Journey Of An Indian Armed Force Aspirant To SIBM Pune | Against All Odds

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April 2018 to January 2019

Meanwhile, I had set my sights on preparing for CAT 2018 and other MBA exams as well. I was determined to banish the ghosts of 'March 2018'. Adjusting to my new role as a content associate in the marketing domain proved to be a major huddle during the initial days but I managed to wriggle my way out of it and gradually felt at ease with my job profile. Meanwhile, my preparations were on in full swing and then came the D-day, CAT 2018. To my utter astonishment, I flunked the paper big time! It was an eye-opener for me. I knew that my dream of pursuing an MBA in 2019 was all but over. I didn't fare well in other exams either. All done and dusted, I decided to renew my CAT preparation with vigour from March 2019.

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March 2019 to January 2020

This time, I was focusing more on implementing my knowledge in the form of supplements like quizzes, assignments and mock tests. My focus was only on getting a good percentile and I fizzed out any distraction that could prove to be a hindrance in my preparation. My typical day looked like this-

Morning Classes-Exercising-Freshening Up and having Breakfast- Reading articles on the way to office-9 hours of slogging in office-Reading newspapers on the way back home-Dinner-mock tests and assignments-Sleep-REPEAT.

Wait! Why did I highlight the word repeat? It is because it was important for me back then to maintain my preparation levels for sustained periods of time. After a point in time, I managed to get a grip on the mock tests and my positive results instilled confidence in my abilities. Then came the period from November 2019 to January 2020- culminating on the 5th of January after a prolonged period of appearing in 8 National Entrance Examinations.

But then came a slight twist. I narrowly missed the sectional cut-offs in CAT and XAT, failed miserably in IIFT entrance and barely scraped through the overall cut-offs in SNAP and NMAT.

'This isn't over yet", I assured myself. I decided to leave no stone unturned in my interview preparation for NMIMS Mumbai and SIBM Pune. It is common knowledge that balancing a job along with CAT preparation is a mammoth task. If anything, this job spurred me on to crack the interviews for the calls that I had.

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February 2020

15th February 2020. 4.30 PM. A message pops up in the telegram group 'NMIMS results out'. With a pounding heart, I nervously proceeded to check my result in the portal. And...YES. It's a convert! My joy knew no bounds. But the celebrations were not overwhelming at that point. In fact, the celebrations were put to an abrupt halt next week when I was 'waitlisted' by SIBM Pune. A period of minor uncertainty prevailed from 22nd February 2020 to 11th March 2020. On the 11th of March 2020, I experienced one of the most joyous moments in recent times as I had cleared the waitlist and made it to Symbiosis Institute of Business Management Pune!

Ironically, it was almost two years from that fateful day in March 2018 to the date when I made it to my dream B-school and one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. 

While my journey has been a roller coaster ride, I believe that it has made me more fearless and resilient in the wake of minor 'hiccups'. As I fondly look back at my journey, I express my heartiest gratitude to the Officers of the Naval selection Board for bringing out the warrior in me and helping me prepare for the long walk to success and glory.

Happy quarantine!

Cheers!