

Compare B-Schools

Free CAT Course

Take Free Mock Tests

Upskill With AltUni

CAT Study Planner

Final 18 Days to CAT 2024 Test-28

Participants: 11

Final 19 Days to CAT 2024 Test-26

Participants: 154

Final 20 Days to CAT 2024 Test-26

Participants: 183

Final 21 Days to CAT 2024 Test-25

Participants: 147

Final 22 Days to CAT 2024 Test-24

Participants: 167

Final 23 Days to CAT 2024 Test-23

Participants: 105

Final 24 Days to CAT 2024 Test-22

Participants: 157

Final 25 Days to CAT 2024 Test-21

Participants: 146

Final 26 Days to CAT 2024 Test-20

Participants: 197

Final 27 Days to CAT 2024 Test-19

Participants: 171

Final 28 Days to CAT 2024 Test-18

Participants: 169

Final 29 Days to CAT 2024 Test-17

Participants: 176

Final 30 Days to CAT 2024 Test-16

Participants: 195

Final 31 Days to CAT 2024 Test-15

Participants: 185

Final 32 Days to CAT 2024 Test-14

Participants: 194

Final 33 Days to CAT 2024 Test-13

Participants: 195

Final 34 Days to CAT 2024 Test-12

Participants: 228

CAT 2017 VARC SLOT- 2

Participants: 313

CAT 2017 DILR SLOT- 2

Participants: 156

CAT 2017 VARC SLOT- 1

Participants: 301

CAT 2017 DILR SLOT- 1

Participants: 106

CAT 2017 QUANT SLOT 1

Participants: 152

CAT 2017 QUANT SLOT 2

Participants: 69

CAT 2018 QUANT SLOT 2

Participants: 67

CAT 2018 QUANT SLOT 1

Participants: 108

CAT 2018 DILR SLOT- 2

Participants: 58

CAT 2018 DILR SLOT- 1

Participants: 84

CAT 2018 VARC SLOT- 2

Participants: 203

CAT 2018 VARC SLOT- 1

Participants: 298

Final 35 Days to CAT 2024 Test-11

Participants: 156

Unfortunately, this is not a heroic story. It is the story of the journey which almost every CAT aspirant goes through. I was among thousands of those students who pursued engineering after school life as it seemed as the best available option to my parents. Thereafter, NIT happened in the flow of events and I was somehow able to secure a super secure job in BPCL post my graduation. My parents were delighted that I got a public sector job and I cruised on in my life. Conundrum begins – After working for about one and a half years in the oil and gas sector, I, like almost everyone in India, realized that my present education might be an impediment in my future growth prospects. So, I embarked on the journey of CAT preparation. I left for office everyday at 7 AM and used to return at around 8 PM in the city of dreams - Mumbai. I had ample amount of reasons arising out of my hectic schedule and secure job to distract me from CAT preparation which I guess is the case with every working CAT aspirant. And so I joined a coaching institute to bring some discipline to my preparation as it was going to be my first shot at CAT. Trough of preparation – I hardly did self-study till August and consequently scored a single digit percentile in English mock test and equally poor percentiles in Quant and LR/DI also. And hence began the stage where I started questioning my ability. All sorts of questions hovered over my mind. ‘Can I crack CAT?’, ‘Do I have time for preparations?’, ‘Can I juggle between work and preparation?’, ‘Do I have what it takes to compete with the best?’ were some of the questions which haunted my mind for weeks after that mock test. I seriously pondered over quitting CAT preparation for almost a week as I thought it was just not possible for me to crack it. An honest try – After the low, I resolved to give my best shot and became serious in my preparations. I made it a point to study everyday for 2-4 hours till CAT (which comes out to be around two months of serious preparation). My performance in Mock tests started improving and I started gaining confidence. I did nothing different. I just tried to do all the normal things correctly. The D-day – I took a 5 day off before the CAT 2017 exam (yeah, that’s all I could manage from my boss) and gave my best shot on the D-day. The CAT results published in the second week of January and to my surprise, I managed to secure a 99+ percentile on my first CAT attempt. I was really emotional and relieved that day because I did not quit. That one week of self-doubt hovered in my mind profoundly and now in the hindsight, I think it perhaps made me stronger as a person. The journey continues – Thereafter, I was privileged to get an opportunity to pursue MBA at IIM Lucknow among some of the most diverse and brightest minds of the country. I gained immense amount of knowledge and skills just by interacting with students here and perhaps got some of the best friends too..:D PS: I believe that getting into an IIM is just a step towards achieving your long term dream of pursuing the career you want. I know most of us have no idea of what we want in our life but this place gives you immense opportunities to explore and is definitely worth experiencing.