CAT 2022 recently got over, and I can sense the feelings of the candidates who went through the process and did not get desired results. Too much heartbreak and too much of "Oh, why did I choose that DILR set" etc. While it is obvious because of the kind of effort people put in, it's not advisable and wise to keep wasting time in repentance.
First of all, let us look at what might be happening.
- Mindset- You are betting your life on CAT. This might be one of the reasons why you could not do well. While going for the exam, while attempting the exam, or even while attempting the mock tests, if you are too tense, your brain won't function properly. Also, you might be going into the exam with a set percentile in mind. This increases stress. How freely and fluently your brain works is inversely proportional to the pressure you are taking. While stress can't be reduced to zero, try to minimize it as much as possible. How will you perform well when half of your mind is busy doing permutations and combinations of what could happen if the test doesn't go as expected? What would happen? The world is not going to end. Create a backup in your mind if the exam doesn't go well. Just remind yourself that there might be some bigger opportunity waiting for me. Trust me; it is the case. Our lives ultimately find equilibrium, but it takes its own sweet time.
- Skill/knowledge gap- This is also the case. In many cases, I have seen people rushing through the basics to solve more problems. This approach is entirely wrong. We like to quantify our efforts. That's why we run to problem-solving even before grasping the concepts. We love the numbers, as in "Today I solved this many numbers problems". One case is that you need better practice. You might need to be better versed with the sums that come in CAT. You might not have given mocks and not analyzed them properly.
- Illusion- When we work hard, mainly towards the end only, we have a kind of illusion that we have worked very hard. For example, when we study the whole night before the exam in our semesters and never study before that day, we still feel that we studied hard. The same happens if you work hard only in the last few weeks or last month. You might still think that you have worked hard. But ask yourself if this is the case. Remember, CAT is not a syllabus-based exam. So, last-moment heroics won’t solve the problem unless you are too intelligent. Also, I don't know about the situation of the person who asked this question. I am saying this in general.
What to do?
- Is the season over?- No. There is XAT and IIFT. Trust me, XLRI is better than most IIMs, barring the top 6. Ask yourself if you want to study only in ABC or do an MBA from a tier-1 college. If former, prepare for next year. If later, buckle up, as there is no time to whine. I can give you an example. There was person A who counted his marks after the response sheet came and scored great (99+ expected). He relaxed completely and did not study even a word for XAT. He just went and sat in XAT and scored around 95. Person B scored poorly (about 90%le expected) but worked very hard for XAT in the last month and scored more than 99 in XAT. Person B joined XLRI, and person A joined an IIM but lower than the stature of XLRI. It is unnecessary to know who persons A and B are (it might be me, who knows :) ), but get the learning. Buckle up and do well in XAT. And even if you want to join only IIM A, B, or C, get admission from XL and go for CAT 23 with great confidence.
- Stress?- Stop taking too much pressure. Your life will settle somewhere decent enough. Life is entirely unexpected. You don't know from where a piece of good news might come. Things ultimately happen for good. Let me give an example of my life only. I was preparing for UPSC ESE and other scientists/PSU exams like HAL, ISRO, DRDO, etc. It was mid-August, and after coming out of the exam, I was thinking about what am I doing with my life. I was contemplating while sitting at a small tea shop near the exam center. Then I analyzed my situation, skills, future market scenario, management studies potential, and corporate pros and cons. I then decided to prepare for CAT, which I had kept as backup. This shows that I was flexible enough to switch fields rationally from technical and government exams to CAT. If route A doesn't take me to my goal, route B might. And the goal is to do well in life ultimately. I had not kept many hopes from myself and just prepared whatever I could. I gave mocks, analyzed them correctly, solved mock questions repeatedly, read a lot, and went to the exam hall with a mind that even if I didn't do well, I would do XYZ. The result was good. So, work on your mindset.
I wrote this post for people who might be depressed because of the exam. I have been through this phase, not for the CAT but for other exams, and I have carefully analyzed what and where I was doing wrong with my mindset. I hope this helps ease some pressure.
In case of any queries, you can message me.
All the best.
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