Coping Up With The Loss Of My Father To Making It To ISB After Three Failed CAT Attempts | Ft. Chaithanya, ISB Co'22

Unfortunately, I lost my dad to COVID on Aug 16th. It took me nearly one and a half months to resume my preparation. It was already October, and hence I decided to give the GMAT after my CAT exam. As I continued my CAT preparation, I noticed the ease with which I could navigate through RCs. I took a topic-based approach, striking topic after topic as I finished preparing for it. The deja-vu of my performance in DILR followed in my preparation as well. Every time I was giving a mock and could not solve a set in 10 mins, my mind played tricks on me, so I gave plenty of mocks to provide myself with sufficient exam time to figure that out. Finally, I figured an approach that worked for me. As soon as I enter the section, I scanned all the sets and marked those sets, which I felt were easy and quick to solve. If I did not solve that set within 10 mins, I would go to the next set no matter what. It was initially difficult to do that, to let go of an incomplete set which you believed can be solved quickly. Giving plenty of mocks made it easy for me.

After giving my CAT exam in December, I initially planned to give myself the entire December to refresh my GMAT prep and give the exam towards the end of the month. But when I gave my official mock in the first week of December and scored 720, I knew that I was in the zone and should not waste any time. I immediately booked the slot and gave the exam. I found the GMAT exam atmosphere very stress-free. I scored 730 in my GMAT exam. I then peacefully started discovering more about ISB. The more I found out about ISB, the more I fell in love with it. I didn't realize when ISB turned from a "back-up option" to "the college I want to get into."

During this entire struggle, I faced lots of challenges. I lost my dad, and my plans were shattered. It was challenging to resume preparation after the loss. I had too many things on my plate - my exam preparation, the situation at home, my office work and other formalities to take care of. The pandemic lifestyle made it even more difficult to concentrate. I never for once felt like giving up because of what my dad told me. "If you are doing something, give your 100%. Leave no stone unturned, so that when you look back, you should not get a feeling, 'Maybe if I could have done this, I would have succeeded'". I scored 97.09 percentile in CAT this time, and I have no regrets. I did everything I can, and there isn't anything I could have done better to change the outcome. Remember to give your 100%.

Chaithanya Kumar Donda,
S/O Chandra Sekhar Donda

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