It was in March 2018, a year after I graduated, that I decided to take Common Aptitude Test(CAT)’18 and various other management entrance examinations to get admission into a top business school in India. Some of my relatives were skeptical of the idea as I was already working in a Fintech company which demanded 12-13 hours of my day regularly (of course this did not include the time spent in commuting to and from office). Everybody knew that my weak area was Quantitative Aptitude –a heavy section in all examinations. Nevertheless, I decided to join a coaching institute to supplement my preparations. So, from April started spending my weekdays in office and weekends at the institute, trying to get my hands on every reading material.
My social life (well, which was not very happening either) boiled down to zero. On Fridays when my colleagues used to go out to a café after a week’s overload, I had to rush back home to get some sound sleep so that I would be energized for the weekends. Months after months as pressure started mounting, I would breakdown at times thinking this not to be my cup of tea. I would run to my mentor at the institute who would say “Why do you take so much pressure? Relax, go out and I assure you would do wonders.” His motivating words would calm me down but my Quant scores in mocks would again frighten me up.
Continuous slogging at office and then the preparation took a toll on my health and I was diagnosed with Jaundice just a month before the examinations. I still managed to keep my spirits high and took all the exams seriously. My hardwork paid off when the final list of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (Delhi), one of the most sought-after Business Schools in India, had my name printed on it.
My journey till my dream B-School entails a lot of learnings – not only for me but for future aspirants also:
- Never lose hope
The moment you see some things not working out as you planned, I assure you there will be some other setup planned for you.
- Hardwork, Hardwork, Hardwork
Only this mantra worked for me!
Comments