The story begins in July 2016. After brainstorming for 2 months, I decided to appear for CAT 2017. So, it started with the search for the perfect institute. I had majorly heard about TIME and MBA GURU. After a discussion of nearly 2 hours with both the coaching centres, I decided to join TIME CP. It was surely one of the best decisions I ever made.

As expected, a lot of ups and downs were a part of this journey. Mediocre as well as some amazing scores in AIMCATS helped me focus through the way. From personal problems to academic failures - the journey was not so smooth. And then, the D-Day arrived. It was a pretty decent attempt in my perspective. But, I managed to get only 88.8 percentile that year. As expected, I didn't get a call from any B-school.

I had 2 choices - accept the fact and look forward to CAT '18, or sulk about my CAT Score. Sadly, I chose the latter option. That is one of the biggest regrets of my life.

After completing my graduation, I joined EY as the first step to the corporate environment. Honestly, today I can't be more thankful to God for that result. I really needed this experience to help me grow as an individual. Here, I met a person who not only helped me to calm down and nail the CAT '18 exam (play it like a game were his exact words) but also always got my back in every tough day in office.

And there it was - CAT '18. Contrary to my expectations, the exam was pretty good. I managed to score a whopping 96 percentile. I got calls from almost all IIMs.

Talking about the Interviews: IIM K was not so good, however, the CAP interview was amazing. Shillong and Indore were of mediocre standards (if I had not screwed -up the extempore at Indore interview :( )

So, as expected, I converted all the new IIMs. After a week of sulking and dilemma of whether to join a b-school this year or re-attempt CAT, I finally decided to join IIM Ranchi (not to forget, I believe it was God's hint).

If I look back at the three years of my journey to make it to an IIM, a piece of advice I have for all aspirants is - Adopt a never give up attitude. Failures are a part of life, Stay strong and keep trying. Because the time you'll spend sulking would be the time you'll regret once you make it to your final destination.

Hope the story was worth a read :)

Riddhima Garg

How A 'Never Give Up' Attitude Led Me To An IIM