"MBA? Wo kya hota hai?"
That's exactly what I told a friend back in 2020 when he was heading to write the CAT exam. I was in my final year of engineering, aspiring to land a role in a core engineering company. An MBA wasn’t even on my radar.
But life, as always, had other plans!!!
Cut to 2022. Like most of the engineers in India, I found myself in a situation where I wasn't enjoying engineering. I was working at L&T’s Vadodara office, doing what I had once aspired to do, but not anymore. I couldn’t see myself doing this for the rest of my life.
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That’s when I started noticing the seniors around me who were cracking CAT, making it into top B-schools, and stepping into a world that looked… different. Exciting. Purposeful. And I thought, maybe this is what I’ve been missing.
So I started digging deeper into what an MBA truly meant. The stories from B-school campuses, the roles they landed, and the impact they created—it all lit a fire in me. It felt like I had finally stumbled upon something that aligned with who I wanted to be.
But there was one towering obstacle between me and that dream: the grumpy, unpredictable CAT.
2023: The Year of Questions, Chaos, and Clarity!!!
The year 2023 was all about exploring the CAT and MBA world.
“Which coaching institute should I choose?”
“How do I score a good percentile in VARC/LRDI/QA?”
“What actually happens in Marketing/HR/Operations?”
Like every other aspirant, these were the things I constantly searched for.
Managing CAT prep along with a full-time job was difficult, but not impossible. Until I found out that the management was planning to depute me to the project site.
Barauni (Bihar) was nothing less than a nightmare for me. I knew things were about to get a lot tougher.
With increasing responsibilities, working hours, and commitments at work (thanks to the constantly decreasing manpower on our project, LOL), I was slowly losing consistency in my preparation. By the time I reached October 2023, I knew this wasn’t going to be my year.
I started thinking: Is this really what I want?
Bottling up another CAT attempt for the sake of doing something I was least interested in at that point didn’t seem like a good plan.
But wait—is quitting your job the only solution?
Maybe, at that time, it was for me.
Amidst all the overthinking and the constant fear of negative consequences, I made the decision to put in my papers on 30th October 2023. I served my 3-month notice period till 29th January 2024, and then came back home, where I began preparing for CAT 2024 full-time.
During this transition phase, I focused on upskilling myself—learning the tools, concepts, and soft skills that would help me fit well into an MBA cohort. I spent most of my time preparing for CAT while also working on growing my YouTube channel, Placement Buddies (https://www.youtube.com/@PlacementBuddies). Along the way, I stayed engaged by networking with peers, mentoring juniors, and constantly learning through real-world experiences.
Leaving your job to prepare full-time is a decision I would never casually recommend, unless you’re extremely clear about your thought process and know what you want from life better than anyone else.
But was it worth it?
Cut to the D-Day, 24-Nov-2024, after months of hardwork that involved attending live classes, watching recorded sessions, solving thousands of questions, and giving and rigorously analyzing plenty of mocks and sectionals. I was worried if I'd be able to pull it off. I was not at all doubtful about my preparation but maybe too concerned with the overthinking, which kept asking me, "What will I do, If I fail?"
Here's what my biggest takeaway is: when we are too worried about the outcomes in our lives, we usually tend to forget the learnings and fumble in the process. Maybe, that's what has happened with me in the D-day.
In spite of scoring good marks in the CL mocks, I f*cked up my VARC section out of nowhere. One section, which was very dear to me, had brought down my percentile to below 90, which made me ineligible for most of the top B-Schools (needless to say, being a GEM helped do this too, LOL). When I realized that my VARC didn't go well, I panicked in LRDI and QA too. Something that can happen to anyone on D-Day, irrespective of your level of preparation. If you're unable to maintain your composure during those 2 hours in the exam center, the CAT can be really cruel to you.
I was shattered. It took me time to accept the situation and try converting whatever best calls I had, as giving one more attempt was not in the cards for me. The GDPI calls started rolling in—First GLIM, then NMIMS. Followed by IMT Nagpur, Hyderabad, FORE, TAPMI, and KJSOM. I started gaining my lost confidence back, to some extent, when I saw myself converting the calls. IIM Sambalpur was the only IIM call I had and according to my priorities, it was my best call.
But wait! How did I get a call from IIM Sambalpur without scoring a 90 Percentile!
Here's how a hashtag changed the course of My IIM dream.
When I was heading towards my IIM Sambalpur interview, I was worried majorly because I had a low Pre-PI Score (As I did not have a great CAT percentile and was going to get zero diversity points). But this time, I had decided to focus on things that are in my control rather than focusing on things that are beyond my control and I happened to give my best in the interview.
11 May 2025, 11:40 PM, was the moment when I received this email.
I always liked giving back to the community, and to share all my learnings and insights about the world of MBA entrance exams and GDPI preparation, I have recently launched a YouTube channel called "The White-Collar Engineer," through which I’ll be sharing a lot of valuable and no-nonsense guidance for upcoming CAT and OMET aspirants. So, if you’re one, don’t forget to hit that “Subscribe” button.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWhiteCollarEngineer
Although I believe I left no stone unturned to get a 99 percentile in CAT, things somehow didn’t turn out in my favor on the D-Day. As someone who has been exploring the world of content creation and mentorship since 2021, I do believe, however, that I hold all rights to guide the aspirants' community through my YouTube channel, as converting 6/7 interview calls is not easy.
Hoping life has good things to unfold from here onwards.
If you have liked my story, consider connecting with me on my socials.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/saleh-ahmed-543b29199
Instagram: instagram.com/salehahmed9973
