If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be writing this piece from the lens of an XLRI Jamshedpur student, I probably would’ve smiled politely and gotten back to solving an RC passage.
My MBA prep journey revolved entirely around CAT. From day one, that was the exam I was aiming for, and everything I did—mocks, practice, analysis—was centered around CAT’s structure.
I started strong in VARC. It was always my most comfortable section. In many mocks, I was able to attempt all four RCs and still had time left for the VA questions—something most people wouldn’t dare try. And yet, my scores didn’t always reflect my comfort level. The issue wasn’t comprehension; it was selection and accuracy. Over time, I realised that knowing which questions to leave was just as important as knowing which ones to attempt. That mental shift helped me unlock more consistent scores.
Quants, however, was a very different story. I tried to improve across the board—algebra, geometry, number systems—but I never developed enough confidence to perform reliably under pressure. Eventually, I stopped spreading myself thin and made a bold decision: I focused almost entirely on arithmetic. I made it my core strength and doubled down. It was a risky strategy, but it gave me the clarity and focus I needed.
DILR was equally challenging. Even after months of solving sets, I rarely cracked more than two in a mock—and sometimes not even that. The biggest skill here was set selection. If I picked the right two sets, I had a shot. If not, the whole section could fall apart. In DILR, practice builds familiarity, but judgment is everything.
I ended up scoring a 97.71 percentile in CAT. I got several interview calls—but didn’t convert the ones I truly wanted. That’s when XAT became my make-or-break attempt. I had done almost no XAT-specific prep until CAT was over, but I knew I had one last serious shot.
In those few weeks, I focused mostly on Decision Making—the one new section. I practiced from past year papers and a few coaching resources. The rest of my strategy stayed largely the same. VARC and Quant in XAT were close enough to CAT that I could rely on my existing preparation. But this time, I went in with less pressure and more clarity.
The result?
99.04 percentile in XAT. XLRI Jamshedpur convert.
This journey taught me that you don’t need to master everything to succeed. You just need to be honest about your strengths, work around your weaknesses, and adapt when things don’t go as planned. Even when the outcome is uncertain, clarity can come from consistent effort. And sometimes, one exam is all it takes to change everything.
