This wasn’t a one-and-done story.
It took me four attempts to finally receive the “Congratulations” email I had been chasing for years.
My journey with CAT started way back in 2021, when I was in my final year of undergraduate studies. I never imagined it would stretch across four long years—years filled with late nights, early mornings, self-doubt, and silent battles. Like most engineers, I was comfortable with numbers, and it showed—I was consistently scoring good marks in DILR and QA during mocks. But VARC? That was always my Achilles' heel. I was scoring back-to-back low scores in VARC mocks, and deep down, I feared I wouldn't even be able to clear the cutoffs. Still, I hoped the exam day would be different. And on CAT 2021, my biggest fear turned into reality. I did well in QA and DILR—scored around the 99th percentile—but VARC broke me. I missed the cutoff by a huge margin, and I was completely out of the race—no calls, no second chances.
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But life doesn’t stop. After graduation, I took up a job and decided to give it another shot while working full-time. CAT 2022 came. I gave it my all—and failed again.
Tried once more in CAT 2023.
Another failure. Another heartbreak.
At that point, it felt like I had hit rock bottom. Three years of effort, three years of hope—and nothing to show for it. I was mentally drained. It started to feel like maybe this dream wasn’t meant for me. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet.
So in January 2024, I started from scratch. I changed my approach, reworked my basics, and most importantly, I stopped chasing perfection and started chasing progress. I studied consistently, quietly, and with a mindset that this was going to be my last and best attempt. I focused on my weakest link: VARC. But the ghosts of failure didn’t leave me easily.
In August 2024, I scored a 3 in VARC in one of the mocks.
Yes—just 3.
And it shook me. I was nervous, scared, and for a moment, all the old doubts came rushing back. I kept going. Mock after mock. Paragraph after paragraph. Slowly, painfully, I improved.
CAT 2024 was different. This time, I stayed calm.
This time, I cleared every hurdle.
And finally, this time, I made it to IIM Calcutta.
My percentiles over the last 4 attempts:
| VARC %ile | DILR %ile | QA %ile | Overall %ile | |
| CAT 2021 | 29 | 98.55 | 98.61 | 94.28 |
| CAT 2022 | 75.65 | 89.56 | 92.3 | 90.6 |
| CAT 2023 | 97.08 | 86.73 | 76.88 | 89.41 |
| CAT 2024 | 83.45 | 99.51 | 99.34 | 99.04 |
When I look back at all the failures, it strangely feels like a blessing in disguise. They taught me patience, resilience, and self-belief. I didn’t just crack CAT—I rebuilt myself in the process.
To anyone out there feeling stuck, hopeless, or lost in the loop, keep going. Your story isn’t over yet. Sometimes, the long road leads to the most beautiful destination.
