Completing my B.Com (Hons) in 2023, I took up a full-time job, believing I could manage CFA Level 2 preparation, CAT exam, and work simultaneously. However, juggling all three soon became overwhelming. After nearly two years of balancing these challenges, I made a crucial decision in November 2023 to quit my job and focus solely on cracking CAT and clearing CFA Level 2. This article shares my journey of how I achieved a 99.8 percentile in CAT 2024 and secured admission to IIM Calcutta despite the two-year gap and the demanding preparation for CFA.
I was in the final year of engineering studies and actively sought placement opportunities on campus. Despite having an electronics and telecommunications background, I had never touched a breadboard (a material where you join wires, resistors, and other electronic stuff to make a functioning circuit), nor did I pay attention to my lectures. Mugging up answers to PYQs was my go-to method for passing exams. Therefore, getting into a software job was the way out of my misery. Against my best expectations, I made it into a decent-paying product company. Elated, I spent the remaining college days dreaming about an air-conditioned office, my desk, with a laptop, mug, and all the other accessories that I read about in LinkedIn posts. However, there was this feeling, deep inside my mind, that something was lacking. I always wanted to know how businesses function, how I can directly contribute to their growth, and eventually become a business leader. As a software developer, I can only go so far in my career to bring about significant changes to an organization. I sought advice from my father, a man who spent 25 years in corporate, who suggested that I pursue an MBA. Initially hesitant to go back to studying again, I relented on my father's advice and decided to give CAT a shot. After all, it's just elementary mathematics, some reasoning, and English, right? My ICSE background is enough to cover English, and I am an engineer, so math and reasoning would be a breeze. Little did I know I was about to fight a gladiator with a plastic sword.
In my second year at BITS Pilani, the thought of pursuing an MBA first crossed my mind — a bit like Suhas from 3 Idiots (minus the obsession with money). For me, it wasn’t about chasing a high-paying job. I had discovered something deeper: a genuine love for finance.
Getting into IIM Calcutta still feels surreal. If you had asked me in 2022 what I’d be doing a couple of years later, I would’ve confidently said “running a growing trading business.” Back then, that was the dream. But life had other plans.
May 2024. The air was thick with excitement, internships, and the comfort of college life. Most of my peers at IIM Indore, where I was pursuing the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM), were immersed in their internships and case competitions. But for me, the month marked something more profound. I had decided to take a shot at the Common Admission Test (CAT). The goal wasn’t just a score; it was to push myself, to see how far I could go, and perhaps, to see if I could walk through the gates of one of India’s most prestigious institutions.
"Koi baat nahi, beta. Try harder next time."
It hit me during the car ride home. I’d been hearing this same line from my dad for years. After my 10th boards (76%), after 12th (82%), and now, again after a disastrous CAT 2023 attempt. Sitting there with a 90.45%ile, far from what I needed for the colleges I dreamt of (because of my bad profile), I wasn’t just disappointed, I was terrified! Terrified that maybe I wasn’t good enough. That despite a yearlong preparation tenure, maybe this was the best I could do. The fear wasn't just of failure; it was of repeating a pattern of living up to a version of me that never quite delivered.
The sea had been my home, my identity, and my classroom. Over the years, I’ve sailed across the vast Atlantic to the shores of Africa, maneuvered oil carriers through the bustling ports of Dubai, and docked near the palm-laced harbors of the United States. From stormy midnights to sunrises over still waters — life at sea was nothing short of cinematic. But even amidst that vastness, there was always a quiet whisper in the back of my mind:
Completing my B.Com (Hons) in 2023, I took up a full-time job, believing I could manage CFA Level 2 preparation, CAT exam, and work simultaneously. However, juggling all three soon became overwhelming. After nearly two years of balancing these challenges, I made a crucial decision in November 2023 to quit my job and focus solely on cracking CAT and clearing CFA Level 2. This article shares my journey of how I achieved a 99.8 percentile in CAT 2024 and secured admission to IIM Calcutta despite the two-year gap and the demanding preparation for CFA.
I was in the final year of engineering studies and actively sought placement opportunities on campus. Despite having an electronics and telecommunications background, I had never touched a breadboard (a material where you join wires, resistors, and other electronic stuff to make a functioning circuit), nor did I pay attention to my lectures. Mugging up answers to PYQs was my go-to method for passing exams. Therefore, getting into a software job was the way out of my misery. Against my best expectations, I made it into a decent-paying product company. Elated, I spent the remaining college days dreaming about an air-conditioned office, my desk, with a laptop, mug, and all the other accessories that I read about in LinkedIn posts. However, there was this feeling, deep inside my mind, that something was lacking. I always wanted to know how businesses function, how I can directly contribute to their growth, and eventually become a business leader. As a software developer, I can only go so far in my career to bring about significant changes to an organization. I sought advice from my father, a man who spent 25 years in corporate, who suggested that I pursue an MBA. Initially hesitant to go back to studying again, I relented on my father's advice and decided to give CAT a shot. After all, it's just elementary mathematics, some reasoning, and English, right? My ICSE background is enough to cover English, and I am an engineer, so math and reasoning would be a breeze. Little did I know I was about to fight a gladiator with a plastic sword.
In my second year at BITS Pilani, the thought of pursuing an MBA first crossed my mind — a bit like Suhas from 3 Idiots (minus the obsession with money). For me, it wasn’t about chasing a high-paying job. I had discovered something deeper: a genuine love for finance.
Getting into IIM Calcutta still feels surreal. If you had asked me in 2022 what I’d be doing a couple of years later, I would’ve confidently said “running a growing trading business.” Back then, that was the dream. But life had other plans.
May 2024. The air was thick with excitement, internships, and the comfort of college life. Most of my peers at IIM Indore, where I was pursuing the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM), were immersed in their internships and case competitions. But for me, the month marked something more profound. I had decided to take a shot at the Common Admission Test (CAT). The goal wasn’t just a score; it was to push myself, to see how far I could go, and perhaps, to see if I could walk through the gates of one of India’s most prestigious institutions.
"Koi baat nahi, beta. Try harder next time."
It hit me during the car ride home. I’d been hearing this same line from my dad for years. After my 10th boards (76%), after 12th (82%), and now, again after a disastrous CAT 2023 attempt. Sitting there with a 90.45%ile, far from what I needed for the colleges I dreamt of (because of my bad profile), I wasn’t just disappointed, I was terrified! Terrified that maybe I wasn’t good enough. That despite a yearlong preparation tenure, maybe this was the best I could do. The fear wasn't just of failure; it was of repeating a pattern of living up to a version of me that never quite delivered.
The sea had been my home, my identity, and my classroom. Over the years, I’ve sailed across the vast Atlantic to the shores of Africa, maneuvered oil carriers through the bustling ports of Dubai, and docked near the palm-laced harbors of the United States. From stormy midnights to sunrises over still waters — life at sea was nothing short of cinematic. But even amidst that vastness, there was always a quiet whisper in the back of my mind:
