As the clock ticked closer to CAT day, I remember sitting with my books, drowning in the weight of expectation. Not just my own, but what a society hangs on to when they hear the word "IIM." Exam day arrived, and as I left the exam hall, I was hoping for a miracle. But when the answer key came, I was just blank after calculating marks - 42 percentile :(
It felt like the world stopped for a moment. The dreams of sitting in an IIM seat crumbled, and I started questioning all of it: My intelligence, preparation, or even worth...
Mistake?: Not revising at the last moment. I was just relaxing and overconfident, 3-4 days before the D-Day. (Revise Smartly, Don’t Overload. Focus on strengths. At this stage, strengthening what you already know can make all the difference.)
But an exact voice of my mentor called out to me, “This isn't the end, Param. You have other exams to attempt. Agar abhi bhi himmat hai, get up and go study. (If you still have courage within you, get up and start studying.)”. That was a turning point!
I shifted gears and started preparing for the NMAT, which I had scheduled to take after the CAT. This time, it wasn't about proving a point to anyone else-it was about redeeming myself, for myself. I stuck to a simple mantra: Do your best with the time you have.
When the NMAT results came out, I scored highest compared to my mock average score and cleared all the cutoffs.
How?: I kept revising all the concepts/formulas and attempted mocks on the day before the exam instead of relaxing much. (Also, analyzing the mock thoroughly and not making the same mistake again is a must.)
Not getting into a top IIM didn't stop me. It instead made me hustle harder, learn more and eventually find my place in the world. Today, I look back and feel proud-not of the colleges or scores, but of the courage to keep going.
To all those who are going to take the CAT: This exam does not define you. Be it 99 percentile or 42, what truly matters is the journey that you create after this test.
So, Trust Your Preparation. You’ve done the work. Trust that it will show. But don’t be overconfident. You will get exactly what you deserve, and that will be enough to start building the future you dream of.
Fact Check: This time approximately 3.29 lakh candidates have registered for the CAT 2024 exam. However, the total number of seats available across the 21 IIMs is roughly 5,500. This makes this competition highly cutthroat because only about 1.67% of aspirants find a seat in an IIM.
Life isn’t about one exam, one college, or one job. It’s about embracing your journey and doing your best every single day.
PS: This story is just a reminder! Not to demotivate you...
Be yourself. Hustle hard. Accept what comes and do even more. All the best!!
