“With the percentiles out, you’re going to feel like a billion dollars when the call letters start coming in. But remember that they’ll all be just emails with possibilities until you manage to convert them. It’s very easy to go back to zero with nothing to show for it.”
This is a favourite question that many interviewers ask. If your interview starts with this question, you've been given an opportunity on a platter because this is where you can proactively drive the interview in your favour.
If you are reading this article, I am assuming that you have done well in CAT. If not, don’t be disheartened. Gear up, pull your socks up and strive towards your goal again.
Growing up, my twin and I did everything together - what started as shared birthdays, moved on to shared toys, friends, experiences, and 21 years later - we shared dreams too. Both of us were increasingly fascinated by the world of Marketing - for reasons different and similar. In 2015, we heard about MICA, a b-school that specialises in Marketing. The turning point for me came when I learned that the entrance exam has an entire section devoted to out of the box thinking - I never thought being excited about an exam was something that could actually happen to me. The blog posts on the curriculum at MICA, the videos that talked about the faculty, successful MICAn alums, and finally - getting to know more about the MICAn way of life further strengthened the belief that this is the college. I remember both of us walking out of our interview and Group Exercise process elated and hopeful.
Now that you have cleared the first step of getting into a coveted b-school, it is time to face your competition face to face. Clearing the written tests is only half the job done. If you think you are good at GD’s and interviews, well think again, because almost all your competition thinks the same way. The differentiating factor now is going to be content, presentation and confidence.
In the days after the CAT 2017 result got announced, I got hundreds of queries from friends, seniors, juniors and random people from across the wide internet. So I decided to post an answer on a public platform, so that it may be used by anyone wishing to excel at CAT.
Now that the CAT results are out, I congratulate the ones who have got shortlists from numerous premier institutions. Also, the ones who have messed up for any reason, my advice will be to stay calm. CAT is not the destination. My mentor used to tell me that seek for bigger things and a better plan. CAT, MBA, etc. will happen eventually.
